The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-17

over for the present, when, just as 1
was reaching into the tender with my
shovel, he slipped from his seat, and
something, / don know what. gave me
warning. tried 10 turn and
. straighten up. but the hammer in his
/ hands came down on 10y thigh with a
force that ought 10 have split the
bones. I felt as though they We're shat
| tered, but managed 10 grapple with
him. and as J looked into his eyes then
saw that j was dealing with 4 man
who was either mad or in an insane
rage. / called 10 him 10 remember the
passengers. that the train was in our
charge, but he spat at me and tried 10
wrench his arm from my grasp. If he
ever got that hammer free again / felt
that il was an day with me, and /
cluns 10 him with a cold sweat break
ing out all over me. We We're on the
Esparata upgrade At the time, with
( thr throttle pulled wide open. and TWO
on three minutes at The most would see
us at the crest with the long curve
down shoot and its three curves before
Us. i shuddered as / thought of this.
and while / held him against his seat
like "a vice begged him 10 stop at least
until we had reached Pulls, when he
could settle with me in whatever man
Her he pleased His only answer was
more determined struggle 10 get free.
l don't suppose We were locked JOgeth-
er more like a century. / didn't dare
seemed like a century. l didn't dare
let go of him. but something had 20 be
done and done quickly on that train
load of men. women and children were
doomed TO death. The lever of the
throttle stood there alongside us, and
1 could have clgsed it by swinging our
bodies against it, but that would have
meant a rush backward TO as certain
destruction as il We mounted the curve
and Went down with il wide open. 1t
occurred TO me once To close the throt-
tie i'm this way but SchmalZ's left arm
grasped me as tenaciOusly as 1 held to
him, and this would have rendered my
effort futile. That he was mad, abso-
lutciy mad there was no doubt in my
mind now and the only hope OF saliva
tion for The train rested on myself. OF
( that / was certain.
What 81 world of thought man can
conjure up while mere seconds are be-
/ ing licked off / never knew until l was
| in that desperate situation with the
maniac. and plan after plan arose and
WAS dismissed from my mind as l con-
1ured up the possible fate in store for
Others and ried TO think Of some way
To effect their rescue. At last it oc-
CURED 10 me that / might close the
throttle. ] had previously thought II,
and then, by pulling Schmalz around
with me, perhaps set the air brakes
: WTh my left hand The instant that
idea Was born, I attempted its eNecu-
/ ton, for il seemed feasible. but
/ Schuslz's strength came back and
tried to throw him against the lever,
and by superhumm effort he tore
himself from my grip. The hammer
! fell from his hand as he did SO. and /
reached for my shovel With the intcn-
I tiou of killing him for the safety Of
f The passengers. but as l sIasped il ne
. recovered the hammer and the blow
! descended before / could swing the
shovel 10 its work That my spine
+ wasn't broke is "A miracle. though the
blow completely paralyzed my legs al
the time and left me the wreck / am
( today In he brief fraction Of a sec
/ ond, however, / fell helpless on the cab
/ iiooT my shovel came down on the en-
! CHEERS head. a sort Of spasmodiC
movement, 1 guess. and his body dis
appeared ina the space between the
tender and the engine.
Il lay there with my back pressing
The coal i'm the tender. my senses wide
awake and alert but 1 couldn't move
muscle. Within i've feet OF me was
/ the mechanism with which ! could
bring the train 10 a stop, but 7 could
/ only Tie there and hook at il. Back OF
i me was a nne-car train. freighted with
+ hundreds of men and women, not one
/ OF whom would escape death in our
/ plunge into the abyss that NaWned al
/ the first curve OH the doWngradc
/ alone, of all the train. knew that the
rustic OF deaths robes sounded above
| the ClaJter. of the wheels. and / alone o.
all was absolutely unable To prevent
| its harvest. II you can by any twist OF
/ the imagination place yourself men.
tally an my position, YOU will under
stand how awful it was. That it didn't
drive me mad is more than amazing
[ but my brain swung 10 its balance and
Wlde-eycd, ] stared into The cab. when
] felt the floor on which ! was lying
erect itself TO a level We were on the
/ crest of the grade ana this fearful
plunge 10 terrible death-death at tho
! foot of a precipice 600 feet deep-waS
on.
II closed my eyes and turned ice cold
[ When The coal behind me tilted for
/ ward just "a trifie, the nose of the en-
Slne pointed down and the wheels be-
gan TO Whirl with only that rapidity
which gravity added 10 steam can give
God knows how ] suffered in that frac-
I ton Of minute bat suddenly the wild
! speed we had began to make was
Slackening. and there was that slight
bump. bump from The cars that told nae
/ the air was being applied. ! ShiVored
! and dreaded. for some uuaccountab BILE
reason. 10 open my eyes, but at last
WIN a Jerk, / parted the lids and stared
/ INTO the cab again. Not soul was
there. ] Was alone. lying helpless. YET
that engine was under control. Startled
~ eyes swept the CAB. and as they dill
/ 50 ! saw the THROTTLE lever slide from
/ The quarter 10 full close, and the air
Drake valve missed as more pressure
/ was applied. The mechanism seemed 10
I De worked OF itself and then. Ior tho
/ HISt time In the few minutes of hor-
! r"rs l had gone through, my brain fair
: iN loiJered and ! Tried 60 CRY our. but
/ my tongue, swollen with q namCieSe
/ year chung 20 the roof of nv mouth
/ should have gone mad i'm that de-
llTi"us moment, bu- as ] looked at the
I closed throttle a faint. sIayish-white
seemed 20 surround its handle. and be-
| IoIc / could quite make up my mind as
| 10 what IL was. line after line sprane
/ ''-'' "''i'l Ni-A as We loNlQcu LndI FIRST
I curve me appUItun of old Caldwell
/ Was crouchms iu his usual manner nu
,he bench. his hands graspins The
lhiotue and air valve and his face
{ turned toward The lookout. must have
! tainted at this. for / don't rcmcp,ber
I any more until / came % as J was h.
ing Ii-ed from the cab at Pulls. The
/ ua+n mad come To a stop exactly al the
station. and / was discovered uucon-
ScIous, partly n the cab and partly i'm
/ The tender
laid in The hospital for months.
/ ana When / came OUT the company gave
ne this berth The body Of ScImaI2
was discovered no Tho Innl II ihn ,.l.t,. /,