"
"And the fireman?"
"Yes."
"And they say--"
"That it's against the rules to talk."
"Nonsense; I'll see them myself." And I went forward to the engine.
The engineer was as close-mouthed as though words were going at a
dollar apiece and the market bounding upward. He declined dinner, could
not be induced to come and take a drink, and all that could be got out
of him was that he was going back to Niles, where he would stop until
he got orders from the superintendent.
When I tried to question the fireman, the engineer recovered his
tongue, and had so many orders to be attended to that my words were
lost in a rattle of coal and clang of iron.
And the engine, having drunk its fill, changed its labored breathing to
a hissing and swishing of steam that sent the hot vapor far on both
sides, and then gathering speed, puffed its swift way back the road by
which it had come, leaving the car deserted on a siding.
"Here's a go!" cried Fitzhugh. "A regular puzzler!"
"Guess it's none of the gang, after all," said Lockhart.
Abrams shook his head.
"Don't you fool yourself," he said. "They've landed below here, and
maybe they're in town while we've got our mouths open, fly-catching
around an empty car."
"Good boy, Abrams," I said. "My opinion exactly."
"And what's to be done, then?" he asked anxiously.
"For the first thing, to visit the telegraph office at once."
The operator was just locking his little room in the station as we came
up.
Pages:
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236