His relief was not so great, however, as he desired. He had not seen and spoken with the girl. Three hours later, when he finally got his train to Hammerfest, he wired the man he knew would be in charge of the train dispatching at Rockton, this question:
“Find out for me secretly if Miss Hopkins has arrived with other passengers of wrecked 33.”
Before he pulled out of Hammerfest on the return trip the answer to his question was handed up to him by the local telegraph operator:
“No. Hop. is crazy. What do you know? Girl disappeared at scene of wreck.”
CHAPTER XXVII
WHERE IS CHERRY?
The responsibilities of the driver of a Class-A train such as Ralph Fairbanks conducted are not to be belittled. His mind must be given to the running of his locomotive, and that first of all, no matter what else may happen. Death or disaster must not swerve the engineer from his immediate duty.
The express back to Rockton was now the young fellow’s charge. When he arrived at the scene of the morning wreck the eastbound way was clear again and he had to drive right on. With all his heart he desired to stop the locomotive, desert it, and make personal search about the neighborhood for some trace of the supervisor’s daughter.
What could have happened to Cherry Hopkins? She surely had not been injured at the time of the wreck. Then what had become of her after she had run out of the car to view the wreckage closer?
In no possible way, as far as Ralph could see, could Cherry have been hurt at a later time and her injury not reported. The train crew and passengers were all about her, or so it seemed reasonable to suppose, while she viewed the wreck. Her disappearance was a mysterious thing!
Ralph could not even pull down his locomotive at the place where Number 33 had been wrecked. He got the signal from the guard beside the tracks and had to push on. Despite the fire, that fortunately was now blowing away from the tracks, he made the run without any trouble and arrived at the Rockton terminal at 11:30.