Then he sprang to his feet. For away down the track before him came the sudden glare of a headlight, as the engine swung around a curve, and the hum of the wheels told that the engineer was speeding through the night, with throttle wide open, anxious, no doubt, to get safely into the haven of the yards at Wadsworth.
Up the bank scrambled the boy and down the track he ran, as fast as his feet would carry him, swinging his lantern in great circles over his head. He knew that the engineer must see it; he knew that on such a night as this his eyes would be turned not an instant from the track.
Then, suddenly, from behind him, there came the sharp crack of a revolver, and his lantern was smashed to pieces in his hand. He wheeled to see a flash of flame, as the revolver spoke again; the world reeled before him, turned black, and a great blow seemed to strike him in the chest and bear him down.
CHAPTER XIX.
REDDY REDIVIVUS
Bill Johnson, engineer of the 187, pulling the pay-car, stared out into the night, his hand on the throttle. The long gleam of the headlight shot out through the driving rain, and he could see the wet rails gleaming far ahead. He was making a record run; the superintendent had given him some hint of his fear for the safety of the pay-car, and he heaved a sigh of relief as the train swung around a curve and hurtled down the fill on the straightaway course for Wadsworth. Once in the yards there, the pay-car would be safe.
Then, with a quick gasp, he closed the throttle, reversed the engine, and threw on the brakes, for, far down the track ahead of him he had caught the gleam of a red lantern waved twice in the air. The light had vanished mysteriously in full flight, but a single glimpse of it was warning enough for Johnson.
The moment the brakes were applied, the detectives, back in the pay-car, had grabbed down the Winchesters from the wall and made ready for a fight. It might be that the engineer had sighted an obstruction on the track, and they waited instant by instant to feel the car leave the rails. It stopped with a jerk, and the detectives piled out, ready for anything.
“What’s the matter?” they asked, coming to the spot where Johnson was leaning out of his cab window.
“Somebody flagged me a minute ago,” answered Johnson, still peering out through the night. “It’s funny he don’t come ahead an’ tell us what’s th’ trouble.”
“Maybe it’s a trick to get us away from the car,” said somebody, and the detectives faced about in the darkness, instinctively bracing themselves to receive a volley of bullets.