Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-02-13

we must run hef ourselves I'm the
strongest; I'll fire and you-you start
her her up! Hurryw
Roger instantly understood. He
sprang upon the foot-board after his
brother and grasped the lever and
throttle. II was no time for careful
handling and the great engine fairly
jumped on the rails as the abruptly
opened valves sent the steam rushing
through it. Ben seized the whistle
lever and a long scream of warning
sounded in tie ears OF the astOnished
men who were watching the runaway
ear, while almost at the same moment
with the sound the roaring locomo-
tive leaped by them over the rafting
switches and shot down the line like
meteor.
Both boys. now that they were actual
ly at work to avert a disaster, til very
thought Of which had unnerved them a
minute before, were cool and steady.
Roger, with bis hands occupied and
feet braced firmly against the heavy
shocks and lurches of the flying en-
gine, moved his eyes from the track
ahead only for a swift glance at the
gauges. Ben fed the tire-box with all the
skill he knew, recalling Mike Murphy's
Instructions, and doing his best to keep
a steady, hot fire without smothering it
by putting on too much coal, the COM
mon mistake of inexperienced firemen.
Never once since starting had he looked
from his work, or even taken a single
glimpse from the window directly in
front Of him.
Yet all the time his mind was busy.
He had set upon this wild race with the
single idea of chasing the hat.car, and
in some way preventing the destruc-
ton it was sure to create If left to it.
self.
But now the question was whether
the car could be overtaken and, if it
could, what should then be done
Knowing how far the bridge was away
from the station he mentally calculated
the probable speed of the fat-car and
the time it would occupy in making
the distance Then, between shoyels-
full of coal, he fixed the pace necessary
to come up with the chase sufficiently
farfrom the bridge to allow opportunity
for securing the runaway by plan
which had just occurred to him.
There it Isl" cried Roger, as they
swept around long cure. its run
ming nearly as fast as we are"
For the first time Ben looked out at
the flying telegraph poles, while count
ing the jars of the wheels on the joints
of the rails
Give her little more, Roger" said
he
The engine seemed to drop from I'M
der them with its increasing speed on
the down grade, rolling and pitching
like a ship at sea Ahead the Hat was
bounding along the rails, strewing the
track side as it ran with heavy ties, for
its load had been shifted by the shock
rounding the curve. Several times tho
pursuing engine struck and threw
aside some of the ties which had fallen
partly across the rails.
Fearful dangerous il was, but Roger
lid not even think of slowing up. On
the contrary, he crowded his machine
a little harder. There was need of it,
for the bridge was less than mile
away, and mile at this speed was only
few seconds over a minute.
Ben also knew that. He threw down
his shovel caught up an iron pin, and
opened the doors leading out upon the
boiler. Roger looked at him anxious
~ but never spoke.
The thing must be done if both his
brother and himself gave up their lives
in doing it, for there down under the
bridge were twenty men husbands
and fathers many of them-w orking
away, unconscious of the death that
was rushing upon them at fifty miles
an hour.
Clnging to the brass railing and al
most choked by the fierce rush of air
that the engine created as II tore along
Ben crawled slowly to the buffers, and
from there let himself down till his feet
rested upon the frame of the pilot.
Half sitting, half standing, he held on
to brace with one hand and with the
other raised the heavy coupling-rod,
which hung along the front angle OF
the pilot.
1t was a terrible place. Stunned by
the furious noise, smothered in dust,
aud bewildered by the dizzy sweeping
Of the roadbed under him his head
swan, and for a moment he thought he
should fall. But the weakness passed
away before the thought of what de-
pended upon him.
He mnst save those lives. That was
what he was there for
Tie engine was gaining rapidly, but
still not rapidly enough. A few sec
onds more would render all his strug-
giles useless.
lie leaned out and waved his hand.
Instantly another Of those headlong
leaps told him that Roger had seen his
signal, and that all steam was on.
The distance decreased. A hundred
yards 49, fifty - twenty-five! Now the
rumbing, swaying mass of timber was
directly overhead and Ben rose to his
feet as cool as be had ever been in his
life.
With the pin and coupling-rod in
hand he stood balancing himself on the
narrow frame that Jared aud Jumped
beneath him, noticing even then the
steady Kin with which his brother was