From that he cautiously approaches the other, looks in, and finds it empty of all save Miss Travenion, who has apparently hurriedly dressed, and is seated, confronted by two men, who evidently have her in their keeping, as one says: "Don't be scared; we'll take good care of you, even if you have been tryin' to rob the Mormon Church!"
Catching these words in the outer darkness of the rear compartment, Lawrence knows that Kruger has already had his say, and for some reason left the girl. Harry is glad of this, for feeling the revolver in his belt, he fears he might have killed the Mormon, which would probably not have saved either himself or his sweetheart.
In this he is doubtless right. For while he has been holding conference with the engineer, Kruger, followed by four or five of his satellites, and accompanied by the conductor, who is expostulating with him, has entered the car.
"Now, ye keep quiet!" he says to that official. "We've got a warrant for this young lady, for assistin' her daddy to run away with half a million dollars' worth of Utah Central stock. There's the documents, sworn to by the sheriff of Heber City, Utah, before a Probate Judge."
"A Utah judge has got no jurisdiction in Wyoming," answers the conductor.
"No! But this is made returnable," says Lot, "before the United States District Judge, and Wyoming's part of his district, and that gives us authority. Don't step in the way of the law, young man. Besides"—here he looks round at his following, and remarks: "We're goin' to execute this warrant any way, an' ye ain't got the power to stop us! I've sized ye up, an' ye've got two nigger porters, two brakesmen, an' yerself. We've twelve men armed with Winchesters, an' we've got the drop on yer train-hands, mail agent, an' Wells, Fargo's messenger, for they're surrounded and cut off from ye. Now the sheriff's goin' to serve his papers."
At this moment, the negro porter, who has just awakened, flies out of the car shrieking: "For de Lord! Road agents!"
"Ye see how much good he'd do ye!" guffaws Kruger to the conductor. "Now," he continues, "ye step back an' let me do my business polite!"
"Not unless you agree to report with the young lady at Evanston, before you take her into Utah," says the dethroned autocrat of the train.
"That we will do, certain!" replies Lot, with a wink to the sheriff. "Now ye wake her up."