ice put in.

The division superintendent came out with them, and for my services he
offered me the day office at X----, which I accepted.

CHAPTER IV

A WOMAN OPERATOR WHO SAVED A TRAIN

X---- was a pretty good sort of an office to have, barring a beastly
climate wherein all four seasons would sometimes be ably and fully
represented in one twenty-four hours. But eighty big round American
dollars a month was not to be sneezed at--that was a heap of money to a
young chap--and I hung on. In those days civilization had not advanced
as far westward as it is to-day, and there was not much local business
on the road, due to the sparsely settled country. The first office east
of X---- was Dunraven, some twenty miles away. Between the two places were
several blind sidings used as passing tracks. Dunraven was a cracking
good little village and the day operator there was Miss Mary Marsh;
there was no night office. Now I was just at the age where all a young
man's susceptibility comes to the surface, and I was a pretty fair
sample. I weighed one hundred and fifty pounds and every ounce of me was
as susceptible as a barometer on a stormy day. Consequently it was not
long until I knew Mary and liked her immensely. All my spare time was
occupied in talking to her over the wire, except when the cussed
despatcher would chase me off with, "Oh! get out you big spoon, you make
every one tired." Then Mary would give me the merry, "Ha, ha, ha."

One time I took a day off and ran down to Dunraven, and my impressions
were fully confirmed. Mary was a little bit of a woman, with black hair,
red lips, white teeth, and two eyes that looked like coals of fire, so
bright were they. She was small, but when she took hold of the key, she
was jerked lightning, and I have never seen but one woman since who was
her equal in that line.

Our road was one of the direct connections of the "Overland Route," west
to San Francisco, and twice a day we had a train, that in those days was
called a flyer. Now it would be in a class with the first class
freights. The west bound train passed my station at eight in the
morning, and the east bound at seven-thirty in the evening. After that I
gave "DS" good night, and was free until seven the next morning. The
east bound flyer passed Dunraven at eight-fifteen in the evening and
then. Mary was through for the night. The town was a mile away from the
depot and the poor girl had to trudge all that distance alo