Show T cad towi w v adventurers CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF 1 danger on the rails HELLO LT ELLO EVERYBODY 1 IL ji im still learning what a terrific beating the human mind and body can take and still survive the latest one to impress this lesson on me is adventurer patrick J laffey of trenton new jersey pat laffey feyas as a boy in ireland crawled undera andera locomotive and was hanging to the undercarriage when the engineer started his train his dc description of the heavy steel rods as they started to move picking up speed shoving him battering him well read the story pat wa was s just as he puts it a broth of a boy in 1915 living in galway ireland on this particular autumn afternoon he and two companions set out black so lovely was the scenery that they traveled farther from home than they had ever before ventured some ten miles we dared go no further pat says lest we get lost in our homeward journey we were all tired now so we started home bringing our collection of berries along the boys crossed a few ew fields when suddenly they came to a double railroad track rather than cross any more fences or fall into any more ditches they started home along the track they had walked about hall half a mile when their attention was attracted by a huge engine which lay on the sidetracks nearby to me pat says who had never seen one before this huge mass of steel presented one of lifes mysteries the boys watched the aged engineer as he pushed and pulled levers how that thing did whistle and shriek pat recalls 1 I think I 1 hear it now mystified pat climbs under the locomotive A little later the engineer left his position and walked down amongst other cars on the track the engine was still steaming and hissing this pat says was our chance for a final analysis of our mystery was this huge thing really alive the more they looked at it the more confused the boys became they walked around it saw its dirty greasy iron bars its large shiny wheels and now pat says my race with death occurred I 1 feel a cold shiver right down my spine now 1 I myself set the trap for the grim jaws of eternity it was a foolish act on my part as I 1 learned later now boys dont get a fainting inting ta spell when you read this but consider yourself in my position what would you have done well here is the he incredible thing pat did being greatly interested in the engine he examined it as best he could so did his chums rather than miss anything he crept underneath the huge structure ue he was just in there when the engineer b returned he cebu rebuked ked pats two chums for their presence on the property of the railroad the boys took to their heels as fast as they could but cr a r 11 76 1 wa pats battered body was on the ground under the engine pat rather than face the engineers scolding tucked himself under the engine never aware of his life being in the others hands listening for every breath hoping the engineer would soon go away he did decide finally to go away but as pat puts it not without the engine smoke blew around irons clattered brakes shrieked and groaned and there was pat gasping for dear life itself he clung on with his hands and feet until a huge iron compelled him to lose his foothold ile he now tried to save his head bead and arms from being ground to pieces the engine pulled along pat expected any minute to be mashed to pieces A thousand thoughts flashed through ids his mind how far was ile he going would the engineer ever stop hw long could he hold on soaked with blood he sinks into unconsciousness to pat death was inevitable he could see no possible way to avert it no means of attracting the attention of the engineer he remembered he began to shout for help but his cries were only drowned out by that ever increasing rattle of the engine he remembers too getting a severe blow on his left side the cuts of which he bears to this day he fie felt himself getting weak wet with blood he sank into unconsciousness days passed days for which he can give no account days with I 1 life in the balance then finally on the fifth day pat again gained consciousness ness there beside his bed stood pats parents friends and neighbors and in the middle of the group the unfortunate engineer himself needless to say all were overjoyed to see this response to medical attention in a boy they had literally given up tor for dead pat afterward learned how it came about that his life had bad been spared and again it was just one of those almost incredible flashes of good fortune or providence the engineer had occasion to throw a switch and while he was on the ground he chanced to look down at the engines running gear imagine his horror to see pats tattered body lying on the ground under the engine he signaled the fireman in the cab the firemans foremans fi remans hand shot to the levers and the immense monster of snorting steel screeched to a stop the engineer lifted out the unconscious form from beneath the undercarriage if any of you adventurers ever want a ride on an engine take pats advice and be sure you get IN one and not on the rods because the odds pat says are agamet you copyright service |