The spectator., 1921-07-12
The W1reckers By
 FRANCIS LYNDE
Copyright by Chas. scrlbncrs Sons
CHAPTER XiX-Continued.


 mie?" she asked.
 Before l could open my mouth the black shadows of the crooked valley beyond the switch were shot through with The white, shmmerinc glow of Il headlight heam@and d second later the special kicked into view on the curve of approach.
 As we looked there was short, sharp whistle yelp, the brakes stripped the wheels. the oue-car train. with fire grinding from every brake-Shoe, came to jerking stop short cHr-ieHgth on our Side of the switch and q man dropped from the engine step to go sprintin& te the rear And if WAS plain thaJ 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 oue to under stand. With shout of warning he jumped and ran tawara the stopped train, yelling at The engineer for Gods sake 10 pull ont and go on. Back in the hills beyond the curve ef approach another hHar>e marmUr was iurrjn@ upon the air aud 1he specials fire man. who W#~ fhe aaH We ha4 seen jump off aud 2e running back. aud who. of course. dtdn't know Ihat We had our man tbere WaS apnnrentiX trying to reach the switch hehiad his train to throw it against the following engine 10 shoot il off on she @3
 By this time thc boss was off ef our engine and racing across the au@lg of the "4" only a liftle way beAaa Kir- gan. lie realized that his plan WaS smashed by the stopping of the Spe- cial, and that fhe very catastrophe We had come out 10 try to prevent Was due te happen right there aud theR. Whatever our man waiting at the switch misht do, there WaS bound to be a collision. IT he ieft 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 oth- er thing. our engine and coach Stand- ing on the "Y" would get it.
 Get the people out of that car' heard the boss below. but even as he said it the pop-valve of tine stopped engine went off with a roar, filling the shut-in valley with clamotinES that nothing could drown.
 Two minutes. two little minutes more, and the Sleep-Sodden bunch of men ill the specials ear might have been reused and turned out and saved. But the minutes were not given uS. While the racing fireman was still few feet short of the switch the throw ing of which would have saved the one-car train only to let the madman's engine in on our engine and coach, and our man-already at the SWiteh-was too scared to S1OW which horn of the dilemma to choose. the end came. There was the flash of another head light on the curve, another whistle Shriek, and turned to help the major take Mrs. Shrila off our ear 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 it's side in the ditch, and setting the wreck age atire as suddenly as if the old Pullman had heen fagot of pitch pine kindlingS and only waiting for the Amatch
 If | could write down any real de- Scription of the way things stacked up there in that lonesome valley for the little bunch of us who stood aghaSt at the awful horror, | guess l wouldn't need te be hammering the keys of d typewriter in railroad office. But never mind; no soldier sees any more of d battle than the part he is in. There were seven of us mon. iuelud- ing the engineer and fireman of the special who were able to jump in and try to do something, and, looking back at it now, it seems us if we all did what we could.
 That wasn't much. About half of the people in the sleeping-car six by actual count, as we learned after- ward-were killed outright in the crash or so badly hurt that they died pretty soon afterward; and the fire was so quick and so hot that after we had got the wounded ones out we couldn't get all of the bodies of the others.
 As you'd imagine. the boss WAS the head and front of that fierce rescue fight He had stripped off his coat, and he kept on diving into the burn ing wreck after another and vet an other of the victims until it seemed as if he couldn't possibly do it one more time and come out alive. He didn't seem to remember that these very men were the ones who had been trying to ruin him-that at least once they hard set trap for him and tried to kill him He was too hip far that