The middle of the train was just abreast of them when Rush's quick eyes saw one of the big red molds swaying dangerously. This he could not understand, for the molds were supposed to be bolted to the cars, which was the case with all of the molds used in the transit of the pig-iron to the refining open-hearth furnaces.
Steve watched the swaying mold as the train rolled along. Suddenly the flat car bearing this particular mold, lurched sideways. For one breathless instant the red hot pig of iron hung motionless then plunged from the car. Steve Rush was no longer inactive. The indecision that had suddenly taken possession of him, left him on the second.
Mr. Keating turned sharply to see what the lad wanted. He knew that some danger menaced them, but he did not know the nature of that danger.
There was no time for explanations. A second would mean serious, if not fatal, injury to the two men.
The Iron Boy darted forward. Both hands were thrust forward, and with a mighty push he sent the chief engineer and the general superintendent of the mills staggering forward. They fell flat on the narrow footpath. At the same time Steve lost his balance and fell, right in the path of the five-ton mold of red hot iron. Yet the Iron Boy's presence of mind did not leave him for a second.
The bar of pig struck the planking of the footpath, went through it as if the planking had been paper and a few seconds later, hit the waters of the Monongahela, with a mighty splash from which a cloud of steam rose in the air.
The two men picked themselves up quickly.
"What is it? What does it mean?" demanded Mr. Phillips angrily. "Who pushed me? Who pushed _us_?"
"The boy who saved our lives," answered the superintendent. "Don't you see what happened?"
"No; I will confess that I do not. Something happened to the train, did it not?"
"A pig fell off, mold and all. It is down at the bottom of the river, now, as you can see by glancing down there at the cloud of steam."
Mr. Phillip's face paled. He was used to narrow escapes, but this was the narrowest of all in his wide experience.
"It is a wonder that it didn't derail the whole train. We certainly should have met our finish if that had been the case."
"It was a rare exhibition of presence of mind. I never saw anything like it in my life."