The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1900-11-08

heard nothing. There he was stoop-
ing down with his back toward me,
lashing something with q rope to the
down metals. Ten yards separated us.
Setting my teeth, I prepared forSthe
attack.
With a spring Twas upon him; but
too late. He had heard me as soon al
I had left the grassy slope and my feet
sounded upon the ballast, and in a mo-
ment he was on his legs and facing me.
managed to get in one good blow
under his guard with my left hand,
which caught him square on the jaw,
and with my right hand I seized him
by the collar.
Course you, let go!" he cried.
"Not l." / shouted back.
"Then take that" he replied.
There was a glitter Of steel as he
raised his right hand aIoft and struck
at my breast. But I was too quick for
him. Half-turning the blow aside, I
caught it on the left forearm. / felt
the knife slip under my sleeve, and
the sharp point as it entered my flesh.
That only gave me r%edoubled fury. Re-
leasing my grip on his collar, I gave
his right elbow an upward blow, that
sent the knife spinning away out of his
hand right down the embankment, and
the next instant I had lodged to the
left, made a feint of rushing past him,
and had tripped him up with a heavy
b~ack-throw with my right arm and leg
"a dodge which I had picked up during
| a holiday a. Tor,a-.I1 H. Ell 1911
an oath, striking the back of his head
againstthe rail, and lay there, stunned,
like a log. The battle was mine!
But there was more to be done, and
no time to be lost. I had to remove
the distractions from the metals and
secure my prisoner. I wanted light
on the scene. Hastily I dashed down
the embankment, took off my bicycle
lamp, and hurried back again. Then I
saw the extent of his devilment.
He had managed to get three old
sleepers, which were probably lying
by the side of the track awaiting re-
moval. Two of these he had dashed
firmly across the metals, with a space
of about a couple of feet between.
The third he had been in the act of
securing between them, pointing at
an angle toward the train, so that
it would catch under the bed-plate
of the engine and wreck the works.
The third sleeper I removed. Then I
took the piece of rope he had been
about TO use, and tied the wretch's
arms behind him, lashing his feet to-
gether also. Having disposed of him,
RI was turning my attention to the
other two sleepers, when an ominous
roar in the distance, in the direction
coming! With a yell of despair, I set
to work at those ropes. 1t was no
use. I could not undo them in time.
I felt in my pockets-no! I had left
my knife at home. All! there was the
train-wrecker's weapon! Where was
it? Alas! it would have taken me too
much time to find it in the long grass
of the embankment. With horror I
glanced ahead. There, in the dis
lance, were two cleaning lights of
the approaching train. How could I
stop it?
AS I asked myself this question I
felt something warm trickling from
my left arm. I turned my lantern on
it. Blood-dripping red blood from
the knife-wound, which I had forgot
ten.
All! An inspiration. And with a
prayer that it might not be too late,
I proceeded to put it into execution.
Drawing out my handkerchief, I
quickly applied it to my arm. In
three or four seconds it was saturated
with blood.
I glanced ahead again. Oh! those
lights! They were only about half a
mile from me now.
Hastily I folded the dripping hand
kerchief twice or thrice, and stretched
it across the face of my bicycle lamp.
Eureka! 1 held in my hand a red
light!
Stumbling, running, leaping,
rushed toward the train, waving my
extemporized danger-slgnal frantica1.
ly as I did so. The headlights cleaned
brighter and brighter, the roar be-
came nearer and nearer. Would they
never stop? All! A whistle. A shrek
in the night as Of a startled wild ami
NAL. And then a rasping and a graf
ing of brake-blocks, a stream of flying
sparks from the rails as the wheels
dragged along them, a glare of light
in my very face, and a hoarse voice
from the f%oot-plate.
"What's up there? Dye know you're
stopping the Silkminster express"
THANK God I have!" I answered
And then for a few minutes all wa.
black-the excitement and the los:
of blood were too much for me. Wher
I. came to there was a crowd of pas
sengers around me, and they gave me
some stimulant.
"Have they got him?" I asked.
Got him? Aye, we've got him.
said the guard, land we won't let hin
go in a hurry. y y
They got my machine from the road
and I travelled in a first-c1ass car
riage back to Silkminster. The kind
ly guard, who had a knowledge of am.
bulance work, had bound up my
wound, which was a very slight one
One of my travelling companions, Gu
riously enough, was a director of the
line, and to him I told the story how
I had captured the train wrecker. He
congratulated me heartily, and told
me that the company would certainly
pay me the reward.
Excuse me-" I said, "but may I ask
for it at orce-that is, within this
fortnight? The truth is that the
money is a godsend to me. 1t will
save me from ruin"
And it did. A week a~fterward 1 was
ILL SIC L. sn4A- 4la- -c -