"
Pleasant fix to be in, wasn't it? A mile and a half from land, perched
up on a dead engine, surrounded on all sides by water, and no chance to
get away. There was no absolute danger, because the underpinning was
firm enough, but all the same, every man jack of us wished he hadn't
come. Night, black and dreary, settled over the waters, and still no
help. Finally, at eight o'clock, the water had receded so that the tops
of the rails could be seen, and two of us volunteered to go back on foot
to the yard office for help. That was just three miles away, but nothing
venture, nothing have, so we dropped off the hind end of the tender and
started on our tramp back over the water-covered ties. We had one
lantern, and after we had gone about a half of a mile, my companion who
was ahead, slipped and nearly fell. I caught him but good-bye to the
lantern, and the rest of the trip was made in utter darkness. To be
brief, after struggling for two hours and a half, we reached the yard
office, and an engine was sent out to help us. At twelve o'clock the
whole gang were back in the city, wet, weary and worn out.
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