The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1886-11-13

- r a..
IL. -. v;rdow AZ last the fury OF the
49,, SEEMED TO have spent ltsen,
and Tom brcathcd q sign % ' for
a lie heard the wind iessen'ns' h;s
he always feared to nave ,r ms
father 9 ross the bridge over tee soLg 10
when the wind was blowing hign' ~
tha train s,,ould be blown over. NJ
iooted down at the bridge as It cntere'.
MS MS '1 sHers made his ruddy boylsh face
r "I viii with terror. Dragging h'msen
across pcro the room slo WY and painfully,
he cot his fathers gla. 8 down rom ON t ne
shelf and looked thron. gn NJ II NO; n nj
had not been mistaken. rs W. s,r;,,.
told HIM the truth. just at the oeg'n-
nrng Of the bridge. and par. ~ ' yn - =
Law q tall tree that had been p.o os;,.
over by the gale. Unless the 'ta -
could be checked in time, it would "
derailed and hurled into that terribiA
gorge.
No wonder the boy felt himself grow
ing faint with terror at the thought OF
his fathers peril, as well AS the dam
ger to all the others that were on the
train. How could they be warned in
time? The twilight shadows were al,
ready growing deeper, and It would
soon be dark. Tom looked at his
bandaged leg with groan OF
despair. If he only had the
use of it, he could soon
have made his way down the mount
ain side, and built fire beside the
track that would have warned them!
There was no hope that he co1ld posi-
bly, drag himself that distance; even 4
he could have borne the torture OF
dragging his broken limb after him,
his strength would not have held out,
and then. too. the time would have
been too short Tom groaned aloud
Must he sit there and see the train go
crashing over the edge of the gorge
without saying word to stay 1t?
In less than an hour now the train
would come laundering along, his
father would exchange signals with
him for the last time, and then. But
the thought of the signals sent an idea
through Toms brain that took his
breath away. Perhaps he could signal
with the lamp. and make his father
understand the danger. He put the
lamp in the window aud waited. II
was the only chance, and as the slow
minutes dragged themselves away,
and each one shortened the boys
agony of suspense, perhaps you can
guess how his whole heart went up in.
fervent prayer that his father would
understand.
At last the train rumbled through the
tunnel, and coming out into open air
swept around the curve, it, headlight
| cleaning like baleful eye. The en-
gineer was running fast now to make
up for delay at the station they had
| Just passed. He glanced up into the
darkness that shrOuded the mountain
to see his boys signal. Presently it
flashed out, then instead Of waving
backward and forward it was suddenly
obscured, then it Cleaned out again.
Something, the father never knew
what, made him connect the sudden
flashes with the little electric instru-
ment. He watched eagerly. Yes, he.
was right, the boy was trying to tell
him something. He slackened the speed
Of the train, and spelled the letters one
after another.
! ssD-a-n-g-e-r-G-o-r-g-er'
i That was all, but he understood, and
under the hand Of its master the train
came to sudden standstill. Not .
moment too soon, for when the train
hands ran forward with lanterns they;
found the fallen tree not six feet from
the engine.
\ II would have been terrible acct
dent beyond a doubt, and as the pas
sengers learned the cause of the de-
tention while the men were clearing