The Savannah morning news., 1902-01-12

of track before us Swinging in to-
ward the hills for half a mile or more
I lost sight of the colliding storm
clouds for a little space, but when, a
half minute later. we rushed round
an outward bending curve. I saw,
miles away to the northeast, a forest
being torn into fragments. Above it
whrled an indescribable cylinder of
cloud, an appalling monster of de-
struction. Almost black at the base,
it lowered heavenward for thousands
of feet, and spread out against the
Sky, dark green and veiled with curl
ing forks of lightning. AS it spun
round it seemed an infinite auger bor-
ing into the earth and tearing the very
hills into ruin. 1t was moving to-
ward the southwest with far greater
speed than ever a locomotive ran.
/ was on my knees in the left-hand
forward window of the cab clutching
the framework as the engine rolled
and plunged. 1 glanced at Stevens.
He was leaning forward watching the
tr9 ck ahead, the veins on his temples
distended, the cords of his neck stand
ing out The fireman seemed never to
look up. The handle of his shower
was wet, his face was streaming.
There they are!" Stevens suddenly
shouted. Pound it under her, Burns,
Give it to her!" He surged forward
over his knees, as if he would push
the rushing engine faster.
| looked ahead, for my eyes had been
lifted to the spinning cone of storm
approaching from the northeast With
one glance l saw that which made my
scalp creep. We were within three
miles of Treetor and something more
than a mile ahead of us the track
swung outward into the valley, follow
ing the base of long, projecting
L. Ar-s. .
curve we saw Drant'S special rushing
obliquely toward the outer point of the
sioping ridge; beyond the point of
land, perhaps a half mile, saw for
an instant the polished jacket of the
oil-wild's engine glitter against the
lightning; then she was lost to sight
on an inner curve.
Stevens saw it at the same moment,
and threw himself back and pressed
his hand over his eyes, writhing like
one who felt something of the pain of
the hundreds of human beings, who
must surely be crushed to death in
a few seconds. AS for myself / was
dumb with horror for a little space.
My tongue and lips seems suddenly
parched, and l swallowed painfully,
trying to speak. With my eyes follow
ing the special as she Numbered to-
ward destruction. / forgot the mon
conscious of pointing toward the
northeast and shouting something.
Stevens saw, and jamning the throt-
tie shut, fell forward on his knees and
gazed outward and upward, all his
features working oddly.
The vast. whirling cone of cloud
was coming directly across the valley
toward the point of the ridge. Houses.
barns, fences. trees, all things were
being sucked from the surface of the
earth by it's awful lips. The air about
us was green, and somehow all OBJ
jects seemed touched with a film of
rust.
1t looked that both Drant and the OIL
wild must sweep directly into il, or,
missing it, crash together the moment
the appalling thing had passed Could
Drant see it? No; the body of the ridge
rose between him and the reeling
wrack of force. The men on the oil
wild must surely see it. Would they
stop, or, trying to run by it, dash the
more certainly into Drant?
AS the mad speed of the '103" slack
ened we gazed forward in fascinated
terror at the converging forces near
the point of the ridge. The painting
fireman threw down his shovel. and.
dashing the sweat from his eyes, looked
and wondered.
Our suspense was but a few mo-
ments. With the roar and power of a
hundred rushing trains the cyclone
struck the point of the ridge. The wat
ers of the little river burst up the hill
side; tons of earth lifted into the air
and turned to dust; trees on the ridge
leaped clear of the ground like flying
straws, and, i'm the midst of Gust and
whiring atoms, we saw Drant's special
mount directly up the slope and stop
on the hillside, the engine turning on
its side. 1t was the most remarkable
vision ever vouchsafed our eyes.
Three minutes later we jumped down
from the '103" near the wreck. Around
the point of the ridge there was no
railroad track and scarcely any en-
bankment. The telegraph wires had
been swept away By searching I found
the bottom end of wire number two.
and attaching my relay, grounded the
wire in the mud at the rivers marge.
a half hour after the strange accl-
dent / called up TraYnor and gave
Train Master wilkins the following:
THE Chicago special is up on a hill
side about two miles west of Treetor
Most of the coaches are on the rails;
the track runs directly uphill. Engine
90 ran off the ends of the rails, lies on
her side. No one hurt. The oil-wild
stands on the other side of the ridge;
ran onto the twisted track and stopped,
cannot back the train without assist
ance. None of the crew injured No
track around the hill: a cyclone crossed
between the two trains, lifting the
track up the hill on each side and
breaking IL in the center. The ties and
fishplates held the rails together at
each side, and Drant's train ran up
the slope. We have fiagmen out east
and west"
wilkins said some odd and sulohu-
rous things on the wire. then added
Have ordered wrecking train for
ward Connect a wire through If you
can"
How is Charley?" / asked fearfully
Had him taken home: he's IN bad
shape Tell General Manager that I
gave the cross order--he will under
stand"
IT was like old Wilk hard and seri-
Gus on the surface. but tender as a
mother at heart He wanted 20 pro-
tect poor Sanline's good fame.
Two weeks afterwsrd. when the
queer wreck had been Strengthened out
and the track rebuilt. Wilkins took a
vacation and went with Charley TO Call
ifornia. The "old man" bought a
fruit ranch near San Jose and gave
Sanline an interest In Il. They never
came back save to visit us Charley's
outdoor life in CALIFORNIA; sunny or.
chards brought him health again, and
the old train master found the balm
and leisure OF his new life more con-
genial than running trains over the
hills OF Illinois" as he once, in peculiar
fashion. wrote ne.
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