Stadium High School - Tahoma Yearbook (Tacoma, WA)

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THE TAHOMA I3 what had happened. Then it came to him in a dull sort of flash. One of the short pins on the wheel of the locomotive, that pin which forms a crank wrist, had snapped, thus loosening the connective rod. Now it was beating up road- bed and engine like some terrible Hail. The engineer arose unsteadily to set the brakes. But some caprice of fate had decided to jam the air. Then he tried to shut off the oil supply. Failing, he decided that he was too weak. For a moment he groped madly about in his mind for some expedient that would save the train. If the conductor knew, but he did not. He decided quite suddenly. I'l1 save you Hrst, my friend, he muttered thickly to the unconscious Macline. I'll save you, I'll save you. How he managed, he never knew. Dragging the form of the fireman over the big oil tank and boosting it up onto the roof of the blind baggage, was a task that might have been sufficiently hard for a strong, clear-headed man, with all the cars standing still. Yet he did it, and reaching the top he lashed Macline to the roof. G'by, old sport, he sang out crazily, just as he disappeared over the roof. Back in the cab again he got busy. Back near where the flying steel bar raged, he knew there was another upright bar, the pulling of which meant the saving of the lives of many people. Somehow, oddly, it was intact. He groped for it, reached it, tugged sharply. The engine, released of its load, leaped forward like a thing of life renewed. The train, whose uncoupling automatically set the air, shuddered long and came to a stop. ' It was saved, reflected Burmang but at one o'clock he was due to pass another passenger. No, not pass, 'now. just Hy at it with the horrible speed- energized weight of his engine. Suddenly a glad something boiled itself up. Why had he not thought of that before? By opening the injectors he might force down the pressure, stop the engine, derail it. No sooner had he put the idea into practice than they struck a curve. The Curve, so called, worst of all on the line. For a moment the pilot trucks hung, then off they' went. A thin, sibilant scream arose as the great drivers left the tangents. Burman was hurled far out on the prairie. Hours later, it seemed, when he awoke. Over to the east, perhaps a hundred yards distant, lay a great black hulk: to the west, the tail lights of a train disappeared. Overhead stars glimmered fitfullv. Burman stirred a trifle, paused, as if something had caught his ear. Evidently it was nothing. Ap- proach of death, maybe. Yet again his body became tense, as if he strained to listen. Then he heard it, and like the sighing of a new-born sage-scented desert wind through reeds of finest silver it was, heart-breakingly sweet, wildly sad, the Music of the Spheres.

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I2 T1-IE. TAI-IOMA A freight engineer shook hands shamefacedly with Burman, at the same time expressing hope that the driver might come back safe. Altogether it was a most uncomfortable departure. Running his engine lightly back, Burman coupled her to the waiting cars.. The conductor gave his signal, the throttle was opened. Gently, so gently that one could scarce discern the movement of the piston rods. A dispatcher ran out to give the driver his orders. Make time, were the only words on the slip. You've got to get to Burley on timeg got to-hear? screamed the dis- 1 patcher, to make his order more forceful. The new president's waiting there.' If you know anything about new presidents, you will realize that it be- hooves every employee whom he comes in contact with to make a good impres- sion. Burman forced his engine slightly. As he came to the Master Mechanic, whom chance had placed near the end of the platform, he leaned out of the cab, yelling: Tonight I run my race. That was all. Gradually the speed increased. The miles Hew by. Shortly after mid- night they made schedule time. Ar a small office out on the prairie the train slowed down enough, in response to the red light, to receive orders. Meet president's special at Redding, 3:05. Burman showed it to Macline. The other nodded in understanding. On they went again. Through it all Burman felt strangely anxious. He remem- bered the talk at the roundhouse. Especially did the history student's words come back to him. That sounds to me like the Music of the Spheres, if ever such a thing could be. Vaguely he wondered if it were possible that the stars, twinkling thousands of miles away, could produce a music, in flight, ca- pable of blending in harmony with one another. The wires of the roundhouse did not appeal to him as embodying the elements of celestial music. More like a huge disk of thinnest steel, slotted and set with reeds of silver, the whole re- volving at a high rate of speed, was his idea. If he might only-his hand slipped from the throttle for a second. Something peculiar occurred. The high steam pressure forced open the valve for a sceond and wedged it there. high steam pressure forced open the valve for a second and wedged it there. down in a heap. The fireman, hearing the racket, caused by the fflying parallel, the rod that connects the drive-wheels, jumped blindly into the maze instead of crawling over the boiler head to get at the throttle. Unluckily for him, he re- ceived a worse blow than Burman, falling backward on top of his chief. It was the engineer who recovered first. Dazed for a while, he did not realize

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I4 Tl-IE TAHOMA A Couple of Fools Ruth Swanson, '13 Gale stood at the entrance of the little log cabin and viewed its interior enthusiastically. lsn't it just too darling, Roger? Why, of course we'll take it. If Gale had been used to receiving the hard knocks in life, she would have noticed that the roof was leaky and the fireplace smoked. But, being one of the fortunate few, she saw only how picturesque the big rough building looked, and what a rustic appearance the rude fireplace presented. Don't you think it's the greatest bargain, Roger? She appealed again to her husband, who, by the way, had proudly possessed that title for two whole weeks. Of course, he agreed. fAll two weeks old husbands are wonderfully agreeable mortals., So the deal was quickly transacted with the owner of that primitive structure, leaving the young pair in proud possession. Isn't it glorious to be independent, murmured Gale, delightedly, as they set about storing away the simple furniture. 'Tm never going back to be waited on, never! Therc's something dignified about manual labor, her husband assented. It sort of elevates a man, to do his own work. Things went smoothly enough for a while. Roger vehemently declared that his wife never looked half so stunning in any ball room gown as she did in the dainty checked aprons, and she could not enough admire the logger boots and corduroy trousers of her husband. Then, too, the grub averaged fairly well. If Gale forgot to put salt in the bread, she made up for it by putting an extra dose in the gravy. If the dessert looked a trifle unappetizing, the appearance of the table was brought up to the notch by an artistic bouquet of flowers. But in spite of this admirable system of checks and balances, Roger was chump enough to persist in getting thin, and as nature had never over-blessed him in the line ofllesh, he gradually began to take on the appearance of a low caste l-lindoo in famine time. Very gradually, too, his temper began to lose some of that sweetness which characterizes very new husbands. One morning, after being lectured severely by his wife on account of his physical depreciation, he was brute enough to declare it doubtful whether cupid himself could thrive on burnt pancakes. Upon seeing the distress of his wife, he entreated her