Wednesday noon
The farther I went , the worse I found it ; the main mischief bein ' a leak about midway in the culvert , on the down side ; whereby the water , perc ` latin ' through , was unpackin ' the soil , not only behind the masonry of the culvert , but right away down for twenty yards and more behind the stone-facing where the line runs alongside the pool . All this we were forced to take down , shorein ' as we went , till we cut back pretty close to the rails . The job , you see , had turned out more serious than reported ; and havin ' no one to consult , I kept the men at it . `` By Wednesday noon we had cut back so far as we needed , shorein ' very careful as we went , and the men workin ' away cheerful , with the footboards of the expresses whizzin ' by close over their heads , so 's it felt like havin ' your hair brushed by machinery . By the time we knocked off for dinner I felt pretty easy in mind , knowin ' we 'd broke the back o ' the job . `` Well , we touched pipe and started again . Bein ' so close to the line I 'd posted a fella with a flag -- Bill Martin it was -- to keep a look out for the down-trains ; an ' about three o'clock or a little after he whistled one comin ' .