The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1895-02-13

/ u5 NutIts
''He was making pretty we'll along
toward the second curve, running his
head against tho storm, and was Just
where he was out of sight Of both
trainsAthe Dude standing still and
we a-coming-with woods along the
inner side of the curve; so that fioth
ing whatever could be seen of him or
his lantern at that point from either
train. Then suddenly he heard my
train rolling up in the distance.
''He started to run; Jimmy; did, to
get around the second turn in season
to signal me there. It seems that he
knew he had plenty of time TO make
the bend, as he owned up afterward,
but he wanted TO be mighty sure.
'Just ms he started up, what do you
ruppose happenedP A stronger gust
of wind than any of the rest come
whistling through the scrub, and that
aud the motion of Jimmy's start to
run blew out his lantern. Then nv
train coming along roared louder yet.
for the wind was coming to him from
my way.
Jimmy wasn't at all scared. He
knew he had time to strike a light.
He put his fingers in his upper vest
pocket after matches. No matches
there. That made him feel kind of
queer. Then he put his fingers in his
other upper vest pocket Mono there,
either.
"He heard my train roaring nearer
and nearer. 1t was coming around
the second bend. Then, he owned up,
Jimmy was good deal scared.
"He jumped right down the middle
of the track in the dark toward my
train, not knowing " hat he was going
to do, but feeling that somehow or
other he was going to stop the train
before il went on and crashed into
the express. As he run, my headlight
loomed out on him through the mist
coming up around the bend.
''He yelled like madman, but his
voice might as well have been the
squeak of mouse. Not sound could
be heard through the racket that the
storm and the locomotive made to-
gether, as you all would know very
well.
'As for me, l never heard nor saw a
thing on the track before me, though
Jimmy stood straight in the middle of
1t all the while, waving the lantern
with no light in it, and hollering till
he was black in the face. My head
light seemed to me to be shining
about dozen feet into kind of thick
pudding of rain and mist.
Jimmy told me that he stopped all
at once, when il seemed that my head
light was not fifty feet away from
him. Probably it was more than that.
1t occurred to him that be hadn't
time to be scared. He must take time
to think. So he thought; and the
lives of two hundred people depended
on his thinking to good advantage.
"He wondered If it would be best
to throw himself down on the track
and let the train go over him. He
was willing to do it, if it would do any
good. But he thought that the
chances we're ten to one that his body
would throw the train off the track,
whereas there was at least small
chance that if my train went on /
might bring it to stop some way in
time to save bad smash-up.
| "Anyhow, he resolved not to throw
himself down, but to do the thing he
did dor He stepped off the track
and by this time l saw him dimly by
the light from the headlight-aud
measuring his distance coolly, he
threw his lantern with all his might
straight through the side window of
the cab
"As luck would have it, the lantern
got free of the broken glass before it
struck me, and the bottom of it hit
me fair aud square in the side of the
head, here, just where you see the
mark. For an instant it stunned me,
but by the time l had got back my
senses / found that had reversed the
engine and prt on the air-brake, and
the train was coming to a stop.
''lt was Just second nature to any
engineer and Jimmy Caswell knew
we'll il would be-to know that any
human being wouldn't do a thing like
that unless there was good cause for
the engine TO stop. My fireman
would have stopped the train if l
hadn't, when he saw the lantern come
in; but he says that he hadn't more
than heard the crash of the lantern
through the window before he saw me
jump for tho throttle and the air
brake.
"Atter the train had come to a stop,
and I, without knowing what had
really happened, was wiping the blood
of my face and thinking that some
body had tried TO kill me and wreck
the train, that boy came running up
alongside the cab, painting, clean out
of breath, and climbed up, all wet,
into the cab. My graciousp he
managed to get out, pretty soon, did
hit youY
Somebody hit me- says 1; Il
don't know who twas nor what twas
II threw my lantern at you, says
he, as cool as a frog. >
"'You did saysi well, what did
you do that for?'
TO keep you from running into
the Dude, says he.
''By this time he was up in the cab,
aid he aud the fremen we're sepping
my face with watAr And then my
head was swimming around again, and
didn't know any too well what was
going on,
''But by the time the conductor and
, train hands and about two thirds OF
the passengers had come swarming