The engineer replied that he now wished he had, as in that case he would have had at least one witness (me) to prove that the despatcher was to blame for the wreck.
As the conductor's and the engineer's copies had been destroyed in the fire, and as the majority of the evidence was against them, the coroner's jury censured them for the wreck, and they were indicted by the grand jury for manslaughter.
During the time that elapsed between the indictment and the trial the operator who received the order and swore that it read "Brookdale" was transferred from his little station in the woods to the best paying station on the road, and the conductor of train 31 was promoted, over the heads of half a dozen older men, to a first-class passenger train. By these apparent acts of bribery public opinion became so biased against the company that the defendants' lawyer easily procured an acquittal, which threw the responsibility upon the company, and the suits for damages which ensued, with their rapidly accumulating costs, finally bankrupted it.
About a week after I left the hospital, as I felt able to return to work I resolved to apply again for a fireman's position, knowing that a vacancy existed, owing to the death of the man on train 31. I called on the master mechanic, whom I found alone in his office, and asked respectfully if he would give me the vacant place, reminding him that my application had been on file for some time.
He was writing, and, without even looking up, answered, "No," and that was all I could get out of him, though I tried to find out why he wouldn't appoint me and when I might expect him to do so. Feeling deeply disappointed and not a little hurt at the manner of my reception, I walked out, and strolled over to the roundhouse, to have a look at the engines which had all at once become so unattainable to me.
I had taken a great interest in the engines. It was a promotion, a step higher, to which I had looked forward with great eagerness, and now to have all my hopes dashed at once, and for no cause that I could see, was very discouraging.
I espied Tom Riley at work on his engine, and stated my case to him, asking what I could do now that the master mechanic had dashed my hopes. I told him how anxious I was to get on the left side of the locomotive, and begged the veteran for advice. He listened to my tale of woe patiently, and appeared interested. When I finished, he said:
"I'll tell you where you made the mistake, boy."
"Where?" said I, anxiously.
"In goin' to that long, starved-to-death, white-livered hound of a master mechanic, an' askin' him for anything. Don't ye know there's only one thing he delights in more'n another, an' that is hearin' that a man wasn't killed in a wreck, so he can discharge him when he gits back? I tell you, boy, you have done the only thing you could do to please him to-day, an' that is, you gave him a chance to refuse you somethin'. But 'tain't you he's pleased with, it's himself; so his pleasure won't do you no good, an' don't you delude yerself with the idee that 'twill. Do you know what he's doin' now? Wal, I'll tell you; he's got two vacancies to fill: one is that of the fireman who was killed, an' the other the engineer who was discharged for not gittin' killed; an' now he's puzzlin' his brains to find somebody that don't want either of them jobs, but that is in his power, so he can make 'em take 'em agin their will. If you had gone into his office this mornin', rippin' an' ravin', an' said, 'See here, I've heard that you was agoin' to appoint me to the vacancy caused by the death of Pete Russell, an' I've come in to let you know that I don't want it an' won't have it under no consideration an' I wouldn't work in your department for ten dollars a day'—if you'd talked to him like that, he would have appointed you, an' made you take it too; but now, of course, it's too late. The trouble with you young fellers is, that you've got so much infernal conceit you think you know it all; so you won't ask the advice of an old fool till you git stuck; then after you've made a complete mess of the whole business, then you come a-whinin' an' a-cryin' round, an' it's, 'Oh, Tom, what shall I do now?' Well, I'll tell you, the only thing you can do now is to go to the super; tell him jest how the case stands, an' mebbe he'll make the master mechanic app'int ye, an' prob'ly he won't; anyhow, that's your only chance. An' say, ye can tell him that ye are recommended by Mr. Thomas Riley, engineer, if ye like."
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE "SUPER."
"All right," said I, and thanking the old man for his advice, I went at once to the superintendent's office; not, however,
