The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1915-01-26

Juullu iOOS6 upon InlS IdlT laQQ, so /
found a coil of wire in the porters
closet and wired the handle of the
drawing room door fast to the bars
across the aisle. It'll take her some
time to get out. now, without assist
ance."
Ten minutes more had passed before
the two grimy and perspiring gentle
men succeeded in placing the hand car
upon the tracks.
TITS swell little hand car" Bar
Gus observed grimly: mo wonder they
| threw it away"
What's the difference how it looks,
as long as it will go?"
But will it?" Barcus doubted.
Somewhere far back along the line a
locomotive hooted mournfully.
It's got to!'' Alan replied, helping
Rose aboard. eff we can only get out
Of sight before they get here"
Don't worry" Barcus advised:
that's freight whistle"
Maybe you can distinguish the
whistle of q freight from that of a pas
senger train-I don't say you can't;
but III take no chances on your judg-
ment being good. Hop aboard here if
you're coming with us!"
Slowly the hand car stirred on it's
grease-hungry and complaining axles;
slowly 1t gathered momentum and
surged noisily up the track as Alan
ana Barcus, on opposite sides of the
handlebar, alternately rose and fell
back; slowly it mounted the slight
grade to the bend in the track, rounded
IL, lost sight of the stalled Pullman
on the siding and began to move more
swiftly on moderate down grade.
Behind 1t the thunder of an ap-
| preaching train grew momentarily in
volume, lending color to the. theory of
MT. Barcus that what they had heard
mad been the whistle of a freighter
rather than of the light engine. But
just as Alan was about to advocate
| leaving the tracks and taking the hand
car with them, to clear the way for the
train, its rumble began to diminish,
grew less and beautifully less, and was
| stilled.
What do you make of that?" Alan
painted across the racking bar
The obvious" Barcus returned.
The freight has taken the siding to
wait for some other through train to
| pass. Well have to look sharp and be
ready to jump"
The grade became a trace more
steep; the car moved with less reluc-
! lance
Let CO." Alan advised: "it'l coast
down the balance of this incline-and
wed better save our strength"
But they had barely regained their
breath and mopped the streaming
sweat away from theft eyes when a
second whistle, Of a different tone,
startled both back to their task.
Catching the eye of Barcus Alan
| nodded despairingIy.
Afraid it's all up with us now" he
groaned; that sounded precisely like
the whistle of the light engine"
Sure 1t did" Barcus agreed. cit
wouldn't be us If we had any better
luck. The saints be praised for this
gradei"
For all its age and decrepitude the
| hand car made very fair pace at the
urge OF the two who rose and sagged
again without respite on either side
the handlebar; and the grade was hap!
PLY long, turning and twisting like
snake through the hills
A little grace was granted them,
moreover, through the circumstance
(as they afterward discovered) that
the light engine had stopped at the
siding long enough to couple up Trine's
Pullman-thus automatically ceasing
to be light engine, and becoming
special.
1t was fully a quarter of an hour be-
fore the growing rumble of the latter
warned the trio on the hand car Just
as it gained the end of the grade and
addressed itself to a level though tor
tuous stretch of track.
And at this point discovery of the
switch Of a spur line that shot off
southwark into the hills furnished Alan
with his Independent inspiration.
Stopping the hand car after it had
jolted over the frogs, he jumped down,
set the switch to shunt the pursuit off
to the spur, and leaped back upon
the car.
Hardly had they succeeded in work
ing the hand car up round the shoulder
Of the next bend when the special took
the switch without pause and the roar
of it's progress, shut off by an inter
vening mountain, was suddenly stilled
to murmur
But even so, there was neither rest
for the weary nor much excuse for
self-congratulation; the rumble Of the
special was not altogether lost to hear
ing when the thunder of the freight
replaced and drowned it out.
Of sudden, releasing the handle
bar, Alan stood up and signed to Bar
Gus to initiate his example.
WELL" this last painted, when he
had obeyed.
Jump off-leave the hand car where
it is-th6y'l have to stop to clear it off
| the track"
"And them"
'1ll buy a lift from them if it takes
my last dollar in the world" Alan
promised Its our only hope. We
can't keep up this heartbreaking bust
ness forever-and it can't be long be-
fore Urine and Marrophat discover
| their mistake!"