Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-15
(;90lNES

1
as most men. Itll be a pleasure for me to
work for mother and Doie they shall nevei
them"
The sun had gone down and the new moon
was high in the sky when Jarvis set out on
ms return lie listened and looked as far in
each direction as he could but heard and saw
nothing of any train
The express goes by every night about this
Cllne, unless 1t is late he said to himself. 81
can hear it long before there is any danger
| sh9udn wonder now, if it was known how
ihuch money I've got about me, that some
tramp would waylay me; but III keep sharI
Lockout and fight shy of all such customers" "
me boys apprehensions. were increased
when he fancied he saw the outlines of a
man in the middle of the track, a short dis
tance IN advance. He stopped with some
thing like consternation
- wonder whether he is coming this way
III he is I'll run"
lntently into the gloom but il he really had
seen a person, he had vanished, and nothing
more visible.
Il thought at first that he might have
been hanging around Squire Hawkins office,
ana an ,d,,6, had seen him pay me the money; but
Nevertheless as he moved forward again.
he walked slowly and as noiselessy as he
could. When he had gone several hundred
yards, without seeing anything to cause fear,
he was quite sure he had been mistaken in
the first place.
By-and-by he distinguished the dull but in
clreaslng roar of the torrent sweeping under
the trestle-work. When he arrived aft the
edge, ne felt that it was risky undertaking
to walk over it at night but looking down
ward, ne found there was enough moonlight
to enable him to see the ties, while the tor
rent below was only family visible 1t was
therefore, easier to walk at that hour than
in the daytime
Ihere were, no signs of an approaching
train from either direction, and scarcely hes
ltatlng Jarvis stepped forward, and began
picking his way across the structure.
All went well until over the centre. when
he received the most frightful shock of his
whole life. The framework, which inclosed
some eight or ten ties, suddenly sank quite
two feet.
forward, and in two or three desperate leaps
reached solid ground
Pausing then, and looking back. he saw
what 1t all meant. Since the passage of the
last train, the torrent had washed away
part OF the supports, so that the middle of
the structure rested nothing at all Its
connection, even in frail way with the rest
OF the bridge, prevented it from falling into
the stream.
The slight weight of Jarvis caused it to
drop little, but boy like him was of no
account, When, however, locomotive should
so much cobweb, and an appalling disaster
would be the result.
In warning the express of its peril. Jarvis
Brlnton would do no more than has been
done many times under almost similar cir
cumstances by individuals in different parts
OF the country. He had no thought of act
ing the part of hero, but, he trembled with
unspeakabe dread when he reflected what
seemed almost certain to happen.
AS near as he. could judge. the night ex-
press was due. At any rate, as he was with
out the means of judging the right time, he
dared not leave the track to hunt for help
The noise of the torrent would drown his
voice If he called for assistance, and there
was no house nearer than that of Squire
Hawkins. II he should run thither, the cal
amlty was likely to be precipitated during his
absence.
1t was necessary that he should decide
quickly what to do, if, indeed. he could do
anything
.''The train comes from Des Cartes," he
said, looking back over the track in that
direction, and I'll walk down the road till
meet 1t. If it happens to be late tonight I'll
have time to get opposite Squire Hawkins,
where | can make them hear me-
This, however, necessitated the recrossing
of the dangerous structure, from which he
naturally shranl; but no other course was
open to him, for the stream could not be
forded either to the right or left, and the
highway was the nearest point where it was
spanned by another bridge.
Jarvis recalled that the structure. although
it sank certain distance, had still borne his
weight and it was not likely that it would
yield to any further extent. At any rate. he
showed genuine pluck in making the venture
He walked as quickly as he could. and
when he realized he was directly over the
furious torrent, which would be certain to
drown him, should he fall, his sensations were
peculiar indeed. Holding his breath, he ad-
yanced as fast as he could. and breathed free