Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1916-06-07

er's chances for defending the right OF
way.
The conductor of the marooned
coach did not lose a moment in get
ting into action. An emergency tele-
phone was snatched from its bracket,
connected up with the main line wires
and the conductor called up Helen in
the Office at Las Vegas. In a few
words he told her what had happened.
and while Rhinelander and the dep
uties listened around him, he asked
what she could do to help them out
of their predicament.
Helen understood the necessity for
prompt action. But how, she asked
herself as she looked anxiously from
the office window up and down the
yards, to help them quickly? Her
eye lighted on the little roundnouse
away down at the lower end of the
yard
Resting within the friendly shade
of its north wall she espied the crazy
old yard switch engine, known ir-
reyerently among the switchmen as
soda Water Sal" Soda Water Sal
took her disreputab1e nickname from
the fact of her misfortune in being
crusted white good part Of the time
with alkali
The excited girl dashed at the top
of her speed down the platform and
across the yard to rouse the crew and
get them to carry her to Rhinelander.
But though Soda Water Sal stood as
peaceful as an old Dobbin munching
her MONDAY repast, the switching
crew was nowhere to be found. Be-
yond a doubt. Helen felt, they were
all down town, eating their dinners,
and to find them quickly was out of
the question. She called out a few
times, hardly hoping for a response,
and none met her ears. There was
steam up, and without loss of time
Helen climbed into the cab, and, open
ing the throttle, gave Sal steam.
A venerable mare, struck, in the midst
of her lunch, with whip, could not
have been more startled than the old
engine at Helen's summons. Soda
Helen touched her heels again. The
old machine let out an asthmatic
wheeze, sputtered, coughed and with
an uneven jerk started forward.
No such sight as she made was ever
before seen on the main line of the
Copper Range & Underwater. If Soda
Water Sal had been dancing a two
step on the rails, she could not have
plunged and cayorted more wildly
than she did as Helen, pushing her
to pace undreamed of in her long
and peaceful yard career, achieved a
miracle of speed with her.
Up the line, Rhinelander, the dep
uties, the train crew and the engineer
and fireman of the stolen engine sur
rounding tho marooned coach,
searched the horizon vainly for a sign
of assistance. The conductor, the mo-
ment after he had raised Helen On
the wire and told of their plight out
between stations on the main line.
had not been able to get another word
from Las Vegas office. In his impa-
tience and excitement, Rhinelander
had taken over the telephone and
used his best endeavors to make him
self heard by Helen. The suspicion
came to him that Seagrue. with some
unsupported deyfitry, had succeeded
in cutting off even wire communica-
ton from the helpless rescue party.
But as he dropped the receiver in de-
spair. shout arose among the dep
uties, and, looking down the far per
spectiye Of the long tangent that sep
arated them from Las Vegas, Rhine
lander's men saw faint line of smoke
on the horizon. 1t grew rapidly more
distinct and spread blacker and
heavier. An engine was bearing down
on them. The railroad men were nom
plused. None of them could recognize
in the distance the shan bling gait OF
the queer flyer. and soda Water Sal
was well upon them before they real
ICED 1t was she None the less hearty,
however, was her welcome, and when
the expectant throng made out Helen's