“Thet switch won’t work, sir,” he said. “A yard ingine hit the p’int about an hour ago an’ jammed it.”
“Won’t work!” echoed the superintendent, and stared blankly down the track at the train which every second was whirling nearer.
“Is it a runaway?” asked Reddy, suddenly understanding.
“Yes,—a runaway,—maybe I can make the other switch,” and he started away, but Reddy caught him by the arm.
“Wait, sir,” he cried; “wait. We’ll fix ’em—throw ’em on to th’ chute.”
“On to the chute?”
“Yes, on to th’ chute. Throw th’ switch there,” and Reddy, grabbing up two big cans of oil, started for the track leading to the long ascent.
Then the superintendent understood, and, with a gasp of relief, ran to the switch and threw it.
Up the steep ascent ran Reddy, a can in either hand, spurting streams of oil upon the rails—up and up—yet it seemed that he must certainly be caught and hurled to death, for a moment later the great freight-engine reached the structure, which groaned and trembled under this unaccustomed weight. Up the incline it mounted, the weight of the train behind it urging it on. Half-way up, two-thirds, almost upon Reddy, where he bent over the rails, a can in either hand, never pausing to look back.
From under the pounding drivers the smoke flew in clouds—the oil was being burned by friction. Yet down the rails flowed more oil; the drivers were sliding now, the speed of the train was lessening—lessening. The engine was racking itself out, its power was spent, it had been conquered. For an instant it hung poised on the incline, then slowly started down again. The crew had managed to set the hand-brakes, and these held the train somewhat, but still it coasted back down that incline at a speed that brought the watchers’ hearts into their throats. The wheels held the rails, however, and a quarter of a mile back on the main line it stopped, its power for evil exhausted. And just then Number Four whistled for signal, and rumbled slowly into the other end of the yards. The superintendent drew a deep breath of relief and thankfulness as he thought of what the result would have been had the runaway not been stopped in time.