St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-10-24
VOLUME 43---NUMBER 22O4.

safety-valve Gray rock-faced sides of
Bear mountain echoed the rush and the
roar Pine-plumed crests of GObble
shook through their ranks.
On now to the Gully! Every racing
rock and tree in the apprOch left Meb's
heart beating faster and more suffocat-
ingly.
The Flyer, as she came to stand
still, seemed to- shiver through every
driving wheel, through every polished
rod and cylinder.
The stoker, first on the ground,
reached up to take out Meb.
The moon, not yard above the east
ern horizon, let fall a weird Oblique
light. Two or three engines stood on
the track, venting steam. The great
wrecker rose writh-like, its ropes and
timbers creaking under the strain
shouts of men-a chain rattling on iron
boards cracking-out on the track a
hand-car bearing something covered by
rubber blanket; and beside it a
shawled, crOuched figure from which
came the Irish wall {:
go, Tim, spake to me vance more !;
Jist vance more, Tim !"
Tim had been Winn's stoker.
Two little country dOctors-surgeOns
say-who, in default of anything to be
done for poor Tim, had been sitting on
boulder, consulting over little bottle
of whiskey, came towards the Flyer.
''His wife ?"-tO BabcOck. "No; they
haven't found him yet. It's not ten
minutes since they took out this one.
She going down ?"
Meb was tearing her way through
the blackberry vines around the mouth
of the Gully. - r
"Here Madam. | wouldn't advise
you to go down. They'll bring him up
as soon as found. If you aoiH go, though,
you'd better take a little something
stimulating-her !"
Meb didn't turn. Down the rough
declivity lodges, bushes, boulders
tripping against wheels-stumblin
over mass of broken sidings-sinking
ankle-deep in grain-Babcock and the
doctors following with confused mur-
mur of, 'fGreat strain"-''nervous sys-
tem"-''a little something stimulating
The shattered Bucephalus had been
drawn out, and fires that had started
up from the scattered Goals been ex-
| tinguished but no man knew what
flames might be slyly creeping on be.
meath the mass.
The men working i'll the debris die
not observe Meb until her voice, like {
steel .javelin, smote the sides of tn,
Gully "Winn ~
Involuntarily every hand paused, anC
the cry broke through the silence:
"Winn, VIM!
Then, faint and feeble, only a few
feet away-a little back, a little he
meath came the response:
"Here, Meb; here !"
They clustered upon that part of tn
ruins they piled axe, and pulley, an,
lever lifting wheels and trucks, toss
ing aside grain, throwing off girder
and fragm5 5nts of sidings.
Up on the track stood three petroleum
cars fourth lay halfway down witt
it's stout guard broken, its sides bat
tered, but, thank God whole. A fifth
hurled on the sharp projecting rocks
poured its contents through the wheat
A dozen grain cars had been crushed
and piled in between the place and tn
engine, but how rapidly the petroleum
would penetrate, or how quickly i
might be ignited by some unextinguish
ed ember, no man could tell.
A sudden pause in the work-they
had reached Winn. A silence like tha
following Meb's cry-they had draw
him forth. Up the sides of the ravin,
struggled the -stretcher
woman, physicians, men with AIDES
axes, shovels, crowbars.
No one observed slender spire O
blue smoke that curled up at the edge
of the saturated grain but in less thar
ten minutes all the wreck was a mas
of cracking, roaring 1ame-hame blaz
ing up in red and blue points to tn,
cool, mOOnlit heavens, tapping the
weather beaten sleepers of the bridge
and swapping through the branches o
the overhanging hemlocks; but VIM
was safe, safe upon the track.
He had lain with his lower limbs tor
near the escaping steam. Fastideou
people, reading of the accident in tn,
morning papers, wished the reporter
would spare the public such horrible
details.
The doctors administered brandy anC
injected morphene, and Winn was un
conscious of much pain. While tn,
train backed rapidly down to the Clin
chy turn-table he lay with his heaC
upon pillow in Meb's lap, looking NJ
at her silently. His eyes fell at length
from her face to her shoulders.
''Oughtn't you to have worn some
thing thicker?"
80, Don't, Winn; you'll kill me i
you think of me now !"
The first tears Meb had shed sine,
those elected by Mr.. Charlie Fordyce'
tender sympathy, rained on Winn's up
turned face.
The rush onward was electric will
hope. Winn might die, but he wa
alive and had spoken! The engin
shouted its ectasy the plumy pines o
Gobble thrilled, and the rocky crags o
Bear lifted grateful faces.
"He's alivew shouted Ebal. "Alive I!
echoed Gerizim. "Allve !" repeate,
the shining river in a thousand varia
tiOns.
The Flyer was racing through th
tOrtuous defile nov. On and on to tn
plain again, and familiar buildings rush
ing past.
''We're almost home, Winn-home
Do you understand ?"
Meb bent, covering one side of Winn'
face with her tears and kisses wipin
it dry with the precious illusion tina
had unfastened and dangled from he
throat.
The house was lighted, linen airin
by the kitchen fire, and that colorles
Mrs. Weir moving about with a we
bandage around her head.
Railroad men thrOnged in, proffern
assistance.
''Under the circumstances she can
wish him to live," Mr.. Charlie Fordyc
had remarked upon his way down.