Year: 1871

longer on the road. Probably after he had
cooled down he would have never said
word about the matter, for he was clearly in
the wrong Three minutes is too close a
shave on time when six or seven hundred
peoples lives are interested, and regular
printed orders are to be obcycd till other reg
ular printed orders are issued. But l
thought at first he'd complain to the Presi-
dent and | was bound to have the first talk
if possible.


The President heard my story, and sent for
the superintendent. He denied that he had
ordered me at all, or made any threats, but
said that he had told me had ten minutes
to spare. So it was question of veracty,
and began to think would be sent back to
run my train, and that running y train on
that road would not be my business very
long.


Ali at once a gentleman who had been
sitting with u newspaper held in front OF his
tace, at the back of the office, come for
ward.


Mr. President said he, II happened TO
be standing by these two men when they had
that talk. The conductor is right, and the
other man lies. If the train had gone on |
had made up my mind to walk back to the
last station the chance of an accident seem
ed so great


Then the President was mad.


"Why, good heavens' said he, 'smy wife
and family were on that train. Mr.. Superin-
tendent, 60 and draw your wages to the first
Of next month, and leave the road now"


But sometimes q conductor is put in such
position that the rules wont guide him. The
responsibility is very great. | remember
once being SO placed, and thought at the
time that my hair ought to have turned white
that night with anxiety.


1t was when the Hudson River Railroad
was Just built. There was no telegraph
along the line then, and everything was
quite primitive compared to what it is now.
The tlagmen were on Il sort of 4 strike about
those days too, so that you trusted to luck
for safe running. | was running a sort of
Il way train between New York and Pougf-
keepse That running an express is much
pleasanter than running q way you may
easily imagine.


An express sometimes don't stop for hour
at Il time, and after you have worked your
coaches once you have nothing to do but to
sit down and earn your money that easy way.
Then, when you reach the next station, if
your brakemen mind their business they can
tell you how many passengers have got into
the coach, and then you are always able to
pick them out, because they haven't the set
tied air of old passengers. But u way train
conductor has much harder work.


"Well ran the train out of New York one
afternoon, and had for the driver of the train
Il man who was famous for the accurate way
in which he would come up to his stations.


He would stop any named coach almost to
a foot of where he said he would, but on this
occasion he seemed to have very poor luck.
He ran past his stations and had to back
,ln l,a Of bnr
that the engine would be in front of the sta
ton and the rear coach an eighth of mile
back, and it raining hard, too. Then he'd
start up again Just as the passengers were
getting out. So we kept running behind
time all the while. There was a sort of light
ming express came out of New York about
an hour after us, and we were gradually
working back into its time.


''Wc got near Fishkill, ara hnvng made
an awful bad shot at the depot said to the
baggage mastcr,' Mack seems to have bad
luck at making his stations to-day. Wonder
what's the matter"'


The baggage master turned around to me
quickly, and said:


Mack is drunk y


sit can't be-" says |, II never saw him
toucha drop of liquoror smell Oft many way


''That's so," said the man. "But l think
he's drunk to-day. He was in this car Il lit
tie while ago and he picked up all the brake
mems lanterns and slung them in 4 bundle at
me. l lodged, and then he went back to the
engine"


| didn't like the idea of i drunken engin-
eer, but had to laugh at the fate of the Ian
terms. Ii | had known how | was going to
groan over their fate soon, / should not have
laughed then.


''When | got above Fishkill, thought I'd
let those who got on at one Of the little sta
tons ride free to the next, while rode on
the engine and investigated $50 | got on
the "Corning," and Mack looked black
enough instead of civil as usual. l .joked
him about his bad luck in making stations,
and he growled out u curse. | asked him if
he knew how nearly he had got back into the
lighting express time, and he said he knew
his own business. The man was evidently
drunk and surly. | happened to put my
felt u bottle. Pulling the cork out | smell
ed whisky, and quietly threw it overheard
But Mack saw me and cursed me for destroy
ing his property. ''What did you throw that
bottle away fort wasn't your rum y said
he, at the end of an awful swear.


cpl tell you why" said 81 am conduc-
tor OF this train, and you are too drunk to do
your business right, and you would get worse
and worse if you had 4 bottlen


Then he grinned p savage sort of a grin
and quietcd down into q silent state, but he
looked dangerous about the eyes


''You are conductor Of the train, are you?
lll show you how much you have to do with
running it, says he and began to slow up,
and we behind time already, you know. /
did not know exactly what to dove were
getting dangerously near the lightning ex-
press tme-and while | was debating he
suddenly 'bew brakes with u fendish
chuckle, and stopped at q station that trains
never stopped at before. | looked a. my
watch and determined to send Il brakeman
back with 4 lantern and stop the express
Just then Il thought struck me that made my
hair stand on end. There wasn't Il lantern
on the train-thc drunken beast had smashed
them. There wasn't q soul at the station,
which was miles away from its village; the
express didn't stop before it reached Pough-
keepsie, so that couldn't leave word to eau
ton, and just then | heard its whistle :, mile
or two back. The engineer heard it too, and
laughed u diabolical laugh.


That decided me- | caught up a wrench
and hit him back Of the ear, and he dropped
like dead. l dragged his body G did not
know whether | was handling a corpse or
noD off the engine, and threw it down by
the roadside and jumped on the engine


Jimmy" said l, ''the express IS after us,
Mack smashed all the lanterns-so we can't
stop her Our only chance is running away
from her-so cram in the wood and I'll open
everything"


l knew by observation how to open and
box fn cbl1tn 1ut oPa