The Ordway new era., 1915-01-01

nostrfls a. he stepped out TO speak
with the guards. and a. he stood there
waiting for the full daylight the mas
ter mechanic Joined him.
He was = full-blooded. round-headed
little man with determined Vows on
life. and he began the day. ~ 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
know It would come to some harm.
"A fine bunch Of hombres. yes" he
ended. "and may the devil ny away
with them! They took No. at the
summit yesterday and I've been lis
tenins ever since. Her pans are all
burned out and we've been feeding
her bran like q COW to keep her from
leaking steam. II some ignorant Mex
gets hold Of her you'll hear big noise
-that'll be the last of No. s-her
boiler will burst like wet bag.
"If / was running this road there'd
be no more bran-not since what saw
over at Aguascalientes on the Cen
tral. One Of those bum. renegade en-
sine drivers had burned out No. 743.
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
tillery. The mash was oozing out OF
her as Ben Tyrrell pulled up to the
station, and a 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 It to himself until he could
get his time. It's the fumes. boy
they blow up like brandy-and old No
Is sour! N" "
She'll likely blow up. too. But how
can we fix her with these ignorant
Mexican mechanical You should have
been over at Aguas the day they nred
the Americans.
NO IuOT0 A"cAACbAoos oSy" AA~
deio, let 'em all out and hire Mexi-
cans! The national railroads Of Mex
leo must not be In the hands Of for
eigners.'
80 they fred us all in a day and
put a Mexican wood-passer' up in the
cab of old No. 313. He started to pull
string of empties down the track.
threw on the air by mistake. and
stopped her on dead-center. Pulled
out the throttle and she wouldn't 60.
so he gave 1t 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 q switch engine
and took back the cars and called on
the roadmaster-A Mex. He cracked
the uut-built shoo-ny around No.
s1s and they left her right there on
the main track. Two days later an
American hobo came by and set down
and laughed at 'em. Then he throws
on the brakes. gives No. 313 boost
past the center with q crowbar. and
runs her to the roundhouse by gravity.
When we left Aguas on = handcar that
hobo was running the road.
"IEnorantest hombres In the world
these Mexicans. Shooting gun or
running an engine. it's all the same
they've got nothing above the eye
brows."
That's right" agreed Bud. who bad
been craning his neck; but whAts
that noise up the track?"
Tho master mechanic listened. and
when his ears. dulled by the clangor Of
the shops, caught the distant roar he
turned and ran for the house.
cit up. Ed" he called to the road
master. they're sending u wild car
down the canyon-and she may be
loaded with dynamite!"
Dynamite or not" mumbled the
xrixxled roadmaster. a. he reused up
from his couch. there's . derailer !
put In up at kilometer seventy the first
thing yesterday morning. Thatrl send
her into the ditch!"
Nevertheless he listened intently.
cooking his head to guess BY the
sound when 1t came to kilometef
seventy.
cTo BE CoNTINUED3