“Thank you a thousand times!” cried the man as Joe handed up the valise. “I wish—I didn’t ask your name—mine is—I ought to have a card—I—er——” he began fumbling in his pocket, and Joe half feared he was going to offer money again. But the man seemed to be hunting for a card.
However his search was unsuccessful. He waved his hand to Joe, and called:
“Thank you once more. Perhaps I may meet you again. I meant to ask your name—too much occupied—mine is——”
But just then the train gathered speed and the engineer, opening the exhaust, effectually drowned out all other sounds in the puffing of the locomotive. Joe saw the man’s lips moving, and realized that he was calling out his name, but he could not hear it. Then, with a wave of his hand the stranger went inside the car. He had caught the train just in time.
[CHAPTER II]
A HOME CONFERENCE
“Well, I wonder if I’ll ever see him again,” mused Joe, as the train swung out of sight around a curve in the track. “It sure was a hustling time. I wonder who he was? Seemed like some sort of an athlete, and yet he didn’t talk sports—nor much of anything, for that matter.
“I’m glad I could help him get his train. Funny he should want to pay me, and yet I suppose he isn’t used to having favors done him. He seemed like a nice sort of fellow. Well, I’ve got to get over with these patterns. I’ll be late getting home, I expect.”