The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-07-29


and grateful.
"Pm only sorry that you have been
Obliged 20 see and take part In such
frirhtful horror. that's all. AS for your
beine I'm the way-it's quite the other
filing. Crawford owes his life to Mr..
Van Lew and Jefferis. and as for you
three" including Eleanor and the two
vounr women, "your work is beyond
any praise OF mine. I'm anxious now
merely because | don't know what TO
do with you while we wait for the re-
lief train to come"
"Ignore US completely" said Ele-
amor promptly. I'VE are going over
TO that little level place by the side
track and make a campfire. We were
lust waiting TO be comfortably for
given for having burdened you with
pleasure party at such time"
1--WE couldn't foresee this, any OF
u.s." he made haste to say. "Now, IL
you'll do what you suggested-go and
build fire TO wait BY hope 1t won't
be very long"
Ordinarily the mere fact of n de-
structive derailment leaves little to be
discovered when the cause is sought
afterward. But, singularly enough, the
curved track was torn up only on the
side toward the hill; the outer rail
was still in place, and the crossties,
deeply imbedded in the hard gravel of
oh The A
mutilation of the grinding wheels.
Broken flange under the 215, I'll
bet" said Groner, holding his lantern
down to the gashed ties. But Bradford
denied it
mo" he contradicted; Crawford
was able to talk little after we toted
him back to the service car. He says
IL was n broken rail; says he saw II
and saw the man that was flaggin' him
down, all in good time to give her the
air before he hit it"
"What man was that?' asked Gro
ner, whose point of view had not been
that of an onlooker.
Lidgerwood answered for himself
and Bradford
THAT is one of the things we'd like
smash man. whom none OF us recog-
nized. ran down the track and tried to
give Crawford the stop signal"
They had been walking on down the
line. looking for the actual point of de
railment. When it was found it prov
oil fsro q, cnpIsa, a., ,,ark U>h,ro
was n gap in the rail on the river side
of the line, but it was not n fracture
At one of the joints the fishplates were
missing, and the rail ends were sprung
apart sldewise sufficiently 10 let the
wheel flanges pass through. Groner
went down on his hands and knees,
with the lantern held low. and made
another discovery.
This amt no happen-so, Mr.. Lid
gerwood," he said when he got up.
THE spikes are pulledp'
Lidgerwood said nothing. There
are discoveries which are beyond
speech. But he stopped TO examine
for himself. Groner was right For
a distance of eight or ten feet the rail
had been loosened and the spikes were
gone out of the corresponding cross
ties. After Il was loosened the rail
had been sprung aside, and the bit of
rock inserted between the parted ends
to keep them from springing together
was still in place.
Lidgerwood's eyes were bloodshot
when he rose and said:
I'D like to ask you two men as men
what devil would set trap like this
for train load Of unoffending pas
sengers?'
Bradford's slow drawl dispelled
little of the mystery.
ut wasn't meant for Groner and his
passenger wagons, reckon. In the
natural run Of things It was the 2G6
and the service car that ought to we
hit this thing first. 20i bein' supposed
to be half hour off her schedule 1t
was aimed for us. all right enough.
And 1t wasn't meant to throw us into
the hill neither. If we'd hit it goin'
west we'd be in the river. That's why
it was sprung out instead of in
Lidgerwood's right hand. balled into
n fist. smote the air, and his outburst
was fierce imprecation. In the midst
of It Groner said. "Listenl' and mo-
ment later n man walking rapidly up
the track from the direction of Little
Butte station came into the small cir
Gle Of lantern light. Groner threw the
light on the newcomer, revealing
haggard face-the face of the owner
OF the Wire Silver mine.
Heavens and earth, Mr.. Lidger-
wood, this is awfulw he exclaimed
81 heard of it by phone and hurried
over TO do what could. My mon Of
the night shift are on the way, walk
ing up the track, and the entire Wire
Silver outfit Is at your disposal"
81 am afraid you are little late.
Mr.. Flemister." was Lidgerwood's re-
joinder, unreasoning antagonism max
ing the words sound crisp and I'M
grateful. "IIalf an hour ago.
"yes. certainly. Goodloe should
have phoned me IL he knew" cut in
the mine owner. "Anybody hurt"
"Half of the number involved and
six Dead" said the superintendent So
berly. Then the four of them walked
slowly and in silence up the track to-