Allen Chapman

“ With a gasp Ralph saw the chaser engine dash down the rails, a hundred, eighty, seventy, fifty feet from the main switch, tender in front, so engineer and fireman, relying on the tower service, never noticed that they were headed for a tremendous crash into the made-up accommodation.
With a sickening sense of horror Ralph strove to pull the levers. Impossible!
Something was wrong! He could not move a muscle. Like one petrified he glared down at the flying locomotive, headed straight for disaster and destruction. ”

“ If it fell toward them, the cruise of the Meteor ended then and there and everybody on board was doomed to a watery grave.
As though to torture them with suspense, the peak kept rocking like a pendulum. Then with a stupendous roar, it broke off and plunged into the sea on the further side.
There was quick and seamanlike work for the next few minutes, and then a great cheer arose as the noble vessel threaded its way through the threatening bergs and reached the open sea. The ice had been robbed of its prey! ”

“ Farrington squirmed against the doorway, fumbling his cane, and puffing and purple with violent internal commotion.
"Then what's the matter with that idle, good-for-nothing, son of yours going to work and paying the honest debts of the family!" he stormily repeated.
The widow looked up. Her lips fluttered, but she said calmly: "Mr. Farrington, Ralph is neither idle nor good-for-nothing."
"Huh! aint! What's he good for?"
The widow's face became momentarily glorified, the true mother love shone in the depths of her pure, clear eyes.
"He is the best son a mother ever had." ”

“ The aerial was there, towering as serenely against the slaty sky as though there was no such thing as a snowstorm. The great marvel of radio! For no wires, other than the antenna, were needed to carry its messages to the farthermost parts of the world!
For a moment the boys were awed as the real significance of the modern miracle was borne home to them. It was magnificent, it was inspiring merely to have the privilege of living in such an age.
“Well, Mr. Salper doesn’t need to worry,” said Joe, at last. “There’s always radio on the job if he wants to get a quick message through to New York.” ”

“ Brad was keenly alive to every little thing that took place. Like a wise coxswain he felt that he ought to know each man's weakness, if he had any, so as to build him up into a perfect part of the whole machine. For a boat crew must act as though it were one unit, at the nod and whim of the fellow who sits in the stern, doing the steering, and by his motions increasing or diminishing the stroke. If one cog fails to work perfectly, the entire thing collapses. ”

“ In a picture view Ralph could see some belated locomotive breasting the drifts of lonely gully and curve. He could imagine a cumbersome freight feeling its way slowly past snow-clouded signals, marooned station men with their instruments knocked dead through fallen wires, and the venturesome repair crew wading through deep drifts to locate the break. ”

“ Then, as the gale resumed its furious blowing, the audience became fear-crazed and a mad rush ensued.
Women and girls were screaming at the tops of their voices. Men were shouting to one another to know what had happened. Boys were darting here and there seeking a means of escape from what they believed would prove a death-trap. The noise of bricks clattering to the floor could be heard and the school-house seemed, at least to the excited imaginations of some, to be on the point of toppling down.
The four chums, who were seated near each other, had jumped up at the first crash. ”

“ Ralph was the youngest engineer in the service of the Great Northern, and there was full reason why he should center attention and interest on this the proudest moment of his life. No. 999 was the crack locomotive of the system, brand new and resplendent. Its headlight was a great glow of crystal, its metal bands and trimmings shone like burnished gold, and its cab was as spick and span and neat as the private office of the division superintendent himself.
No 999 was out for a trial run—a record run, Ralph hoped to make it. ”

“ Tom glanced ahead, and from side to side, to see if the tramp had leaped a fence and was seeking to get away across some pasture. But he saw nothing, and was aware of a dim moving spot just ahead of him. It was as if the spot was a little lighter in darkness than the surrounding night.
"He's in the lane yet, I think," said Tom, to himself, trying to run so as to bring as little weight as possible on his injured ankle. "At least I hope he is. And the lane doesn't end yet for some distance." ”

“ As Bart had said, there were no sounds of civilization to be heard; no locomotive whistles or factory bells.
"I had no idea there was such a wilderness in this part of the country," remarked Ned, as they walked along, looking in vain for something to shoot at. "I wonder if we'll come across a lonely cabin, where a hermit or a wild man lives?"
"It's lonesome enough for any sort of a hermit," said Fenn, as he paused and looked about him. The silence of the deep woods was broken only by the wind moving the branches of the trees, and by the songs of birds. "It looks like the jumping-off place. ”

“ Glancing up, Bart saw the two Tollivers and Lem Wacker getting ready to descend.
There was a sharp incline and a short curve not ten feet ahead. Bart let the hand car drive at its own impetus.
"Stop!" yelled Buck Tolliver.
He held some object in his hand. Bart crouched by the side of the pumping standard, and the hand car spun out on the tracks crossing the valley, just as the thunder-storm broke forth in all its fury. ”

“ In this line of books there is revealed the whole workings of a great American railroad system. There are adventures in abundance—railroad wrecks, dashes through forest fires, the pursuit of a “wildcat” locomotive, the disappearance of a pay car with a large sum of money on board—but there is much more than this—the intense rivalry among railroads and railroad men, the working out of running schedules, the getting through “on time” in spite of all obstacles, and the manipulation of railroad securities by evil men who wish to rule or ruin. ”

“ Ralph was red hot on the instant.
To be dignified, too, is all very well. But Ralph knew these hoodlums quite well enough to be sure that only one course with them would make the proper impression. He possessed as much brute courage as any healthy young fellow. And he did not purpose to allow these loafers to blackguard him on the public street.
The dispatcher turned swiftly and started across the street. The several men and boys in the group yelled again. Some missile hurtled through the dusk and fairly fanned Ralph’s cheek!
“Who are you rascals?” demanded Ralph angrily. ”

“ As it careened, the underwater spur rose with it, and as the vessel was passing over it at the time, the spur had come up like a mighty hand and lifted the ship with it.
“She’ll be thrown off!” cried Joe, pantingly.
“And probably turn turtle!” added Herb, horrified.
The boy’s faces were as pale as death as they sensed the nearness of tragedy. If the ship were upset, it might mean the loss of scores of lives.
Their agony of apprehension was increased by the certainty that they could do nothing to prevent it. They had to stand by helplessly, and perhaps see fellow men go to their death. ”