Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-02

station, stole along the shadow side of the
car and spoke to the man who had ordered
the train.
a deputy sheriff climbed up the
end of the special. tried the door, shaded
his eyes and endeavored to look into the
car
Have you the running orders?' asked
the man who was paying for the entertain
ment
Yes
Let her go. then"
All this was in a low whisper. and now
the dispatcher climbed up the fireman's
side and pressed bit of crumpled tissue
paper into the drivers hand.
Pull out over the switches slowly, and
when you are clear of the yards read your
orders an fly
The driver opened the throttle gently, the
big wheels began to revolve, and the next
moment the sheriff and one of his deputies
boarded the engine. They demanded to
know where that train was bound for
The train" said the driver, Juggling at
the throttle. lis back there at the station.
I'm goin' to the roundhouSe
When the sheriff, glancing back. saw that
the coach had been cut off he swung him
self down.
They've gin it up said the deputy.
81 reckon-whats that?' said the sheriff.
I: was the wild. long whistle of the lone
black engine just l5aving the yards. The
two officers faced each other and stood
listening to the fiutter of the straight stack
of the black racer as she responded to the
touch of thu crStWnila drcWSy driver. who
was ut that moment laughing at the high
sheriff, and who would return to tell of 1t
and giOat in the streets of Spokane
The sheriff knew that three OF the men
fo- whom he held warrants were at Hill
lier. seven miles on the way to Canada
This engine, then, had been sent to pick
them up and bear them away over the
border. An electric line paralleled the
ST am way to Hitler and now the sheriff
boarded trolley and set sail to capture
the engine, leaving one deputy to guard the
special car.
BY the time thu. engineer got the water
WORKED out of his cylinders the trolley was
creeping up beside his tank. He saw the
flash from the wire above as the car. nod
ding and dipping like light boat in the
wake of a ferry, shot beneath the cross
wires. and knew instantly that she was
after him.
An electric car would not be blowing
through the gloom at that rate without
ray of light merely for the fun of the
thing. A smile of contempt curled the lip
Of the driver as he cut the reverse lever
back to the first notch. put on the injector
and opened the throttle yet a little wider
The two machines were running almost
neck and neck now. The trolley cried,
Missed and spit fire in her mad effort to
pass the locomotive. few stray sparks
went out of the engine stack and fell upon
the roof of the racing car. At intervals Of
half minute the fireman opened the fur
race door, and by the flare of light from
the white hot tirebox the engine driver
could see the men on the teetering trolley
the motorman, the conductor. the sheriff
and his deputy.
Slowly now the black flyer began to slip
away from the electric machine.
The driver. smiling across the glare of
the furnace door at his silent, sooty com
panion, touched the throttle again and the
great engine drew away from the trolley.
jack rabbit who has been fooling with
a yellow dog passes swiftly out of reach of
his silly yelp.
Now the men the trolley hard the
wild. triumphant scream of the iron horse.
whistling for Hitler. The three directors
of LIE Roi had been warned by wire and
were waiting, ready to board the engine.
The big wheels had scarcely stopped re-
volvinS when the men began to get on.
They had barely begun to turn again when
the trolley dashed into Hitler. The sheriff
leaped to the ground and came running for
the engine. The wheels slipped. and each
passing second brought the mighty hand of
tn" law. now OutStretched. still nearer to
the tail of the tank. She was moving now,
but the sheriff was doing better. Ten feet
separated the pursued and the pursuer. She
slipped again. and the sheriff caught the
corner Of the engine tank. BY this time
the driver had got the sand running. and
now the wheels held the rail the big en-
CINE bounded forward almost shaking the
sheriff loose With each turn of the wheels
the speed was increasing The sheriff held
on. and in three four seconds he was
taking only about two steps between tel
egraph poles, and then-he let go.
While the locomotive and the trolley
were racing across the country the COVER
nor. who was engineering 1t all, invested
another thousand He ordered another en-
g.ne. and when she backed onto the coach
the deputy sheriff told the driver that he
must not leave the station. The engineer
held his torch high above his head
looked the deputy over, and then went on
oiling his engine In the meantime the
governor had stored his friends away in the
dark coach including the secretary, with
the commands great seal Now tho donutr