The Adair County news., 1921-02-23

"'ll Hold You Yet, You Brute"
= the wheels of the caboose an odor of
, something burning drifted up to him.
"Pve got your wheels locked 7" he half
sobbed. I'll hold you yet, you brute.
SlldeI That's It'll Slide, and flatten
your internal wheels. HahI You're
quitting-quitting. I'll have you In
control before we reach the curve.
Burn, curse you, burn"
With a Shrek of metal scraping
metal, the head Of the Juggernaut
ahead took the curve, chung there an
instant, and was catapulted out into
space. Logs weighing twenty tons
were flung about like kindling; one in
slant, Bryce could see them in the air )
the next they had disappeared down
the hillside. deafening crash, a
splash, a cloud Of dust
With q protesting squeal, the ca
boose came to the point where the log
ging-train had left the right of way,
carrying rails and ties with It. The
wheels on the side nearest the bank
slid into the dirt first and plowed deep
into the soil; the caboose came to
an abrupt stop, trembled and ratified,
OvertOpped its center of gravity, and
fell over against the cut-bank, YEARLY,
like a drunken bag.
Bryce, still clinging to the brake,
was fully braced for the shock and
was not flung off. Calmly he descend
ed the ladder, recovered the axe from
the bumper, climbed back to the roof,
tiptoed off the roof to the top Of the
bank and sat calmly down under a
manzanita bush to await results, for
he was quite confident that none of
the occupants of the COMPOUNDED ca
bose had been treated to anything
worse than a wild ride and a rare
fright, and he was curious to see how
Shirley Sumner would behave In an
emergency.
Colonel Pennington was first to
emerge at the rear of the caboose. He
leaped lightly down the steps, ran to
the front of the car, looked down the
track, and swore feelingly. Then he
darted back to the rear of the ca
booSe.
"All clear and snug as bug under
a chip, my DEAR" he called to Shirley.
Thank God, the caboose become I'M
cOupled-guess that fool brakeman
forgot to drop the pin; it was the last
car, and when 1t jumped the track
and plowed into the dirt, 1t just nat
urally quit and toppled over against
| fha
Shirley came out, dry-eyed, but
white and trembling. The Colonel
placed his arm around her, and she
hid her face on his shoulder and shud-
dered. ''There. there!" he soothed her
affectionately.' "It's all over, my dear.
Ais well that ends WELL"
1.-The train," she cried in choking
voice. "Where is it?"
"In little pieces-down in Mad
river"
Bryce Cardigan" she sobbed 81
saw him-he was riding atop on the
train. He-ah, God help him."
The Colonel shook her with sudden
ferocity. young Cardigan" he cried
sharply. Riding the logs? Are you
certain?"
She nodded, and her shoulders
shook piteously.
"Then Bryce Cardigan is gonei"
Pennington's pronouncement was sol
emn, deadly with its fiat fnality. mo
man could have rolled down into Mad
river with trainload of logs and sur
vived The devil himself couldn't"
He heaved great sigh, and added:
swell, that clears the atmosphere con-
siderably, although for all his faults,
| regret, for his fathers sake, that this
dreadful affair has happened. Well,
1t can't be helped, Shirley. Poor devil
For all his damnable treatment of me.
I wouldn't have had this happen for a
million dollars"
Shirley burst into wild weeping
Bryce's heart leaped, for he under
stood the reason for her grief. She
had sent him away in anger, and he
had gone to his death; ergo 1t would
be long before Shirley would forgive
herself. Bryce had not intended pre-
senting himself before her in his bat
tered and bloody condition, but the
sight of her distress now was more
than he could bear He coughed slight
ly. and the alert colonel glanced up at
him instantly.
swell, I'll be hanged |" The words
fell from Pennington's lips with a
heartiness that was almost touching.
81 thought you'd gone with the train"
SORRY to have disappointed you, old
top" Bryce replied blithely, 'sbut I'm
just naturally stubborn. Too bad about
the atmosphere you thought cleared a
moment agoI It's clogged worse than
ever now"
At the sound Of Bryce's voice, Shir-