The mountain folks call them dog days, and the July heat had everybody drooping. Me and my dog, Bugs, were stretched out that frightening day under the apple tree in our back yard watching my six-year-old sister, Candy, bat a birdie around with her badminton racquet.

"Come on, Steven, play with me," she begged.

"Naw, Sis, I'm too tired."

The truth was, I was just plain bored. There wasn't much to do in a worked out coal mining town like Canebrake, West Virginia. I could go fishing, but I felt like I had already caught every bass in that Dry Fork River. I could shoot pool at the tavern like some of my buddies, but Mom said it’d ruin my Christian testimony. I wasn't feeling too good about my Christian testimony right then. Seemed like everybody else was having fun, and I was left to baby-sit.

Maybe I’ll walk down the railroad tracks to the swimming hole when Mom gets home from work, I thought, then added, if I can muster the energy. The coal train that was setting just outside our back fence would be gone by then.

"My birdie's on the train!" Candy's scream brought me to my feet. She pointed to one of the loaded gondolas. "Up, there!"

"I can't climb on that coal car for a dumb birdie. Why’d you hit it up there?"

"I didn't mean to," she sniffed. "Get it for me, please. It's my last one."

"All right. If you’ll stop blubbering."

The birdie was laying right at the top of the metal ladder that went up the side of the car. Easy to reach, but if Mom found out, I'd be grounded for a month.

"Hurry, Steven, before the train moves," Candy begged.

I don’t know why, but an urge came over me to be a hero to my sister, maybe make up for being such a grouch. "No problem," I bragged. I vaulted over the back fence and scrambled up the ladder. But just as I reached for the birdie the train lurched forward with a loud bang.

"Whoa!" I yelled. "I'm not ready to be a hobo yet." I twisted around and searched for a place to jump, but there was nothing but back yard fences and rocks. The train crawled forward.

I looked back at Candy. She and Bugs were standing side by side looking puzzled. Then she screamed. "Steven, please don't fall!"

"Don't worry, Sis!" I yelled. "I'll jump off soon and be back. Stay with Bugs!"

But the train picked up speed as it rounded a curve, so all I could do was hang on and wait for my chance to get off this monster.

Soon I heard the roar of the mine exhaust fan coming from a hole in the side of the mountain. That meant we were almost to the grassy patch where the old company store used to set. Sometimes the train slowed down there. Maybe I could jump off then.

I planned my move. As soon as the gondola was even with the grass I would jump and roll like I did in football practice. That should soften my landing. But when it was time to move I couldn't make my hands let go of the ladder.

The train carried me on.

Hot wind tore at my face, and my hands started to sweat. Suddenly the train swayed and my bare feet scooted off the bottom rung. One hand slipped and I felt myself falling. I grabbed for another rung while I groped for the bottom of the ladder with my toe.

When my feet were steady, I removed one hand and dried it on my pants, then the other. One more slip like that could be fatal.

I had to jump soon, but when I looked down the bank all I could see was a giant blackberry patch. Not a good place.

The train wouldn't slow down again until it reached the town of War, several miles away. How would I explain that to Mom?

Coal dust sifted over my head and into my eyes and mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut. Great! Now I couldn’t see. My stomach felt as if someone had pounded their fist in it. What if there was another jolt and I slipped again? Could I hold on? And if I fell, would I be ground to bits by the killer wheels? Sweat ran down my forehead and mixed with the coal dust in my eyes, setting them on fire. I squeezed them tighter.

I had to find a place to jump and soon. But where? How?

A Bible verse Mom had made me memorize when I was seven came back to me. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

I leaned my head against the ladder and sobbed, "Dear God, Help me get off this thing. Please! "

The train whistle let out a long shattering blast.

A voice seemed to whisper, "Open your eyes". I barely cracked them.

Incredible! Just ahead was the narrow trestle that crossed the river by the swimming hole. If I could just hang on a few more seconds I could jump into the water. But would I make it?

My hands were slipping again. Another jolt caused my left foot to slide off the ladder. Just as I lost my grip the gondola reached the center of the trestle. With my right foot I pushed with all my might and cleared the tracks.

Cool water swallowed me up. I surfaced, swam to shore and drug myself onto the bank, panting as I crawled. "Oh, thank You, God. Thank You," I sobbed.

When my breathing slowed and I stopped shaking, I sat up and looked around. A Monarch butterfly flitted around flowers. Water jingled over rocks. The sky was a brilliant sapphire.

Far away the train whistle cried.

I turned my face upward. "It sure is a great day, Lord. I think I'll go home and play badminton with my little sister, Candy."