iv THE BUILDING OF THE TSAVO BRIDGE 49 



over the river. Here it was the custom of the men, 

 instead of running- beside the trolley, to step on to 

 it and to let its own momentum take it down the 

 slope, moderating its speed when necessary by a 

 brake in the shape of a pole, which one of them 

 carried and by which the wheels could be locked. 

 On this occasion, however, the pole was by some 

 accident dropped overboard, and down the hill we 

 flew without brake of any kind. Near the bridge 

 there was a sharp curve in the line, where I was 

 afraid the trolley would jump the rails ; still, I 

 thought it was better to stick to it than to risk 

 leaping off. A moment afterwards I felt myself 

 flying head first over the edge of the bridge, just 

 missing by a hair's breadth a projecting beam ; but 

 luckily I landed on a sand bank at the side of the 



s 



river, the heavy trolley falling clear of me with a 

 dull thud close by. This accident, also, was happily 

 unattended by injury to anyone. 



