Penny kept on and managed to grasp the doorway of the car, but she instantly realized she could not swing herself through the opening. The train now was moving rapidly and gaining speed each moment.
Inside the box car, the two men were rolling over and over, each fighting desperately to gain the advantage. Penny could not see what was happening. Forced by the speed of the train, she let go her hold. Her feet were swept from beneath her, and she stumbled and fell along the right of way.
Before she could scramble to her feet, her father had caught up with her.
“Are you hurt?” he asked anxiously.
Penny’s knees were skinned but the injury was so trifling she did not speak of it. Her one concern was for Salt.
“Oh, Dad,” she said, grasping his arm nervously. “What are we going to do? That brute may kill him!”
Mr. Parker shared Penny’s concern, but he said calmly: “There’s only one thing we can do now. We’ll have the station agent send a wire to the next station. Police will meet the train and take Webb into custody.”
“He may not be on the train by the time it reaches the next town! Oh, Dad, Salt may be half killed before then!”
Penny and her father stared after the departing freight. The engineer whistled for a high trestle spanning a narrow river, and the train began to rumble over it.
Suddenly Penny stiffened into alert attention. In the doorway of the open boxcar, she could see the two struggling men. Mr. Parker, too, became tense.