The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1916-03-17
TOOK AWAY HIS NERVE
RAILROAD MAN TELLS WHY HE
QUIT THE BUSINESS.
Frightful Accident Averted Only by 4
Lucky Chance Gave Him a Dis
taste for the Work Which He
Could Not Overcome.

The little group at the club were
in our lives. Anecdote followed anec-
dote, and at last someone said to
Weldon, the great banker, who hap
pened to be one of the party:
Il have often heard you speak of
the time when you were a railroad
man. Was it chance that led you to
give it up""
IT'S rather a long story" replied
the banker, but it falls in so pat with
our conversation that | think I'll tell
it.
II was very proud Of my promotion
to be dispatcher at Winsor. for l got
It after less than a year at the tele-
graph key. Winsor was a thriving
little city, with some factories and a
lively distributing trade, and the yards
were always busy. There was a pine
barren west of us, almost without a
house for fifteen miles Of upgrade;
and | had to give trains their orders.
clear through to where the coal lands
began, at Gridley, twenty-five miles
away. There was a turpentine camp
halfway between, called Porter's, and
a long siding; but there wasn't an
other agent or t~elegrapher. and this.
you know, was before the days OF
double tracks or automatic block sig
nails.
Things went smoothly at first. I
had already met a few nice people at
Winsor, and the train crews were all
friendly. The chief dispatcher, Har-
mon, at division headquarters a hun
bred miles down the line, helped me
all he could, too.
One black May night he called me
at about eleven. Tell Bryan to take
Porter's siding apd let McCluskey by
with an extra coal train was his mes
sage. So l set my light red against
Bryan's train, the night freight west
ward, and soo l heard it come slowly
into the yard. I had the order all
ready for Bryan. the conductor, to
take and sign for; and I waited there
rather impatiently while the engineer
made up his train. Harmon called
me: Have you got Bryan's sigma
ture?'
"'No, they're still drilling cars /
wired back.
Finally the train came slowly up
toward my window. l picked up the
orders. but was surprised to hear the
sudden clank and jerk as the engineer
pulled out the throttle. He's got cars
to drill in the upper yard / thought.
So l ran out and waited for the ca
boose lights to appear. Maybe Bryan
will be on the steps, thought l; and l
held the orders up as the caboose ap-
preached. Not a soul there! AS the
caboose flew by, l shrieked; l ran af-
ter It; l stopped for a stone to thow,
lost my balance, and fell while the
train went out with ever-increasing
speed into the black pine wilderness.
Stunned and bruised, I picked my
self up and "a to my key. Order out
the wrecker!' l telegraphed Harmon.
Bryan left against block without stop
ping
Gentlemen. you can imagine the
noxt hour in that quiet, lonely little
room. A score OF times I saw that
heavy coal train coming down the
grade out Of the mountains and plump
ing head-on a1to the climbing way
freight. Why l didn't take to the
woods, I don't know. I got up to
run . dozen times. but something held
to my key.
Suddenly I heard . whistle. The
wrecker!' ! said to myself; but it's
too DOE for that, and it's the wrong
direction. That's toward Porter's.
Thank God. Il must b Bryan's train
backing In leaned far out Of the
window: there was the blass Of .