Year: 1879

travelling that had ever DONE Where
upon my friend informed me, with II
pleasant but knowing smile, that he had
travelled considerably faster than that,
and, in fact, faster than he had ever
heard of, besides.


OF course L was anxious to know
where, how, and when he had done it ;
and, after the modest assurance that he
feared his tale would not be interesting,
my friend relieved my anxiety by re-
lating the following story:


" am a railroad engineer Away
along in flfty-seven, during the great
panic, was running on the +. & G.. r.
r. The railroad companies were going
under, in all directions. Every day we
heard of new failures; and quite often in
quarter where we least expected it,
Our road was generally looked upon as
one of the most substantial in the ma
ton; nobody seemed to have any fears
that it would fail to survive the general
mash-up. But yet L did not fully share
in the general confidence. Wages were
cut down arrearages collected and
great many other little matters seemed to
indicate to me that the road had got
into. rather deeper water than was
agreeable all around.


"Among other things, the master
mechanic had told me in the spring that
the company had ordered four first quail
ity Taunton engines for the fall passen-
I,,o
very best condition, and other prepara-
tions were made to cut down the time,
and put the trains through quicker than
was ever known before, when the new
engines should come. Well, there was
but one of the engines came.


81 said there was but one engine
came; but she was, in my opinion, al
together the best ever turned out of the
Taunton Works and that is saying as
much as can be said in praise of any en-
gine. She was put in my charge i'm
mediately, with the understanding that
she was mine.


1t was Saturday when she came out
of the shop, and l was to take special
train up to Y. The train was to
carry up the president and several of
the officers of the road, to meet some Of
ficers of another road, which crossed
ours there, and arrange some important
business with them.


had no trouble at all in making
my sixty miles an hour going out. The
engine handled herself most beautifully.
We were just holding up at Y,
when Aldrich, the treasurer, who had
come out ON the platform to put the
brake on, slipped and fell. AS we were
yet under good headway, he was very
much injured, and was carried off to the
hotel insensible.


According to the presidents direc-
tions, switched off my train, turned
my engine, and stood ready to start back
to c. at moments notice.


" Aldrich' s presence was of so much
importance that the business could not
be transacted without him; so all those
1 had brought out, except the president
and Aldrich, went back to C on
the three o'clock express train. This
was the last regular train which was to
pass over the road until the next Mon
day.


Early in the evening left the ma
chine in charge of my fireman, and
went over to an eating-house, to see if
could not spend the time more pleasant
ly than on my engine. The hours drag
ged themselves away slowly. was
playing game of dominoes with the
station agent, when in came Roberts,
the president, in state of great excite
ment.


g. Harry said he to me, want you
to put me down in c. at twelve
O'Clock.


AS it was nearly eleven O'Clock then,
and the distance was seventy-five miles,
1 thought he was joking at first; but
when we got outside the door, ,he caught
me by the arm, and hurried me along
so fast that / saw he was in earnest.


"'Harry,' said he, IF you don't set me
down in c. by twelve O'Clock, Pm
q ruined man, and this road is ruin
ed road. Aldrich is dead but he told
me, before he died, that he had embez-
zled from time to time, five hundred
thousand of our money; aud his clerk
is to start with 1t, on the twelve O'Clock
train for Canada. If we don't haYe the
money on Monday morning, to make
some payments with, the road goes into