The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1921-07-08

II Was Hatch, Himself.
for. 1t was Hatch, himself, and he
died in our arms, the majors and
mine, while we were carrying him out
to where Mrs. Sheila was tearing one
Of the Pullman sheets that had got
hold of into strips to make bandages
for the wounded.
With the chance of saving maybe
another one or two, we couldn't stay to
help the brave little woman who was
trying to be doctor and nurse to half
a dozen poor wretches at once. But
she took time to ask me one single
GREATNESS question:
"Haye' they found him yet?-yOu
know the one l mean, Jimmie?'
NO" / said. They're digging away
at that side now," and then l ran back
to jump In again.
Though the fire was now licking at
everything In sight, Kirgan, who had
taken the ak from our fireman, had
managed to cut some of the car tim
bers out of the way SO that we could
see down into the tangle of things
where the cab of the 416 ought to have
been. There wasn't much left of the
cab. The water-gauge was broken,
along with everything else, but in
spite of the reek of smoke and steam
we could see that Hogan and his fire.
man were not there. But down under
the coal that had shifted forward at
the impact of the collision we could
make out the other Mantle murder
Manufacturing on his back, black in
the face and gasping.
That was enough for the boss. 1t
looked like certain death for anybody
to crawl down into that kissing steam
bath, but he did it, wriggling through
the hole that Kirgan had chopped,
while two or three of us ran to the
little creek that trickled down on the
far side of the "Y" and brought back
soaking Pullman blankets to try to de-
lay the encroaching fire and smother
the steam-jets.
] couldn't see very well what the
boss was doing; the smoke and steam
were so binding. But when did get
a glimpse l saw that he was digging
frantically with his bare hands at the
shifted coal, and that he had sue
ceeded In freeing the head and Shout
derS of the buried man, who was still
alive enough to choke and gasp In the
furnace-like heat.
Kirgan stood it as long as he could
until the licking flames were about to
drive us all away.
'YOun be burnt alive-come up out
of that y he yelled to the boss; but
| knew it wouldn't do any good. With
Collingwood still buried down there
and still with the breath of life in
him, the boss was going to stay and
keep on trying to dig him out, even If
he, himself, got burned to a crisp do
ing it. Loving Mrs. Sheila the way he
did, he couldn't do any less.
1t was awful, those next two or
three minutes. We were all running
frantically back and forth, now, be-
tween the wreck and the creek, soak
Ing the blankets and doing our level
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
aroundain front and behind in spite Of
all we could do. Some of it had got
to the coal, and the heavy sulphurous
smoke was Oozlng up to make US al
choke and strange. =.
Honestly, you couldn't have told
that the boss was a white man wfFen
he craWled up out of that pit of death,
tugging 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, Kirgan and Jones carrying
Collingw0od. &
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 over him just like his mother
might have, and when the boss knelt
down beside her heard what he
said: That's right, little woman;
that's just as it should be. Death
wipes out all scores. I did my best
you must always believe that I'did
my best"
She choked again at that, and said:
There is no hope?" and he said sim