Poor as this shelter was, it was better than none, and we at once decided to take up our quarters there for the night. We were too tired to go and hunt for fire-wood in the dark, so, unwrapping from a greasy newspaper some slices of cooked ham which we had purchased that morning, we made a chilly and comfortless meal, and then, having re-wrapped and re-pocketed the remnants of the ham, we climbed into the crazy upper bunk, rolled ourselves in our blankets, and were soon sound asleep, in spite of the insinuating draughts, and the trembling of the rickety old structure before the assaults of the blustering wind.
How long we had slept we did not know, when we were awakened by the sudden entrance into the cabin of several men, who, unconscious that there were any listeners, began talking together in loud, rough voices. With an instinctive feeling that it would be better for us to remain undiscovered, Percy and I lay silent; wondering what could have brought these men here at this time of night, and why they should carry on their conversation in the dark. We very soon found out.
“What time does she come along?” asked one of the men.
“She’s due at the water-tank in an hour. That’ll give us plenty of time. Now, which are we going to do—signal her, and go through the mail and express cars and the passengers, or pull up a rail and let her take a header through the trestle?”
“Pull up a rail,” growled a third voice—and a very remarkable voice it was too. The man began his remarks in the deepest bass, but after two or three words his voice broke and went off into a thin, treble pipe. It was a voice, once heard, never to be forgotten.
“Pull up a rail,” said the man. “That’s the surest way, by long odds. We’ll pull out the spikes and take off the fish-plates and tilt the rail a bit, and she’ll jump the track sure. Then two of us’ll go through the express car while the other two goes through the passengers—them as isn’t killed.”
At the disclosure of this villainous scheme Percy and I quaked with fear. Our bunk was not so high but that a tall man could overlook it, and should one of them strike a match for any purpose he could hardly fail to discover us, and discovery, we had little doubt, would mean death; for that they should feel any compunction at putting two witnesses out of the way was not to be expected of these ineffable rascals, who, for the sake of a few dollars, were planning in cold blood the murder of an unknown number of innocent people.
“That’s the way we’ll fix it,” continued he of the squeaky voice, clapping his hand upon the edge of the bunk close to my face, and making me start so that my heart seemed to go off like an alarm-clock. “And, see here, boys; after we’ve tilted one rail, we may’s well put in the rest of the time pulling out the spikes all along the lower side of the trestle, so’s to make a sure job of it. While three of us is doing that, one can keep watch on the hill for the headlight, ’cause we won’t be able to hear her coming up against this wind, and when he gives the word we’ll hustle back to this old shanty.”
“That’s a good scheme. Come on. Who’s got them tools?”
“Me.”