Page:Dave Porter at Oak Hall.djvu/251



" her! Stop her!"

"We'll go over, sure!"

All of the students were on their feet and several prepared to leap from the swiftly moving trolley car.

"Don't jump," came from Roger. "I've got the brake on. Don't jump!"

He had at last managed to release the brake from where it was stuck, and now he applied it with all his power. The sparks flew from the wheels as they slid along the steel rails, and the car bumped and creaked over the uneven track. Then they struck the curve, and the front truck left the rails and jammed up tightly into some rocks and dirt. Everybody was thrown forward, and while one boy went over the dashboard, poor Buster Beggs turned a somersault from the roof, and landed in some bushes a dozen feet away.

Shrieks and yells arose. It was, "Get off my back!" here, and "Oh, my leg!" there, while one boy in a corner gasped out, "Somebody's mashing me!" For a full minute pandemonium reigned, Rh