ridge, and up the grassy
embankment. It would bring him a whole block nearer home, and a line of
cabs was standing over at the corner just above the bridge. It was against
the rules to walk beside the tracks--there was a large sign to that effect
in front of him--but it would save five minutes. He scanned the platform
hastily to see if any officials were in sight, then bolted down the
darkening tracks.

Under the centre of the bridge a slight noise behind him, as of soft,
hurrying footsteps, caught his attention, and a woman's voice broke upon
his startled senses.

"Please don't stop, nor look around," it said, and the owner caught up
with him now in the shadow. "But will you kindly let me walk beside you
for a moment, till you can show me how to get out of this dreadful place?
I am very much frightened, and I'm afraid I shall be followed. Will you
tell me where I can go to hide?"

After an instant's astonished pause, he obeyed her and kept on, making
room for her to walk beside him, while he took the place next to the
tracks. He was aware, too, of the low rumble of a train, coming from the
mouth of the tunnel.

His companion had gasped for breath, but began again in a tone of apology:

"I saw you were a gentleman, and I didn't know what to do. I thought you
would help me to get somewhere quickly."

Just then the fiery eye of the oncoming train burst from the tunnel ahead.
Instinctively, the young man caught his companion's arm and drew her
forward to the embankment beyond the bridge, holding her, startled and
trembling, as the screaming train tore past them.

The pent black smoke from the tunnel rolled in a thick cloud about them,
stifling them. The girl, dazed with the roar and blinded by the smoke,
could only cling to her protector. For an instant they felt as if they
were about to be drawn into the awful power of the rushing monster. Then
it had passed, and a roar of silence followed, as if they were suddenly
plunged into a vacuum. Gradually the noises of the world began