Suddenly the rails of the track seemed to give from under him. The car plunged forward, turned completely over, and crushed poor Myles beneath it in such a manner that he was powerless to move. As he lay there he heard, loud, clear, and close at hand, the shrill whistle and the roar of an approaching train.
CHAPTER XV.
THE 50TH REGIMENT, N. G. S. N. Y.
THE speed at which Myles was going when the accident happened was so great that both he and the hand-car were flung clear off the track. They landed in a pile of soft earth, but, as already related, Myles lay beneath the car with his arms so pinned down by it that he was perfectly helpless and unable to move. As he lay there half-stunned, and panting for breath after his recent exertions, the roar of the approaching train grew louder and louder, until it seemed close upon him. He could hear the labored puffing of the locomotive as it toiled up the long grade. Now it came so distinctly that he knew the head of the train had rounded the sharp curve and was in sight of the place where he lay.
Oh for one moment of liberty in which to spring up and warn them of the danger so close at hand! Where were their eyes? Could they not see the wreck of his car and be warned by it? Was he too late after all? Would the train keep on until it, too, struck the treacherous rails that, with every spike drawn, had spread beneath him?
In this agony of helpless apprehension the seconds seemed minutes and the minutes hours. Suddenly came the short, imperative blast of the whistle that said as plainly as words, “Danger ahead! Down brakes!” It was instantly followed by the grinding sound of the powerful air-brakes, and in another moment the train had stopped not fifty feet from where Myles lay.
He was in time. His “fool-hardiness,” as the corporal at Mountain Junction had termed it, had prevailed, and the long train, with its precious human freight, was safe. With a great sigh of relief the burden of anxiety that he had borne for hours passed from him. He became aware of a feeling of faintness, and wearily closed his eyes.
He did not lose consciousness, for he heard a voice exclaim: