The Red Cloud chief., 1889-11-15

Then q terrible thought struck me:
the cars could not TOY without motive
power, where "a the engine?
There was about q foot OF space be-
tween my body and the trucks Of the
cars, and I cautiously raised my head a
trifle and glanced down along my body
in the direction from which the cars
were coming.
Horror Of horrors! The engine vas
on that end of the string Of cars. push
ing them. and only two cas- interviewed
between it and my trembling self!
i was paralyzed with horror for a mo-
ment. The ash-pan on all locomotive
engines is beneath the body of the
monster. and is invariably only about
six inches from the rails. 1t would be
impossible for it to pass over the body
of a child, much less that of a good
sized boy, without mangling, scraping
and tearing it to pieces.
i realized this with a chill Of terror,
but what to do i could not think. 1t
really seemed as if there was nothing I
matter, but would be forced to lie there
and be neutrality-suspicious. pieces
beneath that awful ash-pan. and 1 invol-
UNFAIRLY closed my eyes and shuddered-
The cars were moving at a rapid rate
Of speed now. and as my eyes came open
again, the rear end O.: the first of the
two remaining cars was just passing
Over me.
The forward end of the last car passed
rapidly, and the other end approached.
1t would be followed by the tender,
then the engine, under which was tho
ash-pan, which would mangle my poor
body in another moment.
The horrible thought nerved me to
desperation, and, as the end of the car
reached me, / threw uc my hands and
clutched the rapidly-moying trucks with
a grip made trebly strong by terror.
/ was jerked with such suddenness
and force that my arms were nearly
pulled Ou of their sockets. but l held
on with an energy born of despair. and
was dragged along with the car, my feet
humping against the ties at a rate
which threatened to relieve my shoes Of
their heel-taps if not my feet of tho
shoes themselves.
But l retained NY bold. To lose my
grasp and fall upon the tack would be
certain death-death in a particularly
horrible form. and 1 shuddered and
gripped the trucks with renewed en-
ergy.
As onward / was dragged, 1 made at
tenpts to draw myself up upon the
tricks, but it was beyond my power and
] could only grip them tighter and wait.
Would the cars never stop?
Onward and still onward I was
dragged, across two cattle-guards. where
the wagon-rOad crossed the railroad, and
for fifty yards farther, when just as I
was ON the point of having to let go my
hOld-it really seemed as if / could o
retain my grasp a moment lOnger-l no
ticed that the speed of the cars was di-
Little by little they slackened up
slower and slower they moved. but naN
until they had come to a lead stand-still
did / dare let go my hold End crawl out
from under the car.
This 1 did and then sank upon the
SAOuuu ESSAuC ~ I0AAIOVA tIoCh, utttl-
ly unnerved-almost fainting. And my
arms and legs, how sore they were. itl
was two weeks at least, before they rel
turn to any thing like their FORMAL con-
ditiOn of usefulness.
The train took the cars-which were
loaded with shelled cOrn-away with it,
and as ! stood in the middle of the track
and saw the old red caboose disappear
around the curve in the deep cut a quar-
ter Of a mile to the east of the little sta
ton of Wyckles, 1 thought, with a shud-
der, of the narrow escape which had
had from a horrible death. and l regis
tered a VOW to never, never again touch
tobacco in any form.
And I have kept my VOWS. A. d.
Cox, in Yankee Blade.