THE NERVE OF FOLEY
AND OTHER RAILROAD STORIES
BY FRANK H. SPEARMAN
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
1900
Copyright, 1900, by Frank H. Spearman.
All rights reserved.
TO
MY BROTHER
"FOLEY DROPPED DOWN ON THE STEAM-CHEST AND SWUNG FAR OUT"
CONTENTS
The Nerve of Foley
Second Seventy-Seven
The Kid Engineer
The Sky-Scraper
Soda-Water Sal
The McWilliams Special
The Million-Dollar Freight-Train
Bucks
Sankey's Double Header
Siclone Clark
BY FREDERIC REMINGTON
BY RICHARD HARDING DAVIS
BY JOHN FOX, Jr.
BY FRANK R. STOCKTON
ILLUSTRATIONS
"FOLEY DROPPED DOWN ON THE STEAM-CHEST AND SWUNG FAR OUT"
"THE CAB FOR A PASSING INSTANT ROSE IN THE AIR
"THAT WAS BURNS'S FIRING THAT NIGHT"
"SINCLAIR WAS WHISTLING SHARPLY FOR ORDERS"
The Nerve of Foley
There had been rumors all winter that the engineers were going tostrike. Certainly we of the operating department had warning enough. Yetin the railroad life there is always friction in some quarter; therailroad man sleeps like the soldier, with an ear alert—but just thesame he sleeps, for with waking comes duty.
Our engineers were good fellows. If they had faults, they were Americanfaults—rashness, a liberality bordering on extravagance, and aheadstrong, violent way of reaching conclusions—traits born of abilityand self-confidence and developed by prosperity.
One of the best men we had on a locomotive was Andrew Cameron; at thesame time he was one of the hardest to manage, because he was young andheadstrong. Andy, a big, powerful fellow, ran opposite Felix Kennedy onthe Flyer. The fast runs require young men. If you will notice, you willrarely see an old engineer on a fast passenger run; even a young man canstand only a few years of that kind of work. High speed on a locomotiveis a question of nerve and endurance—to put it bluntly, a question offlesh and blood.
"You don't think much of this strike, do you, Mr. Reed?" said Andy to meone night.
"Don't think there's going to be any, Andy."
He laughed knowingly.
"What actual grievance have the boys?" I asked.
"The trou