The engine halted on regular signal. Griscom got down and ran about a bit, explaining that he was subject to cramps when seated long in one position. Two men came up to the locomotive.
“Give us a lift?” demanded one of them.
“Couldn’t do it, partner,” responded Ralph. “Under special orders.”
“Plenty of room up there on the tender.”
“Not for you,” answered the young fireman.
Both men regarded Trevor very keenly. Then they disappeared in the darkness. Ralph got the signal from the crossing’s switch tower to go ahead.
“Mr. Griscom,” he called out from his window.
“Why, where is he?—I don’t see him,” said Trevor in surprise. “I saw him out there not a minute ago.”
Ralph jumped to the ground in amazement. 79 Nowhere in sight was Griscom; nowhere within hearing either, it seemed. Like the two rough fellows who had just approached the engine, Griscom has disappeared.
“Why, this is mysterious,” declared the young fireman in an anxious tone of concern. “Where can he have disappeared to?”