Show fo 0 Z adventurers CLUB II HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF 1 tito ric closest call by FLOYD GIBB ONS famous headline hunter ELLO everybody well sir for a long time ive beez been H HELLO warning young fellows to stay off of side door pullmans ive seen so ma many ny adventure yarns about lads who havo come to grief beating their way on freight trains that vrn im pretty well convinced its a dangerous pastime but heres a lad ind I 1 cant very well warn to stop riding freight trains in tho the first place that was his lob job in tho the second place hes reformed and working on the railroad any more and in tho the third place he knows all about the hazards of railroading he probably knewt a doggone sight eight more mora about it than I 1 do if those arent enough reasons I 1 could probably think up some som more but here comes distinguished adventure r rEdwin edwin F E eck k dahl of young saskatchewan canada another fellow who has come com a long long way to join our club and heres tho the story ed started railroad work in the earl early v part of tho the century brak braking ing on the ills run was out of logansport Logan sport ind and those were the days when the men had to contend with the old style link and pin arid and when air braker braher were few and ana far between there might be a few air braked cars cara on every train but most freights consisted principally ot of jacks or hand braked oars cars ed says saya every brakeman bra koman tried to get a few air braked cars up at the head of the he train where help a lot in holding back the cars but some of the old diehard die hard conductors allow that there then are brakes on an top they used to say and the brakeman is getting paid for braking them lot let him work for his money it was one of those conductors that d was working tor for and it came near costing h him rn his life proving that it pays to bo be careful it was one ona day early in 1006 that that happened eds train pulled out of chicago about 1030 on a cold winter night with a light train ol 01 meat and merchandise we had a nice string of air braked cars lit h says but they were behind about ten or twelve jacks and tho the conductor said nothing doing when the rear end man and I 1 wanted to switch them it had bad ralpd in chicago and the tops lops of the cars wera cover covered edwith with a coating of thin ice and my first job was to go over the tops top 0 ills his feet shot out from under him and chip that ice from the running boards on the ten or twelve cars 1 was to use tor for braking ed had ice fee clips on his shoes to keep him from slipping they were pretty dull but lie he thought last him one more trip lie ile worked his way along until he was about ten oars cara back of tho the engine and then near the 1 I C crossing at lU Ri verdale the train hit bit a slight curve ed was unprepared for it ue he lost his balance and was forced to step off the flat running board onto the sl ophir ice covered top of the car the instant he did his leet feet shot out from under him ile he started sliding kofl the top 1 I was on my cyback back he says but when myers my legs were over the side I 1 managed to turn over on my stomach an and d as luck would have it a nail that had worked up from a board in the car top caught in my coat I 1 was so far over the side that there was more of me in the open than on the roof I 1 was just able to keep part of my chest and arms on the car and there I 1 hung there any prospect of aid 1 I knew it if I 1 slid off I 1 have much of a chance all I 1 could do was hang on and get back on top if that was possible it was cold weather and the position I 1 was in was tiring me out the longer I 1 stayed there the worse it would be ed knew lie he look for any help tito the engineer would think ho he was in the caboose and tile the conductor would think ho he was in the engine ills lantern had shattered and gone over the side when he fell and lie ho signal with that iio ho tried pulling himself forward with the hat flat of his hands against tho the car top but they slipped on the smooth ice fee 1 I tell you it kept me busy he says 1 I know how long that nail would hold me or how long the cloth of my coat would stand the strain but believe me I 1 stuck tight with all the strength I 1 had E ed d runs into unexpected difficulties but now ed noticed something that was working in his favor the heat of his palms as they pressed against the top of the car was melting the thin coating of ice in one spot his hands bands were beginning to take hold he began to move his palms forward to melt the ice up ahead it was a long slow process by wriggling my body as a snake would he says 1 I was able to bring it forward a little I 1 had h a d to m melt c I 1 t quite a bit of ice to get myself in a fairly safe position and even then the wind and the swaying of the car threatened to throw me off at any and then I 1 ran into another obstruction it was that nail which had caught in his clothing in the beginning it saved his life now it was holding him back keeping him from moving any farther forward ed dare move a hand to free it and there he was fastened to the car unable to move any farther and riot not knowing when a low spot or a curve in the track would shake him off lie he began to get a bit panic stricken then ile he clawed at the top of the car with futile hands and suddenly his groping palms struck on another nail worked up out of the boards like ilke the first one 1 I caught hold of it by a thumb and finger ed says and only then did I 1 dare to move the other hand down and loosen the nail that WEIS was caught in my coat I 1 wriggled back on the top and when I 1 reached the running board I 1 was covered with sweat end and aly hands and face were full of slivers silvers all I 1 did was lie flat on my face ond and pant the train was pulling into a station and the engineer whistled for brakes but ed move of course tho ilia train run past tile stat station on ed says and I 1 was in une for a bawling out but alien I 1 told the engineer what had happened lie had bad to make ills his excuses for not seeing my lantern disappear ive had lots of close calls in railroading but that hat was the closest one 0 service |