| Show tt STUDENT LIFE den stopping’ of the train sent the conductor ahead to see what was the matter Before he realized it the engine was backing past him with so much speed that he failed to catch it There he stood shaking his fist and swearing vengeance on some poor unknown operator who had caused all the trouble while Pat the hero of the hour was pulling himself out from where he had been thrown “Be jabbers” said Pat as he wrenched himself loose “an’ I guess I’ve put her on the bum” Just then he looked out and saw’ that he was moving in a new’ direction He was £oing back to Alma Pat was not the fellow’ to get frightened over little things On seeing that the train was moving from all danger he began to pull and shake the lifeless engineer whom in his struggle to save the train he had entirely forgotten He raised the man's bruised head and saw that he was breathing faintly but was still unconscious As Pat had simply reversed the engine and left the steam to play at will it was of course but a short time until the train was again running at a rapid rate The heroic Irishman became somewhat agitated over this Beside he was afraid that he had put the engineer into a state of unconsciousness that might Poor Pat when he never end thought his troubles over he found they had just begun Back went the train like some wild demon frightening the people of the various stations with the strange sight Little did Pat know of the danger there was that the rear car might jump the rails at any curve and send the whole train to destruction He heard the people scream out as the train dashed by the small stations His brain was in a fever lie reached again for the level that had rendered him so much service in his moment of peril Another hard pull and Pat felt himself jerked back so hard that his arms felt as if they had been stretched a yard Just then there was a loud report The cylinder head had blow’ll out and the noise so frightened Pat that he cried “Be gosh an’ I’ve blowed ’er up sure!” The stunned engineer by this time was rapidly regaining his senses : and rose slowdy and gazed about the cab like some corpse rising from the bier Pat had ridden far enough He saw that a longer stay might prove disastrous He sprang from the crippled engine and vanished in the darkness Little did it matter to him how the engineer stopped the train how the passengers were all nearly frightened to death or how the conductor of Xo 6 found his wray back to the scene of excitement and made all things right again Those were all matters of secondarv importance to Pat who was busy in finding as he would put it a way to “make himself scarce” |
