The Young Train Dispatcher

Stretching from the Atlantic seaboard on the east to the Mississippi River on the west, lies the great P. & O. Railroad, comprising, all told, some four thousand miles of track....

With the packet of envelopes in his hand, Allan descended the stair and came out upon the grimy platform. Just across the yards lay the low, dark, brick building which was the f...

The crash was followed by an instant's silence, as every man dropped his work and stood with strained attention to see what had happened; then the young fellow whose arm Allan s...

Tom Mickey, chief lineman of the Ohio division of the P. & O., was, like most other human beings, subject to fluctuations of temper; only, with Tom, the extremes were much farth...

code, is written like this: a, .-; b, -...; c, .. .; d, -..; e, .; and so on. Longer spaces or pauses divide the words, and longer dashes are also used in representing some of t...

The snow was falling steadily, a late spring snow, but as heavy as any of the winter. It had started in the early morning as sleet, which clung to everything it touched with a v...

The conductor of Number Two, having consoled and encouraged his passengers to the best of his ability, went forward into the smoker and sat down in a corner seat to sort his tic...

One can easily understand with what enthusiasm Jim Anderson and Allan West continued the study of telegraphy. Here was something worth while, something vital, something with whi...

Every night must end, although that one, as it seemed to Allan, was at least forty hours long. His greatest difficulty was to keep awake, for he had been working all day before...

Allan's heart gave a sickening leap--not in the least of fear, for he had never been afraid of Nolan, but of anxiety for the property of the company. He knew Nolan's revengeful...

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Nolan drew back as though to go away, but thought better of it, entered the little room slowly, and without waiting for an invitation,...

The operator's work at Byers Junction was more important and difficult than at any of the other small stations on the line, because, as has already been explained, it was at tha...

The crowd of officials aboard the president's special was a jolly one. To get away, even for a few days, from the toil and moil of headquarters was a genuine and welcome vacatio...

Allan had recovered somewhat from the nervous shock the threatened accident had given him, and was receiving a message as Mr. Schofield entered. The latter paused a moment to lo...

For an instant, Allan scarcely understood. He sat as one stunned by a terrific blow. Then the truth burst upon him like a lightning-flash. He had overlooked the order; two of th...

The paroxysm lasted only for a moment, then Nevins pulled himself together with a mighty effort, looking about him with a pitiful attempt at bravado. Mr. Schofield glanced at hi...

The lamp seemed to shine more brightly and the air of the office seemed somehow clearer and cleaner when the door shut behind Nevins and the sound of his footsteps died away. Mr...

Allan, meanwhile, had assumed the day trick at Byers Junction--a position carrying with it increased responsibilities, and, it may be added, an increased salary. He had long ago...

So the afternoon passed happily; with reading, with talking, with little confidences, interrupted, now and then, by the busy instrument on the table, or by some trainman stalkin...

The dispatchers' office is, as has already been remarked, the brain of the railroad. It is there that all orders relating to the movement of trains originate; and these orders k...

"Oh, I shall like it," answered Allan, confidently, looking up with a strange light in his eyes. "A position like that gives one such a sense of power and of responsibility. It'...

Allan had learned as much of the science of train-dispatching as it is possible to do without actual experience, and he was duly appointed operator at headquarters and extra dis...

Coalville was a hamlet worthy of its name, for its people not only mined coal, they breathed it, ate it, slept in it, and absorbed it at every pore. The town was divided into tw...

For an instant, Allan fancied that Jed Hopkins was playing a joke upon him, but when he glanced at the figure behind the revolver, he saw at once that it was shorter and heavier...

For an instant, Allan stared stupidly at those red tongues of flame, licking merrily about the door--then, in a flash, he understood, and his pulses seemed to stop. The robbers...

Allan had said in his message that he had recognized Dan Nolan; yet, in the stress of his emotion at the time, the strangeness of Nolan's appearance under the circumstances had...

Jed Hopkins, at the head of his men, hastened away from the station toward the offices of the company. There were several things he wanted cleared up before starting in pursuit...

Before he had finished, Mary was pacing up and down the chamber like a caged tigress, her hands clasping and unclasping, her features working convulsively. Allan, in the careful...

Only for an instant did Jed Hopkins and Jack Welsh stand motionless there on the edge of the pit, staring down at the gruesome sight the burning cotton disclosed to them. Then J...

But those were happy hearts he left behind him, and sweet were the dreams they dreamed that night. Mary, the summation and perfect example of Irish housewives, dreamed of a litt...