There was only one
wire on this arm, so I had, comparatively speaking, plenty of room. On
each of the other two cross arms there were four wires, and there was
also one strung along the tops of the poles. This made ten wires in all,
and I had not the least idea which one was the despatcher's wire. The
pole being wet from the rain, made the wires mighty hot to handle. I had
the fireman hand me up a piece of old iron wire he happened to have on
the engine, and with this I made a flying cut in the third wire of the
second cross arm. I attached the little pocket instrument, and found
that upon adjusting it, I was on a commercial wire. There I was,
straddling a cross arm between heaven and earth, with the instrument
held on my knee, and totally ignorant of any of the calls or the wire I
was on. I yelled down to the conductor and asked him if he knew any of
the calls. No; of course he didn't; and he was so excited he didn't have
sense enough to look on his time-card, where the calls are always
printed. Finally, after carefully adjusting the instrument, I opened my
key, broke in on somebody, and said "Wreck.
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