The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1902-03-13

saw, but, darn you, If you ever go to
sleep on this engine again I'll break
you in two.'
Poor Noah was shaking like an as
pen, for he knew how High Henry was
tempered, and he promised never to
nod again.
About 4 o'clock one morning they
/ were coming down the mountain on
freight. 1t was warm spring. morn
ing. The frost had gone out of the
earth and left the dumps and fills fhe
road was comparatively new soft and
springy. They had been on the road,
doubling the hill, for forty-eight hours,
and Noah was making the effort of his
life to keep awake, The three brake
men were sitting at intervals along the
top of the train, looking like black crows
on fence. The time card gave them
two hours and twenty minutes to make
twenty miles, and all you hear is the
clickety click of the idle valves, the
squeak and cry of the brake shoes on
the smoking wheels and the low meas
ured snore of the airpump. and that
sound will put you to sleep like the
patter of rain on a roof or the sound of
horses munching hay when you're ~
ing in the haymow. Noah had nodded
once or twice, and Henry once had
yelled at him.
They had crawled down within five
miles Of the foot Of the hill when Noah
broke the stiffness: "Wope, wope! Look
out there! Stop 'er, stop 'erv'
Henry hooked the engine over, put
he air on full, screamed for brakes to
warn the trainmen, and the 40 set
against the train as mule sets back
at bad bridge, her wheels going
round the other way and flood Of fire
going out Of her stack. .,.
"Well," said Henry when they had
come to a stop, 'what is it?'
81 don't see nothin'," said Noah,
peering through his window.
"Well, didn't you say stop?"
81 never said nothin'."
"Noah, do you want to dep
'No, SIR
"S'matter, Henry?" shouted the head
brakeman from the top of the train.
81 don't know. Did you see any
thing?"
NO.
"Did you hear anything?'
ayes; heard Noah yell to you to stop
'er."
"Come out of there, Noah!'
81 won't come out, Henry, cause
you'll kill me. I won't take lickin'
when l amt done nothin'."
Henry passed his bony hand over his
eyes as a man will when not quite
sure of himself. He looked ahead
where the headlight shone on the two
thin threads of steel that turned three
cars away and disappeared round a
a high rock. By this time Henry's
wrath had cooled down, and without
another word he put the lever for
ward, released the airbrakes, and the
train moved forward again. When
the big black engine put her nose
round the curve, which was to Henry's
side, the engineer saw a great black
gap in the track, over which the
rails sagged, holding the crossties.
look out! Jumpw 1t was Henry's
voice this time, and Noah, being wide
awake, went out into the night. In
the meantime 40 was holding and
straining against the heavy train that
kept showing her nearer and nearer
to the gap that yawned in, the grade.
At last she stopped, with the soft
earth ooZing away under her pilot.
She could not move the fifteen loads
that were behind her-that had climb
ed the hill with the help Of two other
engines-so there she had to stand I'M
til help came and pulled the cars back
to sidetrack.
A little stream of clear water had
been trickling down the mountain side
for days and days and soaking into the
grade. Finally the fill became mushy,
and when the two light engines that
had helped Henry up the hill went by
they shook the grade, and the mush
slid out and down to the bottom of the
gulch 200 feet below. ~--
When the trainmen and enginemen
had come down and stood at the edge
of the break, little Tim Grady crossed
himself.
'Noah, you dirty faced devil,' said
High Henry, "come here an let me hug
you"