Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-01-18

placing of that switch. Perhaps that was
why they jumped to the work the moment
that the Cleveland Express had Numbered
past. They had made up their minds to
stand by Doran, even as he had championed
them on occasion in the past. What was
more, they were accustomed to maintain,
if need be with hard hitting fists, that when
it came to a test Doran was the only en-
gineer worth talking about on the road.
Presumably that was the reason they toiled,
heaved, and sweated as they had never done
before in the dust and sweltering heat of
July sun. Doran noticed their super
exertions, and felt it his duty to interpose
warning.
easy there! Easy, Boys!" he cried. II
don't want to have an accident or any of
you fellows laid up sick
MacNab, his foreman, was at the end of
a rail straining the muscles of back, chest,
and shoulders built magnifcently on the
elephant strength pattern. He jerked his
head around, disclosing face begrimed and
dripping with sweat.
@An right, Sir, all right, Mr.. Doran," he
responded, with knowing look. "Don't
you worry about US. If we don't surprise
someone with this darned old switch, he can
have all our designations that's fact!"
So the work went on rapidly under Do
rams exhaustively calculated plan Some
minutes before the Interocean was due he
looked over the situation, and saw that it
was safe for the passage of the train; that
the work would be finished within the time
reckoned, allowing the two minutes to spare.
So he called in his flagman from round
curve leading directly to the bridge, regard
ing the switch as practically complete.
Doran pushed back his hat, mopped his
brow, and pulled himself together with
grin of satisfaction. The foreman glanced
along the cleaning rails to see that the
track was clear for the Limited, and the
men gathered up their tools.
SUDDENLY rending crash smote upon
their ears from the bridge. Doran look
ed quickly, to see that the engine of local
passenger tram had jumped the track and
was grinding its way to halt right across
the down line on the bridge. A second or
two later the throat of the Limited engine
gave forth warning that she had entered
miles an hour for the bridge.
Doran glanced at the still uplifted arm of
the signal set fair for the Limited, and reck
oned that the signalman in the tower had
not seen the accident on the bridge. In a
fash he also grasped the fullness of the ca
tastrophe impending if the Limited was not
stopped before hurting itself to a collision
with the local. If the signalman did not
derai1 the Limited, there was one way he
might do so, suggested by his spontaneous
ingenuity, and avert terrible loss of life,
but at his own most certain risk. 1t was the
lesser disaster for which the derail was pro-
vided, but which evidently the signalman
was failing to grasp.
Doran sprang half dozen yards up the
! track, whipping out a pocket knife and open
ing the blade as he ran. He presently
dropped to his knees and wrenched off the
wood cover of narrow box half buried in
the track. This disclosed a set of electric
wires connected with the deral motor,
which in turn operated the heavy iron bar
attached to the inner rail of the line With
the roar of the onrushing Limited in his
ears, Doran swept his knife blade across
the exposed electric wires. By this means
he hoped to close the circuit and lift the iron
bar to the rail. His features were tensely
drawn as he turned his head backward to
watch the effect of a theoretically accurate
but hitherto untried experiment. The bell
of the Limited's engine was now changing
furiously and her whistle shrieking as the
train swept down on him with all brakes
set. He knew the steel monster was close
upon him without chance of being stopped;
but he kept his knife blade to the wires and
his gaze fixed on that bar. My Heavens! if
it didn't work, not his life alone but dozens