Show ag t tn t n the necessary evil 1 by AD SCHUSTER 1 t t t copyright palisades to eureka it went FROM puffing through the sagebrush and boiling up the grades and the coun called it the evil A loco motle ot a type abandoned by the elevated railroads of isea lork and when electricity took the place of steam a couple of bos cars perhaps flat car and and oil tank and on the end a combination baggage and ger car the necessary evil was as queer a string of beads as was ever dragged across the desert those who would grant the necessary ns obvious might pause over the evil or hold that the mighty puffing the and vainglorious whistling and the general trembling of boiler which seemed to threaten an explosion had earned the description in truth it was the trains habit of jumping the track that was re for many long vehement and picturesque descriptions voiced by men versed in the art and of these there was none more profane than monte murdock then engineer monte knew that whenever the train carried an importing Import int consign ment of freight or passengers it was kure to leave the rails eureka looking forward to a minstrel show to break the season of darkened opera house turned its wrath upon the necessary evil when troupe trombones and interlocutor were stranded in the prairie until the rescue crew could put the old train back upon the tracks heavy orders of ice cream purchased for the fourth of july demands melted in the sun while the town went with out the engineer was the only one who saw something sinister in these accidents the rest of the town blamed the old rails and the equipment but monte came to believe that something else was responsible for one thing the train nine times out of ten jumped the track at une place where there was no curve and the road was level monte took tc running slowly here and drew agrait sigh of relief whenever he passed without mishaps then he noticed the squirrel it was a saucy and scrubby little squirrel and it sat on a post and chattered as the train approached in time the engineer recognized it as a fact that whenever he could see the squirrel waiting on its post the train was going to have an accident at first he had been so concerned with the bumping of the cab and the dan gers of the situation that he did not notice the animal but after numer ous der ailments exasperation tou the place of excitement and monte noticed that the squirrel seemed to be up and down in enjoy ment of the sight the thing seemed so uncanny and preposterous that he dared not mention it in ills reports to the railroad or even in conversa alon with friends the train conten aed to jump the track with a costly frequency and the railroad company continued to work on the dangerous stretch in the hope of applying a remedy extra heavy rails were laid on an improved roadbed until that one stretch would have been creditable on the main line and yet right there where the squirrel sat on the post the necessary evil left the rails with the first dog and pony show of the season the genial monte became doroe moroe lie could not help but feel these acal dents reflected upon his qualifications as an engineer but more than all he was silenced with the feeling that he was dealing with the supernatural once he was certain the squirrel had put its paw to its nose in derision lie knew it was laughing that it was waiting its time and be was afraid of it why he shoot the squirrel the question persisted in the mind of the engineer who put a shotgun in the cab and tried in vain tosum mon courage for the net several times he drew aim on the animal only to lower the barrel it enst sets there and laughs he muttered its daring me to fire wonder what would happen it I 1 did again the train jumped the track monte took a young roan with him in the cab and as they approached the danger spot handed him the gun see that squirrel he asked with pretended indifference bet yon cant hit him the engineer turned his head away and waited for the result it would not have surprised him md the boiler blown up or bad the ahde train leaped into the clr he heard the gun roar and tha necessity Necess iry evil swaying and panting moved alongi did you hit him monte asked and there were tremendous hope and appeal in the voice sure knocked him eky high and it 13 a matter of record that the necessary evil has not jumped the track in six months |