“Well? Quick, man!”
“We can have a brakeman detach the Alcomotive!”
“And what good'll that do, when she's pushing the train?”
“True, true!” groaned the inventor. “I didn't think of that!”
“I'm going to bring every one into these forward cars,” announced the conductor. “It's the only chance of saving a few lives when the crash comes.”
“Lives,” moaned Hawkins dazedly. “Is there really any danger of——”
The conductor was gone. Hawkins sank upon a seat and gasped and gasped.
“Oh, Griggs, Griggs!” he sobbed. “If I had only known! If I could have foreseen this!”
“If you ever could foresee anything!” I said bitterly.
“But it's partly—yes, it's all that cursed engineer's fault!”