Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1909-07-23

crooked line there and after that a
long. clear stretch, and he wanted to
get around the second curve and warn
us there.
He was making pretty well along
toward the second curve, running his
head against the storm, and was just
where he was out of sight of both
trains-the Dude standing still and we
a-coming-with woods along the inner
side of the curve, so that nothing what
ever could be seen of him or his Ian
tern at that point from either train.
Then suddenly he heard my train roll
Ing up In the distance.
"He started to run, Jimmy did, to
get around the second turn in season
to signal me there. 1t seems that he
knew that he had plenty of time to
make the bend, as he owned up after
ward, but he wanted to be mighty
sure.
"Just as he started up what do you
suppose happened? A stronger gust
of wind than any of the rest come
whistling through the scrub, and that
and the motion of Jimmy's start to
run blew out his lantern. Then my
train coming along roared louder yet,
for the wind was coming to him from
my way.
Jimmy wasn't at all scared. He
knew he had time to strike a light.
He put his fingers in his upper vest
pocket after matches. No matches
there. That made him feel kind of
queer. Then he put his fingers in his
other vest pocket. None there either.
"Then be felt In the hover vest peck
cts, in the inside ones, in every blessed
pocket that he had In his clothes.
There wasn't a match on him.
"He heard my train roaring nearer
and nearer. 1t was coming around the
second bend. Then. he owned up, Jim
my wal a good deal scared.
HE jumped right down the middle
of the track In the dark toward my
train, not knowing what he was going
to do, but feeling that somehow or
Other he was going to stop the train
before it went on and crashed into
the express. AS he ran my headlight
doomed out on him through the mist
coming up around the bend.
"He yelled like q mailman, but his
voice might as well have been the
squeak of a mouse. Not a sound could
be heard through the racket that the
storm and the locomotive made to-
gether, as you all would know very
well.
"As for me, l never heard nor saw
a thing on the track before me, though
Jimmy stood straight in the middle of
it all the while, waving the lantern
with no light in it and hollering till
he was black in the face. My head
light seemed to me to be shining about
a dozen feet into a kind of thick pud-
ding of rain and mist.
Jimmy told me that he stopped all
at once when it seemed that my head
light was not fifty feet away from
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1t occurred TO him that he hadn't time
to be scared. He must take time to
think. So he thought, and the lives
of 200 people depended upon his think
ing to good advantage.
HE wondered If it would be best to
throw himself down on the track and
let the tram go over him. He was
willing to do 1t If it would do any
good. But he thought that the chances
were ten to one that his body would
throw the train Off the track, whereas
there was at least a small chance that
If my train went on I might bring it
to a stop some way In time to save a
bad smashLp.
Anyhow. he resolved not to throw
himself doV n, but to do the thing he
did do. He stepped off the track-and
by this time l saw him dimly by the
light from the headlight-and, measur-
ing his distance coolly, he threw his
lantern with all his might through
the side window of the cab.
A luck would have 1t. the lantern
got free of the broken glass before 1t
struck me, and the bottom of 1t hit me
fair and square in the side of the
head, here, just where you see the
mark. For an instant it stunned me,
but by the time / had got back my
senses l found that l had reversed the
engine and put on the air brake and
the train was coming to a stop.
at was Just second nature to any
engineer-and Jimmy Caswell knew
well it would be--to know any human
being wouldn't do a thing like. that
unless there was good cause for the
engine to stop. My fireman would
have stopped the train If / hadn't
when he sew the lantern come in. but
he says that he hadn't more than
heard the crash of the lantern through
the window before he saw me jump
for the throttle and the air brake.
"After the train had come to a stop
and l, without knowing what had
really happened. was wiping the blood
of my face and thinking that some
body had tried to kill me and wreck
the train that boy came running up