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Storyteller's Cabin |
Joe knew he was in trouble, because right behind his train, he knew that a fast freight would soon be approaching. Joe ran out onto the rear landing and peered through the rain and fog, trying desperately to spot the train. Before long, way off in the distance, he saw a pinpoint of light, and he knew it had to be the freight train behind him. As the light got bigger, he could almost hear the wheels of the freight chugging toward him, louder and louder.
Joe grabbed his lantern and started waving it frantically from side to side, hollering, "Hey! Stop! Hey!" He knew the freight engineer couldn't hear him, but he screamed anyway, waving his lantern wilder and wilder.
The freight light grew bigger and bigger, and Joe heard the whooshing sound of the air brakes, then the sound of the freight locomotive going into reverse, its wheels spinning on the track. He saw the sparks flying off either side of the track like some surreal fireworks display.
That was the last thing Joe Baldwin ever saw. For the freight smashed into his caboose with a deafening crash, splintering it into a million pieces.
Then there was silence on the tracks, save for the steam hissing from the freight train. The only light was from Joe Baldwin's lantern, which had been thrown deep into the dark swamp and continued to burn through the night.
The next morning, the people that came to search the wreckage finally found Joe's mangled body near the caboose. To their horror, they found that he had been decapitated in the crash. They searched throughout the woods, but never could find his head - only his lantern, still warm to the touch. They carried Joe home and buried him without his head.
