“Go to it!” he shouted. “Let’s make this the biggest day we’ve ever had! In with that trestle, Burkett. If you can’t read the blue-prints, we’ll help you. Let’s go!”
Then and there began the most strenuous, as well as the most successful, day of track-laying the summer of furious railroad building had yet seen, not excepting the rush to the valley of the Yellow Dog. Fortunately for the two “cub” engineers, the over-bossing speedily proved to be a good bit of a sinecure. In any large gathering of even semi-skilled workmen there are always a few with leadership material in them, and the rank and file, put upon its mettle, can usually be trusted to choose its leaders safely and well.
Though Larry Donovan was far from suspecting it, his idea of putting the men upon their honor and having them elect their own foremen for the day was little short of an inspiration. In carrying it out he had unconsciously struck exactly the right chord, and had thereby relieved himself and Dick of just about nine-tenths of the huge responsibility.
Fifteen minutes beyond the “round-up” in front of the field headquarters the work was in full swing again; rails clanking into place, spikes sinking into the cross-ties under the ringing blows of the mauls, tie gangs rushing to keep ahead of the rail layers, and both rushing to crowd the carpenters who were throwing the trestle across the dry creek bed of the disputed mining claim.
But if the boys were relieved of much of the actual bossing they still found plenty to do. There were center lines to be run with the surveying instruments, blue-prints to be explained to Burkett’s gang, the distribution of material to be planned for and the supplies kept moving so that the different gangs wouldn’t be thrown into confusion by having some other gangs overtaking them.
In the thick of things the locomotive sent down the line to carry the news of the raid returned, and Barney came up to report. An earth slide had tumbled down upon the track a few miles below, and they were thus cut off from all communication with their base at Pine Gulch. They made no doubt that the blocking slide had been caused, or at least helped, by the unscrupulous enemy.
“Never mind, Barney,” said Larry. “If we can’t get help from the outside we’ll try and get along without it. Bring your train crew up here and jump it on the tie-stringing. We can use every man in it. We’re going into Little Ophir—to-day!”
The Irishman was hurrying back to his train to obey the order when Dick grabbed Larry’s arm.
“Look!” he gurgled, pointing toward the river, “they’re coming for us again!”
Larry looked and saw another group of men crossing the river on the boulder stepping-stones. Its leader was a tall, well-set-up man in the brown duck of the engineers.