| Show hou e W T ale a e I sells Cells of a Desperate Battle in a ing Locomotive I St Louis there pas as a shrill grating crating nOi a I latter ot of wheels I and chains and a aI al l from the bridge bridee I II c as the movable track bearing its vs burden of 01 locomotive I moved into position before the only track in the roundhouse t As the ot of the protesting f sounds died did away aay old 31 1 began benn to pulse gain and with apparent reluctance drew out of the orange gloW or of the set 1 mg ing gun un into the depths ot of the l r shop Dark in indeed eed was as the thet t t e for fOl the ll Ul had bad hadi i knocked knoek d off work half an hoar before and 1 nd only two or three c rl ant d here and there It waa u a I place to leave e ve the old 01 machine I for I had become attached to it In my any t r t WP weeks of service In the cab and andt t 1 II h w VI hole thing impressed ed me much i H I suppose It would l another man mant t r take someone he loved into a de dei i ted hospital to for treatment That 1 a as the tbt reason n I expect why hy I Un lin I hired b by its side aide alter atter the engineer t kl done with my thoughts thought ate at e t 1 tiun I only to 10 Its Ita V power l and 1 ii j I and never thinking as I had the 1 day I was to It of Its lUi antiquated ettL Ut Nut that l V l sum al old girl No ah she had seen een a at t fe years and had descended iI to t u 1 the ht fri ht class claMS But she ht was t as all as as th the she h was a nut first turned I t ut ul of the shops for work though h her herTh r Th E n ere different from the newer r with t Ith she so 80 often stand Z 1 avid contrast 1 1 11 old girl I said I guess you OU I rt 1 lit in for tor a 10 long treatment this Otis Um thine I t i YA we wont s see you again for tor a feW 10 l and m my hand reached each out halt 1 Ic Ct lIon tely toward the big driver In ht c nt t f me gigs lw good for plenty ot of service yet y 11 on h said a voice Rt at my elbow and andI J I I about a toot foot f for r I It c been conscious or of and that anon anyone besides beide mY myself r f v Il l l the roundhouse oc 10 o U There wits ns alone me light in ha the th j t Tit t of course for tor th the dirt un th the 1 IHO S keep out alt tb the glow F n t the lf setting sun but It strong f t n to do 10 more DOre than barely reveal t 1 r c or of the shrunken i It t I beside me the tofu oft ot of t 1 e o Mike Uke MI ague I over that sudden start the uit t t e p sound of his voice had caused f t but Lut Mike contrary to tia usual stood illicitly b by without wean I t t point that had excited my mirth Time lust fl engine I ran An on Tom lom he hel l his voice elce grave In tone tOMe and andI I M a half bait aU sen senn n n mood moud was old uld ail 1 Arid aud I Ii i n hr her lUte like a hook book Shell he be good TIt the best be t of tb these t here are ale and amI Its lucky the crew is t I it i t navigate behind hr her for theres t j n a COing to happen halpen to t hulls I 1 turned and look looked d at th old ok man t was wa something In hs t the e tones of oft t S oke that nude ti the words n 1 Pl Old Mike Uke he wu was dubbed but I l Jr r a younger oun er In point of oC years eAr than thanT t T Ty THen men sun still operating on the road f accident a had incapacitated hint him i ir r Out om active service sad uti the berth at att I tf t c T roundhouse un house bad been given him as t I to mt ott of pension 1 Au Ata occident Is liable lible to to tor toi t ra r y Mike I answered The i c i girls no 0 doubt about 1 t but Lut just as to get 1 hers her hert t clay as an any ot of th the rest lt of em m C Dont you Yell it h he re responded t i toward me almost fiercely No Noi i i nt tau an happen to ti 1 for fOl heli t l ote ted as no oth other r engine on th the 1 is t I 1 stated land at the old ul man If f Mike Uk h win t gore gune raa th then n t I was I It t but bUl before J I could frame any kind kindt kindI t I I he began to clamber up the theS i S of M the oRb cab and reaching quit H I ICo Co H f cl Oil of one or of the Ole electric a 1 near Come ome on lip hp he said sai as the light and th the thee l e space around fur Uli glowed in yet yetI 81 J I come up lucre where here I learned t L I know here hertl In the cab where it I m J 1 place phwe and In Ill tell teIl why hy I said Mid I t l r I swung up In about a tenth of oft t e 1 time timp It had taken dike lIk with Ith hl his hist t lest less to reach the Cab cabs Jill s h d wn on the engineers s seat t and u d him while he be lingered the thet thel t l itt If and this is new put it In Lm again time to time since Ince I ran on her herI I 1 FId sa hd but I tell teU you It makes me feel feela I a t good to stand here again The Thet t 1 1 girl ul In the IJ hospital very ofton 1 a Us been a long IonS time since I saw KY art but here hen she Is now and Ill Illk k lu a chap bo gone one hack bAck to the thet t Iks at home while hUe here herf I Ic c YOU kno know why the road lude t t here after I got aU all allup d tip up this wa way and not good I c g Il t to te operate II a machine Yes s they do treat S like t 1 tub a reason but that t 1 for tor them acting U the e Va VaI way wayt I I t I W toward me The newspapers t t jI Im t the ht reward ot of a hero bero when It ti 11 d 1 out how the road was U going to toI I 1 r t I ter no of me but It always makes I J r when I 1 think ab about ut that gush ush s ll 11 a 11 lie every word of It Im Imi i J 1 ha have ft the jolt job Ive got but I tell T r an there theN are Um times when I feet ut ugh h I hold It on a sort of false falser r though I told my mr stor storM story M ht enough only the they it ii and the doctors said saki It was wast t 1 oil my pert rt c d 11 and I were ere the first crew 4 t f nr 1 take over the road and I It It t I il l you loved this t girl r 1 1 his lis wile wife and baby the theU U In the He Her Het t r td d Id and cuddled her ber Uk a fa fat t uld an infant and though I 1 Ilium the baha baba over It at v or other It wa nt long before i 1 I s t nearly arly as foolish as aa tu the engineer 1 1 u t If Mike lIk hed say to te me after r r 1 as nearly as foolish as the engineer r rJ J 1 Mike hed say to te me after 1 ha trod gone over or her ber parts again and to see REe how tit they were here heres i going KOmI to have f the theold old ot of never 1 an accident r I just feel j or th the other ud and It aint f t e to be any fault or of mine Thine It if one onet onee e t a should happen Welt Nell rn ill into accidents it if the they can II md d bUt I plated a kind of L reliance liance o the old mans man words and it used UNd to tor r mule feel as g sure as a bullet when m t l tt cre lt hustling along alone to make up ft true time on any or of the trips trip Ono One Oner r th the old man tailed failed to report for fortt u tt it t nd five Ave da days later he wu was dead ded I of c Had well I should sa say sayI I Iii feel bad about the old mans man 1 d I dont know that 1 1 ever fer liked j n i it t better tt r than I liked him and I IT Ir T r more tully fully what a good fellow r t as through t lontra t with the eng en J g e r past t ill to tb the cab eab us as his hiR suc sr s r S Schmaltz was my new mates mate j rte lIP a eU of German descent and andT andr T r only gloomy but bUl Irritable in dispo fl A 11 ev as well and given t to It fi ht t ml in f feel 1 like pouching II 1 t r iI 1 time head lw he preyed oft 01 my myr r tits until at last la lI I resolved to pUt pu in lP l 1 iun fur for it t flee fleen n 1 Kr Lr 1 omit came to 10 this hI he must t j ill iii some say a for tor he heh her r m h iu in ont one of nf his hiM worst rand randt t 1 or three t tim s i before etor W we made mace our fm t top stop hl his jis at my firing eked tn tu to t a fight fi ht but bUI I 1 hl Id my mv x i as beet I find and said I After awhile howl however r S j Jo down u but It long before t 1 to land find fault with the n it If swore at first that she malt steam pam that hal th the gau gauge lied makI and J It took to lU cussing illg her r ht be as 10 t vowed her speed t lat but it O hl to 14 I could stand his me all might but when he be took t I 91 11 I called aUf him down aId promised him L tha 8 licking u of his hist jj t life lite when ve H had rea reached hed Trinidad and our run was wa oer o et He sneered cef d at a t me I but quieted down again and I was I congratulating myself the trouble was Vas over for tor the D present ut when Just as I Ial was al reaching into the tender with frith my shovel he slipped from his seat eat and something 1 dunt dont kno v what gave me mea a warding J I tree to turn tum and straighten up but the hammer In ht his hands came down on 11 my thigh with Ith a force that ought to have split the bones I felt as though the they were wee shat shattered but managed to grapple with him and as J I Into hits ilia erea then Ulen saw that I wu was dealing with a man nian who was WIUS either mud mad or 01 In an raga rac I called to him to remember the pa that t the tte train Uain was a in our ch chArge but be spat at me and tried to wrench hits hili arm trout my grasp ra lt If he got ot that hammer free again I felt that It was aU all day with with me and I clung to 10 kim him with Uh a old cold sweat break breaking In ing out an all over oer me WO We w e on the upgrade at the time with Un tut throttle putted wide aide open and two or 01 three minutes at the most would see us at the crest cleet with the tho long curve down shoot and its three curves cUes before ua I shuddered us as I thought or of this a d while I held him a against t h his seat like a vice to stop nt at least until we had reached Pulls when whon he could settle with me in ht whatever man luan manner ner lieI he be l lIt Ills only answer was wasa a more determined struggle to get bet free I dont we locked together er r m more re like a century I date like a H I dare let goof him but something ha had l to lo he be bedone done and done donne quickly or 01 that train trainload J load ad of men women and children were d 1 to deaths death The rhe lev lever r or of the throttle tie there alongside ide us And AndI I could have It b by 8 imig our bodle against It but that would have meant h rush backward to as certain n 8 It If we mounted the curve and went down with it wide open It occurred to me once to tn lose close the l the tle In tit this Is way but left arm grasped m me as tenaciously as I 1 held to hini and this would have hoye rendered my fY futile That h be was mad absolutely ty there thele no doubt in may JOY mind now and tho the ly hope or of salta tl tien n for fOl th the train tested on myself or OP that I way aji l certain hat a world work thought of a mau can ean conjure up UI while mete mele seconds are being be beIng Ing Uck ticked 1 off I never nevel knew until I was In ht that tha t desperate situation with th the maniac and plan after plan arose an anIM and was IM dismissed front my mInd as I 1 con up the pOil fate in store for others othet timid nul tried to think ot of sonic tray Yay tu to ft t their rescue At last It oc ocl occurred l un to nie me that I mi might ht dO close e the throttle I had previously thought M Mand ml and then n b by pulling around with tae me IU s set t the sit ah brakes w irh HI left lert bawd Time instant that idea was bore 1 its execution tion for fot It rented ft feasible but s strength came lIac back k and I tried to throw him against the lever and b by Ii a effort he tore tor himself frost flotH my grip gdp he hammer fen fell from his bli l hand luul at as h he did so 80 and I reached f for r Un my shovel hon 1 With wilt the intention intention tion of killing him for the safety lIft of nf the bt but as I I grasped p It lie lier r coc t ere d the hammer and the blow blocs descended before I could swing the shovel l to its ItA That my spine is u 1 though the blow completely m my legs at atthe atthe the time and left me the wreck I am amt t today da In the tho briet fraction or of II a sec HeC second ond however vel I tell fell iIri on time the cab floor 11 my shot el cane on the thc en Ir rs head a sort or of spasmodic movement I and his bod body lis dis disappeared Q appeared In the space between the tender and the engine I lay bt there wIth my back the coal eoal In the tender my senses aen wide e awake aake amt Rud alert but I nOO at a muscle 11 flee feet of me was as th the In mechanism m with WhiCh I 1 could bring biting th the tr train ln to a stop but I could only lie there and hook lit at it H Back ot of 1 me was as It a train freighted with ith hundreds or of men and women not one of whom would escape cape death in hI our hl into the abyss that yawned ancl at atthe atthe the first curve on th the downgrade e I alone of aU all the train knew that thit the rustle of deaths lob robes sounded above this the the wheels heels and Intone of all was ab absolutely unable to PJ prevent ent its harvest If you can by all any twist of the Imagination place yourself men I talty in my po position YOli you will under understand I stand how awful It was u That it drive me mad i is more than amazing but swung to it its balance and ed I stared into the cab when I felt the floor on which 1 was lying erect itself to a level Ye were on th the crest of th the grade rale and Rud this fearful plunge e to a terrible t at the tho toot or of a precipice feet On I 1 cl closed my eyes and turned d ice cold I when the b coal oal behind me tilted for w rd just a trifle the nose of the he en glue Kine pointed down and the wheels be began gan to whorl whirl with only rapidity which gravity it nd added to steam te m can give it God knows knus how bow I suffered in ht that frac fra fraction lion tion or of a minute but suddenly sudden I the tho wild speed Wf we lead had hogan began to snake make was slackening and there was alii that slight U bt bump bump from the cars that told me methe tb the air was wal belIl applied J I shivered and dreaded for some reason to open n m my eyes e but at ac last with a jerk I parted tM the and stared into the lab cab again usan Not a soul was u there T I was u June lying h yet et that engine was under control I may eyes es swept the cab and RR as they d did ll I Ius us I saw the lever leer slide lIde from the quarter to a full close clOMe antI and the tho air II brake valve vahe hissed d ns as more pressure was a applied The Th mechanism sec ned to 0 i h hue worked or ed of 1 itself surd and then lor I first ri t tine time in 10 the tb few minutes of hOI hof I tail had gene through my mv brain fair ly I tottered and T I tried to cry cry out but my swollen l with It a nameless Tear dUll clung to the t of Hf my mouth I hn have gone mad in that d de moment but ail as I looked Itt at the closed throttle a faint seemed surround to Its handle and be fore fure I could quite make up my hI mind aft as to what It was ail lint line otter hue liue sprang Into being and as ag wt we rounded that t first curve tM the or of old uld f was U crouching In l a usual on lh the bench benh his bis hinds grasping grasl ug the throttle and all air valve alve and aull hula hm fate turned toa toward 1 the lookout I 1 must tainted fainted at at this for J I dont any auy more lwe until J I came calM t to all as I 1 was was 1 br I Inc ing lifted from the cab rab at Pulli The Iw train had bad come cane to a stop esnell exactly sit 1 the station and aud I was discovered 1 t on pertly in the cab and partly In him I the tender I laid In the hospital for months i amid aud when ben I came amt oUt the guve a 11 Inc this t berth rho i of oC I was u discovered re l up the mad at the point where he bad fallen from th the cab ah and t It was as believed that I had by a 11 super human effort the en engine ine I I tit tic It reached PuI Pullir I top tol my mJ Rt r r I dented deu that I had bad doie delte a thing hut but Jt it believed just d quietly when ben T i spoke and the TOad road formed the thc hAbit Itt of pat Un hag me m on the back and saying |
