Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1933-02-09

toAs
Secondly vas the fear that Ellen
Richards, suddenly become for him a
lovely girl in distress. would see her
hopes go tumbling. her misgivlngs
realized.
He could work hard enough, could
driveamen fast enough. when only rage
spurred him but with a Z backed by
fear be was a superman.
tie needed TO be Just that In this
emergency. Another would have given
Up another would have quit. waited
out the storm aud sought snccoF from
the main line. But the main line
branch might not ever be opened for
days the aid of a wreeker or only
OF q locomotive would be costly and
the Richards Lumber company had no
dollars to spare.
He thanked Providence that after
last weeks derailment he had carried
Wrecking tools In the Way-car. There
under the stars. with frost dust eddy
Ing about the leaping flames Of great
bonfires. a score of men worked With
the intentness of ants. Shovels cleared
the nov from about the locomotive,
exposing the raw earth. studded now
with differing crystals put there by
the auh-zero cold.
Men showed timbers beneath the To-
connective to give the great Jacks foot.
Ing. A cross cut saw rasped and sang
In swift tempo as ties were cut into
short lengths for the crib work that
would make the functinning OF the
Jacks more than temporary.
A delicate Job. getting the first foot
Ing for your jacks In a place like that.
With a lantern. and pieces OF stout
cedar ties, John himself lay on his
belly In the excavations beneath the
PROSTATE locomotive and scraped out
the last shovelfnls of earth and sci the
blocks. A long time this had taken,
night was well advanced before the
men came Juggling the lifting devices
up from the way-ear.
Carefully they set them. so purchase
would come on the engines frame at
the proper angle, and John set the
capstan bars and took the first few
turns himself.
Slow, indeed. Two men on the bars.
turning q short hitch at q time. there
In a eramped position under the faint
ly sizzling locomotive; three full turns
to an inch 1t took many. many min
utes to make those three turns.
He stood back, watching. The old
engine creaked and snapped as they
commenced to lift her. He watched
the movement carefully, trying to
gauge 1t with his eye: watched the
Jacks. to see that they did not shift.
had his men ready to start the crib
work the moment there was room TO
place blocks SO that II things went
wrong and the locomotive slipped back
towards her resting place they would
not lose all.
Slow work, yes But you can sneed
1t a trife by changing men. by re-
lieving wearying arms with fresh mus.
Giles, by having your relays right there.
ready to step In without the loss OF a
second new hands ready to grasp the
capstan bars before others have re-
llnqnished them.
Up she went. Crib work followed
the lift of the Jacks until they had
raised to their utmost. Then back she
settled an inch, resting on the cross.
piled blocks. Out came the Jacks In
went new foundations for them: again
men fell to the slow task OF forcing
the sixty tons of locomotive back to Its
upright position.
Midnight, and they had only run the
Jacks to their limits twice. Dawn
with the locomotive up enough so they
could commence to build track under
her while the jacks screwed Slowly to
their limits yet again. Daylight. with
a faint yelp of greeting to the north
ward. and they looked briefly TO see
Saunders and a whitened team labor.
ing through the snow behind shovel.
ers. Grub and blankets! Food. and
something for weary muscles to lie int
All night John had been waiting to
do one specific, necessary thing moi SO
essential, however, as this work. He
tried to remember what II was
Tucker That was IT he was going
to put Tucker on the grill and satisfy
the suspicion In his mind. If this was
fathers doing he wanted to know
about 1t. Old Tom. wrecking q girls
hopes by wrecking her equipment
They called him to the telephone
n yxy.