y the Englishman to the
fireman, who threw it up on the rear of the tank.

"Are you a mechanic?" asked the driver.

"Yes, sir," said the Englishman, standing at least a foot above the
engineer. "There's a job for me up the road, if I can get there."

"And you're out of tallow?"

The Englishman was not quite sure; but he guessed "tallow" was United
States for "money," and said he was short.

"All right," said the engine-driver; "climb on."

The fireman was a Dutchman named Martin, and he made the Englishman
comfortable; but the Englishman wanted to work. He wanted to help fire
the engine, and Martin showed him how to do it, taking her himself on
the hills. When they pulled into the town of E., the Englishman went
over to the round-house and the foreman asked him if he had ever
"railroaded." He said No, but he was a machinist. "Well, I don't want
you," said the foreman, and the Englishman went across to the little
eating-stand where the trainmen were having dinner. Martin moved over
and made room for the stranger between himself and his engineer.

"What luck?" asked the latter.

"Hard luck," was the answer, and without more talk the men hurried on
through the meal.

They had to eat dinner and do an hour's switching in twenty minutes.
That is an easy trick when nobody is looking. You arrive, eat dinner,
then register in. That is the first the despatcher hears of you at E.
You switch twenty minutes and register out. That is the last the
despatcher hears of you at E. You switch another twenty minutes and go.
That is called stealing time; and may the Manager have mercy on you if
you're caught at it, for you've got to make up that last twenty minutes
before you hit the next station.

As the engineer dropped a little oil here and there for another dash,
the Englishman came up to the engine. He could not bring himself to ask
the driver for another ride, and he didn't need to.

"You don't get de jobs?" asked Martin.

"No."

"Vell, dat's all right; you run his railroad some day."

"I don't like the agent here," said the driver; "but if you were up at
the other end of the yard, over on the left-hand side, he couldn't see
you, and I couldn't see you for the steam from that broken
cylinder-cock."

Now they say an Englishman is slow to catch on, but this one was not;
and as the engine rattled over the last switch, he climbed into the cab
in a cloud of steam. Martin made him welcome again, pointing to a seat
on the