The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1891-04-17

Tho wind created by our swift motion
made my eyes water. while the rails
Of thc track seemed ID be deyonrcd By
our little car. And stu we went faster.
Heres the last big curve screamed
Teddie In my ear Is he put on the
brake. We slaczcncd our speed and
rounded the curve safely. hut just as we
reached the straight track beyond lit
tie stone lying against one Of the rails
upset the car. fortunately for Us on the
uphill side. We both shot headlong
into the sand that covered the bed Of =
dry ravine whose mouth broke the
rocky walls Of the gorge Had we fallen
a hundred feet on either side of this
point. we must have been dashed 20
pieces against the cliffs
Picking ourselves up hastily we ran
TO our faithful car, which luckily lay
close beside the rails. and threw il on
the track again. shuddered a looked
down the rock rip-rapping Of the rail-
road embankmcnt and thought what
would have been our fate had we fallen
down there into the river that ragged be-
loy~.
And now we were going once more,
brt not a moment too soon. for close
behind Us rolled that horrible black
wall Of water
.-Well beat it yet cried Teddie. I
read the words on his lips, but the air
was too full Of the roaring noise Of the
food for me to hear him.
The little car fiew faster than ever.
but TO my excited fancy that huge wave
OF LIQUID mud that reached from wall
70 wall Of the gorge and overwhelmed
the track as it came was surely gaining
on rs.
Snow. were safe. Teddie shouted 81
. loudly that heard him above the roar
, | of the water, and as he spoke we shot
past the bridge across Grape creek
where the Silver Cliff branch Of tho
! Denver and Flo Grande turns on. and
were dying down the widening valley
lof the Arkansas river with Canyon
City right before us.
Barely half mile down the traci
was the train running straight towar'
lus. Teddie never touched the brake
but began to make the railroad sigma
: that means Back up" while waves
his rel cotton handkerchief in lieu Of |
! danger signal.
The engineer put on the reverse q
II we tore toward him, and then Teddi'
applied our brake. but we had 70 juml
for il when we reached the engine AM
our car climbed to the cow-catcher IS
LIZ meant to 60 in at one of the cab win
dows. The train was moving yer.
slowly, having just pulled ont Of tn
station few moments before. so Ted
die and managed 10 scramble into tn
cab.
"Watcr>pout's coming Get back
the depot. " gasped Teddie.
,e 1T most caught US just beyond II
= bridge" I added
y There il i now" cried the firemal
4, and as he spoke we saw the flood stril
: the bridge The central pier crumbie
away before our eyes and the angr
!. torrent rushed down the river b
!. toward us. The railroad track liz
!. close beside the stream for some di
4 lance out OF Canyon City, hence v
: were in imminent peril
: Throwing open the throttle, the z
= gineer stood 1t his post with his har
q on the reverse. and the huge engiz
- wheels new faster and faster q '
a backed down the track But the ho'
was close upon rs and the spray fro
- the baffled waves dashed IN IT the g
- windows as they swept out the II
reach Of rails exposed 70 their fury on
- q moment after we had crossed thez
And now we are lying safe It Ia
~ beside che depot platform II Cany'
10 City. An excited throng Of passenge'
~ among whom was my dear old faths
- greeted Teddie and myself rs '
"A climbed ont Of the locomotive cab.
Good thing for You youngsters n
IL we were ten minutes late" remark
,ce the engineer. as he sprang on the pl'
~ form behind US If we had been