“No,” replied Billy, “it wasn’t unusual at all, because the conductor on our car told me the train always stopped around there at that time to give Number Thirty the right of way. He said, of course, they hadn’t been in the habit of stopping right there exactly—about two miles further on was the usual place. The fact that they had used the emergency brake didn’t arouse any suspicion at first, on account of the storm. They thought perhaps the engineer had stopped on signal.”
“Well, how did he come to stop at all?”
“The bandits, of course. They gave him the signal and naturally he stopped quick. He had not taken his hand off the throttle before the gunmen covered him and also the fireman. The other two had overpowered the mail clerks by the time their pals joined them. The reason they marched the fireman and engineer along to the car was the fear of discovery and the desire to keep all their victims together. Then the one acted as lookout and he had just about made his rounds of the entire train thinking all was well, when these two unknown kids came up in back of him on the left side of the engine.
“He told it himself, afterward, that he was stricken dumb; never even heard them. Thought it was a couple of the conductors all along until they disarmed the whole bunch. Nervy kids all right, eh? Some thriller to have missed. Just my luck that I sleep so sound.”
“Who were the kids?” Mr. Wilde asked placidly.
“They don’t seem to know. During the excitement they must have slipped away unnoticed and no one was able to even give a good description of them. The conductor thought it might have been some one from the country around, but I doubt it on a stormy night like that.”
“The site of old Fort Zarah just ahead, sir!” the driver addressed Mr. Wilde.
“Whew!” Westy was thankful for that interruption. He was glad that he had been thoughtful enough to close the door when they sneaked back to the car. He wondered if Rip was thinking the same thing, so he very deftly nudged him in the ribs with his elbow and presently the nudge was fully returned. Then they rode along in silence for a while admiring the country’s beauty.
“Was any one hurt?” the driver inquired.
“No!” answered Billy pleasantly. “The fireman and engineer were pretty sore about the head. The bandits got real playful with them and knocked their heads a few times with the butts of the guns for getting a little balky. The engineer said that was the third time they’d been held up in the course of a few years. Three times is one time too many, eh?”