"down brakes"the greatest people have their weak points, and the best-behavedboys now and then yield to temptation and get into trouble, aseverybody knows. frank was considered a remarkably well-bredand proper lad, and rather prided himself on his good reputation,for he never got into scrapes like the other fellows. well, hardlyever, for we must confess that at rare intervals his besetting sinovercame his prudence, and he proved himself an erring, humanboy. steam-engines had been his idols for years, and they alonecould lure him from the path of virtue. once, in trying toinvestigate the mechanism of a toy specimen, which had its littleboiler and ran about whistling and puffing in the most delightfulway, he nearly set the house afire by the sparks that dropped on thestraw carpet. another time, in trying experiments with the kitchentea-kettle, he blew himself up, and the scars of that explosion hestill carried on his hands.
he was long past such childish amusements now, but his favoritehaunt was the engine-house of the new railroad, where he observedthe habits of his pets with never-failing interest, and cultivated thegood-will of stokers and brakemen till they allowed him manyliberties, and were rather flattered by the admiration expressed fortheir iron horses by a young gentleman who liked them better eventhan his greek and latin.
there was not much business doing on this road as yet, and thetwo cars of the passenger-trains were often nearly empty, thoughfull freight-trains rolled from the factory to the main road, ofwhich this was only a branch. so things went on in a leisurelymanner, which gave frank many opportunities of pursuing hisfavorite pastime. he soon knew all about no. ii, his pet engine,and had several rides on it with bill, the engineer, so that he felt athome there, and privately resolved that when he was a rich man hewould have a road of his own, and run trains as often as he liked.
gus took less interest than his friend in the study of steam, butusually accompanied him when he went over after school todisport himself in the engine-house, interview the stoker, or see ifthere was anything new in the way of brakes.
one afternoon they found no. 11 on the side-track, puffing awayas if enjoying a quiet smoke before starting. no cars were attached,and no driver was to be seen, for bill was off with the other menbehind the station-house, helping the expressman, whose horse hadbacked down a bank and upset the wagon.
"good chance for a look at the old lady," said frank, speaking ofthe engine as bill did, and jumping aboard with great satisfaction,followed by gus.
"i'd give ten dollars if i could run her up to the bend and back," headded, fondly touching the bright brass knobs and glancing at thefire with a critical eye.
"you couldn't do it alone," answered gus, sitting down on thegrimy little perch, willing to indulge his mate's amiable weakness.
"give me leave to try? steam is up, and i could do it as easy asnot"; and frank put his hand on the throttle-valve, as if daring gusto give the word.
"fire up and make her hum!" laughed gus, quoting bill's frequentorder to his mate, but with no idea of being obeyed.
"all right; i'll just roll her up to the switch and back again. i'veoften done it with bill"; and frank cautiously opened thethrottle-valve, threw back the lever, and the great thing movedwith a throb and a puff.
"steady, old fellow, or you'll come to grief. here, don't open that!"shouted gus, for just at that moment joe appeared at the switch,looking ready for mischief.
"wish he would; no train for twenty minutes, and we could run upto the bend as well as not," said frank, getting excited with thesense of power, as the monster obeyed his hand so entirely that itwas impossible to resist prolonging the delight.
"by george, he has! stop her! back her! hold on, frank!" criedgus, as joe, only catching the words "open that!" obeyed, withoutthe least idea that they would dare to leave the siding.
but they did, for frank rather lost his head for a minute, and outupon the main track rolled no. 11 as quietly as a well-trainedhorse taking a familiar road.
"now you've done it! i'll give you a good thrashing when i getback!" roared gus, shaking his fist at joe, who stood staring,half-pleased, half-scared, at what he had done.
"are you really going to try it?" asked gus, as they glided on withincreasing speed, and he, too, felt the charm of such a noveladventure, though the consequences bid fair to be serious.
"yes, i am," answered frank, with the grim look he always worewhen his strong will got the upper hand. "bill will give it to us,anyway, so we may as well have our fun out. if you are afraid, i'llslow down and you can jump off," and his brown eyes sparkledwith the double delight of getting his heart's desire and astonishinghis friend at the same time by his skill and coolness.
"go ahead. i'll jump when you do"; and gus calmly sat downagain, bound in honor to stand by his mate till the smash came,though rather dismayed at the audacity of the prank.
"don't you call this just splendid?" exclaimed frank, as they rolledalong over the crossing, past the bridge, toward the curve, a milefrom the station.
"not bad. they are yelling like mad after us. better go back, if youcan," said gus, who was anxiously peering out, and, in spite of hisefforts to seem at ease, not enjoying the trip a particle.
"let them yell. i started to go to the curve, and i'll do it if it costsme a hundred dollars. no danger; there's no train under twentyminutes, i tell you," and frank pulled out his watch. but the sunwas in his eyes, and he did not see clearly, or he would havediscovered that it was later than he thought.
on they went, and were just rounding the bend when a shrillwhistle in front startled both boys, and drove the color out of theircheeks.
"it's the factory train!" cried gus, in a husky tone, as he sprang tohis feet.
"no; it's the five-forty on the other road," answered frank, with aqueer thrill all through him at the thought of what might happen ifit was not. both looked straight ahead as the last tree glided by,and the long track lay before them, with the freight train slowlycoming down. for an instant, the boys stood as if paralyzed.
"jump!" said gus, looking at the steep bank on one side and theriver on the other, undecided which to try.
"sit still!" commanded frank, collecting his wits, as he gave awarning whistle to retard the on-coming train, while he reversedthe engine and went back faster than he came.
a crowd of angry men was waiting for them, and bill stood at theopen switch in a towering passion as no. 11 returned to her placeunharmed, but bearing two pale and frightened boys, who steppedslowly and silently down, without a word to say for themselves,while the freight train rumbled by on the main track.
frank and gus never had a very clear idea as to what occurredduring the next few minutes, but vaguely remembered being wellshaken, sworn at, questioned, threatened with direful penalties,and finally ordered off the premises forever by the wrathfuldepot-master. joe was nowhere to be seen, and as the two culpritswalked away, trying to go steadily, while their heads spun round,and all the strength seemed to have departed from their legs, franksaid, in an exhausted tone,"come down to the boat-house and rest a minute."both were glad to get out of sight, and dropped upon the steps red,rumpled, and breathless, after the late exciting scene. gusgenerously forebore to speak, though he felt that he was the leastto blame; and frank, after eating a bit of snow to moisten his drylips, said, handsomely,"now, don't you worry, old man. i'll pay the damages, for it wasmy fault. joe will dodge, but i won't, so make your mind easy.
"we sha'n't hear the last of this in a hurry," responded gus,relieved, yet anxious, as he thought of the reprimand his fatherwould give him.
"i hope mother won't hear of it till i tell her quietly myself. shewill be so frightened, and think i'm surely smashed up, if she istold in a hurry"; and frank gave a shiver, as all the danger he hadrun came over him suddenly.
"i thought we were done for when we saw that train. guess weshould have been if you had not had your wits about you. i alwayssaid you were a cool one"; and gus patted frank's back with a lookof great admiration, for, now that it was all over, he considered it avery remarkable performance.
"which do you suppose it will be, fine or imprisonment?" askedfrank, after sitting in a despondent attitude for a moment.
"shouldn't wonder if it was both. running off with an engine is nojoke, you know."'what did possess me to be such a fool?" groaned frank, repenting,all too late, of yielding to the temptation which assailed him.
"bear up, old fellow, i'll stand by you; and if the worst comes, i'llcall as often as the rules of the prison allow," said gus,consolingly, as he gave his afflicted friend an arm, and theywalked away, both feeling that they were marked men from thatday forth.
meantime, joe, as soon as he recovered from the shock of seeingthe boys actually go off, ran away, as fast as his legs could carryhim, to prepare mrs. minot for the ioss of her son; for the idea oftheir coming safely back never occurred to him, his knowledge ofengines being limited. a loud ring at the bell brought mrs. pecq,who was guarding the house, while mrs. minot entertained aparlor full of company.
"frank's run off with no. 11, and he'll be killed sure. thought i'dcome up and tell you," stammered joe, all out of breath andlooking wild.
he got no further, for mrs. pecq clapped one hand over his mouth,caught him by the collar with the other, and hustled him into theante-room before anyone else could hear the bad news.
"tell me all about it, and don't shout. what's come to the boy?" shedemanded, in a tone that reduced joe to a whisper at once.
"go right back and see what has happened to him, then come andtell me quietly. i'll wait for you here. i wouldn't have his motherstartled for the world," said the good soul, when she knew all.
"oh, i dar'sn't! i opened the switch as they told me to, and bill willhalf kill me when he knows it!" cried joe, in a panic, as the awfulconsequences of his deed rose before him, showing both boysmortally injured and several trains wrecked.
"then take yourself off home and hold your tongue. i'll watch thedoor, for i won't have any more ridiculous boys tearing in todisturb my lady."mrs. pecq often called this good neighbor "my lady" whenspeaking of her, for mrs. minot was a true gentlewoman, andmuch pleasanter to live with than the titled mistress had been.
joe scudded away as if the constable was after him, and presentlyfrank was seen slowly approaching with an unusually sober faceand a pair of very dirty hands.
"thank heaven, he's safe!" and, softly opening the door, mrs. pecqactually hustled the young master into the ante-room asunceremoniously as she had hustled joe.
"i beg pardon, but the parlor is full of company, and that fool of ajoe came roaring in with a cock-and-bull story that gave me quitea turn. what is it, mr. frank?" she asked eagerly, seeing thatsomething was amiss.
he told her in a few words, and she was much relieved to find thatno harm had been done.
"ah, the danger is to come," said frank, darkly, as be went away towash his hands and prepare to relate his misdeeds.
it was a very bad quarter of an hour for the poor fellow, who soseldom had any grave faults to confess; but he did it manfully, andhis mother was so grateful for the safety of her boy that she foundit difficult to be severe enough, and contented herself withforbidding any more visits to the too charming no. 11.
"what do you suppose will be done to me?" asked frank, on whomthe idea of imprisonment had made a deep impression.
"i don't know, dear, but i shall go over to see mr. burton rightafter tea. he will tell us what to do and what to expect. gus mustnot suffer for your fault.""he'll come off clear enough, but joe must take his share, for if hehadn't opened that confounded switch, no harm would have beendone. but when i saw the way clear, i actually couldn't resist goingahead," said frank, getting excited again at the memory of thatblissful moment when he started the engine.
here jack came hurrying in, having heard the news, and refused tobelieve it from any lips but frank's. when he could no longerdoubt, he was so much impressed with the daring of the deed thathe had nothing but admiration for his brother, till a sudden thoughtmade him clap his hands and exclaim exultingly,"his runaway beats mine all hollow, and now he can't crow overme! won't that be a comfort? the good boy has got into a scrape.
hooray!"this was such a droll way of taking it, that they had to laugh; andfrank took his humiliation so meekly that jack soon fell tocomforting him, instead of crowing over him.
jill thought it a most interesting event; and, when frank and hismother went over to consult mr. burton, she and jack planned outfor the dear culprit a dramatic trial which would have convulsedthe soberest of judges. his sentence was ten years' imprisonment,and such heavy fines that the family would have been reduced tobeggary but for the sums made by jill's fancy work and jack'ssuccess as a champion pedestrian.
they found such comfort and amusement in this sensationalprogramme that they were rather disappointed when frankreturned, reporting that a fine would probably be all the penaltyexacted, as no harm had been done, and he and gus were suchrespectable boys. what would happen to joe, he could not tell, buthe thought a good whipping ought to be added to his share.
of course, the affair made a stir in the little world of children; andwhen frank went to school, feeling that his character for goodbehavior was forever damaged, he found himself a lion, and was indanger of being spoiled by the admiration of his comrades, whopointed him out with pride as "the fellow who ran off with asteam-engine."but an interview with judge kemble, a fine of twenty-five dollars,and lectures from all the grown people of his acquaintance,prevented him from regarding his escapade as a feat to boast of.
he discovered, also, how fickle a thing is public favor, for verysoon those who had praised began to tease, and it took all hiscourage, patience, and pride to carry him through the next week ortwo. the lads were never tired of alluding to no. 11, giving shrillwhistles in his ear, asking if his watch was right, and drawinglocomotives on the blackboard whenever they got a chance.
the girls, too, had sly nods and smiles, hints and jokes of a mildersort, which made him color and fume, and once lose his dignityentirely. molly loo, who dearly loved to torment the big boys, anddared attack even solemn frank, left one of boo's old tin trains onthe door-step, directed to "conductor minot," who, i regret to say,could not refrain from kicking it into the street, and slamming thedoor with a bang that shook the house. shrieks of laughter fromwicked molly and her coadjutor, grif, greeted this explosion ofwrath, which did no good, however, for half an hour later the samecars, all in a heap, were on the steps again, with two headless dollstumbling out of the cab, and the dilapidated engine labelled, "no.
11 after the collision."no one ever saw that ruin again, and for days frank was utterlyunconscious of molly's existence, as propriety forbade his havingit out with her as he had with grif. then annette made peacebetween them, and the approach of the twenty-second gave thewags something else to think of.
but it was long before frank forgot that costly prank; for he was athoughtful boy, who honestly wanted to be good; so heremembered this episode humbly, and whenever he felt theapproach of temptation he made the strong will master it, saying tohimself "down brakes!" thus saving the precious freight he carriedfrom many of the accidents which befall us when we try to run ourtrains without orders, and so often wreck ourselves as well asothers.
