The Concordia sentinel. (Vidalia, Concordia Parish, La.) 1882-current, 1920-06-12

load the object Of her unhappy specu
lati0ns was seated, apparently quite
Oblivi0uS of the fact that he was back
once more in the haunt of his enemies
although knowledge that the double
bitted Ak he had so unceremoniOust!
borrowed of Colonel Pennington was
driven deep into the log beside him
with the haft convenient to his hand
probably had much to do with Bryce's
air of detached Indifference.
Shirley told herself that should he
move, Should he show the slightest
disposition 70 raise his head and bring
his eyes OH level with hers, she
would dodge away from the win low
in time to escape his scrutiny.
She reckoned without the engine
With a smart bump it struck the ca
boOse and shunted it briskly up the
siding; ut the sound of tie impact
Bryce raised his troubled glance just
in time to see Shirley's body, yield
ing TO the shock, sway into full view
Mt the window.
With difficulty he suppressed a grin
"T'II bet my immortal soul she was
peelIing at me-" he soliloquized. Soon
found the lucki Another meeting this
afternoon would be embarrassing.
Tactfully he resumed his study of his
feet, not even looking up when the
caboose, after gaining the main track
slid gently down the slight grade and
was coupled TO the rear logging truck.
He heard the engineer shout TO the
brakeman-who had ridden down from
the head of the train to unlock the
siding switch and couple the caboOse
to hurry up, lock the switch, and
get back aboard the engine.
Cant get this DANCED key TO turn
In the lock-" the brakeman shouted
presently. Locks rusty, and some
things gone bust inside"
Minutes passed. Bryce's assumed
abstraction became real, for he had
many matters to occupy his busy
brain, and 1t was impossible for him to
sit idle without adverting to some of
them. Presently he was subconSciOus-
ly aware that the train was moving
gently forward; almost Immediately,
1t seemed to him, the long string of
trucks had gathered their customary
speed; and then suddenly ii dawned
upon Bryce that the train had started
off without a single ierk-and that it
was gathering Roadway rapidly.
He looked ahead-and his hair grew
creepy at the roots. There was no 10
connective attached to the train! 1t
was running away down a two per
cent grade, and because of the ire
mendOus weight of the train, it was
gathering momentum at q fearful rate.
The reason for the runaway dawned
on Bryce instantly. The road, being
privately owned. was. like most log
ging roads. neglected as to roadbed
and rolling stock; also it was under
manned, and the brakeman, who also
acted as switchman, had failed to set
the hand-brakes on the leading truck
after the engineer had locked the air
brakes. As a result, during the five or
six minutes required to spot in" the
caboose. and an extra minute or two
lost while the brakeman struggled
with the recalcitrant lock on the
switch. the air had leaked away
through the worn valves and rubber
tubing. and the brakes had been re-
leased-so that the train. without
warning. had quietly and almost noise
tessly slid cut of the log-landing and
started on its mad career. There was
nothing TO do now save watch the wild
runaway and pray, for Of all the mad
runaways IN mad world. a loaded
logging train is by far the worst.
For an instant after realizing his
nredicament. Bryce Cardigan was
tennted To iump and take his chance
on few broken homes. before the
train could reach n greater speed than
twenty miles an hour. His next i'm
pulse was to run forward and set the
mandrake on the leading truck, but
n glance showed him that even with
the train standing still he could not
hone TO leap from truck to truck and
land on the round. freshly peeled sur
rncp Of the logs without slipping. for
he had no calks in HIS boots. And to
slip now meant swift and horrible
death.
Then he remembered. In the wildly
rolling caboose Shirley Sumner rode
with her uncle. while less than two
miles ahead. the track swung In n
sharp curve high up along the hillside
above Mad river. Bryce knew the
leading truck would never take that
curve at high speed, even If the an
cient rolling stock should hold togeth-
er until the curve was reached. but
would shoot of at a tangent into the
canyon, carrying trucks, logs, and ca
boose with 1t, rolling over and over
down the hillside to the river.
'The cabOose must be cut out of
this runaway" Bryce solilOquized,
"and 1t mus: be cut out In q devil of
hurry. Here goes nothing In par
ticnlar. and may God be good to my
dear 0i5 man."
He jerked his axe out Of the log.
drove ii deep into the top log toward
the end, and by using the haft to cling
TO. crawled toward the rear Of the
load and looked down at the cabOose
I'M