"John D. Fitzgerald - The Great Brain At the AcademyUC - 4" - читать интересную книгу автора (Fitzgerald John D)

A moment later the engineer put his head out of the
cab window. "Come on up to the deck, boy," he said.

Tom was so excited he almost slipped and fell as he

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climbed into the cab of the locomotive. The engineer was
wearing blue overalls, a blue shirt, and a blue cap with a
long visor. He had a red bandanna handkerchief tied
around his neck. The fireman was dressed the same but his
face, hands, and clothing were covered with coal dust.

"My name is Ed," the engineer said, "and the fire-
man's name is Bill. What is your name, boy?"

"Tom Fitzgerald," Tom answered.

The engineer scratched his forehead. "Funny," he
said, "but I never heard of any big shot on this railroad
by that name."

Tom knew he'd better change the subject quickly.
"Why did you tell me to come up to the deck?" he asked.
"I thought only boats had decks."

"The platform of a locomotive is called the deck by
railroad men," Ed answered. "Now stand back from the
gangway so Bill can slug the firebox."

Tom stepped back. He watched the fireman use the
end of a scoop shovel to open the door of the firebox. He
was surprised at the intense heat coming from the burning
coal. He watched Bill stoke the firebox with coal taken
from the tender.

"That ought to take care of it until we get to Salt Lake
City," Bill said, shutting the door of the firebox.

"We are going to have to pound her to make up for
the few minutes we are late," Ed said.

Tom was puzzled. "I understood 'gangway' meant
the rear part of the deck," he said. "And I knew when you
told Bill to slug the firebox you wanted him to put more
coal in it. But what do you mean by 'pounding' her?"

"It is railroad talk meaning we've got to get all the
speed we safely can out of this locomotive," Ed said. "See