Show I I I 1 91 I iI ± I DICK HARLEY I The Hero of a Handcar BY GERALD BRENAN I I All work had been temporarily suspended sus-pended upon the halflaid tracks of the I 1 new Beira Mashonaland railway and thi rainy season had driven engineers l surveyors and laborers to seek shelter in the rude sheds of the chartered company com-pany at Umtail With the restyoung Dick Harley surveyors sur-veyors apprentice sat in one of the sheds watching the falling torrents and utilizing his spare time in inditing a letter to a schoolboy friend at home j As he was in the middle of a thrilling I description of the recent attack of malaria ma-laria which had so cruelly decimated the ranks of the railroad people Dr i Leary the physician in charge of the Tmtali section entered the shed his mackintosh dripping and an unusually bi rious expression upon his round goodhumored face Whats the matter doc Anything gene wrong asked Long Jim Greene an American engineer suspending a game of dominoes to put the question Wrong repeated Dr OLeary Wen perhaps you might call jungle fiver something wrong Jungle fever O Lord cried Long Jim throwing aside his dominoes with a clatter I Yes fever continued the doctor le just come from the shed over I order where the Afghan laborers are Five of them are down with the disease The natives will catch it next and then It mjy be our turn Instantly the crowded shed was in ild commotion Men were for send I ng at once to Salisbury the capital of Jashonaland or to Beira on the coast far riedical aid and supplies but the doctor reminded them that the railway 1 i Ted just three miles further on in the 1 ush and that on account of the rains I ail the locomotives were stalled at the CLSt I The only thing we can do said the d ictisi is to sit tight and wait for help from outside Little Dick Harley left his unfinished I le tter lyirg on a biscuit box and caught the physicians arm The two were fast friends for it was OLeary who I had treated the boy to his first South African hunting expedition Doctor youll need help said Dick I eagerly Cant I turn in and nurse as I did during the malaria I OLeary shook his head doubtfully i My boy he said this is a very different thing from the malaria You had better keep away from it But Dirk insisted There was no surveying eying to be done he pleaded He was t idle and wanted work Besides he had pssfd through a siege of typhoid when he was at school Finally OLeary gave way and installed him as his first assistant as-sistant in ordinary Others oi the men ircluding long Jim Greene volunteered for the work but the great majority were too frightened by the bare mention men-tion of iungle fever to entertain the suggestion of lending aid Indeed some v ere so scared that they shrank into distant corners preferring the drippings I from the badly tarred roof to the danger dan-ger cf taking fever from the doctor Before two days were past half the I white laborers and engineers were de Sriou It was hard work even for strongmen strong-men how hard therefore must it have been for Dick Harley But Dick was aot of the kind that grumbles in time The poor Afghan laborers whom the government had brought from India by way of experiment died like Hies in the winter The natives were little better and as for the white men they stood the siege worst of all Not a day passed by that one or more fu norals did not take place behind the kopje or small Knoll upon which sheds had been built Still Dr OLeary kept up the fight manfully and still Dick Harley Lon Jim Greene and the rest supplemented the physicians labors la-bors like the heroes they were II But the crisis of the epidemic at Vin tali station was yet to some One morning Dick Harley and Red Pat Shea were waiting in the little improvised impro-vised surgery for the doctor and wondering won-dering greatly why he was so late Suddenly Sud-denly the American Jim Greene came rushing towards them through the rain his face white and terror in his eyes eyesBoys its all up with us now he cried The doctors down now It was too true OLeary had succumbed suc-cumbed to the fever and was at that very mement rehearsing in wild deli 0 f 1 7 i I f f i w1 Z 1 d4 l e I i r4 t r t l l I iu rPoi I t I I mi f 1 i I I > Iii rr 111m tv I f m I I t1 W i ffjji Mf If14 < t Y8 j I III i1Jfill j iZ t tr 4f1i1 t I yl f sf ZLl1 r4i 2 t 1 t1Ti tftilli lIill cJ 11 lJl it 0 I J li ill i I t 11 r i4f Bbc II m 1 1m W if flJl 1If1 r11 fM1 1 I IW i ll I t j I 1 0 11tj r f < Ai1 tt i i jf t IJ IJ1J 1 a 4t t1y r I r r l trfIFJ yl J i 1 tr r o t J I 1ff J 6 J1 Ijio tf L J 1 J r > I He Slipped Out of the Fetid Atmosphere Atmos-phere Into the Smothering Rain rium the terrible scenes through which he had been passing The illness of the doctor seemed to take away the camps last hope Those who had worked bravely before now threw up their hands in despair and cried out that fate had doomed them to death Even Red Pat Shea sulked in his bed and Greene only labored by fits and starts But little Dick Harley was staunch We ought to do something he cried We shouldnt stand around idleArrah Arrah what is there to be done cried Red Pat Shea The doctors down now and the medicine chest is all but empty Cant we get Salisbury r 1 JSrr t1 r 1 i r II Ih r r 1 ba I i I I i tit f h I t 1 I I w I i 6 r DICK CAME TO HIMSELF WITH THE TASTE OF QUININE ON HIS LIPS AND HIS FEET IN A ROT RATTT of trial or yields easily to difficulty Young as he was he did quite as much Vork as any of the doctors grownup assistants Was there quinine to be brought in haste or OLeary summoned jo attend some fresh case Nobody not even Long Jim Greene could execute exe-cute the commission more quickly or splash through the rain and mud with greater zeal than this youngster fresh from school Falx that boy is the best man o he lot exclaimed Red Pat Shea the section boss and Dr OLeary thoroughly I thor-oughly agreed with the honest Irish mans wellmeant bull Yes it was hard work and as the days went by it became harder still Man after man was attacked by the insidious in-sidious enemy man after man lay moaning or ravIng on Ws cot of straw I t Salisbury inagh Theres 160 miles o the worst marsh in all Africa between be-tween here an Salisbury To the coast then To Beira or Fort Chamberlain In rain like this Is It Sure tis drowned or dead o fever an ague wed be before we could get half way If we had a locomotive said Long Jim Greene gloomily we might do it but to walk all the way would be impossible i I guess DIrky theres nothing for us but to dose OLeary and the boys as long as theres any quinine left and then to sit down and wait for our turn Pat Shea groaned dismally and tui ned n-ed his face to the damp wall In the distance the doctor poor fellow could be heard shouting something about a Matabele Invasion On every side was 0 j r I Ii the black feverhideous and terrifying I terri-fying I Dick Harley took his mackintosh from the rack pulled on a pair of I thigh boots and slipped out of the fe rJgO IPr o1ntl tid atmosphere of the shed i into the smothering rain His destination was I the native shed where a wretched remnant rem-nant of the black laboring contingent still survived I But the rain was heavier than ever that morningso heavy indeed that it closed around the boy like a waif and he could not see a yard on either hand o This doubtless was the reason why he strayed out of his way and presently found himself at the rear of the natives na-tives shed instead of in front of that I structure < I Feeling his way through the coarse j grass with the aid of the shed wall he I i stumbled over something and fell Hastily examining the object which had tripped him he found hidden in I the grass an abandoned or forgotten j I handcar the kind upon which section I hands and navvles ride along the I tracks from point to point without the i aid of an engine Dick uttered a shout I of jubilation Ten minutes later the boy was arguing argu-ing furiously with Red Pat Shea and assisted by Jim Greene dragging that despairing worthy from his couch in the white mens shed Come on Pat he cried when they took every other bit of rolling stock they left us that Grumbling sorely Red Pat Shea followed fol-lowed Dick and the American through the rain But when the prospect of actual work was set squarely before him he forgot his trials and soon his shoulder was against the back of the car and the rusty wheels were sent moving down the slope to the track The car firmly fixed by the united ef ports of the three upon the B II rails Dick clambered aboard Shea followed and Long Jim Green took the first turn at the lever by which the machine was propelled Now boys said Dick for the doctors sake and the sake of the camp let us make all speed Greene gave the lever 3 powerful wrench Creaking horribly the car shot forth upon its daring dash for civilization and aid The rain came down as fiercely as ever the vapor rose in clouds from Dicks mackintosh but still the little car was sent hurrying hurry-Ing as rapidly as its rust would allow al-low toward Beird Red Pat Shea relieved Greene at the lever and Dick in his turn tried his feeble strength at the iron bar Not for a moment did they rest for this was a race between the pitiless rain that seemed to soak into their very marrows i mar-rows ntl natural courage and endurance en-durance that was theirs I Dick had resigned the lever to Long I Jim Greene and was squatting on the car staring through the fog at the j wild karoo that stretched northward and southward eastward and westward i west-ward Suddenly he heard a yell and j I turning saw Pat Shea leap from the moving cart Greene stopped and I together they went back to search for the Irishman They found him lying I with a broken arm and sprained ankle by the side of the track He had suddenly sud-denly became delirious and was raving I as they picked him up and lashed him to the car with a stout cord Then once more the race commenced Greene I was growing weary and the puohcar I moved more slowly along the slippery rails Dick lent a hand and for a I time they tugged at the lever tot to-t gether Night descended upon the karoo a starless moonless night < and still they went speeding onward through the treacherous mist I At last Long Jim took his blistered hands away from the lever Dicky he faltered I can work no longer Let us stop and crawl underneath un-derneath the car for the night That would mean death whispered Dick Rest a bit Jim Maybe youll be able to pull some more In a little while So the plucky boy went at the lever all by himself swinging upon the iron bar with all his remaining strength but knowing full well that the time was at hand when utter exhaustion must case him to give in They had pasted several of the new wayside stations without observing any signs of life and Dick hoped to be able to reach the shed at Fort Robinson where a roof more desirable than that afforded by the car might be found I Fort Robinson was now at hand Already Al-ready they had passed the signal post which when the railroad was opened was to be operated from the station Dick Hurley turned his head to see if he could discern the black line of the shed building As he did so a joyous exclamation escaped es-caped his lips A light he cried A light in good earnest there was a welcome beam which shone from one of the windows of the shed and cut like a flaming swOrd through the banks of log and rain Dick summoned together all his force and sent the car whirring along the track It stopped directly in front of the lighted window The boy put his hands before his mouth and sent a shrill cry pealing Into the hight Then entirely spent he felt fainting across the bodies of his comrades IIL When Dick came to himself It was before a roaring fire with the taste of Quinine on his lips and his feet in a hot bath Several gentlemen were seated around and to these long Jim Greene was narrating the stirring incidents in-cidents of the day A telegraph instrument instru-ment was ticking in one corner and in the other lay Red Pat Shea still delirious de-lirious Is it all right was the first question ques-tion which Dick asked A tall broadshouldered gentleman with the face of a Roman Caesar laid his hand on the lads shoulder Yes Dick he said its all right thanks to you Fortunately six of the wmpanys directors came out here from JJfira yesterday to see If the new telegraph tele-graph wire was working You arrived just in the nick of time We have telegraphed tele-graphed for doctors and medicines and In an hour the train will arrive to carry us on to Vintali As for you my Ley we all consider you a young hero If half what this man says is true Its all true cried long Jim fervently fer-vently I tell you sir he Worked the lever after I had glvep it up Besides bnhor him we wouldnt have made the attempt w The tall man nodded Then he said Dick Harley deserves a signal reward How would you like youngster to take the position of private secretary secre-tary to the president of the Beira Salisbury railway Dicks eyes fairly bulged out But sir he ventured perhaps the president would not care to offer it tome to-me At this those around the fire smiled and the tall man said Quietly I dont think there will be any difficulty diffi-culty about that In fact you may consider con-sider yourself engaged Then Dick looking at the strong face and keen gray eyes of the speaker saw at last how the land lay You are the president yourself he exclaimed you are Cecil Rhodes The great South African pioneer nodded nod-ded ils head good humoredly Yes I am the president now he said but if a certain Dick Harley keeps on as he has been doing a few years may see him in my place As he spoke there sounded in the distance dis-tance the whistle of the relief train locomotive lo-comotive g |