The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-02-05
O. Henry Would Have Loved to Tell
OF This Bed-Ridden Boy and Man
Every Night a Locomotive Wits.
tied Four Times, and an
Electric Light Answered
IT BEGAN A FRIENDSHIP
Between the Unknown Engineer
and the Lad Who Learned
the Whistle Language

the Whistle Language
MOnroeyille,. O., Feb. 5.-(NEA)--
Shortly before midnight on every 9TH
er night OF the year the giant locomo-
tive that hauls a certain New York
Central railroad flyer toward Toledo
from the cast gives four sharp, STAG
cato barks with it's whistle as 1t roars
! through Monroeyille--and an electric
light in bedroom window of a house
beside the tracks blinks four times in
reply.
] Engineer j j. Loucks. pilot of the
flyer. is exchanging greetings with his
friend Clayton A. Lord, an 18-year-
old invalid.
The engineer and the sick boy new
or saw one another until just a few
days ago. But they've been exchang-
! ing greetings for year. now-every
other night, regular as clockWork.
There's story back OF 1t, of course;
the kind Of story. perhaps. that O.
Henry would have liked Here it Is.
Engineer Loucks, who lives In
Cleveland. takes the flyer to Toledo
at night and brings another one back
the next morning. One morning. a
year ago. as his train sped into Mon
roeville. he saw boy sleeping on a
cot on the sun porch of a house near
the tracks.
When the train stopped at the
MOnroeville station, Loucks got down
from the cab and asked the station
master about the boy.
THAT boy?" said the station mas
ter HIM. you must seen Clayton
Lord. Poor kid, he's been sick in bed
for a long time: Something wrong
with his lungs. Shame. too, for he's
nice kid"
The next night, as Loucks took his
train speeding through Monroeville,
he puller the whistle cord four times
as he passed the boys house. There
is no other railroad whistle signal
just like that, and he hoped the boy
would understand.
So. on his next night run, Loucks
did it again. This time the light in
the sick boys bedroom window
blinked four times. Loucks yanked
the whistle cord four times more, to
show he understood, and went on,
grinning.
That started it. Every time Ioucks
passed the house after that he would
give the signal. And every time the
boys light would blink four times.
Time passes rather slowly for an
l8-year-old boy who is too sick to get
out of bed. Any little thing that
breaks the monotony Of the endless
hours Of lying flat on your back is
mighty welcome. So Clayton Lord
quickly grew to look on the unknown
engineer as one Of his very best
friends.
Now and then there would be nights
when the boy wasn't feeling quite as
we'll as usual-nights when he would
have to drop off to sleep early in the
evening. On those nights Clayton
would always set his alarm clock for
the hour when Loucks' train was due.
He'd wake up when 1t went off, wait
until he heard the whistle, and then
blink his light.
On Christmas night train service
was delayed. Loucks' train was two
hours late. Clayton stayed awake as
long as he could, but finally he fell
asleep. But when the train finally
roared by and the whistle barked four
times in the still night, the boy me-
chanically, in his sleep. reached for
the light cord and gave the reply.
The next day he got a Christmas
gift Of a nccktie from the engineer.
Gee" he told his mother, Il wish
could find out who that engineer
u.s."
Perhaps you will. some day." said
his mother But that engineers q
busy man. Clayton, and he can't stop
IN Monroeville.'
It happened. however, that a news
paper reporter OH the Toledo News
Bee heard about the strange friend
ship. So one Gay he strolled down
to the Toledo Union Station, sought
out Engineer Loucks and told him
about 1t.
The next day was Loucks' day off.
The engineer dressed up in his street
clothes. got in passenger car-he
didn't often travel that way-and
rode to Monroevllle. There he went
straight to the Lord house and intro
duced himself to Clayton's mother.
She was excited as school girl.
"Shhhh-come with me-" she said.
"Clayton's asleep"
Together they tiptoed into the bed
room. Loucks walked to the bedside
and laid hand ON the lads shoulder.
The boy stirred, opened his eyes. and
looked up
well. my boy" said Loucks. how
do you like the whistles from my
train?"
Clayton sat straight up in bed. He
started to say something. stopped.
and blinked, and his eyes filled with
mist. He put his hand on the mans
arm
You aren't my engincer?" he asked
In surprise.
Lcuck5 nodded.
He stayed in the boys room for m
hour or more. They chatted Of eli
KINDS Of things-whistles. signals, new
and more elaborate codes Of greetings