On one occasion Himan the engineer wanted to lower three flat cars loaded with bridge-timbers down the track that led to the mine, a 2½ per cent. grade. He put me on the first car ahead, took the last himself, and the axeman climbed on the middle one. When I slacked up my brake away we went, and in about 100 feet we were going fairly fast, so I jammed on my brake, and turned round in time to see the other two fellows jumping off. My brake had practically no effect on the speed, and they yelled to me to jump. But by the time I was ready we were close to the pit, and there were buildings so near the track on both sides, that I could not jump for fear of striking them. However, just as we passed the corner of the warehouse, there was a small clear space, and I jumped. As I picked myself up, I saw the last car going over the edge into the quarry. Also there was Mr. Betner, who asked me what I meant by jumping off and letting the cars go. I told him that I had done all I could, but could not hold them. He said no one but a born fool would attempt to move cars on that grade (thinking that I had been the one to move them), and just then the engineer arrived on the scene. He asked Betner if he were alluding to him, as he had ordered the cars moved, and then they had it out. It turned out that the middle car’s brake was broken, and that on the last car the chain had come unhooked from the rod when Himan released it, so that my brake was the only one holding the three heavily loaded cars. CHAPTER XIV A Sunday fishing party—"Bad-men"—Ben Thompson and other desperadoes—The story of a hot spring. A few weeks after I arrived at the mines, some of the men wanted to get up a fishing party one Sunday to go over to the Nueces River, and I was asked to make one of the number.