For some miles of the rocketing race up the canyon the pretty passenger had nothing to do but to hang on and make believe that she was enjoying the scenery. But as the train was rounding one of the jutting mountain spurs just below a place where the river tumbled in a series of cascades from bench to bench in its bed a thing happened; several of them, in fact.
First, there was a burst of yellowish dust from a point up ahead on the opposite canyon side, followed by an upspouting of big and little rocks and a jarring thunder crash. Next, a boy with a red flag bobbed up on the track; and the girl, being a girl, shrieked and clutched for fresh handholds when the air-brakes were suddenly clamped on and a stop was made.
A minute later the flag boy had climbed to the cab. His business was with Bart Johnson, the grizzled engineer, and he despatched it briefly.
“Better back down a few car-lengths,” he advised. “There’ll be more of the blasting pretty soon, and you can’t run by until it’s over; likely to get a rock on top of you if you try it.” Then, as the train began to move back out of the danger zone, he wheeled upon the girl perched upon the fireman’s seat. “Now, then,” he said, scowling at her, “I’d like to know what you’re doing up here on this engine, Bess Holcombe!”
“I guess I’ve got a right to be here, if I want to, Dick Maxwell!” was the pert reply. “You don’t own this engine.”
“No; if I did, you’d hike back into the train, mighty quick—only you haven’t any business being there, either.”
“My-oh!” scoffed the pretty one, looking him up and down. “How we engineers do pile on the nice, large dignities, don’t we? I’m here because Daddy said I might. Now what have you got to say?”
“Oh, nothing, I suppose. But, just the same, this is no place for a girl—in this canyon, I mean.”
“Why isn’t it?”
“You’ve just seen one reason. With those O. C. people blasting on the other side of the river, it’s as much as ever we can do to get a car-load of material in without having it blown up—to say nothing of a junketing train of excursionists!”