Show RUNNING SWITCH > BYJCY WARMAN1 h 1 t 4 w I f I Copyright dby Cy Warman Fifteen miles from Buffalo OGrady runs i brickyard bGrady ships his Wood iit and his brick out over the Fly line anti on that account and because his brother Tim runsa section on the Central and his son Tim used to Work j for Chalrley L6e ahn th Leehigh1 j lip claims the rigfitto mount and circulate J cir-culate as the French put it on any I and all trains that slow down at i OGradyjs spur AJ first the trainmen l let him get J and off but there come j times when trains are late and men I tmes cranky and remember certain J > Passengers will not rules that say Passengers wi freight trains just as be carried on carred the general passenger agent will remember I re-member the commerce commission when he knows you are not entitled to a pass and walk all over that commission commis-sion whenhe likes you and has learned j to regardnyou as a mild sort of nuisance I j nuis-ance that ought to be encouraged because be-cause you encourage travel or discourage discour-age strikes or you write nice things or say something in your Sunday sermon ser-mon about the scenery along his line or just because OGrady is fond of travel and dogs He bought one day in Buffalo what he called a tenow bred bull pup and started for the freight yards with the pup under his arm and a vast amount of encouragement under his vest McCormick Mc-Cormick the engineer on local freight shook his oilfr at OGrady and said to OGiady OGrady weve nothin for OGradys today so Mr OGradyll kindly keep off the cans OGrady laughed behind his open r hand to show surprise mingled with contempt An is that how yez tall to th compnys patrons Ye little upstart compnys Ill let start uv starter and stopper Il yes know that Ive somethin for OGradys and with that OGrady climbed into the caboose Far down among the switchstands the conductor held up a handful of running orders and signaled the engineer out of town McCormick leaning from the cab caught a copy af the order yelling to the conductor as he did so OGradys in the dog house Damn OGrady said the conductor The long string of loads rolled past and the captain squatting like a squaw at her cooking inspected the brake rigging of the passing cars The train was making 15 miles an hour when the way car came by and the captain swung himself aboard precisely and I with as much apparent ease as though the car had been standing still The rear brakeman was leaning from the cupola throwing signals to a switch tower and kisses to the head waitress 1 I of the Fly in hotel five blocks away i Why dont you throw this terrier i off yelled the conductor I Which one asked the brakeman 1 laughing dowrf the ladder Thats no terner said OGrady removing re-moving his brief Gigar Hes a terrow I bredWhere Where the devil you going anyway j any-way wayTo the divil said the dog man I Put him OfL at OGradys then I said the conductor throwing himself into the only chair and the only piece of furniture thai Is always respected bytde leads on 1 way car The ai = fags fluttered under the last switchtower ten minutes late McCormick McCor-mick was cutting the big lever back a notch at each half mile and giving her I another half inch of throttle The black smoke burned blue and finally I faded from the trembling stack a white plume of steam stood above the dome the windows began to tremble in the way car tim conductor worked at his narrow deskithe brakeman lounged in the widow while OGrady and the bull pup srfored side by side on the locker below I had rained hard on the morning of this mild September day and now the sun slipped through the clouds and glanced along the level pools of muddy water that stood in the furrows in the fields and filled the ruts that ran beside be-side the wagonways Looking back along the shaking sides of the bobbing cars McCoimlck saw smoke rising from a burning box Glancing at his watch he foundthat he would have to fan em to get to Willow Creek for the limited and so the box would have to burn OGrady growing restless turned over on the pup the pup yelled OGrady shied and rolled to the floor The conductor threw himself upon the forward locker to escape the sight of the man and the dog for he intended to tote them by and on to Willow Creek Presently the whistle sounded and OGrady glancing out saw that he was nearing his destination Holding the I pup under hi arm he walked unobserved unob-served by either of the trainmen to the I rear door and stood ready to step off I Mrs OGrady had heard the local whis i tie and now stood holding the hand of te j little Terrance OGrady at the edge of l the brick yard as the engine came down j at a 35mile gait The freckles lay on Terrances face Jike autumn leaves on a muddy lot as he smiled up at the train in childish anticipation of the promised pup j OGradys brain was not in a condition condi-tion to judge accurately a to the speed of the train and so he made ready to 1 get down as if it were perfectly safe OGrady had been drinking Nothing II known to man will increase ones confidence con-fidence in ones ability to do things as red liquor will and OGrady always J drank it red t j I Now may the divil fly away wud yez McCormick said OGrady standing stand-ing on the steps of the way car A moment later he caught sight of Mrs OGrady and Terrance standing in the yellow lot and swinging one foot down he let go The speed of the train carried car-ried his kickkicks as Terrancfi would say high above the level of the step and twisting slightly OGrady lit on his left l shoulder in the middle of a miniature lake of liquid brick dust with the pup under him The yellow water covered Mrs OGrady and Ter rance blfrtding them for a moment and I when they could see they saw OGrady flounder forth holding by its hind legs I the limp and lifeless pup I Give the poor cratur some whisky blow in his face Patrick said Mrs OGrady an see if ye kin fetch ut back to life As well might blow in a tin cint balloon that th illiphants walked I I ahn said OGrady looking at the dead dog for he was greatly sobered by the fall When the sun was going down golden in ihe west they made a little I grave in the garden and there were I tears that evening on the pups bier and in Terrances tea For many months McCormick went by without I mqihs whistling for OGradys spur or waving a passing salute to OGrady and OGrady putting the pups blood upon j the engineers hands turned his back as the local roared past I they I stopped to set in an empty or pick up I a load OGrady sent the foreman down I with the bill and stayed hid in the brickyard The local crew had missed OGrady and knew that he had left the train They saw him limping about the brickyard brick-yard next day and knew that he had survived but that was all they knew about it and if OGrady had known howlittle they knew he could have forgiven for-given a great deal but his pride was hurted to say nothing of the pup that had been kilt The local he observed ob-served could do without OGrady but OGrady could not do without the local From OGradys spur to Buffalo was 15 miles From Buffalo back again was 15 miles so OGrady decided to accept the apology of the engineer forgive the past and ride But McCormick would not apologize He told OGrady to chase himself and there was another an-other long dry spell for OGrady One day a light engine backed m on the spur to pass a tram and the brick merchant mer-chant worked the driver for 3 rid to the city limits He told the man In confidence the story of the pup The man roared with laughter and was glad he had permitted OGrady to ride So the story of OGradys getting off reached the ears of the local crew on the following day and while McCormick J McCor-mick was still laughing OGrady came r > wn the track He had his tank full aid a flutter in the stack as he slowed down and faced the engineer Phat are fcelin th way yea feeln day McCormick he began Come ax me pardon and Ill furgiv yez Ah go ahn said McCormick suppressing sup-pressing his mirth for his mind would run on the mud puddle and the pup OGrady gazed at the engineer for a moment with a look of deep disgust and then lifting the basket of eggs that he had left on the end of a tie trailed back tj the waycar Keep off the grass OGrady said McCormick but the brick maker ignored ig-nored him is I wag the day before Christmas and OGrady would have eggnogg always on Christmas eve The conductor sig v > Jh11jfllljjLf d l4 r r J 4 B OGrady Floundered Forth Holding the jimp and Lifeless Pup I naled all right and McCormick pulled f f out He had a long string of empty I i j I flats for a stone man an empty box for OGradys spur and various other cars I and freight for all the flag stations on the division i OGradys aboard he shouted as j I he snatched a copy of the running orders I or-ders from the conductor and the conductor con-ductor recalling the story of OGrady f and the bull pup smiled up at the engineer en-gineer but said nothing The big I mogul had picked them up so that by I the time the waycar came along they I i were making 20 posts and it was asi much as the conductor could do to get aboard The brakeman and the brick maker were having an animated argument argu-ment as to the right of smallshippers to travel on the companys trains without with-out paying fare when the conductor came in Now you old mud dauber began the captain of the tram I give you notice that this is the last time you ride on the local What do you suppose I sup-pose the company runs varnished cars I forbut to carry capitalists to and from their places of business Ahh go t th divil I Thats where were headed and if I we were not going to stop there anyway any-way Id ditch you right here I All that was lost on OGrady for the warm stove was making him drowsy I Five miles out they stopped unloaded a lot of Christmas goods set in a fiat fat I picked up a load and left 15 minutes late Again they were going to the I Willows for the limited and when Mac whistled for OGradys the conductor stood on the top of the caboose and signalled him to make r running switch to save time The head brakeman cut the train just in front of the empty that was for OGrady the rear brakeman I brake-man pulled the pin behind the empty I and climbed to the top to ride i in on the spur I would make your hair II stand to see the train falling at 20 miles an hour into OGradys in three sections The engineer must fly over I the switch bIt slow enough to allow the head man to fall off that man I must find his feet and switch fnd swich key unlock un-lock the switch get i over to the spur I for the empty and back again to the I main line for the rest of the train I I tell you its exciting and one of the finest jobs in the train service and so quick if you make it go I the lock I hangs or the switch sticks then you have to couple up back over the switch I and do it the slow way McCormick slid over the switch with I perfect confidence and seven cars with air still tied to his tank the switch jl went over the empty jolted in on the I I spur but when the switchman tried to throw the switch up to the main line again it stuck He heaved and swore and signalled the conductor to stop The signal was not seen by the captain but he had seen the leaning target and was already twisting brakes for dear lifeOf Of course if they had stayed on the main lire they would have had ample room to stop the two brakemen would have boarded the two flats as they sld past and by the time the way car had reached the switch OGrady could have stepped off without cracking an egg but they were going in on the spur where the empty had bumped up against lour cars loaded with brick and all the brakes set The brakeman shouted shout-ed to his partner and stood by The conductor seeing the head car shoot in on the spur braced himself holding onto a bralewheel at the rear end of a flatcar Back in the caboose OGrady with the basket of eggs in front of him stood in the back door looking at the two strips of shining steel that were I slipping out from under the way car The car was heavy with the odor of I alcohol I is no exaggeration to say r that If OGrady had breathed I OGrdy into his I I basket he might have had three dozen I eggnoggs extra strong But he was I breathing out into the open world with both hands holding the handle I of the basket that crossed his anato I I my about where an Aib wears his II I sash I I II I Sp stood OGrady when the collision j I occurred When car after car had i i taken UD its slack and finally it came I to the caboose OGr dy was shot backward I I back-ward the full length of the car with i I such force that his shoulders splintered i i a panel in the port and the breath robust I ro-bust as it was was all knocked out of I him When the crew came back to look for the deadhead they found him I stuck fast in the splintered door and i j he was a sight to see Three dozen eggs had been smashed in his face and j I were trleklmg through his whisker I and down his front j I I When they had pulled him from the 1 broken door they found that his right I shoulder was broken but that he was J still full of fight and cursing McCor I mick for making an emergency stop I when it was unneqessairy Ah be quiet you old cusfard1 said I the rear brakeman you have no business I busi-ness on a freight train anyway Havent out Yell have your fun I wud OGrady but wait till ye hear frum J I OGrady llsue th colnpany that he will i i |