The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1892-04-07

the wild energy Of despair the young
man lifted the small end Of the ponder
Gus post bodily up in his arms, and
twisting ID on the big base as on an earth
fast pivot, managed, by main force and
with violent effort, to lay it at last
full in front Of the advancing locomo.
tive. How he did it he never rightly
knew himself, for the weight Of the
great bulk was simply enormous. But
horror and love, and the awful idea that
Metals life was at stake, seemed to sup
ply him ut once with unwonted energy.
He lifted 1t in his arms as he would have
lifted q child, and straining in every
limb stretched it ut last full across both
rails, a formidable obstacle before the
approaching engine.
HurrahI hurrahl he had succeeded
now. Il would throw the train of the
ine-and Meta would be saved for him.
To think and do all this under the
spur of the circumstances took Ughtred
something less than twenty seconds. in
u great crisis men live rapidly. 1t was
quick as thought. And ut the end Of II
all he saw the bi9 log laid right across
the line with infinite satisfaction. Such
q splendid obstacle that-so round and
heavy! 1t must throw the train clean
OF the metals! 1t must produce q fine,
first class catastrophe.
As he thought it, half aloud, q sharp
curve brought the train around the cor
ner close to where he stood, great drops
ofsweat now oozing clanmily from every
pore with his exertiOn. He looked at II
languidly, with some vague, dim sense
Of duty accomplished, and great
work well done for Meta and human
ity. There would be real, live accident
in a moment nova splendid accident
"a first rate catastrophe!
Great heavens! An accident!
And then, with sudden burst Of in.
spiration, the other side of the transac'
ton flashed in one electric spark upon
Ughtred's brain. Why-this-was muir.
der! There were people in that train
innocent human beings, men and women
like himself, who would next minute be
wrecked and mangled corpses, or with.
ing forms on the track before himI He
was guilty Of crime-an awful crime.
he was trying to produce a terrible,
ghastly, bloody railway ACCIDENT
Till that second the idea had never
even SO much as occurred to him. In the
first wild flush of horror at Metals sit.
nation he had thought of nothing ex.
Cept how best to save her. He had
regarded the engine only as a hateful,
cruel, destructive living being. He had
forgotten the passengers, the stoker, the
officials. He had been conscious only Of
Meta and Of that awful thing, breath.
ing fame and steam. that was rushing
on to destroy her. For another invisible
second Of time Ughtred Carnegie's soul
was the theater Of u terrible and appall'
ing struggle. What on earth was he to
dor Which Of the two was he to sacri.
fee? Should it be murder or treacheryi
Must he wreck the train or let it nangle
Netta2 The sweat stood upon his brow
in great clammy drops ut that dread di.
lemma. 1t was an awful question fol
any man to solve. He shrank aghast he,
fore that deadly decision.
They were innocent, to be sure, the
people in that train. They were IN,
known men, women and children. They
bad the same right to their lives as Net
~ herself. 1t was crime, shee- crime
thus to seek TO destroy them. But still
what would you have? Meta lay there
all helpless en- the line-his own deaI
Meta. And she had parted from him
in anger Int half an hour since. Could
he leave her to I've destroyed by thai
hideous, snorting, putting thingp Has
not any man the right to try and save
the lives he loves best, no matter nj
what risk or peril to other? He asked
himself this question, too, vaguely. in,
stinctively, with the rapid haste Of a
life and death struggle; asked himself
with horror, for he had no strength left
now to do one thing or the other-tC
remove the obstacle from the place where
he had laid it or to warn the driver.
One second alone remained and then al
would he over. On it came, roaring
aaring, Rlaring, with its great bullsey'
now peering red around the corner
terrible, fiery dragon, resistless, uncOn
scious, bearing down in mad glee upon
the pole-Or Meta.
Which Of the two should it be-tht
pole or Netta2
And still he waited, and still he ten,
ported. What-whaE could he do? Oh
heaveni be mercifull Even as the engin,
swept, snorting and putting steam
around the corner, he doubted yet-ht
doubted and temporized. He reasoned
with his own conscience in the quich
shorthand Of thought. So far as intent
was concerned he was guiltless. II
wouldn't be a murder of malice pre-
pense. When he laid that log there in
the way of the train he never believed
nay, never even knew-it was u traiu
with living freight of men and won,
en- he was trying to imperil. He felt it
to be merely MS mad engine unattached.
BE realized only Metals pressing danger.
Was he bound now to undo what he had
innocently done-aud leave Meta to per.
ish2 Must he take away the post and be
Netta's murderer?
CHAPTER III.
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