The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1920-07-15

| AIitE what rteiueu an toU ol NdlO
ing. he ventured another look ahead.
The rear loggIng-truck was hundred
yards In front Of him now. and from
the wheels of the caboose an odor OF
something burning drifted up to him.
"Tve got your wheels lockedv he half
sobbed. 'Tll hold you yet. you brute.
Slidel That's it, Slide, and fatten
your Internal wheels. Hahl You're
quitting-quitting. I'll have you In
control before we reach the curve.
Burn. curse you, burnl''
With a shrek Of metal scraplng
metal. the head Of the Juggernaut
ahead took the curve. clung there an
instant. and was catapulted out into
space. Logs weighing twenty tons
I stant. Bryce could see them in the air;
the next they had disappeared down
the hillside. A deafening crash, a
/ splash. a cloud of dust
With a protesting squeaf, the ca
/ boose came-to the point where the log
I ging-train had left the right of way.
I carrying rails and ties with 1t. The
slid into the dirt first and plowed deep
into the soil: the caboose came to
an abrupt stop, trembled and ratified,
overtopped its center of gravity, and
| fell over against the cut-bank, wearily,
like drunken hag.
Bryce. still clinging to the brake,
was fully braced for the shock and
vaS nnt aupo Off Calmly ha daccand-
ed the ladder, recovered the axe from
the bumper. climbed back to the roof,
tlptoed off the roof to the top of the
bank and sat calmly down under a
manZanita bush to await results, for
he was quite confident that more Of
the occupants of the confounded ca
boose had been treated to anything
worse than Wild ride and rare
fright. and he was curious to see how
Shirley Sumner would behave in an
emergency.
Colonel Pennington was first to
emerge at the rear of the caboose. He
leaped lightly down the steps, ran to
the front of the car, looked down the
track, and swore feelingly. Then he
darted back to the rear of the ca
boOse.
'All clear and snug as bug under
a chip. my dear" he called to Shirley.
Thank God. the cabcose become un.
coupled-guess that 700, brakeman
forgot to drop the pin, !; vas the last
car, and when 1t jumle1 the track
and plowed into the dirt, "a just nat
uroIIv nuit and tonplad oya. aootnot
the bank. Come out, my dear"
Shirley came out, dry-eyed, but
white and trembling. The Colonel
placed his arm around her, and she
hid her face on his shoulder and shud-
dered. "There, there !" he soothed her
affectionately. "Its all over. my dear.
All's well that ends WELL"
"The train" she cried in a choking
voice. where is itT"
'In little pieces-down in Mad
river"
Bryce Cardigan" she sobbed. "I
saw hlm-he was riding atop on the
train. He-ah, God help him !"
The Colonel shook her with sudden
ferocity. young Cardigan" he cried
sharply. "Riding the logs? Are you
certnln?"
She nodded, and her shoulders
shook piteously
"Then Bryce Cardigan is gonel"
Pennlngton's pronouncement. was SOL |
emn, deadly with its fat finallty. "No |
man could have rolled down into Mad |
river with trainload of logs and sur
vived. The devil himself couldn't" |
He heaved great sigh, and added: |
well. that clears the atmosphere con- |
siderably, although for all his faults, |
regret, for his fathers sake, that this |
dreadful affair has. happened. Well,
II can't be helped, Shirley. Poor deviIi |
For all his damnable treatment of me-
wouldn't have had this happen for a
million dollars"
Shirley burst into wild weeping
Bryce's heart leaped. for he under
stood the reason for her grief. She
had sent him away In anger, and he
had gone TO his death; ergo Il would
be long before Shirley would forgive
herself. Bryce had not Intended pre-
senting himself before her In his bat
tered and bloody condition, but the
sight OF her distress now was mors
than he could bear. He coughed slight
ly, and the alert colonel glanced up nj
him instantly.
"Well, I'll be hangedw The words
fell from Pennington's lips with a
heartiness that was almost touching.
Il thought you'd gone with the train"
Sorry to have disappointed you, old
top Bryce replied bllthely. "but I'm
Just naturally stubborn. Too bad about
the atmosphere ycu thought cleared a
moment agoi It's clogged worse than
ever now"