“Exactly. What his plans are I cannot tell you, but he refers to some efficient work you have done in his line in the past, and requests us to detail you specially in his service. What do you say, Fairbanks?”
“I am at your orders, sir.”
“Very good. That settles one part of the business. The other may not come so welcome to you, but you must be our man. Glance over that, will you?”
The official handed Ralph a card covered with calculations. There were bewildering figures, so many cars, so many used per day, so much profit. The totals were enormous.
“The Overland Fruit Dispatch,” explained the superintendent, “is out for bids on the transfer of their cars east from Rockton.”
“I heard something of that.”
“We are out for the contract. It means a big thing for us. So is the Midland Central. That means war, or, rather, more war. Their schedule beats ours by ten minutes. We must beat them by two hours. The test run began at ten o’clock this morning. Porter and Winston, both good men, run as far as Portland. I am not afraid in broad daylight. Nearly all the trouble has been east of that point--you understand?”
“Perfectly,” assented Ralph--“you are afraid of some trickery on the part of our rivals?”
“Yes. I want you to reach Portland and catch the special at four p. m. If the new locomotive crew look good to you, just superintend. But rush that train into the yards by the stroke of eleven p. m., or we lose the contract.”
“I think I can do it,” said Ralph.