The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1909-03-11

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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, tc
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 TIC
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 he felt in the lower vest peck.
cts, in the inside ones, in every blessed
pocket that he had in his clothes.
There wasn't match on him.
HE heard my train roaring nearer
and nearer. It was coming around the
second bend. Then, he owned up, jim
my was 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
othe@ 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 mailman, but his
voice might as well have been the
squeak Of mouse. Not sound could
be heard through the racket that the
storm and the locomotive made to-
gether, as you all would know very
we'll.
'As for me, never heard nor saw
thing on the track before me, though
Jimmy stood straight in the middle of
1t 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
dozen feet into 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
him. Probably 1t was more than that.
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 train go over him. He was
willing to do it If it would do any
good. But he thought that the chances
were ten to one that his body would
throw the train of the track, whereas
there was at least small chance that
II my train went on I might bring It
to stop some way in time to save a
bad smashup.
Anyhow, he resolved not to throw
himself down, but to do the thing he
did do. He stepped off the track-and
by this time I 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.
AS luck would have it, the lantern
got free Of the broken glass before 1t
struck me, and the bottom of it 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 had reversed the
engine and put on the air brake and
the train was coming to stop.
1T was just second nature to any
engineer-and Jimmy Caswell knew
well 1t would be to know any human
being wouldn't do thing like that
unless there was good cause for the
engine to stop. My fireman would
have stopped the train If l hadn't
when he saw 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 w1ping the blood
of my face and thinking that some
body had tried to kill me and wreck
the train that boy came running up
alongside the cab, painting, clean out of
breath, and climbed up, all wet, into
the cab. MY gracious he managed to
get out pretty soon. did l hit your
Somebody hit me- says I; 4 don't
know who twas nor what twas
threw my lantern at you,' says
he as cool as a frog. III
you did, says I. We'll. what did
you do that for?'
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