296 The Turkey Family 



it. It was coming, and fast too, and I was in a 

 stew of anxiety. Pretty soon the turkeys took 

 heed of the clicking rail, and one after the other 

 they trotted into the woods. Then I saw light. 

 Of course they were accustomed to trains, so all 

 I had to do was to lie flat under the cross-beam 

 until the train had passed over me. It might 

 be a bit unpleasant for a moment, but I would be 

 absolutely safe. To leave the ambush would be 

 folly, for it could not be done without exposing 

 myself to the turkeys, and I knew better than to 

 do that. 



Long before the train got near me I was down 

 flat, and feeling content, for the turkeys would 

 surely come back as soon as quiet was restored. 

 In fact, it was better to have the train come 

 exactly when it did, for it added a spice of adven- 

 ture, and there would be no other train before 

 dark. I was feeling glad that I, the turkeys, and 

 the train had all come, when, with an utterly in- 

 describable roar, and a soul-scaring vibration, the 

 engine passed over — just over! — my head. A 

 man must try it to understand what it is like, and 

 anybody is welcome to my future shares of it. 



After the last demoniacal truck had cleared, 

 and the gravel had ceased pelting, I began to sit 

 up and take notice, and things gradually straight- 

 ened themselves out. There had been no acci- 

 dent, no earthquake, no disturbance of any kind, 



