The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-05-11
BY Frank II. Spearman

| Il was Pat and John. silent and stub
| born, who dug bitterly at the sizzling
! box, flung out the blazing waste, set
the screw, twisted 1t. hooked out the
| smoking brasses, showed In the new ones,
dumped the grease. stuffed the waste
and raised their lamps for Moore before
! the last or the bad words had blown out
| with a soueaklng and groaning and
| Jerking. With q vicious bres6-away and
an anxious interval whenever a palg. OF
drivers let 20, Moore got his enormous
| lead rolling UP the grade AGAIN. and Kept
her rolling hour after hour along curve
and tangent 10 the Horseback. and
! across
| At the crest dav broke and the long.
heavy train. far above the night and the
storm. screamed for the summit yard.
slowed M. halted. and every man jack
iumned or 10 shake hands with himself
on tho plucley run-in spite OF It all.
schedule and 4 hair better.
"How,d You ever do 1t. Jack?" asked
Moore crawed out Of her undersdes
"How late are we?" returned the en-
sineer slowing his can and calling for
"T1ree hours"
Peat the time little didn't we?"
laughed Moore: with a face like a lob
ster, "Couldr't done it. Pat 81 you'd
stopped me anywhere. wouldn't done
Itt-not for ANYBODY. Burdicll Is knocked
clean out. too. Are you all ready back
there. The pusher, disconnected. gal
roundhouse. aud the double header wa
! tered and coaled afresh, started with
Number One down the mountain side.
different start that-a running past
the wind instead or into IL a sluing that
brought excursionists ZIP In "A tumble as
the sleepers swung lariat-lke around the
hanging on after that hanging on all the
! way TO Wild Hat: and then. just as the
| Columbian Pacific train passengers left
their breakfasts at Benton. Number One,
gray and grimy. rolled Into the junction
| thirty-five minutes late-and the agony
was over. The connection was safe. but
nobody noticed who made II. Everybody
vas too much occupied with the sun
shine and the scenery TO observe p pair
lol dlsreputable, haggard, streaked, hol-
lowed eyed tramps who made their way
nnodestly along the. edge Of tine crowd
that thronged the platform. IL was only
Francis and Moore. conductor and en-
gineer OF Number One
| The agony was over for everybody hut
superintendent Of the mountain division.
sat In his den at the wickiup. reading
a letter from the general manager.
Sir-On Thursday. June 2s. Con-
dductor Francis, leaving NJ. e. on
three dollars and fifty cents from
| one Of our special service men. He
| failed TO Issue cash-fare slip for
1
carried his passenger all the way TO
| Benton Kindly effect his discharge
| Let Y be distinctly understood that
| All dehnquencies of this nature will
| be summarlly dealt with
A. w, BANNERMAN.
| General Manager.
It wasn't a letter TO go to the stove
not that kind Of a letter: but Bucks
to have fingered the clever detective
who turned from the chair car 10 the
smoker" on him and from a cattleman
| TO n ''dago."
Bucks called the trainmaster. Francis
| was west, due to leave Benton that af-
ternoon on TWO. and. as luck would have
| IT, to bring back the Brooklyn party
from the Yellowstone. And the passen-
ger department in Chicago was again
heating the wires with injunctions 10
take care OF them, and good care OF
them, because the excursion business on
"A new line Is not only profitable, but
| 1t is hard to work up, and trouble with
an excursion In the beginning means a
hoodoo for months, and maybe for years
| to come.
Bucks felt especially gratified to know
that Pat Francis had the precious load,
but what about the cash fare from Medi-
cine Bend to Red Cloud? Bucks knew
not on his line-and he faced the pleas
ant prospect OF next morning greeting
his right bower in the passenger service
| mary discharge II he had only asked
me for three dollars and a half. thought
Bucks sorely. He would rather have
Eiven his own pay check than to have
And Pat Francis, taciturn. sphinx
like. was punching transportation at that
particular moment on Number TWO on
passengers, keeping one eye on the
yentilators and the other on the date
limits, working both pencils. both hands:
both ears. both ends of the punch. and
h0t Si1ng [
There wasn't a clnder to break the
even enjoyment OF the nun up TO the
clouds Everybody was going home, and
going home happy. From the Pullmans-
tains-came nothing but rag time and
Brooklyn yells. To describe the scenery
might be invidious, but the grade where
Number Two was then climbing would
alone make the fortune OF an ordinary
The Overland freight. Number Sixty
six. eastbound with long train OF tea.
was pulling out Of Toltec station as
Number Two stuck its head into the foot
OF the Moose,
At Toltec. on the day run. we take
mans breath and give him large value
for his money In, a bit Of the prettiest
Toltec Hes in the Powder range. near
the foot OF a great curve called the
Moose, because every time an engineer
slips the head OF his train into it he IS
glad to hold MS breath till he gets Il
out.
The Toltec Moose Is engineering mag
nflcent: but It is rallroading without
wordS-unless one counts the wicked
words. Eagle Pass station, the head OF
the Moose. looks across an unspeakable
gulf directly down into Toltec. 500 feet
below, ard barely mile away. But by
the rail we count seven miles around
that curve, and without any iand-grant