“George, these boys report a gang of train-wreckers. They’ve pulled up a rail on the trestle. They are waiting in that old cabin up the gully, and I’m going into the smoker to see if I can’t arrange a little surprise-party for them. When I give the signal, you go ahead slowly.”
“All right,” replied the engineer. “And, say, Barclay, see if you can borrow a gun for me; I’d like to take a hand in this little expedition of yours myself.”
The smoking-car was pretty full of passengers, most of them big, brown-faced fellows, miners and stockmen on their way to the mountains. They were lying about on the seats in all sorts of contorted positions, trying to get a little sleep, but no sooner had the conductor in a loud voice reported our story than the scene changed as if by magic. Each one of these peaceful citizens appeared to have a big revolver concealed somewhere within easy reach, and about twenty of them instantly volunteered to take a share in the proposed surprise-party. The signal, therefore, being given, the train moved on towards the bridge. In about five minutes it stopped again, and the conductor, with an extra revolver in his hand, stepped from the car, followed by his volunteer posse; we boys wisely remaining behind.
For half an hour the trainmen and all the other occupants of the car stood around the panting engine whispering together and waiting for a shot. No shot came, however, and presently we saw the party coming clambering up again from the gully. We looked in vain for prisoners. They were returning empty-handed. Without doubt the robbers had taken alarm and fled, for the posse had found no sign of them about the cabin save the marks of their boots in the dust, and an odour of bad tobacco.
The next thing to be done was to examine the bridge, where a brief inspection showed that the would-be wreckers had performed their task with much thoroughness; so, as the train carried none of the tools and materials necessary for making repairs, the conductor, accompanied by six of the armed passengers, set off to bring assistance from the nearest section-house two miles farther up the line.
During the interval of waiting that ensued, Percy and I were the objects of general interest. We were made to tell our story with every detail; eliciting great applause when we described how we had sacrificed our next morning’s breakfast in order to make a torch. All the passengers who were awake, and all the train-crew besides, came up to shake hands with us and thank us, and to say all sorts of complimentary things; in fact it was quite an ovation, which lasted until the conductor had returned with the section-hands and the damaged bridge had been made safe again.
The train was ready to proceed. Before it did so, however, we asked the conductor if he would not allow us to ride with him for an hour or so, explaining that we were afraid the wreckers might come back, in which case it might go hard with us; for though it was unlikely that they were aware of our existence, it was still possible that they might have seen our signal, and if they should guess that it was we who had frustrated their plan——
At this point of our explanation the conductor broke in:
“Let you ride!” he exclaimed. “You bet I’ll let you ride. I’ve telegraphed the Superintendent from the section-station, and you shall ride until I get word from him what I’m to do with you.”
Accordingly, when the train moved on, we moved on too, and finding two unoccupied seats we coiled ourselves up in them, and were soon sound asleep.