Burton Egbert Stevenson

“ The Limited, glittering with polished brass and rare woods and plate-glass, is for show,—for style. It makes the road a reputation. It figures always in the advertisements in big type and on the back of folder and time-table in gorgeous lithograph. Its passengers look out with aversion at the dingy, ugly freight, standing on the siding, waiting for it to pass. But it is the freight that is meat and drink to the road; it enables it to keep out of the receiver’s hands, and sometimes even to pay dividends.
For Allan, the days passed happily, for one serious cloud was lifted from his life. ”

“ Jack and Allan could see the town nestling among its trees in the wide valley, but, when they turned about, a different view met them. To the eastward were no plains, no bottoms, no city, but, far as the eye could see, one hill rose behind another, all of them heavily wooded to the very summit, so steep and with a soil so gravelly that no one had ever attempted to cultivate them. ”

“ Train-master and superintendent were everywhere, encouraging the men, making certain that not a blow was wasted, themselves taking a hand now and then, with pick or shovel. There was no thought of rest; human nature must be pushed to its utmost limit of endurance—this great leviathan of steel and oak must be made whole again. All along its two hundred miles of track, passengers were waiting, fuming, impatient to reach their destinations; thousands of tons of freight filled the sidings, waiting the word that would permit it to go forward. ”

“ As he glanced at the other yards, with their litter of trash and broken playthings, he realized, more keenly perhaps than most of us do, what a splendid thing it is to render our little corner of the world more beautiful, instead of making it uglier, as human beings have a way of doing.
It was toward this little vine-embowered cottage that Jack and Allan turned their steps, as soon as the hand-car and tools had been deposited safely in the little section shanty. ”

“ Every branch of railroading fascinates the average American boy. The shops, the telegraph and signal systems, the yard and track work, the daily life of danger which confronts every employee, whether he be the ordinary workman or the engineer of a limited express train, and the mysterious “office” which controls every branch of the work,—each holds out its allurements to him.
In this story Mr. Stevenson’s hero is just the right sort, a manly lad of sixteen who is given a chance as a section hand on a big Western railroad, and whose experiences are as real as they are thrilling. ”

“ The atmosphere of the car grew close to suffocation. Every one, almost, was smoking, and the lamps soon glowed dimly through the smoke like the sun upon a foggy day. Outside, the snow still fell, thickly, softly; their engineer could not see the track twenty feet ahead; but the superintendent had told him that the way was clear, so he kept his throttle open and plunged blindly on into the night, for every moment was valuable now; every nerve must be strained to the utmost tension until the task of clearing the track had been accomplished. ”

“ Jack, too, worked away in unaccustomed silence and unusual heaviness of heart, for he was asking himself the same questions. Something must be done; Reddy must not be led into any mischief; and no influence which Nolan might gain over him could be anything but bad. It was like the coward to try to get another man to do what he himself shrank from doing.
The morning passed and noon came, but neither Jack nor Allan had relish for their dinner—the incident of the morning had spoiled their appetites. ”

“ REDDY TO THE RESCUE
Engineer Lister had often been angry in his life, for, truth to tell, running an engine is not conducive to good nerves or even temper. It is a trying job, demanding constant alertness, and quick, unerring judgment. But when to the usual responsibilities of the place are added a cranky engine and a green fireman, even a saint would lose his patience. Ellis Root was the green fireman, and seemed to possess such a veritable genius for smothering his fire that more than once the engineer had been compelled to clamber down from his box and wield the rake and shovel himself. ”

“ Nolan started back toward the trestle through the storm and was lost to sight instantly, while the sentry sat down upon a rock to watch the track, whistling to himself, as though train-wrecking were the most ordinary thing in the world. But Allan was thinking only of one thing—he must get past that man on the rock, he must cross the ravine, he must flag the train. ”

“ Any one who was on the track to-night must look out for himself; but, luckily, the right of way was clear, crossing after crossing was passed without accident; the train tore through little hamlets, awakening strange echoes among the darkened houses, and, as it passed, the operator would run out to look at it, and, after a single glance, would rush back to his key, call frantically for “G I,”—the despatcher’s office,—and tick in the message that the wrecking-train had got that far on its journey. ”

“ Here, too, were the train-master and division superintendent, trim-built, well-groomed men, with alert eyes, who knew the value of kind words and appreciative criticism when it came to managing men. Lunch was hastily eaten, and then the whole crowd proceeded to the special inspection train, where it stood on the side-track ready to start on its two hundred mile trip eastward. And a peculiar looking train it was—consisting, besides the engine, of only one car, a tall, ungainly, boarded structure, open at one end, and, facing the open end, tiers of seats stretching upward to the roof. ”

“ For every hour of the day there swept over it, pounding at it, the monstrous freight locomotives, weighing a hundred tons, marvels of strength and power, pulling long lines of heavy cars, laden with coal and iron and grain, hurrying to give the Old World of the abundance of the New. And every hour, too, there flashed over it, at a speed almost lightning-like, the through passenger trains—the engines slim, supple, panting, thoroughbred; the lumbering mail-cars and day coaches; the luxurious Pullmans far heavier than any freight-car. ”

“ The smoking-car of the train was crowded with section-men on their way to the rendezvous, and a jolly, good-natured lot they were. There was no thought of sleep, for this was a holiday for them,—besides, sleep was out of the question in that tumult,—and one story of the rail followed another. As Allan listened, he wondered at these tales of heroism and daring told so lightly—of engineers sticking to their posts though certain death stared them in the face; of crossing-flagmen saving the lives of careless men and women, at the cost, often, of their own ”

“ Allan West soon discovered what soul-racking work it was. To raise the rigid track a fraction of an inch required that muscles be strained to bursting. To replace a tie was a task that tried every nerve and sinew. The sun beat down upon them mercilessly, bringing out the sweat in streams. But the boy kept at it bravely, determined to do his part and hold the place if he could. He was under a good teacher, for Reddy, otherwise Timothy Magraw, was a thorough-going section-hand. ”

“ He denied all knowledge of Nolan or Reddy Magraw, And the search ended, as all the others had done, without finding a trace of either of them.
So the days passed, and the work on section went on in its unvaried round. And even from day to day Allan felt himself changing, as his horizon broadened. He had become a different boy from the diffident youngster who had asked Jack Welsh for a job that morning a few short months before. Work had strengthened him and made him a man; he felt immeasurably older; he had gained self-confidence; he felt that he could look out for himself in any emergency. ”

“ Always there was the track demanding attention,—an endless round of work which would never be completed. Always there were the trains rushing over it in endless procession,—the luxurious Limited, sending every other train headlong into a siding out of the way; the slower “accommodation,” which stops at every station along the road and is very popular with the farmers and dwellers at crossroads; the big through freight, drawn by a mighty giant of an engine, hauling two thousand tons of grain or beef or coal to the great Eastern market. ”

“ The heavy engine rumbled on, all too slowly now, in upon the switch to knock the bumper at the farther end to splinters and fight her life out in the mud beyond. He saw Reddy throw the lever back again, only in that instant to be hurled away to one side as the great train swept by in safety. And the engineer, who had reversed his lever and applied the brakes, who had waited the outcome with white face and tight-set lips,—but who, never for an instant, had thought of saving himself by jumping,—released the brakes and threw his lever again on the forward motion. ”

“ Let me add that the story of this wreck is no imaginary one. It is a true story which actually occurred just as it is set down here; it is an experience which repeats itself over and over again in the life of every railroad man; it was a battle which, in one form or another, railroad men are always fighting, and always winning. And, more than most battles, is it worth winning! ”

“ Not the company of capitalists, who sat in an office somewhere in the East and manipulated its stocks and bonds, but the road itself,—this thing of steel and oak which had rendered possible the development of the country, which had added fabulously to its wealth, which bound together its widely separated States into one indivisible Union. They were servants of the force which, more than any other, has made our modern civilization possible. ”

“ It was clear that the battle was not yet won, for the petty annoyances continued, though in an ever lessening degree, and even in the yards the tramps or their sympathizers managed to do much harm. A freight-train would be standing in the yards, ready for its trip east or west; the conductor would give the signal to start, the engineer would open his throttle, and instantly it would be discovered that some one had drawn all the coupling-pins; but, before the engineer could stop his engine, he had torn out all the air-hose on the train. ”

“ The road had never suffered any attack upon its pay-car, primarily, no doubt, because it was well-known that there were always half a dozen well-armed men with it, who would not hesitate to use their weapons. In fact, every man, as he stood at the little grated cashier’s window, waiting for his money, could see the row of rifles in the rack against the wall and the brace of pistols lying upon the desk, ready to the cashier’s hand. ”

“ Six years before, Reddy Magraw had been one of the labourers at the big coal-chute which towered into the air at the eastern end of the yards; just an ordinary labourer, working early and late, as every labourer for a railroad must, but then, as always, happy and care-free. ”

“ The conductor smiled at him indulgently.
“There’s no danger at all, my dear sir,” he interrupted. “The section-gang here flagged us until they could bolt this rail down. That is all.”
“But,” protested the man, looking around for sympathy, and obviously anxious not to appear unduly alarmed, “do you usually throw things about that way when you stop?”
“No,” said the conductor, smiling again; “but you see we were on a heavy down-grade, and going pretty fast. I’d advise you gentlemen to get back into the train at once,” he added, glancing at his watch again. “We’ll be starting in a minute or two.” ”

“ He never spoke of this to Jack, for such a thought seemed almost like desertion, but he never passed the offices without looking longingly up at the network of wires and signals. Sometimes, when some duty took him up-stairs, he could hear the wild chatter of the instruments in the despatchers’ office, and he determined to try to understand their language.
Jack came into the section-shanty one morning with a sheet of paper in his hand and a broad smile upon his face.
“I’ve got a Christmas gift fer y’, boys,” he said, and stuck the notice up on the hook. They all crowded around to read it. ”

“ He was always ready for his bed at night, and always ready for his work in the morning. He felt within himself an abounding health and vitality, that brought him near to nature, and made him love her great winds and tempests. ”

“ More than one fierce battle for the possession of this smiling valley had been fought with the hardy bands of pioneers, who had pushed their way up from the Ohio, but at last the advancing tide of civilization swept the Indian aside, and the modern town of Wadsworth began to rise where formerly there had been no building more substantial than the hide wigwam. ”