Cavalier County farmers press. (Langdon, N.D.) 1920-1921, 1921-07-28

best to beat the fire back and keep it
from cutting off the only way there
was for the boss to climb out. But we
could only fight gaspingly on the SUR
face Of things, as you might say. Down
underneath, the fire was working
around in front and behind in spite of
all we could do. Some Of 1t had got
to the coal, and the heavy sulphurous
smoke was oozing up to make us all
choke and strangle.
Honestly, you couldn't have told
that the boss was a white man when
he crawled up out of that pit Of death.
Juggling and lifting the crushed and
broken body Of the mailman, and max
ing us take it out before he would
come out himself. We got them both
away from the fire as quickly as we
could and around to the other side of
things, K!rgan and Jones carrying
Collingwood.
The poor little lady we had left
alone with the rescued ones had done
all she could, and she was waiting
for us. When we put Collingwood
down, she sat down on the ground
and took his head in her lap and
cried w him just like his mother
might have, and when the boss knelt
down beside her I heard what he
said: That's right, little woman /;
that's just as 1t should be. Death
wipes out all scores. I did my best
o must always believe that / did
my best"
She choked again at that. and said !:
There Is no hope?" and no said: t""I'ml
arraid not. He was dying when / got
to him."
| tried TO swallow the big lump in
my throat and turned away, and so
did everybody else but the major, who
went around and knelt down on the
other side of Mrs. Sheila. The wreck
was blazing now like a mighty bon
fire, lighting up the pine-clad hills all
around and swapping and growing
like some savage monster g1oatfng
over its prey. In the red glow we saw
a man limping up the track from the
west, and Kirgan and 1 went to meet
him. It was Hogan, the missing en-
gineer of the 416.
He told US what there, was to tell.
which wasn't very different from the
way we'd been putting it up. They
Hogan and his freman-hadn't sus-
pected that they were carrying a ma
MAC until after they had passed Baux-
Mite and Collingwood had told them
both that what he wanted to do was
to 4overtake the special and smash 1T.
|. Then there had been a fight on the en-
CINE. but GollingWood had a gun and
Me had threatened to kill them both
if they didn't keep on.
Il KEEP her goin'," said the Irish
man, .'thinkin maybe Jonesy'd keep out
of my way. or hat at the lasht I'd get
a chanst to shut the Sixteen off an
give her the brake. He KEEP mi firm
dom it. and whinI saw the tail-lights,
/ pushed johnnie Shovel off an whit
afther him because there was nawth-
in'else to do. Johnnie's back youndher
a piece, wild a broken leg
Just then Jones, the specials en-
gineer, came uD, and he Dieced ont
Hogan's story. The wire to Bauxite
had warned him that a crazy nan was
cbasing him and overrunning stop
signals. He had thoughtto side-track
the chaser at the old .sYf' and that was
what he had stopped for. q
Thereupon the three of us went
after the crippled fireman, and when
we got back to the .eY''with him Il
was all over. Collingwood had died
with his head in Mrs. Sheila's lap. and
the boss, tagged outand half dead as
he must have been. was up and at
work, getting the wreck victims into
our day coach, which had been backed
up and taken around to the other leg
Of the sY' to head for Portal City.
When 1t came time for us To move
Collingwood, Mrs. Sheila pulled her
veil down and walked behind the body,
with the good old major locking his
arm Id hers, and that choking lump
SUmO h6uth mJsCAiiSdt HWAASA ~
membered what Collingwood had said
to the boss the night he came to our
! Office: sSheila made her wedding jour
ney with me once, when she was just
eighteen. The next time She rides with
me twill be at my funeral
i guess there's no use stretching the
agony out BY telling about that mourn
full ride back to Portal City with the
dead and wounded. We left the wreck
blazing and roaring In the shnt-in
valley at the gulch's mouth because
there wasn't anything else 10 do Kir-
gan and Jones and inc OF the fireipen
handled the engine and pulled out,
while the rest of us rode i'm the day
coach and did what we could for the
suffering.
Az Banta we made q stop long
enough ID LEI the boss send Il wire 10
Partial City. turning out the doctors
and tho amhnlapeea and the under.
takers s.ana though was after three