The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1897-12-07

fire?' | asked.
L calculate to try it,, said Sam.
since It's our only ch lnce, but / don't
much believe that we can run rs fast
on TINS track "a the fire can. That
hre Is coming on at the rate of twenty
miles an hour, and whether tins en-
Slhe Will keep on on the rail Mt any
such rate rs that have my DOUBTS
Hullo. here come the snakes.
We'll, we started on again. running.
over snakes by the dozen. We had
lost about twenty three minutes by
stopping, but the fire seemed to have
gained on us about half the distance
that 1t had been when we first saw il.
and we were near enough now 60 hear
the cracking and the roaring of the
hames. | saw the fire strike a bio tree
and II You'll believe it, that tree burst
rs IL 1T had been filled with guupow-
der, and vanished clean out of sight i'm
less than minute after the leaves be
gan to frizzle. The wind was drawing
toward the fire, but we could see bv
the way the flames acted that high
east wind was bringing the fire down
on us at an awful rate. The flames
would shoot up thirty or forty feet in
tn the air, and wave Just as if they
were hurrahing at the prospect of
catching us
Our engine was doing at least
twenty-five miles an hour. and was
swinging from side to side aud bump
ing over the Johnston we didn't have
any tish-p!ates in those days-as if
she was bound to jump the track. We
mad outrun the snake procession. and
the only live thing we could see was n
coyote who was Looping down the track
nifty yards ahead of us, without so
much as turning his head to see what
was after him.
How long will the track stand this
sort of thing?' says to Sam, as he
hnlshed shovcling fresh into the fire.
Don't know, says he. It's eigh
teen miles from here to the Wachu-
sets River, and if we can't Get NJ, ross
the bridge ahead of the fire there is n
FAR chance that we won't cross. | don't
much believe that we will fetch the
bridge. but If we don't it won't be be.
cause ] don't drive thishyer engine
for all she's worth. We're dead men
II she jumps the track, and were dea
men II we stop short of the river. So
we might a. we'll let her go and take
our chances
sam hung on to the lever and |
hung on to the edge of the cab win
dow. Neither Of us could have kept
our feet without hanging on to some
thing. | am free to say that first along
was pretty badly scared, but when
the engine didn't leave the track. for
all her slewings and iumpings. / be-
gan to think she would carry MS
through. So far as ] could see. the
lire didn't gain any on us, but then we
didn't seem to he gaining anything
to speak of on the fire.
Presently Sam swore i'm u general
sort of way, and sung out to me TO
rake up the fire. / did 50; aud then.
supposing that something must have
dissatisfied him, I asked him what was
the matter
That coyotes the matter said
he. We don't gain an inch ON him.
aud do most eyerlastiugly nate to be
beat by coyote Here, you take the
lover while | lie her iiuts little. I'm
bound to beat that coyote between
mere and the river or to pile up this
engine. | never see such an impu-
dent brute since ! took to rajroa linz.
Wen, sam went out ON the engine
with his oil can. and when me had
oiled her TO his satisfaction he came
back aud raked mp the fire again and
IuSSed round with the gauges lie
seemed to have forgotten all about the
danger we were IN, and to think OF
nothing but racing with that coyote.
FFetiy soon we could see th1twc had
gained little ON the beast and Sam
was as cheerful as he would have been
u ne had been sitting comfortably iu
" buc'pha'us saloon. lie never $50