New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-08-26

gineer of the special, and his fireman
We're trying to break into the crushed
cab of the 4l6.
The old major, the boss, and | stood
by to help Klrgan, and the minute
his head came up through the chopped
hole We saw that he needed help. liz
had pried the screaming man loose
somehow, and was trying to drag hin
up out of the smoking furnace. 1t was
done, amongst us, some way or other
kirSan had wrapped the man up in Il
Pullman blanket to keep the fire from
getting at him any worse than it nj
ready had, and as We were taking him
out the blanket slipped aside from his
face and | saw who it was that the
mastcr-mechanic had risked his life
for. Ii 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 Ia 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
Il dozen poor wretcheS mt nee. But
she took time to ask me one single
brenthlcss question:
Have they found him yet?-you
know the II | mean, Jimmie?"
.k, ~ ,.gl .susl.l.. ,lg--,.. ,,,,, .,
at that side now" and then | ran back
To jump in again.
Though the fire was now licking at
everything in sight, Kirgan, who had
taken the aX from our fireman, had
managed to cut some of the ear 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
Nv iiilu'l VI NV i'ilANltl We 'tul'
make out the other MANTLE murder
manlac-lying on his back, black Ia
the face and gasping.
That was enough for the boss. II
looked like certain death for anybody
To crawl down into that kissing steam
bath, but he did it. wriggllng through
the hole that Kirgan had chopped,
while two or three of us ran TO the
little creek that trlckled down on the
far side of the "l" and brought back
soaking Pullman blankets 10 try to de-
lay the cncroaching fire and smother
the steam-jets.
] couldn't see very well what the
boss vas doing; the smoke and steam
were 50 binding. But when | did get
"A glimpse ! saw that he was digging
frantically with his bare hands ut 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 ia the
furnace-like heat.
Kirgan stood 1t as long as he could
unit. the licking flames were about to
drive us all away.
you'll be burnt alive-comc up out
| 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 10 a crisp do
ing u. Loving Mrs. Sheila the way he
did. he couldn't do any less.
IL was awful, those next two or
three minutes. We were all running
franiically 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 il
from cutting of 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
ia front and behind in spite of
all We could do. Some of it had got
10 the coal, and the heavy sulphurous
smoke was oozing up TO make us all
choke and strange.
Honestly, you couldn't have told
that the boss was n white man when
he crawled up out of that pit of death.
and lifting the crushed and
body of the mailman, and max
Ing us take it out before he would
1870 .~,t 1fraga1f W. aat -. Iz.
away from the fire as quickly as we
could and around TO the other side of
Kirgan and Jones carrying
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
Town. she sat down on the ground
md took his head In her lap and
,ried over him just like his mother
night have. and when the boss knelt
beside her I heard what he
That's right, little woman:
hats just as ii should be. Death
out all scores. I did my best
rou must always believe that / did
ny best"
She choked again at that, and said:
There is no hope?" and he said: "Tm
Ifraid not. He was dying when i got
him."
| tried to swallow the big lump In
ny throat and turned away. and so 1
lid everybody else but the major. who
rent around and knelt down on the |
ther side of Mrs. Sheila. The wreck {
blazing now like a mighty bon !
Ire. lighting up the pine-clad hills all {
round and swapping and growing
Ike some savage monster gloating