Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-08-23

u Oceu WOThlu6 III Iuo y6AO uV at
Divide, and just for allowing two old
fats to split a switch and pillow up
some Of the gravel the old man reck-
oned I'd better lope back to the
Springs and accept a position as en-
gineer on laundry wagon or some.
thin like that.
We'll. I'd kind of decided I'd take
a run down to the Springs. anyway.
The extra engine crew was going
down that night with q pusher and a
crippled engine and I thought I'd go
with em. We had to wait till the
west-bound mail went by. along about
eight o'clock. and then we started.
got up in the cab of the cripple and, it
being warm summer and me with an
overcoat on. proceeded to NJ UP to
sleep some. First took smoke and
then dozed of. We'd pretty.near got
to Piute pass by that time.
"Weii. SIR, 1t seemed like I'd hardly
got to sleep when I woke up with
start. It seemed to me like we was
going awful fast. 1t must have been
the footing up III front that woke me.
because Ed. Norris, who was the eagle
eye up there, was letting her shrek
loud enough to wake the dead down in
Ell Paso. We were Jolting around
pretty lively, and pushed the window
open to take a look. My new Stetson
went whining OF so quick nearly.
went with it. 1t was dark - pitch,
but the electric headlight on the
pusher was lighting up the canyon.
and when we went by the falls SO fast
that I'd thought 1t was day before
yesterday I'd seen 'em, began to get
scared. thought of jumping and then
I saw it was no use. was wonderful
what had happened up in front. I
knew something else was going to
happen pretty soon. because when we
hit that safety at Diablo we were go
ing to skee clear over the. peak.
Il couldn't see thing up in front.
but it seemed like we were putting
on steam all the time, and we didn't
need any at all going down that
Acknowledgement I knew there was
something wrong. but couldn't for
the life Of me figure It out. While
was doing some tall wondering. the
firebox door swung open and hit me
on the leg. That saved my life.
II knew the flrebox had been cleaned
out, and I'd begun to figure out that
unless got some armor plate around;
me I'd be cleaned out. too. knew we.
must be getting might close to Diablo
and the safety switch. That iirebox
door was a tip. No matter what hap
pened, figured, nothing much was
going to happen to an inch steel ire
box, and as quick as could squeezed
myself into that door. not being as
stout then as am now.
"Well. sir. hadn't more than got
in there when things happened. I
didn't know for about four hours that
anything happened, because they didn't
dig me out till the wreckers got up
there and found me with y broken arm
and black as niger down in that
frebox. And there wasn't much left
Of either one of them old coffee pots
but the freboIes. Ed. Norris was
dead as door nail, In pieces. The
pusher had struck the boulder at the
top end OF the safety and my old Grip
pie had rammed through her tender
and smashed him.
"Up near the west end Of the pass
they found Jack Hyde. the fireman.
lying beside the track unconscious.
with whack over the head. When he
got right at the hospital he said Nor
ris had gone nutty about his girl
throwing him over and hit him with
the wrench"
The yard foreman got up and walked
into the shanty. When he came back
he handed the brakeman round
piece Of leather with = ribbon tied
Ito II. Il
'It's yours, Jack he said: "I've
knowed you since you was hid and
lyou Amt never bsen went 6 the soap
lplant IN your. life.