Show perilous hiding on the tile iron did you ever rido ride on a cocom locomotive etive asked 0 G haskins 1 I tried it once and have no desire to repeat the experiment it was out in colorado where you y ou sometimes run so close to bottomless chasms that you could drop your it hat a t into them and make turns so short and sudden that it nearly disjoints dis joints your spinal vertebra vertebras verte bras too the master mechanic was an old friend of mine and gave me nio permission to ride over the road on the engine of the lightning express tho the engineer did not appear to fancy my rny presence much but treated me mo civilly we were behind time the night was black as erebus and a terrific thunderstorm was raging the engineer was determined to go in on time and the way ho he rushed around those curves and across canyons was enough to make a mans hair turn gray the peculiar thing about these mountain engines is that they do not take a curve like any other vehicle they go plunging straight ahead until you ou feel sure that they are clear of the track and suspended in midair and then shoot around and leave you to wonder by what miracle you have been saved tile trucks take tako the curve in the ort orthodox hadox manner but the superstructure is BO so arranged that it consumes more time in making the turn with the lightning playing about tho the mountain peaks and halt half disclosing the frightful gorges and swollen torrents the great iron leviathan swaying and plunging along that slippery serpentine track I 1 first realized the perils of railway travel and the responsibility spoils ability of the sullen man who kept his hand on the throttle and his it is eye on the track I 1 stood with my heart in my throat admiring his nerve but not envying him hig his job at the first stop I 1 clambered back bach into the coach and staid there st louis globe democrat |