Activate Javascript or update your browser for the full Digital Library experience.
Previous Page
–
Next Page
OCR
Lo Madi mb, a aie
” that,
—HAPPY
=>
.
DAYS ee
3
“The dickens you say I”
“Yes, I saw the heads of two men
sticking above it for a second and there
may be more. Look out for yourself,”
Then Fred let out a screech on his whistle
~ that startled the echoes for miles and put
every brakeman on the alert, .
The train stopped within a few feet of
the bowlder,
Then Fred-and Brad suddenly ran for-
ward as far as the boiler head,
*'Throw.up your hands !”
It was Fred who said this, not the men
- - who suddenly appeared at either side of
the track. .
“Up with 'em!” cried Brad, “or we'll
fill you as full of holes as a blamed sieve!”
Three stocky, heavily-bearded men,
rougbly dressed, wearing masks and arm-
ed_with revolvers had suddenly appeared,
On the instant.they found themselves
covered by two revolvers and heard the
command which they were about to utter
themselves.
The surprise was as complete as it was
startling. ~ .
‘The deuce !” gasped one of them,
Then he attempted to rush in, duck and
fire at short range,
A bullet whizzing through his hat con-
vinced him of the folly of such an attempt.
hen he and his companions attempted
to retreat, ~
“Stay where you are!” shouted Fred,
“or I'll riddle you with lead |”
Then red two more shots to attract
the attention of the brakemen,
‘Lwo or three of these, led by the conduc-
tor, who carried a big revolver, came hur-
rying forward on both sides,
“Gra hose fellows!” cried Fred.
“They thought they'd hold us up, but the
boot was on the other leg this time.”
Several passengers had joined the others
by this time, and the outlaws saw the folly
of attempting any resistance.
Two others had joined them from behind
the bowlder, but two brakemen had quick-
ly covered them with revolvers and at the
same time the first three had been forced
to throw down their weapons, .
‘The force from the train was superior to
their own, and Fred’s prompt action had
turned a surprise into a defeat for the am-
bushed outlaws, - .
“Now, look here,” said the boy engi-
neer from his lofty perch, ** just you fellows
hustle thaé rock off the track’and over the
_ edge in as short a time as you know how,
Pepper the first man that tries any soldier-
ing, boys.” ~ m
' “Here's a couple of crowbars,” eried one
of the brakemen, who had gone behind the
rock, ‘This thing never fell down,”
“Certainly id not,” said Fred. ‘The
track isn’t injured, the rails are not
broken. .Come there, get to work, you fel-
lows, and hurry up with it.”
“You got the best of us this time, Fred,”
said one of the outlaws, “*Howdid you
manage to get the-drop on us?”
“By keeping my eyes about me, that’s
all. [saw you and suspected that there
was a job of some sort. I know the repu-
tation of these parts, you see.”
. 8B idn't know you carried a gun,
Talways heard that you didn’t.” .
““T ain’t telling everything about my-
self,” said Fred, with a laugh, “ but never
mind ehinning so much. Keep at work.”
The bowlder was pried and pushed off
the track and then sent crashing over the
edge of the precipice, rolling and tumbling
in its descent, and carrying loose earth,
small stones, and even-trees before it in
its mad rush down the side,
'“Go through these fellows, boys,” said
Fred, when this had been done. “ Off with
their masks and Jet's see who they are,
_Make’em shell out, too. They may have
+ knives or other weapons.” -
. e Outlaws were forced to unmask and
empty their pockets of everything they
had. no matter how small.
“Some fellows would chuck you over
the same as you chucked the bowlder,”
Fred said, ‘‘but. we aren’t going to do
We'll ‘take your pictures, though,
and if there’s anything else against you,
ofll catch it for both this and that.
Now, then, boys, hustle them into the
hageage car and we'll take ‘em on to
Whittleton and turn ’em over to the po-
ice,” ”
‘e was not much found upon the
men that could haye done any damage,
only twoof them having knives, but every-
thing was taken from them, including a
small sum of money, one or two plugs of
tobacco, a few matches and three or four
black pipes,
The men gave their names as Peter
Jinks, Darby Dinks, Hank Hinks, Jack
Smith and Jim Harris, but Fred felt cer-
tain that these were mostly assumed and
that the men would be identified later as
well-known outlaws,
“You may as well tell us who are now
as later, for this funny business won't go
down when the police get hold of you,”
said Fred. “Chuck“em into the baggage
car, boys. We'ye got to make up the time
we've lost.” ~
~ As the men were being hurried to the
baggage car, one of them suddenly broke
away, ran back to Fred, and whispered :
“Say, young fellow, if you'll let me go
T'll tell you who put us up to this job. It
he S. & N. and you
want to look out for him, Mle’s trying to
get the mail contract away from you.” «
. Fred was greatly startled by this infor-
mation, but he could hardly credit it, and
he said, immediately :
“That'll do you, Mr. Jim Harris, if
that’s your name. We'll investigate that
later. Go on with the rest, or I'll put a
hole through you.”
Harris started toward the baggage car
after the rest, and Fred presently went
on, making The General fly over the rails
so that Brad Mifflin, hardened old rail-
road man as he w
frightened, and asked the boy if he wasn’
going to fast.
“That's all right, Brad. The General
can do it easy enough, IIe knows that I
and he’s just humping himself now
oblige me. We're going smooth enough,
e we are going fast. I won't get to
Whittleton ahead of time, but I won't be
much behind. What's the use of getting
scared? .You-know I won't do anything
reckless, don’t you?”
“We
, I ho .
When they reached Whittleton the con-
ductor told the agent to send for some po-
icemen in a hurry, as they had some
train wreckers to turn over to them.
‘There were only four of them, however,
when they marched them out of the bag-
gage ear, the man called Harris not being
01
not seen him at all, although the con-
ductor was certain that he hhd put five
men in and then locked the door on them.
However, Harris could not be found
anywhere in the car, and so only four in-
stead of five men were turned over to the
police,
“I don’t see how the mischief he could
have escaped,” said Fred. ‘* Well, he did,
though, and that’s‘all there is about it.
The fellow wasn’t very big, but I'm blowed
if I can see-where he got to on the run
to this town. It beats me ail to pieces,”
“Well, we may find out some of these
days,” saia Brad. oe
“Yes, but, that doesn't do me any good
now. Well,’ we're off again. We'll see
about losing that mail contract or not. I
guess not, myself,”
CHAPTER III.
A CLEVER SCOUNDREL—PLEASANT RECOL-
LECTIONS—A GREAT PERIL SAFELY PASS-
ED—DANGER AHEAD, ‘
Mr. Jim Harris had made his escape in
the easiest manner poss:ble, and.it was
the very simplicity of it that puzzled the
men who were searching for him,
conductor had locked five men in
the baggage car fast enough, and the five
made the run to Whittleton, eighteen or
twenty miles distant, but when the car
was opened only four men were found sit-
ting on the baggage ready to be hurried
off to jail. .
Four of the men sat by themselves and
would have nothing to say to Harris, who
had been the leader, accusing him of hav- |b.
ing managed the thing so badly as to
cause their arrest.
Harris remained close to the rear door,
the others paying no attention to him, but
talking animatedly among themselves
during the run, oe
The man looked out now and then and
was evidently well acquainted with the
road, for as they neared Whittleton he
gave asmile of satisfaction, and, quickly
ripping the hem at the bottom of one leg
of his rough, turned-up trousers, he ex-
traeted a skeleton key, opened the door,
slipped out upon the platform unobserve
by his late companions, closed and locked
the door as quick as thought, whisked off
his full black beard, gave his slouched hat
a peculiar twist, turning it inside out and
quite altering its appearance, and then
seized the brake as t
“They don’t get the best of Tom Wat-
kins after all,” he muttered, handling tlre
brake as if he were an old hand at the
business, and thoroughly deceiving the
man who came out of the smoking car
justin the rear when Fred's signal was
ear
Then, when the train stopped and the
conductor came forward to unlock the
door, he stepped down, quietly mixed in
with the crowd and was far enough away
for safety by the time he was missed.
Ten minutes Jater he entered a building
ona quiet street and went into an office
on the top floor, finding there a man of
stout build, with gray hair and beard, who
said in surprise:
Pack so soon? Well, how did
“Not at all, We were held up and
brought back here, I got away, how, is
my affair, and came here toreport. Young
Freeman just made: things hum when he
as, became actually ol
o|sharp turns, and it was necessary to hold
Started off again after doing us op. Why,
Tthought a dozen times we would leave
the rails and go smash into the rocks or
own the bank,”
“Well, you stay here.and keep quiet
and we'll see what plans Wetherbee has
to propose,” said the other, when Watkins
had told his story,
“Oh, yes, I'll stay here whatever the
weather be,” laughed Watkins, ‘I gener-
ally Jand all right.” ~
“Well, you keep quiet and I'll let you
know when I want yeu.”
“CAN right, Mr. Miller,” and then Wat-
kins went away, chuckling to himself,
“Tl make this job pay at both ends,”
he muttered, ‘That's the only way to do
business,”
Meantime Fred was pushing The Gen-
eral as fast as he could, and as there was
nly st between Whittleton and
Millerville, the northern terminus of his
vision, he was able to make good
speed, although beyond Walkabout, where
he stopped for ten minutes, there was a
very steep down grade, with three or four
back as much as possible to avoid acci-
dents, .
“She was quite a pretty girl, don’t you
think so?’ asked Fred abruptly, as they
were waiting at Walkabout. :
“Who's that?” answered Brad, shovel in
and,
“Why, Goldie, of course. Whom did
you suppose I meant?”
“Oh, she? Oh, yes, she was as pretty as
they go in these parts—prettier.”
“And that’s a pretty name, too—Goldie,
It seems to fit her so well.” _
“ it does, with all that yellow hair
tossed about her head,”
“Yellow?” said Fred, indignantly. “It
isn’t yellow, it’s golden, aven’t you any
eye for beauty, Brad?”
“Well, gold is yellow, ain’t it?”
“Yes, and so is tow, but you wouldn't |
call her a towhead, would you?. I think
she's an awfully pretty girl, and that gold-
en hair of hers is just fine.”
“And I think you're stuck on her,”
laughed Brad, ‘and the fust thing I know
you'll be changing The General’s name,”
“To what?”
“Goldie,” and Brad laughed. :
“Vl chuck a lump of coal at you if you
don’t shut up,” said Fred, but as he laugh-
ed also, he could not have been very an-
gry. . .
Man aboard !" shouted the conductor, a
minute or two later, and Fred and Brad
both sprang to their posts,
‘They were soon on the dawn grade, Fred
hglding The General well in hand, and
sfatching every bend in the road with the
utmost care, - .
Rocks, trees and banks seemed to fly
past them, the grade growing steeperevery
minute, while l’red was obliged to shut off
steam and crowd on all his brakes,
They went whizzing around one curve
and another, Fred still keeping a sharp
lookout ahead with one hand on the
throttle and the other ready to seize the
signal cord,
They were on the steepest part of the
grade and hada run of nearly a mile after
rounding acurve, when, shortly after mak
ing it, ‘red saw a heavy tree Iying across
the track ahead of him,
It had evidently been uprooted from the
ank on one side, where there were several
like it, still standing, and had fallen across
t -
rack, . 9)
It was dead and Fred had often noticed
it standing on the bank, and had wonder-
ed why it had not been cut down instead
of being allowed to remain there, a menace
to passing trains, when any light wind
might blow it down,
It was dead, to be sure, but it was big} h
and heavy, and not quite the thing to run
into at a high rate of speed, on a down
rade, .
The instant Fred saw it lying on. the
track, he knew that it would be impossible
to stop the trainin time to avoid a colli-
sion, and the cold sweat broke out upon
his forehead in huge beads,
The peril was great, and he realized it,
for, while he felt that he could not escape
it, he nevertheless did all he could to pre-
vent it, calling for extra brakes in shrill,
sharp tones, that brought every man to his
post in a moment.
They knew that there was some great
danger ahead, although they could not see
it, and they swung upon the brakes with
all theirstrength, knowing that Fred re-
lied upon them, and doing all in their
power to help him,
“Great guns !” muttered Brad, looking
ahead and seeing the tree on the track,
“That thing will send us kiting to KKing-
dom Come in a jifty.”
“Stick it out, Brad!” shouled Fred.
“Tt's safer here than to jump.”
On went the train despite the efforts of
the men tostop it, and Fred saw that he
must inevitably strike the tree, but despite
this, he stood bravely at his post, pale but
calm, feeling certaia that death was await
ing him, but resolving to do his duty,
another instant the heavy, well-
pilot had struck the obstruction
fairly in the middle, when to Fred's great
the trunk broke into a balf dozen pieces,
some flying.up in the air and landing on
the boiler, while others were sent whirl- .
ing over the bank,
“ Hurrah !” erfed Fred, with a sudden re-
action, “ The thing was as rotten as punk,
and I never knew it. Lully for the old
General! 1’l] just bet he knew all about ig.
and wasn’t going to stop for any old de-
cayed tree that was bound to fly to pieces
the montent we bit it. Wurrah for our
side
“Well, [ll be blowed !” said Brad, feel
ing sick and faint for a moment. “I
thought we was going to smash for sure,
but so long as Fred stayed on the engine,
I was going ter, too.”
When the train had passed the danger
point it began to slow down, and presently
when it struck a level stretch once more
it was going at only a medium rate of
speed.
A mile or so beyond this point there was
another curve, and just ahead of that there
was a stream spanned by a drawbridge
which was swung open at times to allow
vessels to or down, considerable
trade being done in that manner with the
towns along the banks, -
the curve there was always a boy in
charge to tell the engineers of northbound
rains if the bridge was open. or not, there
being time to stop in case it was open.
When Fred reached this point he saw
the boy standing at his post as usual, wav-
ng a white flag, which was the signal
that the bridge was closed. and that he
conld go ahead without delay,
Being anxious to get to the terminus on
time, Fred opened the throttle and flew
arounc the curve, but in another moment
the bridge came in sight, and, to his hor-
ror he saw that it was open and that a
schooner was going threugh, being just
midway in the opening...
*‘Good Heavens!” he ‘gasped, ‘ The
bridge is open!” .
[vo BE CONTINUED}
rom ome
““SECRET SERVICE’? CONTAINS THE
LATEST AND BEST-DETECTIVE STORIES...
32 PACES. PRICE 5 CENTS,
ro ee.
(This story commenced in No. 242.)
WILLNG 0 WORK
How a Foor Boy Wok os
vem en bn
By C. LITTLE,
Author of “A King at 16," “Mining His
Business,” “My Brother Jack,” “A
Paper of His Own,” “ Young
Bob Sampson,” etc., etc.
: CHAPTER IX,
MARRY JIAS OCCASION TO CARRY OUT HIS
THREAT AGAINST GORDON, .
Wuen Harry went to the office of the
Ilerald the next morning he was met b
the office boy, who handed him an envel-
peand said: .
“He's busy this morning and can't see -
you, but he told me to give you this.” .
The envelope contained a ten dollar bill
and a brief note informing him that the
enclosed was for his services during the
reek and that they had no further use for
m, .
“But this seems rather sudden,” said
Ilarry, “Isn't Mr. Boardman satisfied? I
thought he was,” -
“Dunno nothing about it,” said the boy.
“Ile told me to give you that, and that's
all I know,”
“But won't you ask bim if he can't see
me for a minute? I won't detain him
louger than that ?”
““He said he was busy and didn't want
to see nobody.” :
“Tell him it’s I, won't you. I won't keep
hima minute,” °
* But he said he wouldn't see nobody,”
persisted the boy, .
““Ah, go ahead, that’s a good chap,”
said Harry persuasively, “‘lell him ‘I
would like to see him Particularly for
just a minute,” ;
The poy entered the private officebut re-
turned almost immediately, saying: cos
“* He says he’s too busy and can’t see you,
and that he hasn't anything to say any:
ow,
“Oh, very well,” said Harry in a tone of
disappointment, * suppose that Settles it,
Good-morning,”
Then he went to his desk, took his pri-
yate papers and memoranda, made them
into a bundle and left the oftice,
“It’s very singular,” he mused, ‘I had
every reason to think that the man was
satisfied with me, and here I find myself
suddenly discharged withouta word of ex-
surprise, as well as to his sincere relief,
planation and ata moment's warning. I
can’t understand it,” .
a
ene)
he TB
es