The Republican journal., 1912-05-09
BILLY YOUNG.
STORY OF A REAL HERO.

country and he had to go to the town,
two miles distant, to get his education.
But many other things Billy learned on
his father farm. He knew much about
planting, cultivating, harvesting, and
about building, too. He was what is
called handy fellow. But no one had
ever thought of Billy as being hero.
Indeed, there had been nothing to make
people think so. There are millions of
heroes in this world who go through life
without their heroic natures beng dis
covered. This is for want of a chance to
show their bravery and thoughtfulness.
One evening as Billy was going home
from school he saw slight smoke coming
from a bank near to railroad track.
Billy s first thought was that some tramps
Were preparing a banquet there under
the shelter of the bank. But after he
had walked on for a quarter of a mile he
set to thinking about the smoke. Suppose
the fire had been started in some careless
or accidental way, and that no one was
in charge of it! Suppose good many
things! Billy turned round and went to
the spot where he had seen the smoke.
Smoke was still coming up in pale blue
streak, hardly perceptible a hundred
yards off.
On going down the bank to the spot
Billy found the cause of the smoke. Some
tramps had been cooking and eating ther-
and had built their fire against an old
railroad tie, which had caught on fire and
burned to the tracks. More than that,
two or three ties of the track itself had
burnt almost through, and lay black and
smoking. On the upside OF the tracks
was the steep bank down which Billy had
gone; on the doWn-side OF the tracks
was a steep incline, and the road curved
sharply at that point. Billy proceeded
to put out the fire by carrying water IN
his dinner pail from creek a short dis
lance off. After the fire was eXtlnguish-
ed Billy was on the point OF going home
when the danger of the situation came
to him. The ties in the track had burned
through-two of them. A third had been
badly burned, and all were together. This
would cause spreading of the rails when
the train came laundering along. Billy
stood aghast. The curve, the steep de-
cline on the down-side, the spreading of
the rails! This would occasion wreck
at least would derail the engine and ten
der, and possibly throw them headlong
down the embankment. The other cars
would be dragged along and human life
endangered. Billy sat down to think 1T
out He was one mile from home and one
mile from town. Both places were out OF
sight, hills cutting them from the view
of the spot where Billy now was.
Lets see, there's through traln-.a
fast express-at about five. Then there's
another, local, half an hour later. It's
now half-past four. | haven't time to
reach either home or town and get back
with help before train time. Guess III
have to stick it out here till the express
comes along. They'll send hack man
to give warning to the local"
Billy walked about, examining the
tracks. It had been a criminal thing to
do, that fire-building by those despicable
tramps. And now Billy must "stick to
his job of remaining to give the danger
signal. "But how can | warn them?'
asked Billy to himself 81 have no
lantern and it will be too dark at five for
the engineer to see me waving my white
shirt on the tracks-at least, not until he
has come too near to the dangerous place
to stop in time. I'll run up the track and
meet the train. That will give them
more time for stopping the train. Gee!'
And Billy looked up the sky, cts going
to pour, and pretty soon, too. Thought
all the afternoon it would rain before l
there's drop already But-the rain is
not the problem What or how. rather,
am | to signal the on-coming engineer?
As say, my shirt alone won do it. But
I'll have to wave it as a flag, as there's
no other way"
Billy proceeded to pull off his coat,
then his vest and then his collar and tie
Next off came his shirt, and the cold
March winds cut him to the bone.
Wouldn't like to go without clothes,
after the African style, grinned Billy,
hurriedly putting on his coat again. AS
he was buttoning his collar about him he
felt something hard in his coat pocket.
Thrusting his hand in he drew out box
OF matches.
"Well, | forgot l had EN-" he said.
Then an idea came to him. He would
make a torch out of his shirt and wave
it high above his head as the train came
bearing down the tracks. He quickly
looked about for good-sized stick on
which to tie the shirt. This was found
at the tirnberless creek in the shape of
board off an old tumble-down fence.
'Ah, this will make a fine flag pole,"
unused Billy. Then he looked at his
watch and saw that it wanted only
quarter of an hour till the train should
appear around the foot of range of hills
twenty yards off. Billy quickly prepared
his torch by wrapping the shirt firmly
but loosely about one end of the long
plank.
Billy tucked the end of his torch under
the skirt of his coat and hurried up the
track to meet the on-coming train. He
had barely rounded the curve when he
heard a long, low whistle. The train
was probably three miles away, and
would soon be there, for it was the fast
express and covered forty-five miles an
hour.
Billy fairly flew up the track till he
reached good place to stand. This was
projecting point on the upside bank,
and he quickly mounted there. Then ne
lighted match and touched the end of
his torch. The flame shot up and at The
same instant the engine came in sight
round the curve. Billy began madly
waving his torch, his heart beating as
madly. Suppose he should not attract
the engineer! The thought of such a
possibility was almost too much for the
brave boy, and his face paled. The rain
was coming down now, and threatened
to put out the blaze which was swinging
wildly over the tracks from Billy's point
of vantage. But Billy kept it moving so
rapidly that the very motion created a
fierce wind which famed the flame and
kept it alive.