Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1902-04-24

WELL" he muttered, with a cold choke
in his throat; AN Mr.. Meyers-he's all
right. But the boys"
| He sprang up suddenly. and began to
hustle his evening chores; well he
knew Curley Virgins and the other
boys would have looked sourly on Il
wrecker's cub among the picked band
which was to uphold the honor of their
school. But Rod. determined not to be
mushy sort of fellow. gave himself
no time for self-pity. And when. two
hours later, he flung off jacket and
shoes. and huddled down by the moon
whitened window of the little room
where he slept, he was too tired to
think of any one but Margery-her
queer talk about scarecrobes. and the
| like-and to watch the silver twilight
| stealing through the valley.
| AS this grew brighter he could dis
tinguish the curving railroad by which
the boys would return from EnglewOod,
and the long bridge of iron and wood
where their train must dash over a
deep. dark gully. He heard a heavy
freight thunder across now; the sparks
gay scarlet notes, which struck from
the rails, seemed huttering toward
him. His remembrance of Margery
blurred into recollection of his gen
tie honest mother With prayer
which she had taught him lowering on
his lips. Rod slept, and dreamed he was
making a man of himself. while he as
serted that manhood in clustering
shores.
When he woke there was strange,
red change in the valley beneath him,
which he could not for breathless min
ute understand
Before his misted eyes darted fiery,
bewildering meteors, all seeming to
shoot out from the distant railway
bridge. Then suddenly and sharply his
sight cleared. as if knife had cut the
film from those terrified eyes. The
blood jumped in the chilled veins I'M
der his thin shirt.
my senses! gasped Rod. feeling as
If these senses were oozing out through
his suddenly damp skin. "It's-it's a
fire on the track! It's the bridge over
the gully-the trestle is burningw
1t required ten seconds for him to
swallow this awful fact, to realize the
tongues of flame curling out from the
wooden trestles which spanned the
gorge. the billowing smoke that resem-
bled curdled moonlight, the red riot Of
sparks. Then swift thoughts stung him
as the strokes of a whip.
1.-The train! the 11:15 passenger from
Burlington-Mr. Meyers an the boys
coming on it. That bend in the road!
Engineer can't see the bridge till he's
most on to it-trainll go into the gully"
| Rods face famed red. as If the glow
of the distant burning touched it.
Through the window he went at a
| jump-hatless. shoeless. cOatless-shud-
dering from head to foot with the con-
victiOn that no one saw the fire but him
SELF that the train must soon come
along, full speed. that only his warm
ing could save it, for the bridge with
it's tame-eaten trestles would surely
so.
| i've got to stop I" he feebly gasped
''Father was in Il gang that wrecked
one. an IL guess I'm hitting the
ground in high places now" as he
| leaped with staglike bounds from
mound to mound down the HILL though
rocks bled his feet, and bushes tore the
thin shirt from his shoulders.
| Breathless, fanting, reeling he
reached the railway where the bridges
now fiery span ended. Catching up a
| piece of burning timber that dropped
from the burning trestle. he stumbled
onto the rails. waving the flame. signal
above his head shouting until his yell
died to bleat of pain, as an oncoming
rumble sounded in his ear. and the
torch, which he would not drop, burned
his fingers.
Hello. don't know what to make
o that" grumbled Engineer Morse,
who was pulling ehe night train from
Burlington, seeing the waving light
upon the rails.
But he understood presently when
his slackened engine crawled past a
scorched. half-clad boy, who feebly
called to him that the bridge ahead was
| Jul
Rod knew no more after he saw
those cleaning headlights go by and
halt short of danger until a conductors
lantern flashed across his face, and he
found himself the center of a group of
male passengers. among whom were
Mr. Meyers and his companions return
ing victorious from the spelling match
But the greater victory was Rods,
for he heard voice which he knew to
be Curley Virgins mutter:
! lie said this morning he'd make a
man O hisself. But guess he's lit
tie man 'ready!'-Amercan Tribune
Did Not Reclaim the Coin.
Those who pass the plate" in coun-
try churches are not often RECALLED with
| ,,1:t of gold ho nj In,