He made one wild leap forward.—Page 288.
CHAPTER XXXI
GUS PLUM'S CONFESSION
"You did this for me, you! Oh, Dave Porter, how could you do it? How could you?"
It was Plum who spoke. He sat on a fallen tree not far away from the railroad cut. His forehead was swollen and there was a cut on his cheek, but otherwise he had quite recovered from the shock received. The train, after stopping for a few minutes, had gone on, and the two youths were alone.
Plum's voice was choked with emotion. He had come to his senses to find Dave and the fireman of the train bending over him. It was the fireman who had told of Dave's brave deed.
"Pluckiest thing I ever see in my born days," the fireman had said. "He came down the slope pell-mell and hauled you off the track just as we hit the spot."
Then the fireman and the train had gone on and Dave had done what he could for the bully. Plum was trembling like a leaf and found it next to impossible to control himself. Twice before he had tried to speak but his voice had failed him.
"You are sure you are not hurt?" asked Dave. He himself hardly knew what to say. The excitement of the occasion had put him in a dripping perspiration.