Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-03-24

r EHfN g.
Whatever was to be done, she must
do 1t and it must be lone in haste.
Running through the freighthouse she
espied a coil of rope. 1t suggested
something-thOugh at the instant she
could not have told what. But she
caught it up on the instructive i'm.
pulse and ran out on the track. The
cars, flaming in the distance, were
coming down the long grade. A tele.
graph pole standing just above the
station put a wild idea into her head,
If she could pass the rope above the
burning car, it might help the en-.
gineer to escape from the top Try.
ing her skill as a plainswoman, she
ran a moose and cast the rope, lariat.
like, at the top of the pole.
In her nervous haste she failed,
again and again, to drop it over the
cross-bar. No rope was ever SO stiff,
clumsy and intractable, and the cars
were fast rolling nearer. But re
straining her fears she kept trying,
and at last, in spite of everything, she
landed the big moose over the pole and
bar. Across the track grew a hedge
of tall blue-gum trees. To the near
est of these Helen ran, and as fast
as she could, climbed the tree, the
loose end of the rope hung over her
neck and shoulder. Gaining a branch
high enough, and using all her
strength, she drew the rope taut- With
a few half bitches she made it fast
around the tree and tried it with her
weight.
The flaming cars, in spite of all that
Storm had been able to do, contin.
ued to gather speed down the Signal
grade. The engineer found himself
in a ticklish dilemma. For a jump
his chances now were no better than
if he stuck to the car, and he saw
nothing for it but to stick. Only, he
hoped nightly for something to turn
his way. He was fast apprOac ching
the station. From the gum-tree. hedge
he saw what seemed a branch waving
violently. Then he perceived it was
more than that, it was someone try
ing to signal him-a woman-and she
was climbing hand over hand out on
a cable stretched across the track.
But he could understand even less
h he saw of what she meant to
do. Overcome by flame and smoke
just before the cars neared the hedge,
he sank down on the deck. But H ellen
would not give up. Clinging as best
she could to the cable, she waited for
him to pass under her. Enough of
consciousness remained to Storm in
the fury of the fire to enable him to
realize as he came close that it was
Helen on the cable trying to save
his life. AS he swept under her he
raised himself. She clutched bIindly
at him, and holding on in desperation,
managed to drag him from the top of
the burning car.
The agent, returning from the camp
with Rhinelander, saw the blazing run
away; and, amazed, saw Helen hang
ing from her cable and striving with
failing strength to hold her heavy
burden.
He ran toward her, snatching a tar
paulin from a pile of cement bags as
he passed them on the platform, and
with Rhinelander reached the hedge
in time to break Storms heavy fall
into it when Helen let him go. A mo-
ment later she, herself, dropped ex-
hausted into the canvas
Below the station a deafening ex-
plosion shook the solid earth. 1t
sartled the two construction camps.
A new and sudden flame shot 40 feet
up into the air and dense clouds Of
black smoke beloved above where
the powder cars had stood. Seagrue
glanced as Spike as they stood to-
gether. Over toward the station two
men were carrying Storm into the
waiting room, and Seagrue, coming.
over, Joined them. Inside, he saw
bending over the unconscious en-
gineer, stretched on the floor, a slen-
der girl dressed in black. She turned
anxiously, in a moment, to ask If a
surgeon had been called. AS she did
80, Seagrue, dumfounded, looked into
the face of Helen Holmes.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)