"I glanced at the clock. It was already just nine o'clock. Only about ten minutes left in which to act. My only chance lay in hanging out my red light for the special, and then running in the direction of the freight, as that was coming down grade and would be hard to stop. Still, I knew that the engineer of the special could not see my signal until he rounded the curve, and having no orders to stop, he might disregard it altogether. [Illustration: "I FASTENED ONE OF THE LANTERNS TO HIS COLLAR. Drawn by C. A. Bostrom, Winner of Third Prize in Drawing Competition.] "Luckily, I had several red lanterns, and they were soon lighted. Hanging up two as signals for the special, I took two more, one in each hand, and started up the grade. But a sudden thought struck me. My home lay in the direction from which the special was coming; so I turned back and called to Hector. He came to me at once, and I fastened one of the lanterns to his collar and ordered him home. He didn't like the looks of the storm, but he started off, the lantern swinging back and forth about six inches from the ground. "Seeing that Hector was well started on his mission, I turned again and started up the grade. As I beat my way as best I could against wind and storm, I began to realise how nearly hopeless my task was. Just ahead of me lay the great gorge, a deep cut nearly a quarter of a mile in length. It was extremely dangerous to enter this even in the daytime, as the cut was new, and there was little room to get out of the way of the train. But I must risk it if I hoped to save the many precious lives; so on I went, stumbling over the uneven ties, falling several times, but never daring to stop even to catch my breath. I thanked Heaven when the last rock of the cut was passed: but now the fierce gale met me stronger than ever. Fearful of having my light blown out, and hearing the train close at hand, I stepped aside under the shelter of a rock. As the train rounded the curve and the headlight flashed into view I swung my lantern vigorously, but no one seemed to notice me. "'Gracious!' I cried, 'will they never see me?' "The huge monster lighted up the gorge at my feet for an instant, and then with a shriek dashed by; but that shriek meant 'down brakes.' Ah, what a load was lifted from my heart when I heard that sound! "By the time the way-car had passed I could see that the speed was slackening. With the wind now at my back, I made quick time down the grade. The two engines stood in front of the station 'nose to nose.' They had met with sufficient force to throw all the passengers from their seats, but no damage had been done. "The little platform was crowded with people, passengers of the special and trainmen, who eagerly awaited my coming. In a few words I told them my story--how I had hung out the signals, how I had run up the track in time to stop the freight.