The engine was lost in the
quicksands, and was never recovered, and Ben Roberts stayed with her to
the last. He had more than his bath in Big River that night; he had his
funeral; the river was his grave, and the engine his shroud.
CHAPTER XVIII
A PROMOTION BY FAVOR AND ITS RESULTS
I had been on the C. N. & Q. for about eight months, when my second
trick man took sick, and being advised to seek a healthier climate,
resigned and went south. Generally speaking the chief despatcher's
recommendation is enough to place a man in his office; and as I had
always believed in the rule of seniority, I wanted to appoint the third
trick man to the second trick, make the day copy operator third trick
man, and call in a new copy operator to replace the night man who would
be promoted to the day job. In fact, I had started the ball rolling
toward the accomplishment of this end, when Mr. Antwerp, the division
superintendent, defeated all my plans by peremptorily asserting his
prerogative and appointing his nephew, John Krantzer, who had been night
copy operator to the third trick.
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