The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-04-12


the lookout, lying on che bank ot the
gully with q broken leg. He never
knew how he got there, but he must
have been pitched backward as the
engine went down rear end first. Cos
tello, the fireman, was pinned into the
cab by the roof Of the box car. Billy
Hayes, the engineer, had been thrown
forward through his cab window and
was caught by the leg between the
injector and the drive wheel.
The trainmen got Costello out of the
cab and took him and Keefer back to
Weston, when we found them. Cos
tello had q broken arm and q badly
damaged shoulder. We stayed long
enough to make them as comfortable
as possible and then went on to see
about Hayes.
Is was after 10 o'clock when we
reached the wreck, and Hayes had
been suffering desperate agony for
several hours, but he had not finched
or shown a sign Of weakening, the
men told me in all that time. And,
although he knew it must yet be hours
before he could be taken out, if indeed
he could ever be got out at all, he kept
a stout heart.
The heavy guard over the rear drive
wheel had been twisted up and in TO-
ward the injector. Hayes was caught
by the wreck, and for a few minutes
after the accident it had poured a
stream Of boiling hot water on his
pack.
Turn and twist as he might, he could
not get away. He struggled go hard
that he broke his leg, and then, despair
ing of getting free by his own efforts,
he sank back to endure.
He told his hates how he was caught
but they could not help him. They
had no tools for such work as must be
done to release him, and the best they
could do was to stand on the bank Of
the gully and shout encouragement to
him. They had sent for help, and
until the wreckers came there was
nothing to do but wait.
While they waited q new peril rose,
which non had ~foreseen, and which
proved anew the courage of Billy
Hayes. The wreck had fallen in such
@ manner that it acted as q wing dam
across the gully, and the men watch
ing on the bank noticed that the water
was rising rapidly. Hayes saw it, too,
nnH thnTnRhe thu - SN 1NVrH6 A~l- ~Sao
high enough, it would ease q little the
pain of his scalded back.
He watched the water bubbling and
rushing about him, and saw in the gray
light of the dawn how thick and vel
low with mud it was. Steadily and
with amazing swittness the water rose.
Then n of the watchers on the bank
saw what made the hearts Of them all
beat more quickly with the sudden
realization of a new danger. The
water was rising below the wreck al
most as rapidly as it rose above it.
Then they understood. It was not
the dam Of wreckage that was swell
ing the gully stream; it was the new
fl BOD from the nights rain. The fields
had been soaked full by the heavy rain
fall, and it seemed as if all the water
that had fallen that night had to be
carried off by that gully. The stream
rose above Hayes waist, and the CRATE
full quenching Of the fire in his back
made him forget how fast the water
advanced A nan on~the bank was
marking its rapid oncoming by little
pegs stuck in the mud.
Ia August the day comes swiftly
after the dawn. In the full light of
che morning, Hayes saw the sullen
clouds drifting swiftly across the low
hilltops. gathering their forces for
another d%ownpour.
He had found a solid footing for his
good legs on a piece Of Wreckage, and
now that his back was essed a little,
he made shift to place himself more
comfortably. The twisted sand pipe
gave him a rest for one arm, and as he
settled back on it the water crossed
his breast and splashed up in his face.
He turned a quick, anxious glance at
che men on the bank, and looked down
again at the water. It climbed over
his breast and touched his neck. It
seemed to ~fascinate him. With almost
unwinking gszs he watched it. Il
swirled about his threat and still he
looked down at it. His mates shouted