"
She illustrated with her hands.
"When the one rail was pushed out, the wheels on that side went
down and continued on the ties, while the wheels on the other
side went ahead on the firm rail."
The workman saw it.
"That's true, Miss Warfield," he said, "one rail sometimes
spreads and the other holds solid."
Marion was absorbed in the problem.
"But why should the one rail give way like this and its companion
hold?"
"One of the rails might not be as solid as the other," said the
man.
"But it should have been nearly as solid," replied Marion.
"This piece of track, you tell me, was examined to-day; the ties
are equally sound on both sides, the rail is the same weight. We
have the right to conclude then that each of these rails was
about in the same condition. I do not say precisely in the same
condition. Now, it is true that under these conditions one of
the rails might have been pushed out of alignment before the
other. We can grant a certain factor of difference, a certain
reasonable factor of difference. But not a great factor of
difference. We have a right to conclude that one rail would give
way before the other.
Pages:
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298