The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1906-12-22

Winton put his soreheartedness far
enough behind him to smile and say:
Perhaps Miss Virginia will be good
enough to tell me how"
II don't know how" she rejoned
quickly "And you'd only laugh at
! me II should tell you what I
thought Of"
"You might try it and see," he ven
tured. I'm desperate enough to take
suggestions from anyone"
Tell me something first Is your
railroad obliged to run straight along
in the middle Of this nice little ridge
you've been making for it,"
"Why-no; temporarily, it can run
anywhere. But the problem is to get
the track laid beyond this crossing be-
fore your uncle gets back with q train.
load of armed guards"
amy kind Of track would do,
wouldn't it?-just to secure the cross.
ing?"
Certainly; anything that would
hold the weight of the decapod. We
shall have to rebuild most of the line,
out of the ground in spring."
The brown eyes became far.seeing.
II was thinking" she said, musins.
ty, there is no time to make an
other nice little ridge But you have
piles and piles Of logs over there
she meant the ross.ties-"couldn't
you build sort of dollhouse ridge
with those between your track and
uncle's, and cross behind the car?
Don't laugh, please"
But Winton was far enough from
laughing at her. Why so simple an
expedient had not suggested itself in
stantly he did not stop to inquire. 1t
was enough that the Heaven-born idea
had been given.
Down out of that, Morty!" he
cried. TITS one chance in a thousand.
Pass the word to the men; I'll be
with you in second" And when
Adams was rousing the track force
with the bawling shout of every
body!" Winton looked up into the
brown eyes.
my debt to you was already very
great; owe you more now" he said.
But she gave him his quittance in q
whiplike retort.
And you will stand here talking
about 1t when every moment is pre-.
cious? Coz she commanded; and he
went.
So now we are to conceive the mad.
dest activity leaping into being in full
view of the watchers at the windows
Of the private car. Winton's chilled
and sodden army, welcoming any bat.
tle-cry Of action. few to the work with
will. In twinkling the corded
piles of cross.ties had melted to reap
pear In Clubhouse balks bridging an
angle from the Utah embankment to
that of the spur track in rear of the
blockading Rosemary. In briefest
time the hammermen were spiking the
rails on the rough-and-ready trestle,
and the Italians we're bring up the
crossing-frogs.
But the Rajah, astute colonel of in.
dustry. had not left himself defense.
less. On the contrary, he had provid-
ed for this precise contingency by
leaving McGrath's fireman in mechan-
ical command on the Rosemary. If
Winton should attempt to build
around the private car, the fireman
was to wait till the critical moment:
then he was to lessen the pressure on
the automatic air-brakes and let the
car drop back down the grade Just
far enough to block the new crossing.
So it came about that this mechan.
ical lieutenant waited, laughing in his
sleeve, until he saw the Italians com.
ing with the crossing-frogs. Then,
judging the time to be fully ripe, he
ducked under the Rosemary to "bleed"
the air-tank.
Winton heard the hiss of the escap
Ing air above all the industry clamor;
heard, and saw the car start backward
Then he had fitting glimpse Of a
man in grilny overclothes scrambling
terror-frenzied from beneath the Rose
mary. The thing done had been over
done. The fireman had "bled" the air
tank too freely, and the liberated car,
gathering momentum with every
Wneel.turn, SurSed around the clrcltng
spur track and shot out masterless
on the sleeper gradient Of the main
line.
Now, for the occupants Of runa
way car on Rocky mountain line
there is death and naught else. Win
ton saw, in phantasmagoric flash
Of second sight, the meteor flight OF
the heavy car; saw the Reverend Bill
ly's Intellectual efforts to apply the
hand-brakes, il by good hap he should
even guess that there were any hand
brakes; saw the car, bounding and
lurching, keeping to the rails. may
hap. for some few miles below Ar
gentine. where 1t would crash head
long into the upward climbing Cav
Donate train, and all would end
In unreasoning misery, he did thu
only thing that offered: Ran blindly
down his own embankment. hoping
nothing but that he might have on
last glimpse of Virginia clinging t.
the hand-1ail before she should be lost