The Winslow mail., 1897-04-03

So | went down the hill, and before
got ten rods from the house the snow
had wiped it out, and all l could see
| were the whirling drifts and the path
for dozen feet ahead of me. And
| when 4 reached the cut there wasn't
| any cut there. 1t was filled to the top
/ with snow. | wondered what the linn
| tied bound down for Cragie's would do.
| 1t was pretty sharp and cold when
| reached the track this side of the
| bridge. and 1 had to get down on my
! hands and knees and crawl along from
tie to tie just like baby. | was strong
in those days, too, only the wind and
| the snow were so terrible that 1
| couldn't stand. And first thing | knew
} had crossed the bare knoll at the
| bridge approach, and there l was hang
ing over the edge of the embankment
like bat to rafter Slipped before |
| knew it.
You're done for, Dolby l said to
myself when l saw how little held me
| from falling into the chasm. 1t was
100 feet to the bottom, and jagged
rocks all the way down. But | had
| grit, if do say it, and / hung there for
grim DEATH with the wind kicking and
| beating me about like a dead limb. /
| knew we'll enough there would be no
one to help me, and that l couldn't help
! myself; but still l hung there. A man
| doesn't like to be dashed to pieces on a,
ledge of rocks unless it becomes abso-
| lutely necessary.
pretty soon | heard the limited
squealing down the cut. | knew that
| Jim Crosby, thEengineer, was founder
ing in the snow. l said to myself that
if Jim succeeded in roofing through.
| with his engine l might be saved, but |;
knew we'll enough that he wouldn't
succeed. 1t would take four engines
and two rotary plows to drive a tunnel,
through such blizzard. And there
she squealed and shrieked for hours, it
| seemed to me, while my hands and
arms grew as numb as clubs.
And Lettie-what was she doing all
this time? When the snow covered the
woodshed and began to creep up on the
windows she was frightened. I'm
afraid that father'll never get back
she told her mother, who's always been
fidgety and nervous like, began to
walk up and down and wiring her
hands, not knowing what to do. Twelve
o'clock came, and then /. Lettie start
ed up and said: Mother, Pm going out
to see if l can't find father and in
spite of all her mother could do she
bundled into her cloak and hood and
opened the door.
"The snow was up to her waist, but
the wind had mostly gone down. In
the cut Jimmie Crosby's engine was
callin' and screechin' for mercy, and
Lettie, when she looked over the cliff
couldn't see the train at all-only a big
black hole where the smoke from the
stack had melted the snow. But Lettie
wasn't strong enough to get down to
the tracks, for the path was drifted
full, and slim girl like her couldn't
venture in without losing her life. She
knew we'll enough that | was down the
section SOmeWhere-perhaps out on the
bridge. But she didn't give up-not
Lettle. There wasn't man around the
place to help-only in the train, and the
train was at the bottom of the cut
buried in the snow. She thought that
if only she could get word to Jim Cros-
by he'd help her, for she knew him well.
SO she ran and got coil of rope and
tied one end of it to that stubby oak
there you can see it at the edge Of the
hill-and then she took hold Of it and
slid into the cut. That took grit-thera
aren't many men who would have risk
ed it-let alone girls. Of course the
snow got into her eyes and nose, and
the rocky lodges cut and bruised her,
but she never stopped until she was at
the bottom. Jimmie Crosby said he saw
something foundering in the snow out
side of the cab and then somebody
called:
"Jim, oh, jim
SIT was Lettie. They dragged her
into the cab, and as soon as she could
talk she told Jim that was lost in the
blizzard.
"We'll save him. said Jim, and the
fireman agreed to help, and so did
dozen other men who had come down
from the train. And Jim, bein' good
climber, went up the rope hand over
hand and helped dozen or more men
to follow him. By this time it had stop
ped showing, and the sun shone bright
In the west. They walloWed down
through the drifts to the bridge, Lettie
following. They tried to leave her at
home, but she wouldn't stay. If faith
ers in danger she said, I'm going to
help find him.
II heard 'em when they reached the
bare knoll this side Of the bridge.
had crooked one leg around sleeper
and I still hung there over the chasm.
l don't believe l could have let go.
guess I was frozen there. l tried to
shout and let them know where to find
me, but 1 couldn't get my mouth open.
1t was clean suffering that. For there
was help within reach and 1 couldn't
make a sound.