Medical skill was powerless,
however, and the spirit of honest Pat Borroughs had crossed the dark
river to its final reckoning.
Work in the office was at a standstill on account of the tragic
occurrence, but all of a sudden I heard Monte Carlo calling "DS" and
using the signal "WK," which means "wreck." Bennett told me to sit down
and take the trick until the second trick man could be called. I went
over and sat down in the chair, still warm from the body of my late
friend, and wiping his blood off the train sheet with my handkerchief, I
answered.
It would be impossible to describe the state of my feelings as I first
touched the key; I had completely lost track of trains, orders and
everything else. However, I gradually pulled myself together, and got
the hang of the road again, and then I learned how the wreck had
occurred. About a minute after I went out, Borroughs had given a
right-of-track order to an express freight from Monte Carlo to
Johnsonville, and had told them to hurry up. Johnsonville is on the
outskirts of Chaminade, and Borroughs had completely forgotten that the
general superintendent's special had left there just five minutes before
with a clean sweep order.
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