"Just the shed is burning now. Slow down and pick the car up, then rush on
through."
"Through that fire?" demanded the engineer.
"Yes! If we stop we're lost." Fuller went to Murphy. "Better come in the
cab--we're going through." Murphy followed him. They stood looking out over
the tender.
The engineer reversed the _Texas_ and brought it to a crawling pace as they
reached the mouth of the shed. Smoke and flames enveloped them, blinding
them, and they felt the wheels of the locomotive crunching over charred
board which had fallen across the track. Then came the shock as the tender
bumped the freight car. Flames showered down over the locomotive, streaking
through the blackness. The heat was scorching, sickening. The speed of the
_Texas_ increased. And then they found themselves in the clear air again,
pushing the smoking remains of the freight car before them.
"Go on! Go on!" yelled Fuller. "Never mind about the bridge." He glanced
back and saw the shed collapse, shooting sparks into the pillar of smoke
that was rising. "We'll get them between here and Chattanooga."
* * * * *
That smoke, rising into the sky, came like a signal of triumph to Andrews'
men. They watched it silently; then they yelled.
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