Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1921-07-01
Continued

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 ii
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 it 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 white man when
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 1t out before he would
come ont 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
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 over him just like his mother
might have, and when the boss knelt
down beside her l heard what he
said: That's right, little woman;
that's just as it should be. Death
wipes out all scores. / did my best
you must always believe that l did
my best"
She choked again at that, and said:
"There is nc hope?" and he said: I'm
afraid 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 gloating
over its prey. In the red glow we saw
a man limping up the track from the
west, and Kirgan and / went to meet
him. 1t 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 fireman-hadn't sus-
pected that they were carrying a ma
Mac until after they had passed BauX-
lite and Collingwood had told them
both that what he wanted to do was
to Overtake the special and smash 1t.
Then there had been q fight on the en-
CINE, but Collingwood had gun and
he had threatened to kill them both
If they didn't keep on.
II KEEP her goin'," said the Irish
man, "thlnkin' maybe Jonesy'd keep out
Of my way or that at the lasht I'd get
q chanst to shut the Sixteen off an
give her the brake. He KEEP me firm
dom it, and whin / saw the tail-lights,
/ pushed Johnnie Shovel off an wint
afther him because there was nawth-
In else to do. Johnnie's back youndher
piece wild a broken leg"
Just then Jones, the specials en-
gineer, came ND, and lac pieced ont
HOgan's story. The wire to Bauxite
had warned him that crazy nan was
chasing him and Overrunning stop
signals. He had thought to sde-track
the chaser at the old "Y" and that was
what he had stopped for.
ThereupOn the three of us went
after the crippled fireman, and when
we got back to the "Y" with him Il
was all over. Collingwood had died
with his head in Mrs. SheiIa's lap, and
the boss, tagged out and half dead rs
he must have been. was up and mt
NOlhs StliluS the NISth NlClllilS lhNo
our day coach. which had been backed
up and taken around to the other leg
Of the "Y" to head for Portal City.
When it 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 In hers. and that choking lump
came again In my throat when / re-
membered what COlllngwood had said
TO the boss the night he came TO our
Office: "Sheila made her wedding jour
ney with me once, when she was just
eighteen. The next time she rides with
me II will 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 shut-Inn