an to pay them to the old man who took toll on the
bridge. But it was often necessary for us to cross the river, and to
do so, and save our money at the same time, we used to adopt a very
hazardous expedient.

At a short distance below the toll-bridge there was a railroad-bridge,
which you cannot see in the picture. This bridge was not intended for
anything but railroad trains; it was very high above the water, it
was very long, and it was not floored. When any one stood on the
cross-ties which supported the rails, he could look right down into
the water far below him. For the convenience of the railroad-men and
others who sometimes were obliged to go on the bridge, there was a
single line of boards placed over the ties at one side of the track,
and there was a slight hand-rail put up at that side of the bridge.

To save our pennies we used to cross this bridge, and every time we
did so we risked our lives.

We were careful, however, not to go on the bridge at times when a
train might be expected to cross it, for when the cars passed us, we
had much rather be on solid ground. But one day, when we had forgotten
the hour; or a train was behind, or ahead of time; or an extra train
was on the road--we were crossing this railroad bridge, and had just
about reached the middle of it, when we heard the whistle of a
locomotive! Looking up quickly, we saw a train, not a quarter of a
mile away, which was coming towards us at full speed. We stood
paralyzed for a moment. We did not know what to do. In a minute, or
less, the train would be on the bridge and we had not, or thought we
had not, time to get off of it, whether we went forward or backward.

But we could not stand on that narrow path of boards while the train
was passing. The cars would almost touch us. What could we do? I
believe that if we had had time, we would have climbed down on the
trestle-work below the bridge, and so let the train pass over us. But
whatever could be done must be done instantly, and we could think of
nothing better than to get outside of the railing and hold on as well
as we could. In this position we would, at any rate, be far enough
from the cars to prevent them from touching us. So out we got, and
stood on the ends of the timbers, holding fast to the slender
hand-rail. And on came the train! When the locomotive first touched
the bridge we could feel the shock, and as it came rattling and
grinding over the rails towards us--coming right on to