Suddenly he turned and motioned sharply.
Knight pulled the throttle open and the _General_ fairly jumped. Andrews
swung aboard. "Push her, Knight!" he yelled.
Tom, perched on the tender, saw a man rush from the station and wave. He
shouted something but it was lost in the noise of the locomotive. Then they
plunged into the darkness of the roof, and out again on the other side.
Ahead of them the track swerved sharply to the left. Knight saw it too late
to moderate his speed. The _General_ hit the curve and reared on its right
wheels, hanging there for a breathless moment. Tom clutched the edge of the
tender to keep from being thrown off. He saw Knight's hand slip from the
throttle as he slammed it shut, saw Andrews' expression of horror. It
seemed as though whole minutes passed while the _General_ balanced on the
curve, swaying and trembling. Then slowly it tilted back to the left and
struck the tracks with a clash that made the locomotive shudder. It wavered
from side to side, gradually settling itself upon the rails.
Knight glanced at Andrews; his hand went to the throttle again and drew it
open. Tom entered the cab. There was not a word said about their narrow
escape from a wreck.
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