Hoofbeats on the Turnpike Part 29

With unbelievable speed the flood rolled on. In one angry gulp it reached a long freight train farther down the track. The caboose and a string of coal cars were lifted and hurled. Strangely, the coal tender and engine which had been detached, remained on the rails.

"Oh, look!" Louise gasped in horror. "The engineer's trapped in the cab!"

The trainman, plainly visible, valiantly kept the engine whistle blowing.

Higher and higher rose the water. Penny and Louise were certain the courageous man must meet his doom. But the crest of the flood already had swept on down the valley, and in a moment the waters about the engine remained at a standstill.

So quickly had disaster struck that the girls could not immediately comprehend the extent of the tragedy. From their own train nearly all of the pa.s.sengers had escaped. But the town of Delta had not fared so well.

Apparently the flood had roared through the low section, taking all before it. Farther up the valley, directly below Huntley Lake where the gorge was narrow, damage to life and property might be even greater.

"What chance could poor Mrs. Lear have had," Louise said brokenly. "Or the Burmasters."

"There's a possibility they took to the hills in time."

"I doubt it," Louise said grimly. "The flood came so quickly."

Already the yellow, muddy waters were carrying evidence of their work.

Houses, many with men and women clinging desperately to rooftops, floated past. Other helpless victims clung to logs, orange crates and chicken coops. At terrific speed they sailed past the base of the hillside.

Several shouted piteously for help.

"We must do something to save those people!" Penny cried desperately.

"What?" Louise asked.

By this time the hillside was dotted with people who had saved themselves. Several of the women were weeping hysterically. Another had fainted. For the most part, everyone stared almost stupidly at the endless stream of debris which was swept down the valley. No one knew how to aid the agonized victims who clung to whatever their fingers could clutch.

On one rooftop, Penny counted six persons. The sight drove her to action.

"If only we had a rope--" she cried, and broke off as her eyes roved up the hillside.

Two hundred yards away stood a farmhouse.

"I'll see if I can get one there!" she cried, darting away.

The hill was steep, the ground soft. Penny's wet clothing impeded her.

She tripped over a stone and fell, but scrambling up, ran on. Finally, quite out of breath, she reached the farmhouse. A woman with two small children clinging to her dress, met the girl in the yard.

"Ain't it awful?" she murmured brokenly. "My husband's workin' down at the Brandale Works. Did the flood strike there?"

"It must have spread through all of Delta," Penny answered. "This disaster's going to be frightful unless we can get help quickly. Do you have a telephone?"

"Yes, but it's dead. The wire runs into Delta."

Penny had been afraid of that. She doubted that a single telephone pole had been left standing in the town. Nor was it likely that the other valley cities had 'phone service.

"Do you have a rope?" she asked. "A long one?"

"In the barn. I'll get it."

The woman came back in a moment, a coil of rope over her arm.

"Send some of those poor folks up here," she urged as Penny started away with the rope. "I'll put on a wash boiler of coffee and take care of as many as I can."

Half sliding, Penny descended the steep hillside. During her absence two persons had been rescued from the water by means of an improvised la.s.so made from torn strips of clothing. Others were drifting past, too far away to be reached.

A woman and a child floated past, clinging to a log. Penny stood ready, the rope coiled neatly at her feet. She took careful aim, knowing that if she missed she would have no second chance.

Penny hurled the rope and it ran free, falling just ahead of the helpless pair. The half-drowned mother reached with one hand and seized it before it sank beneath the surface.

"Hold on!" Penny shouted. "Don't let go!"

Several men ran to help her. By working together, they were able to pull the woman and her child to safety.

Abandoning the rope to skilled hands, Penny rounded the hill to a point providing a clear view of the flooded railroad yard. The roundhouse, the coal chutes and the signal tower were gone. But her heart leaped to see that the station was still standing. Built on high ground it was surrounded with water which did not appear to be deep.

Penny turned to Louise who had followed her. Just then they both heard someone shout that the railroad bridge was being swept away. They saw the ma.s.sive steel structure swing slowly from its stone foundation. One side held firm which immediately set up great swirling currents. Any persons carried that way would be faced with destruction in the whirling pools of water.

"It's too late to warn the towns directly below Delta!" Penny gasped.

"But there still may be time to get a message through to Hobostein. In any case, we must get help here!"

"But how?" Louise asked hopelessly. "Any wires that were left standing must have been torn away when the bridge went."

Penny gazed again toward the Delta depot. Between it and the hillside ran a fast-moving stretch of water, yet separated from the main body of the racing flood.

"If only I could get over to the station, I might somehow send a message!"

"Don't be crazy!" Louise remonstrated. "You haven't a chance to cross that stretch of water!"

"I think I could. I'm a pretty fair swimmer."

"But the current is so swift."

"There's a certain amount of risk," Penny admitted soberly. "But we can't stand here and wait. Someone must do something to bring help."

"Don't do it, Penny!" Louise pleaded. "Please!"

Penny hesitated, but only for an instant. She understood perfectly that if she misjudged the strength of the current it would sweep her down--perhaps carry her along into the main body of water. Once in the grip of that angry torrent, no one could hope to battle against it.

The risk, however, was one she felt she must take. Struggling free from Louise's clinging hands, she kicked off her shoes and tucked up her skirt. Then she plunged into the swirling water.

CHAPTER 20 _EMERGENCY CALL_

The current was much swifter than Penny had antic.i.p.ated. It tugged viciously at her feet, giving her no opportunity to inch her way along the ditch. A dozen steps and she was beyond her depth, fighting desperately to keep from being swept with the current.

Although a strong swimmer, Penny found herself no match for the wild torrent. Only by going with it could she keep her head above water. To attempt to swim against it was impossible. Despairingly, she saw that she would miss the railroad station by many yards.