The Argosy, Vol. XI No. 19 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

292 he been without a home and compelled to live in a boarding house, Dash felt that it would at least pay his grandfather for his meals and lodging. Besides, he would be learning a business which would per- haps very soon increase his salary. On the whole, he decided to accept the situation 1f he could get it. ‘©T will take the position, Mr. Tickmore, if you give it to me,” he added after a pause. ‘* All right, Dash, you shall have it, and I shall be glad to have you with me,” responded the operator. ‘' You will very soon hear these instruments fick morethan you ever heard,” he added, with a twinkle in his eye. ‘¢ And I will be trying to make out which are dots and which are dashes,” rejoined the boy, with an answering smile. ‘I see you haven't forgotten our first punning contest,” laughed the operator. ‘*No; and I'm going to decide whether I will make a good operator because my name is Dash. When will you be ready for me ?” ‘You can come around Monday. We'll have everything in running order by then.” ‘Thank you, Mr. Tickmore. You seem to be my good angel.” ‘Without the wings,” added the other smiling. ‘‘ But [ hope I will have the chance of doing you many a good turn yet.” After some further conversation, during which the operator told of the ups and downs he nad had in following his profession during the last five years, Dash took his departure. As Tickmore had stated on the train, he was on his way to accept a position with the American Union Telegraph Company, He became one of the leaders ina strike of the operators of that company, and when it ended unsuccessfully he was ‘‘ blacklisted "—that is, forever debarred from being employed in any office of the company. He then welt over to a rival company, but this company, finally absorbing the American Union, added the names on the latter's black list to its own. Finding himself thus shut out from all commercial work, Tickmore turned to the railroads. He went to work for the St. Louis & Pacific Railroad, first as an extra, or relief, operator, who was used to take the places of men who were sick or off on leave of absence; then in a steady night position, and finally a day situation at a heavy and im- portant repeating station. His splendid work at the latter place was quickly appreciated, and he was given charye of the telegraph depart- ment of the general offices in St. Louis. He then became clief operator of the road, in full charge of all telegraph employees. From there he came East to accept a similar position on the Pennsylvama Central, which was the road making the improvements at the exposition grounds, On Monday Dash was on hand early in the morning, ready to be initiated into the duties of his first position. They were few and simple, and he found he would have ample time to practice telegraphy. Tickmore rigged up a local circuit, with battery, sounder, and key, on a small table in one corner, and Dash set himself resolutely to work to master the mystic art. He had already committed to memory, since the Friday before, the characters of the Morse alphabet, and his first efforts were to properly form those signs on the key. We do not propose to follow, step by step, the slow, tedious acqui- sition of the art. Dash quickly became proficient in making all the Morse letters and figures; in fact, much quicker than the average learner. But even then the battle was not half gained; there was the much more difficult part to follow of learning to read readily by sound. Dash had no one to send for him to copy from as practice, as most learners have, and had to depend on what he could make out on the busy instruments tn the office. Hour after hour, day after day, he would sit, with paper and pencil in hand, and straining ears, endeavor- ing to catch the flitting letters and words as they continuously clicked from the half dozen sounders. It came slowly—first a letter, then a pair of letters here and there, then a word, and finally a whole sen- tence and a complete message. There were discouraging stapes, when he seemed to make no propress at all, which were generally followed by rapid improvement that surprised and delighted him. Tickmore would not permit Dash to send or receive a message over the line wire (or wite on which regular business was done) until he could do it in a creditable manner, as he did not believe in‘ plugs” (learners) obstructing the wire by slow, distorted work, It was a proud moment when Dash sent and received his first message and the ‘QO. K." was piven. Though they were unimportant telegrams concerning the business of the company, the sending of them was always remem- THE ARGOSY bered as the most momentous feat in his career as an operator. Thenceforward his improvement was rapid, and he developed an unu- sual skill in handling pen and key. He acquired that round, bold and legible style of handwriting so peculiar to operators of the first class. He was finally awarded the position of operator in the office, where he handled all the messages, both the dead head business of the rail- road and that paid for by the public, and his salagy was raised to fifty dollars a month. Though the post was a heavy and arduous one for a beginner, Dash filled it to the satisfaction of his employers and with credit to himself. Then he was made the train dispatcher’s operator, where his duties, though not so numerous, required constant vigilance and accuracy. He copied all orders for the movement of trains when they were re- peated back from the station to which the dispatcher had sent them, and gave the ‘*O. K.”’ when the latter signified they were correct. He also kept a train sheet, on which was noted the arrival and departure of every train at every station on the road, as the time was reported by telegraph. Dash had worked several months in the latter position before any- thing occurred to relieve the usual routine of his duties, though he keenly enjoyed the performance of them. One day, when a freight train—we will call it No. 19—was standing on the siding at the relay station waiting for orders to go out, the dis- patcher sent an order to the operator at Ardley, a station fifteen miles out on the line, to hold train No. 20, coming in the opposite direction, for orders. The operator at Ardley duly repeated the order back and signed his name to indicate that he understood. It was his duty then to put out his red flag and hold No. 20 at his station till he got orders for it to proceed or was notified that there were none. It was the intention of the dispatcher to run train No. 19 to Oak Grove, seven miles this side of Ardley, to meet and pass train No. 20 there, and he held No. 20 before he gave his orders to No, 19 to pro- ceed. When the latter had been done, he would instruct No. 20 at Ardley also to meet and pass No. 19 at Oak Grove. The orders piven at the relay depot were always written out on the proper blank by the dispatchet himself, and did not pass through the hands of the operator. A few minutes after Dash had copied the order to the operator at Ardley to hold No. 20 there, and had given the O. K. and time, he heard Mr. Clikenger, tne dispatcher, calling ‘‘R. D., which was the Ardley office call. ‘“T, I, RD,” he soon heard the response. ‘* Is No. 20 there vet ?” asked the dispatcher. There was no reply for a few seconds, as the circuit remained open, and then came in a decidedJy shaky manner : ‘* No, 20 has passed.” “Good Heavens, man, why didn’t you hold that train ?” flashed Mr. Clikenger with energy. ‘* No. 19 has orders to meet No. 20 at Oak Grove, and before she can get there No, 20 will have passed. If there isn’t going to be the worst collision in the next forty minutes you ever heard of, I'm mistaken !" Dash’s heart came up in his throat as he pictured the dread catas- trophe. Mr. Clikenger’s face was calm and expressionless. As there was no telegraph station between Ardley and Oak Grove, or between the relay station and Oak Grove, where either of the trains could be reached and stupped, a collision seemed inevitable. CHAPTER VII. A RIDE ON A SWITCH ENGINE, ASH looked across the operating table at the dispatcher with a 1) face that was a shade paler, and a heart that bea. rapidly with excitement and apprehension, Mr. Clikenger was perfectly unmoved, and unconcernedly began writing tn his order book. Dash watched him with much curtositv, and wondered that he could control the expression of his emotion, tf he had any, in such a wonder- ful degree. His wonder was turned to positive amazement when he saw the dispatcher smile, and then almost chuckle to himself. At the same moment the latter looked up and over towards his com- panion, when, noting the ludicrous blending of perturbation and amazement in Dash's face, he burst tnto a laugh, and said : “What's the matter with you, Dykeman? You look as !f you had seen a ghost ?” ‘Didn't you just say to‘* R D" that 19 and 20 would come to gether ?” faltered Dash, wondering at the ether's levity. ‘* No, I didn’t say so. I said if there wasn’t a collision in the next DOO () fd (SO) fd (CO)