Riding the Rails

taught him the finer points of 'beating the rattlers,' which suddenly made every midwestern city available for adventure, free of charge. They jumped 'blind baggage,' the space between the engine and baggage car, sometimes rode the cowcatcher, just beneath the sight of the engineer, or 'hit the decks,' clinging to the top of the passenger cars. The most dangerous procedure was to ride the 'ticket,' a long board under the car, where they could lie just above the track. Climbing beneath the train, the boys endured the roar of the rails and the squeal of the trucks; they were pelted with dust, pebbles, ashes, and cinders; they clung perilously to the boards until their knuckles became numb, because with a sudden lurch they could be thrown beneath the wheels.