Held for Orders: Being Stories of Railroad LifeSpearman, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton)
General
Held for Orders: Being Stories of Railroad Life
Spearman, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton)
Fiction; Railroad stories; Short stories, American
Carhart was a quick man. He started for the wrecker, but Duffy,
springing, stopped him. "For God's sake, keep cool, everybody," he
exclaimed, piteously. There was no one else to talk, to give the orders.
Bucks and Callahan both on the Special--maybe past order-giving now.
Only Martin Duffy to take the double load and the double shame. He
stared, dazed again, into the faces around as he held to the fiery
surgeon. "Morgan," he added steadily, looking at the surly wrecker, "get
up your crew, quick. Doubleday, make up all the coaches in the yard for
an ambulance train. Get every doctor in town to go with you. Tracy,
clear the line."
The Master Mechanic and Benedict Morgan clattered down stairs. Carhart,
running to the telephone, told Central to summon every medical man in
the Bend, and hurried out. Before he had covered a block, roundhouse
callers, like flaws of wind before a storm, were scurrying the streets,
and from the tower of the fire-house sounded the harsh clang of the
emergency gong for the wreckers.
Caught where they could be caught, out of saloons, beds, poker joints,
Salvation barracks, churches,--the men of the wrecking crew ran down the
silent streets, waking now fast into life. Congregations were dispersed,
hymns cut, prayers forgotten, bars deserted, hells emptied, barracks
raided at that call, the emergency gong call, fell as a fire-bell, for
the Mountain Division wrecking gang.
While the yard crews shot up and down the spurs switching coaches into
the relief train, Benedict Morgan with solid volleys of oaths was
organizing his men and filling them at the lunch counters with huge
schooners of coffee. Carhart pushed again through the jam of men and up
to the despatchers' office. Before and behind him crowded the local
physicians with instrument bags and bandages. The ominous baggage
deposited on the office floor, they sat down about the room or hovered
around Carhart asking for details. Doubleday, tall and grim, came over
from the roundhouse. Benedict Morgan stamped up from the yard--the
Mountain Division was ready.
All three despatchers were in the room. John Mallers, the day man, stood
near Tracy, who had relieved Giddings. The line was clear for the relief
run. Elcho had been notified of the impending disaster, and at Tracy's
elbow sat the Chief looking fixedly at the key--taking the bob of the
sounder with his eye. A dozen men in the room were talking; but they
spoke as men who speaking wait on the life of a fuse. Duffy, with
suspense deepening into frenzy, pushed Tracy's hand from the key and,
sliding into the chair, began once more to call his brother at Rat
River.
"R, T--R, T--R, T--R, T--" clicked the River call. "R, T--R, T--R,
T--Bob--Bob--Bob," spelled the sender. "Answer me, answer, answer. R,
T--R, T--R, T--R, T--"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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