The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-04-20

made 1T discouraging for. the con-
| ductors, the auditors stole what little
money the boys did turn in.
\ hard place TO begin railroading the
old line was then; but that s where |
had to tackle the game, and in all the
hard crowd mixed with, Dave Hawk
was the only big man on the division.
There were others there who fixed the
thing up by comparing notes on their
| collections. and turning in percentages
| 20 make their reports look right But
Dave was not conspirator; never
made n conhdant of any man in his
| stealing OF his spending, and despised
their figuring. He did as he pleased,
and cared for no one; no superior had
somewhere back east of the River, they
said, who had sold him out-that IS why
he was in the mountains-and he lived
among free and easy men lonely life.
If anybody ever got close to him. I
think maybe l did, though / was still
only n freight conductor when the
lightning struck tho division.
1t came with clean sweep through
the general Offices at the River-every-
body in the auditing department, the
executive heads down to general man
ager, and whole raft of west end
conductors. it wns a shake-out from
top to bottom, and the blood on our
division went white and sickly very
fast.
OF course It was somebody's gain.
When the heads of our passenger con
ductors began to drop they began set.
ting up freight men. Rocksby had re-
signed a year before, and Haverly, his
successor, an ex-dispatcher. and as big
knave as there was on the pay roll,
let the men out right and left, with the
| sole idea of saving his own scalp. BY
the time / was put up to a passenger
train the old force was pretty much
cleared out except Dave.
Every day almost we looked to see
him 20. Everybody loved him be-
cause he was n master railroad man.
and everybody except Dave himself
was apprehensive about his future He
moved on Just the same, calm and cold
as ice water, taking the same old
chances. reckless Of everything and
everybody. I never knew till after.
ward, but tho truth was Haverly, with
all his bluff talk, wns just enough
afraid of Dave Hawk to want to let
one day up in the old Office in an un-
expected way.
Haverly's own seat got so hot that,
hedeviled By his own fears OF losing
il. and afraid TO discharge Dave, who
now sailed up and down the line, reck.
less as any pirate of the Spanish Main,
he covered. called Dave into the little
room at the wickiup, and asked him to
resign. In all the storm that had
ragged on the division. the old con.
ductor alone had remained calm. Every
day IL was somebody's head off: Dave
alone ignored il all He went through
! it all the shining mark. the daredevil
target, vet be bore a charmed life and
survived every last associate Then
Haverly asked him to resign. Dave.
bitter angry, faced him with black
words IN bis throat.
"It's come TO showdowu.'' mut.
tered the superintendent uneasily, after
minutes talking. "Do you want to
resigu7n
Dave eyed the mountains coldlv.
"No."
"You III have to-
% Have tol'' Hawk whirled dark as
storm. "Have TO! Who saws so?"
The superintendent shifted the paper
weight on the desk uncomfortable.
"Why should / resignY' demanded
the old conductor angrily. "Resignf'
He rose from his chair. ''You know
/ m thief, You re thief yourself.
You helped make me one. I've carried
more men for YOU than for anybody
else on. the whole division / don i
resign for anybody. Discharge me;
uou Ssh any OGCS OF you.
Haverly met IL sullenly. vet he
didn't dare do anything he knew
Dave could ruin him any day ne chose
20 open his mouth. What he aid NOT
know was that Dave Hawk was nodded
in class Of men difTeren, from his own.
Even dishonor was safe in the hands
of Dave Hawk.
There was no change after. except
that darker. moodier, iouelier than
ever. Dave moved along on mis- runs
almost the last OF the Old Guard Ret
Ter railroad man than no never tool,
4 train out Of division. Stress M
wind or stress OF weather, storm. hooJ
or blockade. Dave Hawks trains cane
and went on time o. very close. So
he rode, grim old privateer. with his
letters OF mar1ue on the comuany-'s
strongbox, and Haverlv tremhIei pigbt
and dav till that day came that fcar
had foretold 10 him clap OF tbupdey
struck the wickiup. aud Haverlv's
head fell low. Dave Hawk sailed
boldly on.
! was extra passenger man when
John STANLEY Bucks took the west end
He came from south OF our country.