The Republican., 1890-11-21
a RACE FOR LEE.
An Exciting Experience of Two Lovers on
a Railroad Bridge.

fAh NACLtuS experience OF Two Lovers on
! a Railroad Bridge.
A Joung man and his best girl, who
| live vt Newark, n. j., have had an ad-
vent: re that will linger in their memo
ries for some time. 1t was watched
with intense interest by large crowd
who expected to see frightful accident,
but witnessed instead hair-breadth es-
cape.
One of the favorite walks of the New
ark lads and lassies is along the pic
turesque banks of the Passaic river.
The road skirts the river which is gen.
orally dotted with craft of all sorts,
from the rowing shell to the lighter,
and is shaded by gigantic elms, which
almost meet overhead, forming a bower
at all hours. The only means of cross
ing from one bank of the river to the other
above Newark is by the Midland railroad
bridge. 1t is a short distance below
Belleville. The bridge is a single
track trestle, about sixty feet high and
one hundred yards long. There is no
footpath and it can be crossed only by
walking in the center of tho track on
tho ties, which are about foot apart.
The height of the bridge is so great
and the water is so plainly visible be-
tween the ties that the passage is haz-
ardous to all but those OF steady nerves.
An additional danger is the liability of
meeting or being overtaken by trains.
This is what happened to the young
! man and his best girl. Several times
| they started to go across, but turned
back because they heard the whistle of
train which seemed to be approaching.
But after waiting about fifteen minutes
! and seeing no train they started again.
! The young man walked in the center of
the track and partially supported the
girl, who stood fearlessly near the rails.
/ They had reached the center of the
/ bridge when cries from some persons
standing at the end caused them to look
up. The sight that met their eyes sent
their hearts into their throats. Thun-
dering through the cut at full speed,
and coming towards them, were loco
motive and four coaches. The young
man paused for an instant, as if to col
lect his thoughts, while the girl clung
desperately to his arm. To turn back
was too late, and yet there apparently
was no other way of escape. The young
mans eyes suddenly fell upon an open
boX-like shed at the side of the track
some distance ahead. 1t sheltered the
cogwheel of the draw. 1t was not much
larger than a kennel, but it would save
them if they could reach it before the
train was upon them. 1t took the young
man less than a second to decide, and
then began race for life.
Grasping the frightened girl about the
waist he hurried her at terrific pace
across the ties to the only haven. The
engineer evidently did not see them,
for the train came rushing on. A false
step would have hurled the young man
and perhaps the girl to the waters, fifty
feet below, but his eyes were riveted
upon the ties as they flew under him
and his feet fell accurately and firmly
in their centCrS. The "~oTd watched
the race with horror. Nearer and
nearer approached the iron iuggernaut
and faster and faster flew the couple.
The engineer suddenly spied them and
put on the brakes. 1t was too late, how
ever, Tor the train could not overcome
its momentum in the few reds that now
interviewed between it and the two
young people. The train was not
dozen feet away when the young man
and girl reached the box and tumbled
into it, while the locomotive whizzed
past them. The train stopped at the
other end Of the bridge, but went on
again as soon as it was learned that no
one had been injured. The couple in
the mean time crawled out of the box
and gleefully, but very nervously, re-
sumed their journey across the bridge
They hurried away from the crowd
which was waiting almost with open
arms to receive them, before their
names could be learned. 1t will be
some time probably before they walk
across the bridge again.-N. Y. World.