Dust from the wheels up-flying; smoke rolling out behind;
The long train thundering, swaying; the roar of the cloven wind;
Shaw, with his hand on the lever, looking out straight ahead. 
How she did rock, old Six-forty!  How like a storm they sped.

Leavenworth—­thirty minutes gained in the thrilling race. 
Now for the hills—­keener look-out, or a letting down of the pace. 
Hardly a pound of the steam less!  David Shaw straightened back,
Hand like steel on the lever, face like flint to the track.

God!—­look there!  Down the mountain, right ahead of the train,
Acres of sand and forest sliding down to the plain! 
What to do?  Why, jump, Dave!  Take the chance, while you can. 
The train is doomed—­save your own life!  Think of the children, man!

Well, what did he, this hero, face to face with grim death? 
Grasped the throttle—­reversed it—­shrieked “Down brakes!” in a
                 breath. 
Stood to his post, without flinching, clear-headed, open-eyed,
Till the train stood still with a shudder, and he—­went down with the
                 slide!

Saved?—­yes, saved!  Ninety people snatched from an awful grave. 
One life under the sand, there.  All that he had, he gave,
Man to the last inch!  Hero?—­noblest of heroes, yea;
Worthy the shaft and the tablet, worthy the song and the bay!

BROTHERHOOD.

BY ALFRED H. MILES.

I am my brother’s keeper,
And I the duty own;
For no man liveth to himself
Or to himself alone;
And we must bear together
A common weal and woe,
In all we are, in all we have,
In all we feel and know.

I am my brother’s keeper,
In all that I can be,
Of high and pure example,
Of true integrity;
A guide to go before him,
In darkness and in light;
A very cloud of snow by day,
A cloud of fire by night.

I am my brother’s keeper,
In all that I can say,
To help him on his journey
To cheer him by the way;
To succour him in weakness,
To solace him in woe;
To strengthen him in conflict,
And fit him for the foe.

I am my brother’s keeper,
In all that I can do
To save him from temptation,
To help him to be true;
To stay him if he stumble,
To lift him if he fall;
To stand beside him though his sin
Has severed him from all.

I am my brother’s keeper,
In sickness and in health;
In triumph and in failure,
In poverty and wealth;
His champion in danger,
His advocate in blame,
The herald of his honour,
The hider of his shame.

And though he prove unworthy,
He is my brother still,
And I must render right for wrong
And give him good for ill;
My standard must not alter
For folly, fault, or whim,
And to be true unto myself
I must be true to him.