The midland journal., 1901-08-02


tie, there's John. We stole march on
you, Buskirk!"
There was Lettie in her flimsy pink
gown. with q white hat and tumbled
hair. Lettie, his little girl. His heart
ached until it seemed that it would
burst. Flasher was there, behind her,
smirking and conscious. But John
Buskirk was no mans game.
"Wait for me at the station, Lettie,"
ne called. "We're due 20 after nd side
track at Upton"
He waved his hand and stepped back.
But he could not see his train for mist
in his eyes as he strode on.
Coal and lumber, 43 heavy cars. Ht
felt the danger at Alta in his very
blood. Railroad men do-but they al
ways go on. SO he climbed up and the
whistle blew. the engine bell rang, and
the train unwillinglv crawled up, up
and over Flat Top mountain.
I AS it swept round the last curve and
began to go down grade John Buskirk
could see far into the valley below.
He could see the white smoke of the To-
cal leaving Upton. Would Lettie wait
for him? If she was not waiting there
i he did not care whether the train went
! down safely or not-save for the other
men.
Alta was a third of the way down, a
water tank filed by mountain stream
and not often used. There was
switch ran into loop in a sort of hol-
| low behind the tank, and he had to pull
In there to fill the boiler. The train
was so long il was a terrific strain to
get in and hold together. He was
afraid of the end of the train, and
stayed in the caboOse while the en-
gineer carefully pulled in on the loop.
Bump! The engine was stopped and
the jar went from car to car, clanking
chains and pins and bars. Suddenly
Buskirk and his fagman, Cross.
clutched each other. They were GER
tainly moving. and someone was
screaming hoarsely. Buskirk looked
out in time to see the two brakemen
jump, and then his heart leaped to his
| throat.
The train had parted at the switch,
and he was on a runaway section that
| WAS IOlliilE uONIl TIE IuouHtdiH.
1t was too late to jump now, Cross
uttered one sound and jumped over
one-hundred foot embankment. Bus
kirk thought it useless. Death had
come. He only thought of Lettie, for
his mother was dead, and he was GO
ing to her in spirit.
Down, down; on, on. then grinding
| inr 10, pi,r Inn, ,o6
the track, but two cars and the caboose
went on, on, on forever, it seemed
until John Buskirk's senses left him
and he fell heavily to.the floor.
At Upton there had been events.
Lettie Rhodes had declared when the
train entered the village that she was
going to wait for the freight. In vain
Flasher eXpostulated and the others
laughed. She said she would wait, and
so took her seat on the wooden bench
outside the station house,
Flasher, who had some uneasy rea-
sons for anxiety. decided to wait with
her. Lettie was weary, and did not
care to talk, but she watched the noun
tain top, and after little saw the
train come around and heard it rumb-
ling, whistling and roaring. Alta
tank was on the other side of the
cliffs, so the first animation she had
of the disaster was strange slipping
sound high above, and then the run
away train came in full sight, fran
l tically tearing down, rocking. leaping,
monster of speed. Then the hidden
engine shrieked and shrieked and
called to the people below.
"See!" cried Lettie. "Oh, the train,
the train! 1t has broken In two. 1t is
coming!"
Flasher was panic-stricken.
"Run-it will come in here-all the
switches are closed. Run, Lettie.
rum"
Lettie turned to him with an ashen
face.
Run? Yes, run for the men. Johns
on that train-7somewhere-
Far down the cliffs tumbled the
loaded cars. crashing timber, coal.
grinding iron.
"Over the cliff" said Flasher, shak-
ing; "everybody's gone now"
THE caboosc is still on-it's running
ont will go around. We must open
the switch into the sand bank"
'Wait!" gasped Flasher. There's
no time. II will kill YOU"
But Lettie was over the tracks and
away TO the switches. One ran into a
gravel and sand hill, well up against it,
and the track closed there, She could
hear the rails humming, but Lettie was
railroad girl, and she knew what 10
do. She pushed the rusty switch down
just in time and threw herself upon the
ground. There was flash past her
only secondhand then a grind, a
thud, crash of splintered wood and
breaking iron. All was over.
So il came that, when John Buskirk
opened his eyes, his head was in Let
ties lap.
$50 you waited, did you?" he tried
to say.
Then Lettie cried bitterly.
"If you were not half dead I'd tell
you what thought of you for running
about with other women In Philadel-
phia."
"Who told you that-Flasher?"
Lettie nodded.
John Buskirk tried to wipe his bleed
ing cheek with his hand.
at was my married sister, he said,
huskily, land if you'll lean down here
I'll whisper just what we were doing