As soon as the boy had somewhat regained this and his scattered senses,
he scrambled to his feet, and tried to look around him.
Daylight shone into the car from the windows above, but all was dust
and confusion, mingled with the cries of women and the loud exclamations
of men.
Luckily Richard was not far from the rear door, and having somewhat
recovered from the shock, he resolved to get out as speedily as
possible.
The car had now stopped moving, and as there seemed to be no immediate
danger of anything more happening, the boy stopped to get the two
valises.
With such a load it was no easy matter climbing over the seats to the
door. Yet the feat was accomplished, and two minutes later, with an
exclamation of relief, Richard pitched his baggage to the bank beside
the track, and sprang to the solid ground.
His foot had been slightly sprained when the shock came, but in the
excitement he hardly noticed the pain. He could readily see that
assistance was needed on all sides, and he was not slow to render all
that lay in his power.
The cause of the accident could be seen at a glance. A heavy freight
train had backed down from a side track, smashing the locomotive
attached to the passenger cars, and throwing three of the latter off
the track.
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