Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1910-08-03


I with blood. The shock of the iron
fragment had affected his optic nerve.
Fortunately, his brain was clear.
He ross u%nsteadily. He must find out
what had happened to Dan. But this
seeing in duplicate bothered him. He
reached toward what he thought was
the real hand-rail, and came near
pitching off head first. The next
time he got it, dragged himself pain
fully forward, and looked along the
flank Of the engine.
The worst had happened. The bot
tom of the cab had been torn away.
It's top hung on the boiler, a twisted,
battered wreck, and flung under it
lay a blue-clad body, with one leg
swinging loosely near the whirling
steel fail. Even as he looked, the
knee bent slightly, and a groan
reached his ears. Dan was still alive,
but fearfully hurt. Phil saw that the
forward end of the running-board had
been. smashed to flinders, and real
lied that it was one of the fragments
that had struck his head.
But he had no time to think of
himself. The first thing to do was to
stop the train. That came ahead
even of succor to the engineer. In
deed, it was the quickest way to aid
Dan. The fireman could not help him
so long as the parallel rod was flying
loose. Every time that rod came
down, it gouged the, road-bed and
ties; every time it came up, it hit the
cab. 1t would be a miracle if Dan
got out alive.
A culvert whirred beneath. Derby
Brook! Only two and a half miles
to the station. That meant a little
over two minutes.
The throttle, reversing lever and
air-brakes were on Dams side of the
cab. so it was not of any use to think
of them. Perhaps Dan had shut off
the steam anyway before ne was dis
abled. But the momentum of the
heavy Grain rushing along the steady
down grade would be sufficient to
carry it to destruction, ever if the
whirling connecting rod did not lift
and throw the locomotive from the
track. Something must be done.
Phil decided to break the connection
of the air-pipe, swinging under his
feet between engine and tender. To
do it he must get down OF the step.
A spur-track flashed by-Morri-
sons Siding. A half-mile gone.
Phil reached carefully for the rail,
and swung down on the left step,
until he could peer underneath the
tender. The dusky space above the
rushing ties seered full of pipes,
their connections well in toward the
centre. Holding on with his left
hand, he stretched his right over the
hose toward them. His reach fell
short by several inches.
Round a curve they whirled, and
Phil almost went off backward.
Their speed was terrific, not a mile
under sixty-fve an hour. Scattered
houses fitted by. They were enter
ing the outskirts of the city.
The fireman realized that to break
the connection he must climb practi-
cally under the tender, at that high
speed a. difficult and dangerous task
even for an uninjured How
could he do it with his dizzy head and
double vision?
He thought Of the three hundred
men behind, ignorant of their peril.
Twining his legs round the iron step.
he started to push himself under the
car.
A yell of alarm was whirled away
behind him; he caught a sidewise
glimpse of splintered wood and
twisted framework. That was the
wreck! Lucky they had been able to
get the track clear before the train
went by.
He pushed out one hand tentative
ly toward what looked to be the
framework OF the forward trucks,
but touched nothing. Down he
lurched. With a strong effort, he
drew himself back from the road-bed
spinning away SO fast under his face,
and tried again.
This time he touched solid iron.
From.the ties flashing beneath, the
dust rushed up into his face in a hot
whirlwind. 1t blinded his eyes, it
choked his mou.I with grit. Coal
dust sifted on him from above. For
a second ne steadied himself, his hand
on the hot iron, his body quivering
ielly-like from the jar of the thun-
dering wheels. Suddenly the air
cleared. The road-bed grew blacker.
A strong smell Of sun-warmed kero-
sene rose to his nostrils. Already
they were in the railroad yard. rock
ballasted and sprinkled witn oil. The
station was less than half a mile
ahead.
Phil clntched at a swinging con
nection, and again his fingers came
together without anything between
them. 1t was m%addening.
1t was such Il little thing to do,
such a simple thing; only the pulling
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