Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1898-09-01

Of beauty; the long sweep of the black
tracks through the green valley and
by their side the clear water of the
stream ripping over bright, yellow
sands.
The scene Jack looked upon that
winters night was as fascinating in
it's wierd horror as was that Of sum-
mer in it's vivid coloring. Out Of a
clouded sky the moon struggled in
vain to pierce the heavy, snow-1aden
darkness. Upon the track and tumbled
on either side engines and cars were
piled in huge, formless heaps. Stifed
shrieks and screams sounded from the
depths of the black masses. Here and
there the cleaning lanterns of the
trainmen darted like will o-the- wisps
frequently conyerging upon one point,
where lay torch-guarded row Of the
dead.
Suddenly, while Jack strained his
eyes to pierce the gloom, a little
tongue of fame leaped into the dark
ness.
1.-The wrecks afre!' cried the rail-
road man at his side, and there came
as il in answer from the chaos a shrlll
cry Of torture.
The fire, leaping from point to point,
licked greedily at the dry wood of the
splintered cars, and again the piercing
shrek made Jack SILVER in spite of
himself.
CLAIR bering over the mass of wreck
age in the direction from which the
screams seemed to come, he found,
almost at the bottom of the great pile.
woman, saved from instant death
by freak of fate, but pinned down
and cramped until movement was I'M
possible She had swooned at the
crash Of the collision, apparently, and
had been brought back to conscious
ness by the heat Of the advancing
flames.
One glance and Jack knew the face.
"Ethelv'
He reeled as he cried the name and
the woman shrank back even towards
death at the sound of his voice. In
a moment the weakness passed and he
attacked the imprisoning pile. Help
came from all directions and slowly
way of escape was opened.
But the flames swept swiftly on,
scorching the girls delicate flesh,
charring her golden hair and dragging
from her shrieks of pain that tore the
hearts of those who heard them.
Jacks feverish strength increased
with each recurring cry, and he pulled
and lifted with Il power that amazed
his helpers and himself.
At last he reached her, held her in
his arms for a single moment, then
passed her back to willing hands. On
the instant a piece of iron, it's sup
ports burned away, dropped from the
overhanging pile and felled him in his
tracks. They thought he was dead
when, senseless, he was rescued. But
presently, in an improvised farmhouse
hospital, he came back to conscious
ness to find a flood of pale-gold hair
covering his face, to feel the warm
kiss of full lips on his bloodless ones
and to hear a sweet voice say
Jack! My Jack! 1t is Ethel Don't
you know me?'
If Jack had been physically stronger
| perhaps the barriers which long
months Of bitter contempt had raised
would not have been so easily swept
away But as it was he whispered,
"My darling" and raised one arm
weakly to fold about her neck. After
wards he was very glad that he did,
for the truth came out little by little;
| he learned that the fault was not
EthePs but her matchmaking man.
mas, and that in the girls own heart
he had never been supplanted.
| It was some months later, when Jack
returned, hale and hearty, and with
new hope in his soul, to his work, that
the city editor said,-
'"Eoo bad you had to miss your
chance at the Mad River wreck, old
man."
Chance? What chance?' asked
Jack, bewildered.
why don't you remember that you
were the only newspaper man on the
spot? II you hadn't got knocked out
we should have had the scoop of the
year"
"By Jove! That's so." said Jack, re-
|
gretfully. "And 1 had quite forgot
ten it."
At about the same time the doctor
was saying to the brown-eyed nurse
What a chance Bingham missed!'
"Chance for what?" she asked.
For getting even with that girl, of
course Instead Of forgiving and for
getting, he ought to have turned his
back on her and married you. He
owed a great deal to you and he knew
/ it,"
The nurse moved quickly away, but
not until the doctor had seen that the
brown eyes filed with tears at his
words. He had learned what he
wished to know, but there was pain
in his own heart because of it.
Waverley Magazine.