Charlevoix county herald., 1921-06-24

With our own engine silent. could
! fiuttering Of safety-valve. We were
not ten seconds too soon. The special
was coming.
Mr.. Norcross, who was still I'm the
engine cab, shot an order at Kirgan.
"Fling your coat over the headlight,
and then be ready to snatch 1t and
get off" he shouted. "If they see 1t
as they come up, Ii may stop them !"
Then, catching glimpse of me on the
ground: "Break the coupling on the
coach, Jimmie-quick -
AS I jumped to obey l understood
what was to be done. The fireman Mt
the switch was to let the special go
by, and then the boss-just the boss
alone on the engine-'Was 70 be let
out on the main track to put himself
between the chaser and the chased. It
was hair-raising proposition, but per-
haps-just perhaps-nOt quite so sui
cidal as it looked. With skilful han
ding the interposed engine might pos
sibly be kept out OF the way by back
ing and its warning headlight shin
| ing full into the eyes of the men in
the 416's cab would surely be enough
to stop them-if anything would
/ had just finished uncoupling the
| day-cOach and the boss was easing our
engine ahead n bit to make sure that
she was loose, when the car door
opened behind me and the major and
| Mrs. Sheila came out in the front
vestibule. 1t was Mrs. Sheila who
spoke to me, and her voice had Dor
rowed some of the big terror that l
had seen in her eyes while she was
sitting in the office at Portal City.
"Where-whereabou are we, jim
mie?" she asked.
Before / could open my mouth the
| black shadows of the crooked valley
beyond the switch were shot through
with the white, shimmering glow of
d headlight beam, and second later
the special ficked into view on the
curve of approach.
AS we looked, there was q short,
sharp whistle yelp, the brakes gripped
| the wheels, the One-car train, with fire
grinding from every brake-shoe, came
to jerking stop short car-length on
our side of the switch, and man
dropped from the engine step to go
sprinting to the rear. And it was
plain that neither the engineer nor
the man who was running back saw
our outfit waiting on the leg of the old
"Y."
Kirgan was the first one to under
stand. With shout of warning, he
jumped and ran toward the stopped
train, yelling at the engineer for Gods
sake to pull out and go on. Back in
the hills beyond the curve of approach
! another hOarse murmur was Earring
upon the air, and the specials fire.
man, who was the man we had seen
jump off and go running back, and
| who, of course, didn't know that we
had our man there, was apparently
trying to reach the switch behind his
train to throw it against the following
engine to shoot it off on the "Y.'
BY this time the boss was off of our
| tHSillt anu IdClIS dtIOSS TIC uuSic VI
the "Y'' only little way behind Kir-
gan. He realized that his plan was
smashed by the stopping of the spe-
cial, and that the very catastrophe we
had come out to try to prevent was
due to happen right there and then.
Whatever our man waiting at the
switch might do, there was bound to
be a collision. If he left the points
set for the main line, the wild engine
would crash into the rear end of the
stopped special; and if he did the 9th
er thing our engine and coach stand
ing on the "Y" would get it.
sect the people out Of that CARP |
heard the boss below, but even as he
said it the pop-valve of the stopped
engine went off with a roar, filling the
shut-in valley with clamorings that
nothing could drown.
Two minutes, two little minutes
more, and the sleep-sodden bunch of
men in the specials car might have
been reused and turned out and saved.
But the minutes were not given us.
While the racing fireman was still q
few feet short of the switch the throw
ing of which would have saved the
one7car train only TO let the madman's
engine in on our engine and coach, and
our man-already at the switch-was
too scared to know which horn Of the
dilemma TO choose, the end came.
There was the flash of another head
light on the curve, another whistle
Shrek and l turned to help the major
take Mrs. Sheila off our car and run
with her, against the horrible chance
that we might get it instead Of the
special.
But we didn't get it. Ten seconds
later the chasing engine had crashed
headlong into the standing train, bury
ing itself clear up to the tender in the
heart of the old wooden sleeper. roll
ing the whole business over on its side
In the ditch, and setting the wreck
age afre as suddenly as If the old
Pullman had been fagot of pitch-pine
kindlings and only waiting for the
match.
| n could ,..,.ito Hoxry opv rooI 10