Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-17
CHAPTER III.
Work ON the Alkali Plains.


I hurried Miss Cullen into the car, and.
after boiling the rear door. took down my
Winchester from its rack.
''rm going forward" I told her. land
will tell my darkies to bolt the front door:
so you'll be as safe in here as in Chicago.
In another minute I was on my front
platform. Dropping down between, the two
cars. crept along beside-indeed. half UNI
der-Mr. Cullen's special After my previ-
Gus conclusion. my surprise can be judged
when at the farther end I found the two
Britishers and Albert Cullen. standing
there in the most exposed position possible.
1 Joined them muttering to myself some
thing about Providence and fools ~.
Jaw" drawled Cullen, here's MT. Cor
don, Just too late for the sport, by Jove.
"Well," Dragged Lord Rallies, we We had
a hand in this deal. Mr.. Superintendent,
and haven't been potted. The scoundreis
broke for cover the moment We opened
fire."
BY this time there were twenty passen-
gers about our group, all of them asking
questions at once, making 1t difficult to
learn just what had happened; but. so far
as could piece the answers together. the
poker-players curiosity had been aroused
by the long stop, and. looking out. they
had seen a single man with rifle, standing
by the engine. Instantly arming them
selves, Lord Rallies let fly both barrels az
him, and in turn was the target for the
first four shots had heard. The shooting
had brought the rest of the robbers tum-
bling off the cars, and the captain and
Cullen had fired the rest of the shots al
them as they scattered. 1 didn't stop. to
hear more. but went forward to see what
the road agents had got away with.
/ found the express agent tied hand ana
foot in the corner of his car. and, telling
brakeman who had followed me to set him
at liberty, l turned my attention to the
safe That the diversion had not come
M shown by the 0ynd-
mite cartridge already in place. and by the
fuse that lay on the floor. as If dropped
suddenly. But the safe was intact.
Passing into the mail car, / found the
clerk tied to post, with a mail sack pulled
over his head. and the utmost confusion
among the pouches and sorting compart-
ments. while scattered over the moor were
a great many letters. Setting him at
liberty. asked him If he could tell whether
mail had been taken, and. after glance
at the confusion. he said he could not know
till he had examined.
Having taken stock of the harm done,
began asking questions Just after we had
left Sanders. two masked men had entered
the mail car. and while one covered the
clerk with a revolver the other had tied and
sacked" him. Two more had gone for
ward and done the same to the express
agent. Another had climbed over the ten
der and ordered the runner to hold up. All
this was REGULAR program, as 1 had ex-
planned to Miss Cullen. but here had been
variation which / had never heard of
being done, and of which couldn't fathom
the object. When = train had been stop
ped. the man on the tender had ordered
the fireman to dump his fire, and now 1t
was lying in the roadbed and threatening
to burn through the ties; so my first order
was to extinguish 1t, and my second was
to start new fire and get up steam as
quickly as possible. From all 1 could learn
there were eight men concerned In the
attempt: and l confess shook my head in
| puzzlement why that number should have
~, H., ,~DI aff cn
| easily.
My wonderment grew when I called on
| the conductor for his tickets. These show
ed nothing but two from Albuquerque, one
from Laguna and four from Coolidge. This
latter would have looked hopeful but for
the fact that 1t was a party of three wo-
men and a man. Going back beyond Lamy
didn't give anything for the conductor
was able to account for every fare as either
still in the train or as having got On at
some point. My only conclusion was that
the robbers had sneaked onto the platforms
at Sanders; and I gave the crew a good
dressing down for their carelessness. OF
course they insisted 1t was impossible; but
| they were bound to do that.
Going back to on. | got my telegraph In.
strument. though I thought It a waste of
time, the road agents being always careful
| to break the lines / told a brakeman to
climb the pole and cut wire. While he
was struggling up, Miss Cullen Joined me.
do you really expect to catch them?'
she asked.
ST shouldn't like to be one of them,''
replied.
you could understand better. Miss Gull
| len. il you knew this country. You see
every bit of water is In use by ranches, and
those fellows can't go more than fifty miles
without watering So we shall have word
of them, wherever they co..
Line cut Mr.. Gordon" came from over
| head at this point, making Miss Cullen
jump with surprise.
hot hat a
| I explained to her, and after making con-
nections. I called Sanders. Much to my
| surprise the agent responded. I was so
estonished that for a moment l could not
| believe the fact.
This is the queerest hold-up of which I
ever heard" remarked to Miss Cullen.
Jaw in what respect?" asked Albert
| Cullens voice. and. looking up. found that
he and quite number of the passengers
| had Joined us.
1.-THE road agents make us dump our
| fire. said, land yet they haven't cut the
| wires in either direction. 1 can't see how
| they can escape u.s.
what fun!" cried Miss Cullen.
81 don't see what difference either makes
in their chance of escaping said Lord
| Rallies.
While he was speaking, 1 licked off the
news of our being held up. and asked the
| agent IL there had been any men about
| Sanders. or II he had seen any one board
| the train there. His answer was positive
| that no one could have done SO, and that
settled it as to Sanders. 1 asked the same
| questions of Allantown and Wingate, which
| were the only places We had stopped at
after leaving Coolidge. getting the same
answers. That eight men could have re-
manned concealed on any of the platforms
| from that point was impossible, and bes An
| to suspect magic. Then 1 called Coolidge,
and told of the holding up. after which 1
! telegraphed the agent at Navajo Springs to
| notify the commander at Fort Defiance. for
| suspected the road agents would make for
| the Navajo reservation. Finally l called
| Flagstaff as / had Coolidge, directed that
| the authorities be notified of the facts. and
ordered an extra to bring out the sheriff
| and posse.
IT don't think" said Miss Cullen, that
am a bit more curious than most people.
but 1t has nearly made me frantic to have
you tick away on that little machine and
hear it tick back. and not understand a
word"
After that had to tell her what had
said and learned.
How clever of you to think of counting
the tickets and finding out where people got
on and on! / never should have thought of
either" she said.
ut hasn't helped me MUCH" I laughed.
rather grimly, except to eliminate every
possible Clue
They probably did steal on at one of the
| stops" suggested q passenger.
cf