The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1891-04-16

Fortunately the section men had not
taken it out with them on that eventful
day.
Come, Charlie, help me put the car
on the track. 1t will beat the water
through the gorge. Hurry, hurry"
In a second we had thrown it upon
the rails.
Tell father how it was if l don't
come back" said Teddie, jumping
aboard while showed the car off. But
l sprung on beside him, and together
we started on our errand of life and
death.
1t is all down grade from Texas Creek
to Canyon City, the first stopping place
beyond the gorge, SO we had nothing to
do save hang on and let the car go.
How we flew!
"We'l beat it if we don't get ditched, !"
Teddie observed, and as he spoke we
flashed past the mouth of Jones gulch
and caught glimpse of black wall of
toward us.
The car will outrun it, yelled Ted
die in my ear. Don't get scared"
What if we meet a wildcat freight"
I screamed back. A wildcat train is one
not running on regular time, but when
ever the usual trains happen to leave
the track clear.
''Got to take our chances on that, "
yelled Teddie, in reply.
And now we entered the gorge prop
err. The roar of the river as it whirled
along over h uge powders between the
side of the gorge and the stone bound
railroad embankment united with the
rattle of our car wheels in volume of
deafening sound. Overhead hung the
weather-scarred granite walls of this
cavernous canyon, and the eye travelled
upward thousands of feet before reach
ing their summit. looked up in de-
spair at the narrow strip of blue sky
above us, and thought that the bright
sunshine away up there was only
hooking our hopeless race. But, upon
g1ancing behind us, my heart gave a
great leap of joy, for that death bring
ing wall of water had been left out of
sight in our rear.
On and on we flew. l looked up at
to his cheeks, but his mouth had lost it's
usual grin and was firmly set across
his tightly-shut teeth, while his eyes
had quite forgotten to blink, and were
looking straight down the track. At
the sharpest curves he steadily applied
the brake, but never slackened our
speed as we tore around the slighter
ones, though more than once the little
car careened until thought we must
surely fly the track. Illumined as it
was by calm courage, that ugly face of
Teddie's grew handsome to my eyes,
while my admiration for his cool judg-
ment grew apace as l noted how he
ran no extra risks yet lost not second
of time that could be saved. And time
meant life or death not only to us but
to that train-load of passengers.
And now we had reached the hang
ing bridge, and had flashed under those
V-shaped beams of solid steel inserted
in the living rock of the granite walls
of the gorge, upon which the structure
is supported. The grade grew sleeper
and sleeper, and we flew the faster.
The wind created by our swift motion
made my eyes water, while the rails
of the track seemed to be devoured by
our little car. And still we went faster.
Here's the last big curve screamed
Teddie in my ear as he put on the
brake. We slackened our speed and
rounded the curve safely, but 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 a
dry ravine whose mouth broke the
rocky walls of the gorge. Had we fallen
hundred feet on either side of this
point, we must have been dashed to
pieces against the cliffs.
Picking ourselves up hastily we ran
to our faithful car, which luckily lay
close beside the rails, and threw it on
the track again. shuddered as looked
down the rock rip-rapping of the rail-
road embankment and thought what
would have been our fate had we fallen
down there into the river that ragged be-
low.
And now we were going once more,
but not a moment too soon, for close
behind us rolled that horrible black
wall of water.
"We'n beat it yet" cried Teddie. l
read the words on his lips, but the air
was too full of the roaring noise of the
flood for me to hear him.
The little car flew faster than ever,
but to my excited fancy that huge wave
of liquid mud that reached from wall
to wall of the gorge and overwhelmed
the track as it came was surely gaining
on us.
Now, we're safe" Teddie shouted so
loudly that heard h i'm above the roar
of the water, and as he spoke we shot
past the bridge across Grape creek
where the Silver Cliff branch of the
Denver and Rio Grande turns off, and
were flying down the widening valley
of the Arkansas river with Canyon
City right before us.
Barely half mile down the track
was the train running straight toward
us! Teddie never touched the brake,
but began to make the railroad signal
that means ''Back up" while l waved
his red cotton handkerchief in lien of a
danger signal.
The engineer put on the reverse -
we tore toward him, and then Teddie
applied our brake, but we had to jump
for it when we reached the engine and
our car climbed to the cow-catcher as if
it meant to 60 in at one of the cab win
dows. The train was moving very
slowly, having just pulled out of the
station few moments before. 50 Ted