The Washington herald., 1914-08-12
Chasing the Storm.
By EMORY ). HAYNES.

Leaving Albany we saw thunder storm coming
down from the Mohawk Valley. The engineer be-
gan to give the big locomotive steam at once and our
regular time ws fast had the .6rernanS seat which
is on the left The view ahead is identical with the
engineers, straight and away along the glistening
steel. Promptly became conscious Of race with
the storm as it swept down from the Catskll Noun
tains and across the Hudson just ahead Of Should
we catch it7 Could we run into the cloud of rain9
The shadow of the obscured sun began to darIoen
the locomotive cab. But the sunbeams were still
cleaning on the polished brass end" of the elegant
train behind US. 1t a singular phenomenon.
Storm -darkened was the front of the flying train
bathed was the extreme rear end. II was as if the
tornado storm was afraid of and was attempting
to escape us. 1t as if we were Vengefully pur-
suing the storm and frightening it away on retreat
down the Hudson southward.
Every now and then we caught the rally Of the
guard of the cloud army and rain of big drops
pelted US. But the retreat still successful We
could not really succeed in charging in on the storm.
AS we chased it the ground along the line was
welterng in the food that the retreatng cloud had
let fall The trees were yet bending and dripping
under the load of rain that foe had hurled down,
yet the sun was shining the last car of our on
sweeping train.
Sixty miles an hour was our schedule, Sixty
miles an hour was evidently the schedule that the
storm had set for itself. So on and on few the
massive tran just keeping its nose, if you please in
the edge of the storm. Had driver let her out,
she could have been, up to seventy or eighty miles
hour, the grand creature, our locomotive, could
have caught and penetrated the gray, Kissing wall of
hostile rain. hoped the driver would catch up with
z.f.-
eager watching but sought to converse with the fire.
man.
1 asked if we could not hope to catch the roaring
tree-bending, river-lashng tornado and pierce and
divide and knock it endways / did so want to con-
quer and pierce through and through big storm Our
engine seemed so mighty, so capable of annihiating
it. And the cowardy blacknSss and water and wind
seemed so plainly afraid of me, for once mounted
as was upon the engine of power.
Yet we succeeded in putting the entire length
of that train into the shadow and the rain. While
the aforesaid brass end of the observation car was
not always sn-gilded, it got wet, all the way
from Albany to Poughkeepse, though frequently the
tear drops of the edge OF the storm dashed on
window glass in front of me.
At last, as we approached Breakneck Mountain,
the storm wheeled away in the west and assaulted
Mount Beacon. i gave up trying to escape US by
racing down the river. With a sad heart | viewed
it moving off where we could not follow. At first
thought of proposing the engineer that switch
to the old New England track at Fshkl and still go
after our routed enemy Before he could untangle
himself from the Fishki Mountains we could over
haul hiT. Certainly before he reached Hartford
But that was not permitted. The storm got off
our line 1t escaped our brave pursuit. 1t let our
beautiful river alone and allowed the sun to shine
on all its silver expanse. No doubt the storm king
mountain had given orders to his minions the thun-
derclouds. The king did not wish humans to
entirely conquer. Hence he sent black masses by
the left flank And our big engine laughed and dried
its tears.