The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1914-10-16

nostrils q he stepped out % spes3
with the guards. and a. b stood thor
waiting for the full daylight 0s mas
ter mechanic Joined him.
He was a fuli.blooded, round.hes&ed
little man with determined views on
life. and he began the day, as usual.
with his private opinion OF Mexicans.
They were the same uncomplimentary
remarks to which he had given voice
on the day before, for the rebels had
captured one OF his engines and he
knew it would come to some harm.
"A fine bunch Of hombres. yes" he
ended, land may the devil fly away
with them! They took No. at the
summit yesterday and I've been lis
tening ever since. Her pans are all
burned out and we've been feeding
her bran like a COW to keep her from
leaking steam. II some ignorant Mex
gets hold OF her you'll hear big noise
-thatll be the last Of No. cher
boiler will burst like wet bag.
III ! was running this road there'd
be no more bran--not since what saw
over at Aguascalientes on the Gen.
trail. One Of those bum. renegade en-
CINE drivers had burned out No. TAB.
but the rebels had ditched four Of our
best and We had to send her out. Day
after day the boys had been feeding
her bran until she smelled like dis
tlllery. The mash was oozing out OF
her as Ben Tyrrell pulled up to the
station. and 4 friend of his that had
come down from the north took one
sniff and swung up into the cab
Ben came down at the word he
whispered-!for they'd two Of 'em
blowed up in the north-and they sent
out another man. Hadn't got up the
hill when the engine exploded and
blew the poor devil to hell! l asked
Tyrrell what his friend had told him.
but he kept 1t to himself until he could
get his time. It's the fumes. boy
they blew up like brandy-and old No
8 is sour!
She'll likely blow up, too. But how
can W.. fix her with these ignorant
Mexican mechanics? You should have
been ever at Aguas the day they fired
the Americans
No more Americcnos,' says Ma
dero, let EN- all out and hire Next
cans! The national railroads Of Mex
leo must not be in the hands Of for
eigners.'
$50 they fired US all in day and
put. a Mexican wood.passer up in the
cal, of old No. 3lS. He started to pull
a string of empties down the track.
threw on the air BY mistake. and
stopped her on a dead-center. Pulled
cut the throttle and she wouldn't 60.
30 he gave it up and quit.
: Called in the master mechanic then
"a Mexican. He tinkered with her
for an hour, right there on the track,
until she went dead on their hands.
Then they ran down . switch engine
and took back the carr and called on
the roadmaster-a Mex. He cracked
the nut-built q shoo.hy around No.
313 and they left her right there on
tho main track. Two days later IN
American hobo came b. and set down
and laughed at EN-. Then he throws
OF the brakes. gives No. SO . boost
past the center with . crowbar. and
runs her to the roundhouse BY gravity.
When We left Aguas on handcar that
hobo was running tho road.
"Ignorantest hombres In the world
these Mexicans. Shooting . gun or
running an engine. its Ill the same
they've got nothing above tho eye'
brow0."
That's tight" agreed Bud. who had
been craping his neck: but what's
that noise up the track!"
Tho master mechanic listened. and
when his earl, dulled by the clansor OF
the shops, caught the distant roar he
turned and ran for tho house.
cit up, Ed!" he called 70 the road
master. they're sending . wild car
down the canyon-and she may b
loaded with dynamlte!"
Dynamite or not" mumbled the
srix1led roadmasteI, 90 he reused up
from his couch, there's . dera1lef I
nut In up 1T kilometer seventy the nrst
think yesterday morning. That1l send
her into the ditch!"
Nevertheless he listened inte1tly.
cooking his head to guess BY the
sound when It came to kilomete1
seventy.
cro BE coNT1NUED)
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