The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-07-05

Of afhother road Later he would be him
self borne over these very chasms and
whlrled around these very curves
These changing scenes kept the passen-
gers IN a tremor of half joyful. half anxi-
Gus excitement.
How beautiful that wooded slopsl"
shall we ever get to the top of tho
ridSef'
down here among the treesl See this
sllvery caScadei"
"Ah, here we go through tunnelr'
That great boulder looks as il the
slightest jar would bring it down upon uss'
Nv hat If the roaabed should gave way
here like an avalanche
How frail it looks! And what D. dizzy
hight If it should break under us-oh,
dearm
just then quick, sharp whistle was
heard. To those who heard it, it said i'm
peratively: Down brakes and be quick
about it, toog' Instantly tho brakemen
were straining at their posts as if every life
were threatened Indeed, it was their duty
on these hard, treacherous grades to stand
by the brakes aud use them at moments
warning. People thrust their beads out of
the car windows, and some hurried to the
platforms. and there was a deal Of nervous
questioning. What was the mattera Had
an accident happened1 Was there any dan
ger! Nobody seemed to know. Not even
the brakemen were informed. And it was
the gift of blessed Providence that the
cause was not revealed, else that moment of
uncertainty and subdued alarm would have
been one of anguish and disaster.
Far up the road the engineer had caught
glimpse of an awful peril. 1t was train
of runaway freight cars. For moment it
was in plain sight, dashing around curve
Then it was lost in the woods. No engine
accompanied it; there was no sign of life
anywhere about it. Nowhere on the grade
at that time was down train due. The
cars were without control; there was no
doubt about it, and there was nothing to
check their descent. Already they were
running furiously, and every second their
speed was increasing A collision seemed
inevitable. The destruction of life would
be frightful.
What should the engineer dos To stop
his train would not mend the situation. To
reverse the engine and go the other way
there was hardly time for that. Besides, it
would only postpone the certain result, and
make it more dreadful because of the in
creased Roadway of the runaway cars.
The engineer viewed the situation on
every side. Plan after plan rose before
him; plan after plan was dropped. But it
which the mind shows when under the stress
of swiftly nearing danger. In that brief
time the engineer lived hours. Suddenly
there was a ray of hope, a possible plan of
safety. Down brakes "he whistled This
was the signal to which we have already
called attention; the one that sent the
tremor through the hundreds on the train.
Free the engine from the trainI" he
shouted to the fireman. The engine was
Lea To-
behind. NOW jump for your lifer' There
was no time for parley. The fireman
leaped, fell and scrambled to his feet again.
Then the engineer put on full steam. Freed
from its burden of coaches the locomotive
responded at once.
NOW fight the battle for us!" exclaimed
the engineer as he sprang from the steps.
His quick eye had chosen a favorable spot
on which to alight. Though thrown head
long with some force, he was on his feet
promptly enough to see his train roll by at
lessening speed, under the full control of the
faithful brakemen.
That something serious had happened or
was about to occur began to be clear to the
passengers. One or two had seen The fire
men Jump, two or three, the engineer; and
larger numbers from the car windows had
caught snatches of men that, soiled and
bruised and dazed, were trying to rise to
their feet by the side of the track. All was
excitement and tumult. Some began to
leap from the cars. Fortunately there was
little danger now, for the motion of the train
had nearly ceased.
Up the track, meanwhile, went the iron
monster to meet the foe alone. Down the
track, into full sight, came the wild freight
cars with speed so great that they almos t
rose from the rail as they rounded the
curve. Nearer and nearer, the speed of
each increasing. Then they flew at each
other in a mighty, tiger-like rage, as if
there were blood to be shed and nerves to
be torn asunder.
The crash shook the hills. A great, roar
ing cloud of steam burst into the air, while
another of dust and debris boiled up and
mingled confusedly with it. Then the shat
tered ends Of the cars shot out here and
there through the smoke, and grinding,
cracking mass rose up. Quivering in the
air a moment, it reeled, and then went
crashing down the embankment into the
ravine below. When the steam and dust
cleared away there were the deep, ugly fur
rows in the roadbed, the splintered ties, and
the bent and broken rails, and the namelesS
fragments of an utter wreck to mark the
scene of the fierce encounter
The gallant engine was hopeless ruin
but it had done noble service. 1t had
fought battle in which hundreds of lives
and untold interest we're at stake, and it had
won it. Not life of that precious COM
pany was lost, not a member of it hurt by
as much as scratch. Before they saw their
peril they we're rescued from it; and yet
their rescue had hardly been completed be-
fore the full and awful nature of their peril
burst upon them and stirred them in their
Utmost being.
With tears of joy and gratitude they
blessed the engineer, whose quick wit and
daring plan and instant execution saved
them from fate that at one moment it
seemed beyond human power to avert. And
to the poor locomotive that lay dismem-
bered and useless on the rocks below, there
went kind and tender feeling, as if, in Civ
ing up its life to save others, it had shown
something akin to love and bravery and
sacrifice of a noble human soul
RATTLESNAKB AND BURGLARS.