The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1920-09-10

the front of the caboose. His chin
was bruised, skinned, and bloody; his
nose had been broken, and twin rivu-
lets of blood ran from his nostrils. He
wiped it away, swung his axe, drove
the blade deep into the bumper and
left it there with the haft quivering !;
turning. he climbed swiftly up the
narrow iron ladder beside the brake
rod until he reached the roof then,
still standing on the ladder, he
reached the brake-wheel and, drew
it promptly but gradually around
until the wheel-blocks began to
bite, when he exerted his ire
mendous strength to the utmost
and with his knees braced doggedly
against the front of the caboose, held
the wheel
The brake screamed, but the speed
of the caboose was not appreciably
slackened. "It's had too good start I"
Bryce moaned. "The momentum Is
more than can overcome. Oh, Shir-
ley, my love! God help you!"
He cast a sudden despairing look
over his shoulder downward at the
coupling. He was winning, after all,
for q space of six feet now yawned
between the end Of the logging truck
and the bumper of the caboose. If
he could but hold t,:at tremendous
strain on the wheel for a quarter of
a mile, he might get the demon ca
boose under controll
After what seemed an con of wait
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.
1--WE got your wheels locked !'' he half
sobbed. ''Tll hold you yet, you brute.
Slide! That's it! Slide, and fatten
your internal wheels. Hah! You're
quitting quitting. I'll have you in
control before we reach the curve.
Burn, curse you, burnw
With Shrek Of metal scraping
metal, the head Of the Juggernaut
ahead took the curve, chung there an
instant, and was .catapulted out into
space. Logs weighing twenty tons
were flung about like kindling; one in
slant. Bryce could see them in the air;
the next they had disappeared down
the hillside. A deafening crash, a
splash, cloud of dust
With protesting squeal, the ca
boose came to the point where the log
ging-train had left the right Of way,
carrying rails and ties with 1t. The
wheels on the side nearest the bank
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, YEARLY,
like drunken bag.
Bryce, still clinging to the brake,
was fully braced for the shock and
was not flung of. Calmly he descend
ed the ladder, recovered the axe from
the bumper, climbed back to the roof,
tiptoed 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 none of
the occupants of the COMPOUNDED 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 |
Colcrel Pennington was first to |
emerge at the rear of the caboose. He I
leaped lightly down the steps, ran to
the front Of the car. looked down the
track, and swore feeiingiy. Then ne /
darted back to the rear Of the Gu
boose.
"All clear and snug as bug under
a chip. my dear, he called to Shirley. /
Thank God, the caboose become un-