New-York tribune., 1903-07-07
CHAPTER III.
A LITTLE SINGING

so that he could feel and hear and even smell
more keenly than ever before. The car, though
1t was at rest, duivered under him: a very
faint shriI snarl of steam pierced to his ear
drums, and he knew that somewhere the pipes
were twisted off. He fancied the pungent odor
of it in his nostrls. A quick vision of flame
bursting out past him. of red tongues fickng
closer and closer. so vividly before his
eyes that he shut them involuntarily in the
darkness. scramble first human sound ne
had heard-from somewhere In the drove
them open with wedge, and spurred every
fhre of him to escape. The flames were not
in the compartment. he saw. looking fear
fully around, yet 1t was not so black as he had
remembered it. He looked up. The so
turned that the window slanted toward the sky.
and there. round as the bulls eye of a target,
the moon was shining in at him. He tried the
door. but the wrenching had jammed 1t in
/ way, that it would not open He lifted the
broken water cooler. and with all his strength
slammed 1t against the window, so that both
panes broke outward and fell with a cIatter.
leaving ragged edges OF heavy glass all around.
Bradford hammered feverishly at them with his
clumsy tool until most of them were beaten
away. Then he sprang and clutched the lower
side and drew himself up. Slivers of glass re-
naming slashed his hands, tore his clothes.
caught at him everywhere but he paid at
flying flames hurryng him forward as auto
matically as machine. It was easy for him,
out of training though he was to pull his slim
body through the opening. to jerk his long legs
after him. to slide down the steep angle of the
car. He lighted upon his feet, and the danger
for him was over.
This is what he saw. On one side of him,
dropping away. sloped a gully bank, at an n
gle of 10 degrees. to a little stream choked with
bushes. where the water gurgled in the moon
light, and shot distorted images of her silvery
| roundness back to him. Beyond the creek rose
another bank but not bare and gravelly as
this was; all dark and gloomy, rather, with
underbrush and trees. Because Bradford had
landed facing all this he saw it-peaceful and
lonely and quite unterrifying. Then he turned.
The wheels Of the Pullman stuck out helplessly
before him. Further forward another car also
lay upon its side, nose pointed downward. They
were pathetically like struggling animals which
had fallen and could not rise again. Still
further on, at the foot of the slope, the stream
was crammed with debris-piled, boXlike masses
OF wood and iron, here huddled shapeessly. and
| there fiinging out a gesticulatory timber
iron rod. silhouetted nsaney against the pale
gray of the sky. Every detail tossed to
him with a relentless clearness. And, as he
looked, the terrible loneliness of mystery and
fear enthralled him. Not human being was in
his sight. He guessed that he had tainted. but
he had way of telling for how long; it seemed
to him wholly possible trat 1T might have been
for hours, and again the visions assailed him
visions OF all the men and women he had passed
among and listened 10 and wondered over, so
short a while ago, now all lying crumpled and
dead in this heap of ruins He sweated so
that his eyes filed, and he pulled his sleeve
across them to clear them. When he looked
again the wreck was alive with people, bleed
ing and crying and crawling toward him.
But it only one man. AS he came closer
Bradford saw that it the conductor of the
Pullman. One Of his arms hung limp. Brad
ford ran step or two toward him. MY God!
My Godw he cried involuntarily. You've
broken your arm! You've broken your arm"'
The crippled limb fascinated his eyes.
Have you got a match?' asked the conductor.
Bradford stared a him in wond rrnent. Yet
he thought, stupidity, if this dream one
question was as sensible as another
The conductors voice went up an octave and
broke into a scream. Got any matches, you of
careless parentage? you unfortunate. predes
tined, Internationally qualified fool? Quick.
can't you? Do you think this is a skyrocketed,
Roman candled. powder magazined Sunday
school picnic?" Bradford, still in a daze felt
mechanically in his pocket and found his match
safe, which he drew out and offered to the con-
Can you run? I can't; my legs to the bad
Bradford shook himself all over. tentatively.
II think I'm all right; 1 run"
Then run like hell. will you? Get down the
track quarter mile and build fire between the
rails God knows what we'll have on top OF this
mess next Eleven is due in thirty minutes
Watch the fire. and when you headlight
stand between it and the fire. and wave at
em-so"
Bradford began to run, in daze away from
the wreck. When he had gone hundred yards
he stopped irresolutely. The thought struck him
that he ought to go back and try to get some OF
those women out. That was the least a man
could do. The girl in the gray dress! She. too.
was in that hopeless welter! AS, with her, the
passengers lost their vagueness Of outline. and
became individual-Murdoch, and Bates, the col
lege professor. and the with the little
freckled daughter and the two boys from
Princeton. and the old lady with the grudge
against the physicians-he looked unsteadily
back. A light-two lights-were moving about
the wreck now. He groaned and ran on. When
he judged that he had gone quarter of mile
into the darkness he collected leaves and twigs
and set fire to them. The road followed the
gully backward, 50 there was plenty of brush.
Presently he had the flames learing and glowing
red up and down the rails. The glare Ike
blood and it acted him curiously, suggesting
what he feared TO see when he went back. SO
that he turned very sick. But he worked on,
staring all the time down the gIimmering path
for the coming OF the headlight half dreading
IL and half hoping for it, as knights OF old
waited and watched for the eye OF the dragon
they had to fight. Still the light did not come,
and presently a brakeman with lantern re-
ueved him.
How is 1t back there?" asked Bradford.