excerpt
word, “hurry.” The air was so hot, it hurt to breathe. His sweat
evaporated as soon as it appeared. He climbed through steam
across the greasy undercarriage and onto the side of the locomotive.
One of his sandals slipped away and he almost lost his grip
trying to stop it as it slid to the ground. He arrived at an opening
and started into it. A pair of huge hands grasped him under the
arms and lowered him onto the wall of the cab. It took him a few
seconds to recognize Engine Fred hovering over a man whose legs
were pinned by a mass of metal. Illuminated by the flames, the
man’s eyes were wide in his gray face. His chest rose and fell in
spasms. With a jerk of his head, Engine Fred beckoned Poodie,
gesturing for him to help lift away the metal. Straining together,
they could not move it. Poodie spotted an iron bar near the back of
the cab and scuttled along the wall to get it. He pushed it under the
metal and they pried until the jagged chunk barely cleared the
engineer’s legs. “Can’t move,” Poodie saw the man say. Poodie
held the weight while Fred grabbed a fistful of the man’s coveralls
and started to ease him out of his trap. The man seemed to be
screaming. Fred looked at Poodie.
“Legs are badly hurt. Have to get him out of here.” He pulled
until the man was free.
“Morris,” or “Maurice,” Poodie saw the engineer say as he
looked toward the back of the cab. In the darkness of a corner lay a
crumpled figure. Poodie went to the man and felt for a pulse. He
looked at the other two and shook his head. Heat from the burning
tank car was increasing. Poodie’s lungs ached. He pulled himself
hand over hand to the doorway as Engine Fred slid the engineer up
along the floor of the cab. Poodie positioned himself on the side of
the locomotive and leaned in to pull the man up as Fred lifted him.
When they had him on the outside of the cab, Poodie looked down
to see a man in a railroad cap limping along the tracks toward the
locomotive, carrying an orchard ladder. Fred heard sirens in the
distance. The engineer passed out as they were lowering him down
the ladder. Engine Fred and the railroad man put the engineer on
the ladder and carried him up the tracks toward the jungle.
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