The daily Alaskan., 1909-01-12

Ithat was headquarters for the compa- ny they held great exhibition. and the general manager was chosen to welcome the president of the United States. The moment he came to the edge of the platform and faced the waiting multitude, waiting not to hear the railroad man, but the president, he became embarrassed Ladies and gen tlemen," he began, q see before me-
 Here the speaker paused awkward ly, like schoolboy who has forgotten his lines. Before him rose the gaunt face of the wind crank, who stood in the front row, towering above his neighbors.
 Pulling himself together, the rail. road man went on. His friends began to tremble for him. What he said had nothing to do with the exhibition, the president or the people there assem- bed. "The company has always en- deayored to keep abreast of the times. We, have adopted every safety Nppll- ance that has been invented, but so long as human hands, guided by the brain of man.
 At that point man who was intelll- gent when he was sober broke iu on the orator, "Oh, come offen tn perch an let som'on' talk 'at can talk senseT
 Flushing to the very roots of his hair, this local orator the man who had been called "the Demosthenes of the west" stumbled from the stage.
 At last the long winter came to an end, and the inventor went away with the snow. At all events, the manager had been rid of him for a long while when one day his special stood upon short spur near the mountain top wait ing for the eastbound overland ex- press. Presently the partg were made aware of the approach of the opposing train, but instead of the low singing of the rail, for which they had been listening, they heard suddenly the roar of a runaway train and the frantic cry of a locomotive for brakes. The flag man who had opened the switch to let the special back in on the spur stood there waiting to let them out again when the express should pass All the people had climbed down from the waiting train to stretch themselves. The engineer was oiling his engine. The fireman had climbed up bank to gath CT some wild flowers that grew where a little stream of clear cold water gur- gled from the rocks. Seeing the flag man still holding to the switch, the general manager ran toward him, call ing to him to let go and stand back.
 What might have happened if the manager had remained quiet no man knoweth, but when the dagman saw him coming and heard him shouting without understanding what he was 1 saying he glanced nervously in the di- rection of the approaching train. The wild engine at that moment rounded curve and headed down a short tan gent straight for the switch. The flag man was seen to glance back again at his own train, which stood well in the clear. then throw his weight on the switch lever. Over went the rail for the spur, and across 1t went the flying train. . An air hose had blown off just as they tipped over the top of the hill 1 (thIs was before the days of the self acting. self adjusting automatic air braI;e), and the few hand brakes at the crews command had served only to steady the train. They could not hold the big mountain engine, and now she shot in on the spur, wide open, splitting fire and screaming like q wild fend. She hit the special with crash that shook the very hills. The special train, with its lighter locomotive, was driven back three cars or more and crushed like an eggshell against the rock cliff that rose perpendicularly at the far end of the spur. The heavy sleepers crushed the mall and express cars against the wrecked locomotives. There were the old familiar shrieks of the broken engines, the mOans of the mangled and the excited shouts of the rescuers. The general manager had succeeded in dragging nan from the ruins and placing him in an easy posi- tIon. The man appeared to he cr''" dead. AS the manager was about 10 turn away something tugged fceb!y at his sleeve. The manager stopped down, put hls ear to the mans breast peerad into his face and then stepped back wlth a startled expression. Now, with the superhuman strength that some times comes to dying men, the wreck lifted his head and looked with strange. wild eyes into the face of the manager.
 "Oh. you murderer! Do you still argue that you can hold train with mountain air? Now, with system of air plpes-running up from the valley all this wreci-and-death"-
 The general manager put his ear down again, but the troubled heart was hushed.