The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-08-22

. l down here. though it's blowng a gale where the fire is? Hod on now, for I'm going to ipen her out, and were gong to do some tall running.
 With that he pulled open the throt- tle, and the engine started Wth Dg Hump, as if she had just seen the nFe and was badly scared. We went down the track for about a mile at q pretty good gait, cd then we had to stop Wllle
 Sam frightened a nut in the connecting rod
 Do you mean to run away from the fire?' asked.
 "I calculated to try it, said Sam, since it's our only chance, but dont believe that We can run as fast on this
 trek as the fire can. That fire is com ing on at the rate of twenty miles an hour. and whether this engine will keep
 on the rail at any such rate as that l
 have my doubts. Hello! Here comes l the snakes
 Well, we started off again running
 only about two or three minutes by Istopping, but the fire seemed to have gained on us about half the distance
 that it had been when we first saw it, and we were near enough now to near
 the cracking and the roaring ot the flames. I saw the fire strike big tree, and if you'll believe it that tree burst as if it had been filled with gunpoWder land vanished clean out of sight in less than a minute after the leaves began to lfrizzle. The wind was drawing toward
 the fire, but we could see by the way 1 the flames acted that 8 high east wind was bringing the fire down on us at an awful rate. The flames would shoot up
 thirty or forty feet into the air and
 wave just as if they were hurrahing at
 the prospect of catching us.,
 Our engine was doing at least twen-
 ty five miles an hour. and was swing ling from side to side and pumping over 1.-the joints-for we didn't have any fish lplates in those days-as if bound
 to jump the track. We had Outrun the
 snake procession, and the only live
 thing we could see was a coyote who
 was leaping down the track fifty yards ahead of us without so much as turning
 his head to see what was after him.
 How long will the track stand this
 sort of thing?' says to Sam as he fin
 ished shoveling fresh coal into the fife,
 "'Don't know, says he. Its eigh- teen miles from here to the Wachusetts river, and if we can get across the bridge ahead of the fire there is fair
 chance that 1t won't cross. I don't
 much believe that we will fetch the
 bridge, but if we don't it won't be be-
 cause I don't drive this yer engine fol
 all she's worth. We're dead men if sht
 jumps the track, and we're dead men il
 we stop short of the river, so we n1igh'
 as we'll let her go and take ou1
 chances"
 Sam hung on to the lever and l lluns
 on to the edge of the cab Winow. Nel ther ofd us could have kept our fee without hanging on to something,
 am free to say that first along l wat pretty badly scared, but when the en
 zine didn't leave the track for. all lie
 slewings and bunipings I began tt think she would carry us through. S' , far as l could see, the fire didn't gail any on us, but then we didn't seem t be gaining anything3to speak of on tn
 fire.
 Presently Sam swore in a genera sort of way and sung out to me t rake up the fire. I did so, and thel supposing that something must hay i, dissatisfied him, asked him what wa the matter" ... "'That derned coyotes the matter said he. We don't gain an inch o
 him, and 1 do most everlastingly hat |, to be beat by coyote. Here, you talk r the lever while I iie her 1ints a little s I'm bound to beat that coyote betwee , here and the river or to pile up this en
 gine I never seen such an impuden . derned brute since I took to railroad a ing"
 Well, Sam went out on the engin :, with his oil can, and when he had oie , her to his satisfaction he came bac , and raked up his fire again and fusse 1, around with his gauges. He seemed . have forgotten all about the danger " < were in and to think of nothing br f racing with that coyote. Pretty 500 5 we could see that we had gained litt] n on the beast, and Sam was as cheerfl ', as he would have been if he had bee sitting comfortably in a Bucephalus ss !, loon. He never so much as locke z back at the prairie fire, that was a c near as ever and as bent on gatherin {, us in"
 d "'The ground is sort of loose an :, swampy just below here, if remenbt o right, said I. Will she keep the tracl s do you think?'
 Q Sam didn't answer me, for he wa 7, leaning out of the cab and watchin Y the coyote. Suddenly he sings ou a Hurrah, boysy The coyotes losing h
 wind There ain't ten minutes mol r run in him, and we'll be atop of him q less than that time.'"
 z Just then we struck the swanr a part of the road that I have bet If speaking of, and, one side of the trac ,- sinkingj little too deep the engir ,- jumped the rails and struck out aero r. the prairie on her own hook. Sam ar IF I jumped at the same minute, ar n when we picked ourselves up the ei q zine was lying on it's side about a rc away from the track and the tend = was trying to climb over the wreck" !" ,d "'That there coyotes won, after al ,r said Sam. He's got 8 fresh wind, ar n he's safe to make the river in time " save his bacon.'
 ,e Whats the use of talking abo
 him?' says I. Tell me what we're g
 s..SA out Nf "