Middletown transcript., 1908-04-25
IN THE TUNNEL
BY ALBERT ". ToLMAN

Hodgkins swung out from the
cab and plucked a yellow tele- !
graph blank from between the
agents thumb and forefnger.
Engineer Sam Hardness spelled
out the scrawl, Look out for tide
In Gorton Tunnel. Harkness
grunted. He knew what that
meant. The fireman did not, for
it was his first run on the branch.
He was anxious to please his new
chief, who was reputed the
crankiest locomotive driver on
the M. & N.
The engineer had taken a dis
like TO Hodgkins on sight that
morning in the roundhouse. With
strong disfavor he noted the slim
figure and sloping shoulders.
What do they mean by giving me
a young sprout like that groWled
he, under his breath. Now when
I began to fire He jerked
the bell-cord, and they rolled out,
to the turntable.
In half an hour they were
rushing through the open coun-
try at a thirty. mile speed. Hark-
ness noted that his subordinate
was sweating and short of breath.
He won't last long, was his un-
spoken comment, as under his
vigorous hand the whistle shrek
ed for a crossing. Just about
twenty miles more'll find him all
in.
But at the end of that distance
Hodgkins was still at work. The
sweat made little white rivers
down his sooty cheeks. His legs
were unsteady. Occasionally he
hung out of the window for air.
Yet he drove his shovel into the
black slope in the tender, and
kept the fire-box roaring. He
; was plucky. Hardness could not
deny that. But he grinned as a
sharp curve sent the lad stagger'
ing.
The tunnel will finish him,
thought he.
Clayhrook lay FIVE miles be-
hind when he said gruf1y:
Let her burn down. The tun.
nel's not far ahead.
It was fearfully hot in the cat
that July noon. The light breeze
blowing with them, was neutral
lied by their motion. Along the
brown oad-bed the double track
stretched sharp and bright
nd them the salt marshes
bred classify.
18th decreasing speed tn
ght trundled through dingy
D6rb, ran by the red and yellow
ton, and rounded a broad
re. A black arch appeared
smoking from the last pas
Ter train. Two red balls OF
eignal-pole gave Sc the righ
Kay.
Drop your hampers !! com
landed the engineer.
The fireman pulled the levers
and the dampers changed agains
the ash-pan. This precautior
would prevent the tide from
washing up into the fires.
Hodgkins looked curiously a
the gloomy entrance, its SCOT!
keystone bearing gri et
granite "1877." Presently from
the dazzling glare outside the!
plunged into a hot, smoky black
ness.
The tunnel was twelve fee
broad, sixteen high, and a quar-
ter of a mile long. It slopet
gradually toward the center
which was four feet lower thai
either end. A single track ral
through it.
Ordinarily "green" coal wa
never thrown on the fire Will,
an engine was in the tunnel, fo
its smoke would make the alread,
thick air unbreathable; so Hodg
kins had a brief respite. FL
lolled gasping on his seat, watch
ing for the shine of the headlight
which had been lighted in thu
roundhouse before they started
His eyes burned. The smoke anc
gas set him coughing. How mucl
longer could he swing that heav,
shovel? /?
Suddenly came a splashint
ahead. Then the. pilot began t.
toss the spray against the walls
"a strong salty smell pervadet
he air. The high tide, oozins
Up through the made land, OF
which that section of the city wa!
built, had flooded the bottom o.
the tunnel. The water would
have reached the fire had thu
hampers remained open.
On through the deepening iood
d