Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-08-01

could do. y newly married couple
on their honeymoon were effusively
solicitous. A titled somebody from
somewhere calmly adjusted his mono
Gle and smiled grimly as he studied
the bit of democratic humanity. All
lid what they could. And many who
could do nothing else paid the eloquent
tribute of silent tears. A baby, a poor
helpless waif from a foreign land, had
done what has baff1ed the logic of
centuries-it had broken the granite
barriers of social caste and captured
the citadel of the common human heart.
The SLIU,. .-....,- Raised, and
the tain moved on. And Pacifica rul-
ed her moving autocracy with her
scepter OF love as they passed Ogden.
crossed the sagebrush deserts of Ne
vada and climbed the Sierras. She
wanted for nothing that her loyal sub
jects could supply. AS each successive
crew took charge of the train the train
baby was duly and cheerfully accepted
as part thereof. These blunt. rough
men of the iron rails were as gentle
and tender with the orphaned child
whom chance had thrown in their way
as though she had been of their owp
flesh and blood. If she was fretful at
a siding or desert watering tank she
would be taken out of her car and
passed about among the trainmen.
train dispatcher. conductor. engineer.
fireman, brakemen. porters, baggage
men and hotel runners, all taking
awkwark turns at holding her or 9th
erwise contributing to her entertain
ment Pacifica owned the train and
the whole works.
The Sierras were crossed. Sacramen.
TO was reached auG passed, and the
train headed south toward the San
Joaquin and Los Angeles.
A few miles south of Sacramento
storm. suddenly blowing in from the
ocean, was encountered, which in
creased in violence as they neared
Bakersfield and the Tehachepi noun
tains.
At Bakersfield the wind was blowing
fifty mile clip. and the rain was COM
ing down like Il cloudburst.
''Tfcklish business up there, Rogersr'
yelled the conductor to the engineer as
he waved his hand toward the storm
swept heights of the Tehachepi. Rog-
ers had no need to be told of the dan
ger of landslides in this the first Sc
we're storm of the season.
1t was IL o'clock that night when the
engineer stopped for water a short dis
lance below tunnel No. s. The night
was very black. and the storm beat and
roared about the train like an army
of demons. The trainmen, incased in
their long raincoats, flashed their Ian
terms about. examining bookings. test
ing air brakes and otherwise making
ready for the next run. when suddenly
Pacifica's baby wall from her car Just
back of the mail car arose above the
noise Of the storm.
1t reached the ears Of the engineer
walking back by the tender. and
straightway, instead of the screaming
wind and pelting rain, he heard the
voice of his own child calling to him
from a new made grave in Los Ange-
les, and instead of the two gllstening
rails stretching away from the head
light into the gloom he saw the plead
ing eyes and outstretched arms of bis
dead boy, And the heart of the brave
man came up in his throat. and he felt
coming over him the weakness that for
days had incapacitated him after his
loss.
'tOh. nay Cod"' he muttered to him
self as the plaintive cry again smote
bis ears. THAT sounded like little
Bob
And then Engineer Rogers did an un-
precedented thing. Telling his fireman
he would return In a minute. be start
ed back through the storm to where
Pacifca lay crying and refusing to be
comforted.
Dripping with storm water. he edged
his way through the circle of attend
ants and bent over the train baby's
crib.