The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1921-06-03

NoMH anu OUT uhu lhty maven A'S
nerve TO strike back, now"
That ended matters at the club, and
the boss and | walked down 70 the
headquarters. The special, with Buck
Chandler, was waiting, and az the last
minute thought wasn't going to,
get 10 go,
"rhere's no need Of your putting IN
q night on the road. Jimmie" said
the boss, with the kindly thought for
other peoples comfort that never
failed him. But after I had begged a
little, telling him that he'd need some
body 10 take notes in the mine meet
ing. he said, "Al right" and we got
aboard and gave the word TO Macllse'
the conductor, 10 get his clearance
and 90.
A few minutes later we pulled out
and the night run was begun. Like
every olher car The boss had ever
owned the "0j" was fitted up as =
working Office, and since le had me
along, he opened up a lot Of claim
papers upon which tie legal depart
ment was giving him the final say.so
and we went TO work.
For the next two hours 1 was SO
busy that didn't know when we
passed the various stations. At half
past nine. Mr.. Norcross snapped
rubber band over the last Of the claim
files lighted a pipe, and told me !
might 20 to bed If I wanted to; SAID
that he was going himself after he'd
had smoke. Just then. Chandler
whistled for staten, and, looking
out Of 4 window. saw that we were
pulling into Bauxite, the little whit
blown junction from which the Stralh-
coma branch led away into the north
ern mountains.
Wanting o bite of fresh air before
turning in, / got off when we made
the stop and strOlled up to the en-
zine A[aclise was in the Office, get
ing orders for the branch, ana
Chandler was squatting in the gang
way of The 815 and waiting. Up ahead
Of us, and too far away for me TO
read the number on her tender, there
was a light engine, | thought at first
II was the pusher which was kept at
BallXite to help heavy freights up the
branch grades, and | wondered what
II was doing out on the branch ~
and in our way.
whats the pusher out for, BuckT
I asked.
Chandler grinned down at me.
"You amt so much of a railroad
man as you might be, Jimmie" he
said. THAT amt the pusher. It's
our first section, runnin light to
StrathcOna,"
Maybe Chandler was right, that |
wasn't much of railroad man, but |
sawed The Short Line operating rules
well enough to know that ii wasn't
usual 10 run Il light engine, deadhead-
ing over the road, as section OF a
speclaI. Also, | knew that Buck
knew It.
With that last little talk over the
club dlnner-table fresh in mind, | he
gan to wonder, but instead of asking
Chandler any more questions about
the engine out ahead / asked him II
! MIGHT ride n piece with him up the
branch; and when he said Sure |
climbed up and bumped myself on the
hrcmnn's box.
Maclise got his orders In due time
and we, pulled out. | noticed that
when he> gave Chandler the word, he
aIso made motions with his lantern
to the engine up ahead and it prompt
" steamed away, speeding up until it
had about half-mile lead and then
holding II. That seemed funny, too.
Though it is lule that is often
broken on all railroads, the different
sections Of train are supposed to
keep at least five minutes apart, ana
our first wasn't much more than a
minute away from us at any time,
Another thing that struck me as be-
Ing funny was the way Chandler was
running. 1t was only sixty mountain
miles up the branch to the big gold
camp, and we ought to have been
able TO make ii by one o'clock, taking
1t dead easy. But the way Buck was
niggling along it looked rs if it might
he going to take us all night.
Just the same, nothing happened.
The first ten miles was across Il desert
stretch with only Il slightly rising
grade, and it was pretty much all
tangent-Straight line. Beyond the
ten-mile station of hippo we hit the
mountain proper, climbing it through
a dry canyon, with curves that blocked
Off everything fifty feet ahead of the
engine, and grades that would have
made pretty good toboggan slides. The
night WAS fine and starlit, but there
was no moon and the canyon shadows
doomed like huge walls to shut us in.
ON the reverse curves | could oc-
casionally get glimpse of the red
tail lights Of the engine which ought,
by rights, to have been five full min
utes ahead of us. 1t was still hold
ing It's short lead, jogging along as
leiSurely as we were,
With nothing to do and not much
To see, | got sleepy after while,
and about the time when l was think.
ing that | might rs well climb back
over The tender and turn in, | dozed
off right there on the tiremm's box