Cleveland County herald., 1920-07-15

gan logs craWled in on the main track and stopped at the log-landhg in Pen nington's camp, the locomotive un- coupled and backed in on the siding for the purpose of kicking the caboose, in which Shirley and Colonel Penning- ton had ridden to the woods, out onto tile main line again-where, owing to slight downhill grade, the cabOOse controlled by the brakeman could coast gently forward and be hooked onto the end of the log train for the return journey to Sequoia.
 Throughout the afternoon Shirley, | following the battle royal between Bryce and the Pennington retainers, had sat disTnally in the caboose. She was prey to many conflicting emo tionS; but having had what her sex term "a good cry" she had to great extent recovered her customary poise and was busily speculating on the rapidity with which she could leave Sequoia and forget she had ever met Bryce Cardigan-when the log train rumbled into the landing and the last of the long string of trucks came to stop directly opposite the caboose. Shirley happened to be looking through the grimy caboose window at that moment. On the top log of the load the object of her unhappy specu- lations was seated, apparently quite oblivious of the fact that he was back once more in the haunt of his enemies,
 
 bitted ax he had so unceremoniously borrowed of Colonel Penaington was driven deep into the log beside hf1N with the haft convenient to his hand, probably had much to tfo with Bryce's air of detached indifference.
 Shirley told herself that should he move, should he show the slightest disposition to raise his lead and bring his eyes on level with hers, she would dodge away from the window in tiIae 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; at the sound of the impact Bryce raised his troubled glance just in time to see Shirley's body, yield | ing to the shock, sway into full view at the window.
 With difficulty he suppressed grin. sI'l bet my immortal soul she was peeking at me-" he soliloquized. Con found the luck 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 | brakaman-who had ridden down from l the head of the train to unlock the siding switch and couple the caboose to hurry Up, lock the switch, and 1 get back aboard the engine.
 Can't get this danged key to turn | in the lock-" the brakeman shouted presently. Locks rusty, and some things gone bust inside"
 Minutes passed. Bryces assumed | abstraction became real, for he had many matters to occupy his busy brain, and it was impossible for him to sit idle without adverting to some of them. Presently he was subc0nscious- ly aware that the train was moving gently forward; almost immediately, it seemed to him, the long string of | trucks had gathered their customary speed: and then suddenly it dawned upon Bryce that the train had started off without a single jerk-and that it was gathering headway rapidly.
 He looked ahead--and his hair grew creepy at the roots. There was no To- comotive attached to the train It was running away down a two per | cent grade, and because of the tre- mendous weight of the train, it was gathering momentum at 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 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 lessly slid cut of the log-landing and started on it's 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 predicament, Bryce Cardigan was tempted to jump and take his chance on few broken bones, before the train could reach a greater speed than 1 twenty miles an hour. His next im- pulse was to rG1 forward and set the hand-brake on the lea0ntg truck. but