The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-23
THE MINNEAPOLIS JOURNAI

comes out lower down. That same train
will 20 by down there In a few minutes.
what's that down there on the bench?
That's a side track and wood yard.
Why. there's q passenger train comm UP
the mountain
An invisible hand seemd to clutch Sor-
rel,s heart and take 1t from him; his
pulses seemed to stops That runaway
trainll 60 plumb thru that passenger" he
gasped. It'll never leave thing OF EN-
on the track
The imperiled train was possibly two
miles distant, but seen thru the clear
mountain air it looked to be- much nearer
1t was the Northern Mail, scheduled to I
meet the train the mogul was pulling at
train would reach the spur on time. but
the hand whose function it had been to
close the noguIs throttle was lifeless |
now, and the brakeman who expected to |
throw the switch was lying among the Il
| rocks with a gasf1ed forehead and a
/ broken leg.
! Sorel stood still a moment, all uncon-
1 scious Of the glory OF morning on the
mountain heights, and the vast panorama
spreading away from his feet. Dhe pic
ture Of the Northern Mail. curving and
STRENGTHENING, glinting and hiding and re-
j appearing, as it climbed toward the sum-
nit enthralled him. "A burning fight OF
lawful things swept thru his mind. In q
4 few minutes the beauteous scene would
darken with unspeakable tragedy. The
monster mogul would crush thru the on
q coming train and hurl everything into
!. ruin. "A hundred happy human beings
would be rent and battered i'll the grind
and crush and rail and rock would be red
dened with blood.
7. Like one breaking from a horrible
dream sorrel suddenly started, paused
lhesitatingly, then plunged down the grav-
elly slope into the woods His freckled
face looked white, his dust-rimmed eyes
were wide and glowing. II can only git
down to that spur in time an can git
the switch OPEN, he was saving. as ne
t hinged thru fallen tree-tops and over
! howlders and down shelving breaks. He
seemed in CONSERVATION; he had all but
! rushed over the edge Of a break khlch
( dropped sheer downward for apparently
. t1ftv feet It looked as If he might step
: from the edge directly into the tops OF the
mines below. With a. strange, whining cry
he ran along the brink of the precip1ce
looking wildly for some place where he
might descend. He wasted only rev
seconds in the search; then flung himself
over the edge and began hurrledly WORK.
ing his way. downward, cltnging to Ylnt
and hrambie and ledge as he went. II
his heart burned so hot a haste the neee
az speed was so great, the responsibility
that Law upon him was SO overwhelming
he could not be careful. Suddenly his fee
Skinned. his clirging fingers jerked tn
vine growth from the rocks and ne whlrlee
ha edward into space. The unconscious
nv which springs Of mortal terror hat
scarcely left his throat when he felt him
self strike and a dizzying pain shoot tnr1
his frame. He grasped some object an
and turned himself; he was hanging \
the fork Of a tree! instantly ne pui ne
Ground. Here he found the wood NOR
enen and the railroad track In sight, an
10 ran forward with all his might. stoop
,nr halfway to the ground. Sometnln
was the matter with his side he wa
dimly conscious of terrible pam, put
a,,Ig not stop. He must beat the nog,
to the switch. rae was Au1iAtA1ie =
with death.
Almost falling, he came down upon tn
track AS he crossed 1t he heara II
thunder Of the runaway train. With
half dozen mad bounds ne was at u
switch. He tore at the lock in kin
~ insanity. How should he ever get
loose? suddenly he snatched UP a hea,
STONE and delivering blow upon blow be-
tha lock to pieces. Jerking out the pl
he threw the lever round, pinned 1t asai
leaped back, all his features Wild al
working. The next moment the tra
@ bi1rst round a bend In a storm OF enois
some Of the upper works of the huge e
cine were lying along the boiler top Al
she looked Alike sonle mighty animal rus
ing forward With ears laid back In rae
SorreI drew farther away, bending a1mc
double his mouth white and puekere
his eyes starting. With deafen1ng g re 9
SPUR Nothing short Of solid mounta
wall seemed capable Of stopping the
q unbridled bolts OF force. The buntl
~ post at the end Of the spur was sWe
away like reed and the whole ira
led by the great ram, went headlong do
the sloping mountain side.
Should Sorrel Banks live thousa
years he would not forget that special
Trees leaped from their roots, great spu
of bearing stone shot into the s
= about the mogul whirled a cahos Of brt
en- things, a cracking thunder followed
Sorrel bent forward, gasping speechle
Down, down the train plunged, cult
thru everything, until, d quarter of a n
away, he saw the mogul leap clear
the earth and, streaming fire from
open furnace door, turn once In the I
and then he heard her fall with an apr
ling crash at the bottom of canyon.
! number Of cars leaped upon her, SC
$ en- rolled over sidewise near the brink. T
pro silence fell.
the Sorrel, pale and laboring for bre'
out turned toward the track. The NORTH
turn Mail stood not 200 feet south Of him.
nong dozen men were running toward him.
ter turned round and round; he seemed so
AASSss | where IN a uOrTlDlC- UI0dlu. Liz, cL6A
from of The ma II WA f,rst RI reach him.
en- s'Tell us What's going on here?
'reck painted
ONE Sorrel stood bending forward. his hi
outn: clutching his side. His twisted mt
mself worked drvlv: his poor soiled clio
he in were sadly torn: his hands and face
lance streaked with blood. turned her
rock the mountain he whispered, boar
head IT s'pose that handkerchief with tn b
splin- an meat in it went down there, tor
u the didn't git thru eatin'.'
o. the He turned his glazing eyes aroun
lraw- the wondering men, put one OF his h
were to his throat, and suddenly plunged
boose ward upon his face The blue clad
side ductor pushed thru the crowd, follt
next by the sheriff from Palouse. AT the
train moment a dusty youth crept from
mail car and came up the track
got to
n the -
inward ?
40 for