The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1910-12-29
A YOUNG
HEROINE
By r, A. mitchell
Copyright 1910. by American Press
Association
BY F, A. mitchell

daughter. a girl of fourteen. ~ must
have a doctor. You are the only per-
son to go for him, your mother being
half sick herself. 1t is u wild naGht.
know, for little maid to 20 out aud
walk two miles to the Doctors: e0ly
the fear Of my dying and leaving ysur
mother and yourself in our present des-
titute condition for want Of 4 dostor'S
skill makes me willing to let you GO"
There is no reason why shouldn't
60, father" said Jenny, getting down
a little ragged coat from a peg.
eyes. there is said the father. with
the previshneSs of a sick man. "Youll
have to cross the railroad bridge, and
Pm afraid the wind will blow you off.
Take the lantern, and be sure to take
a box of matches in case you need to
relight it. There is no train down for
more than an hour. but the up passen-
ger express is due In thirty-fve min
utes. IT will take you Eve minutes to
reach the bridge and Eve more to cross
1t. That will give you plenty Of time.
But don't attempt to Cross In 60 you
are delayed -..#
Jenny lighted the lantern from
wisp of burning paper and, taktAg z
box Of matches from a sheh. so8ied
forth into the darkness 1t Wa but
hundred yards TO the track. sad she
knew every step OF the way - we'll
that she could have gone over It with
out the lantern Once on the track, 1t
was but short walk to the bridge.
She dreaded to cross it for the cause
her father had mentioDed-thAt the
bowling wind might blow her Oh and
down hundred feet into the t0rront.
Besides. she knew what her father
had known but had not spOken-that
an engine or Il train not laid down on
while she was on 1t.
But there was no stouter hearted
maid In that region than Jenny
Hughes. though she had never given
evidence Of it. She boldly set fest on
to the bridge. stepping from tie to de-
never faltcring till she reached . point
over the torrent Then. Obliged to
brace herself against the wind hear
ing the roaring waters below, thsugh
che could not see them. she falteFed.
But not for long. The possible loss Of
Aer father, whom she dearly loved,
gave her courage, and she pushed -,
Z, =, She had crossed the. center Of the
1eidge and was entering upon . part
under which was a stone support whsu
che saw that one side Of the track
was considerab bly, lower than the 9th
+, Or. She knew that Lhe abutment was
giving way. and any train crossing
the bridge would 80 down to its ruin
and the death of those on it. To cross
this part. Il distance Of some 6fty
feet. was fraught with an additional
danger. The SIoping Of the ties to one
side alone would force her to era wi
over them. and the bridge might go
down at any moment. But she thought
with horror of the train of which her
father had spoken and the people on
it. who would be hurled down into
the abyss if she could not warn them.
and. forgetting the danger. crawled
Oh to the SJnnling ties.
She WAS obliged to go very slowly,
but by dint of clutching rail with
one hand while she held the lantern
with the other she passed the injured
part and in !: few minutes more reach
ed the land on the other side Of the
stream. She knew that she had been
at least twice as long as her father
had calculated she would be and not
more than twenty minutes. probably
fifteen. would elapse before the ar
rival of the up train. The thought Of
what she must do to warn the engi-
neer made her incauti0us. Intending
to take position as far as possible
from the bridge. she hurried on. Sud
denly she tumbled into a cattle guard.
She was stunned and. worse than
that, the light in her lantern was ex-
dnguished. But she pulled herself to-
gether. hunted for its two parts that
had become separated. till she found
them and taking her box Of matches
from her pocket lit one Of them.
Though the wind blew it out at once
she had time to see that there We're
not half a dozen matches in the box.
She scratched another match and it,
too. was extinguished by the wind. An
other and another attempt was made
till all her matches save one were
gone. For Il moment she gave way to
despair, then concentrated her little
brain on the great problem of saving
scores of lives. Tearing the skirt OF
her cotton dress to shreds. she made
miniature tent Of her coat, scratched
her last match under it, touched the
fame to one Of the shreds. placed 9th
ers over it.. and in a moment her IAN
tern was reli%hted
This done. she era wled out from the
cattle guard and ran along the track,
but now more cautiously. Within
few minutes she heard the rumbling OF
the train and began TO swing the Ian
tern. The brakes were whistled dswn
and the train came to stop.
When those on the train went for
ward and saw the condition Of the