The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1921-07-28
The
Wreckers
by
FRANCIS
LYNDE
osSJnsts ~ c.at sars-ers se.s
CHAPTER III-ccrtinged.

rn3ef- 1he asked
Before ! could open ny mO1fh the
black shadows of the crooked valley
beyond tie switch were sk0t through
with the shits. s2irnDering giOW %
@ bsaGIlgb; beam. and second later
TIE special fleked into vieE on the
curve % spprOach-
~ ne looked. there vas q short.
tharp whistle yeip. the brskes grpped
the wheels. the oue-ear irat7. with FIRE
grinding from every brake-shDe. came
20 a Jerking stop short car-length on
our side Of toe switch. and 8 man
dropped from the engine step 70 go
fprfnfing 10 the rear And II was
plain that neither the engineer nor
the man who was running back saw
our outfit waiting On the Lex % the old
ssY"
Kirgan was the first one 70 under
stand With a shout 81 warning. he
Jumped and ran toward the stopped
train. yelling 81 the engineer for Gods
sake 20 pull out and go on. Back In
the hills beyond the curve Of approach
another hOnrse murnur was jarring
upon the air. aud the specials FIRE
mnn. who was the man We had seen
jump on and go running back. and
who. Of course. didn't know that we
had our man there, was apparently
trying 10 reach the switch behind his
train 10 throw II against the following
engine 10 shoot II on on the ~"
By this time the boss was on Of our
engine and racing across the angle Of
the 'Y" only little way behind Klr-
gan. He realized that his plan was
smashed by the stopping OF the spe-
cinl. and that the very catastrophe we
had come out to try 20 prevent was
due TO happen right there and then.
Whatever our man waiting nt the
switch might do, there was bound 10
be n collision. II he left the points
set for the main line. the wild engine
would crash into the renr end Of the
stopped special and II he did the 9TH
er thing. our engine and coach stand
Ing on the ''Y" would get H.
Get the people out OF that carl"
heard the boss below. but even MS he
said II the pop valve OF the stopped
engine went OF with n roar. flllDg the
shutin valley with elamorings 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 stlll
few feet short Of the switch the throw
ing OF which would have saved the
one-car train only 10 let the madmnns
engine In on our engine and coach, and
our maD-already at the switch--was
too scared TO know which horn Of the
dilemma TO choose, the end came.
There was the fash OF another head
light on the curve. another whistle
shrek. and turned 10 help the major
with her, against the horrible chance
that we might get It instead OF the
special.
But we didn't get II. Ten seconds
later the chasing engine had crashed
headlong into the standing train, bury
Ing itself clear up 10 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 afire as suddenly as II the old
Pullman had been fagot OF pitch pine
klndllngs and only waiting for the
match.
IL ! could write down any renl de-
scriptlon OF the way things stacked up
there In that lonesome valley for the
little bunch OF us who stood sghast at
the awful horror. ] guess I wouldn't
need TO be hammerlng the keys OF a
typewriter In railroad Office. But
never mind; no soldier sees any more
Of battle than the part he IL in.
There were seven OF us men, includ-
Ing the engineer and fireman OF the
special, who were able 20 jump In and
try to do something, and, looking back
at II now, It seems as II we all did
what we could.
That wasn't much. About half OF
the people In the sleeping-car--six by
actual count, ns we learned after
wnii were killed outright In the
crash or so badly hurt that they died
pretty soon nfterward; and the fire
was 80 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. lie had stripped Off his cont,
and he kept on diving into tho burn.
Ing wreck after another and yet an.
other Of the victims until II seemed as
II he couldn't possibly do II one more
time and come out alive. He didn't
seem 10 remember that those very men
were the ones who had been trying TO
ruin blm-that at least once they had
set trap for him and tried 10 kill
him. He was too big for that.
After we had got out all the victims
we could reach. there was st!l one
more left who wasn't dead; we could