The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-05-09
hesides. Once more T blew the

"Just then q light shone ahead. II
was the lamp Of the station where We
usually passed an up-freight. The
headlight of the freight was not there!
For an instant I felt faint and sick. l
saw the terrible danger from which it
seemed there could be no escape. The
freight usually reached the station be-
fore we did; but we were so much ahead
of time that it had not yet arrived. Yet
it could not be very far away, aud with
our heavy train running at lightning
speed. crowded with passengers as it
was, u collision must occurl
"For an instant I felt paralyzed.
Then it occurred to me that perhaps the
freight might be a little behind time,
and possibly had not yet passed the
next station below. That was our only
chance for life. With trembling hands
l tore a leaf out of my memorandum
book, and upon it wrote:
For heavens sake, clear the linel
We've lost control of the train.-Will-
iams.'
"Wadding this up with a lump of
coal in my handkerchief, l had just time
to throw it as we swept by the tele-
graph office at the station. BY good
luck it hit the door, and l saw the door
open as we rushed out of sight. If the
freight had not yet passed the next STA
ton below, it could be ordered to the
side track there and so clear the road
for lis.
"Just then, through the open window,
I saw Rogers fireman. slight little
along the running-board
beside the boiler of our engine.
"For Gods sake!" he cried-though1
could scarcely hear him above the roar,
-"Stop her! stop her! Rogers is blind
drunk! He'll kill us ALL"
II saw now that our only chance for
life was to board Rogers engine, over
power him and get control of it. 1t was
a life-and-death business. But one
man had better die than q whole train
full.
"By this time the conductor and
SO excited and alarmed that they were
good for nothing to help me. They
chung to the platform-rail of the ex-
press car, behind the tender, and shout
ed, "Stop her! stop her!"
Boys" I said to Johnny and Jim
Rogers' freman), 1--WE must get aboard
that other engine and knock Rogers
down. Take the coal sledge and come
after me-"
"The prospect of q hand-to-hand
conflict with q mad man was O ter.
rible one. But / dared not stop to
think of my own chances. The heavy
bor which roooboI frop, - wv npr;,,
to the other was about six feet long and
the only way to cross owe was to get
astride the bar and slide along on it. I
led the way, first throwing my wrench
over on the tender; then I cautiously
got down On the bar and began to work
my way across It was a desperate act.
The shock and rush of air behind the
tender, and the tremendous swaying and
jerking, nearly threw me off several
times. But 1 kept a tight grip on
the bar and got across, climbed upon
the tender and made my way over the
coal.
"There stood Rogers, ste adying him.
self, as the locomotive leaped aud bound.
ed on, with his back to me. He had
not seen me; and / determined to wait
an instant till he opened the fire dool
again, then knock him down and tie him
for l was nomatch for him physically.
I heard nothing of Johnny or jim, but
dared not turn to look for them.
Suddenly, as I stood there posing
myself to spring on Rogers, we swept
like lightning round a curve and-Merci-
full heaven! less then q mile down the
track cleaned the headlight of the
freight!
Rogers saw it too and the awful dan
ger broke through the Grazing spell of
the liquor. With q strange scared cry
he settled back upon his cushion, limp
and helpless.
"But l scarcely noticed him. There
was not a moment-even for disabling
him. With one bound I was in the cab
and blew the whistle, threw back the
reversing level. The shock of the re-
verse steam almost lifted the engine
from the track and me from my scat.
The big drivers spinning around on the
rails looked like circles of living fire,
and enveloped the engine in a perfect
shower of sparks! Nobly now did old
IA struggle and groan, as if herself
conscious of some terrible danger.
Twas vain! As we'll might we have
tried to stop an avalanche or oppose a
flood. Nearer and nearer we ann to
that dreaded light.
Onward we drove, and in another
moment l saw that to stop was impossi-
BILE, that the collision would come.
lnstinctively 1 closed the throttle and
turned to jump. Then I thought of
those | was leaving to their awful fate.
Ii l stuck to my post, Ilcouid perhaps
lessen the shock and save many lives
v if j lost my own. Better one home
should be desolate than n score. and
again he threw back the reversing lever,
bracing myself to meet the shock, when,
suddenly, ! stw the freight neua iii
defect-dart to one side!
Gould it be?
Yes, praised be God for His mercy
to us that night, the freight was going
on the side-track at l. station; and see,
ing the danger, its engineer had barely
time to quicken up and get his train Off
the main line when, with; diminished
speed, We ran by.
10 stop the train and pull Rogers off
the engine wtss my first duty. This done
l vent back to my W engine, which 1
found in charge of jim alone. "Where's
johnny was my tirstanxious question.
Alas! the hardest blow was still in
store for me, Johnny, poor boy, in try
ing 70 cross, on the connecting bar, to
help me overpower Rogers, had been
thrown off. l knew in a moment that
he must have been killed; for we were
running seventy miles an hour. I was
obliged to go IN. But two hours later
the station folks found him, seven miles
back, lying mangled and dead of the
ioot OF some rocks a few yards from the