The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1914-11-11
CHAPTER xxxvI.
Detail.

NaSl udTk jIllI IlifduiilS lHt 'a'i"'
pouring on over the rampant OF noun.
tnns IN the east.
Within the rim of hills that ringed
the plain like the Clipped and broken
llangc of II titanic saucer. silence
brooded and solitude held sway
dwartns the town OF Detail that oc'
cupied the approximate middle OF the
sagebrush waste, to proportions even
less significant than might be inferred
from the candOr Of its christening.
platform. a siding. Il water tank. a
Wells Fargo office and a telegraph and
ticket office. backed by three rough
frame buildings; that is Detail item
lied completely.
Shortly after nishlrall the steel rib
hons of the Santa Fe began to hum. n
headlight paered suspiciously round a
shoulder OF the eastern range. took
heart OF courage to find the plain still
wrapped in peace. and trudged stolid-
ly toward Detail. the engine whose
eye it was pulling after il Il string OF
freight cars. both fiat and box.
AZ lJGlal llIt Ia pt'toCu. i'o
crew alighted and engaged in ami
mated argument Detail gathered that
the excitement was due to the unac.
cOuntable disappearance OF the ca
boose; none seemed to have any no
ton as to how 1t could have broken
loose; yet missing 1t conspicuously
was.
In the pause that followed. while a
report was telegraphed 10 hcadquar-
ters and instructions returned to pro-
coed without delay, one OF the train
men spied i boyish figure lurking in
the open door of an empty box car.
Cunningly boarding this car from the
opposite. side, the trainman caught
the skulker unawares and booted him
vaingloriously into the night.
AS the figure alighted and took 10
its heels. losing itself in the darkness,
it uttered q cry OF panied surprise and
protest which drew n wrinkle of as
constituent between the brows OF the
Irainman.
Sounded like womans voice." he
unused; then dismissed the suggestion
us obviously absurd.
II was not.
Shortly after the freight train had
gone on its way-before. indeed, the
sslimmer Of its rear lights had been
lost among the western hills-a sec
ond headlight appeared i'll the cast,
swept swiftly across the plain and in
turn stopped at Detail.
The second bird-ofpassage proved
To be q locomotive drawing Il single
cara Pullman.
Hardly had it run past tho switch.
however. when the brakeman dropped
down. ran quickly back to the switch
and threw it open.
Promptly the train hacked on to the
siding.
AS fhe Pullman jolted across tho
frogs the brakeman. intcrpOsins him
self between it and HE tender 70
leased the coupling
BY the time that the Pullman had
come to a full stop on the siding. the
locomotive was swinging westward
like u scared jackrabbit-ih though no
such milk-andwatcry characterization
Of the traitor passed the lips OF any
one OF the three men who presently
appeared on the pullman's platform
and shook impotent fists in the direc-
ton taken by the fugitive engine.
When the last OF these had run tom
porarily out OF breath and blaspheny
a brief silence fell, punctuatcd by
groans from each. and concluded by
the sound of a voice calling from the
interior Of the cara voice as strange
~ sonorous of tone as il was curionsly
uucrulOus of accent.
The three men Immediately ran bacl;
into the car and presented themselves
with coIntcnanccs variously apollo
getic, to one who occupied a corner of
the drawing room: a man wrapped in
q steamer rug and a cloud of fury.
Now when he had drained the
muddy froth OF profanity from his tenn
per it left II clear and elfervescent
well of virulent humor: the wrath Of
the valetudinarian began to vent itself
upon the hapless heads of the trio who
stood before him.
While this was in process. the
person of boyish appearance. who had
been keeping religiously aloof and in
conspicuous in the background of De-
tail ever since that unhappy affair
with the trainman. stole quietly up to
the rear OF the stalled Pullman,
climbed aboard. and creeping down
the aisle unceremoniously interrupted
the conference just as the invalid was
polishing off rude but honest opinion
of the intellectual caliber OF one OF the
three named Nlarrophat. who figured
as his risht-hand man and familiar
genius.
Amen to that" the boyish person
calculated with candid fervOr, loung-
ing gracclcssly in the doorway.
There's many Il true word spoken in
wrath, Mr. Marrophat. Father forgot
only one thing-your mastery way
with revolver. From what I've seen
of that, this day. III go bail that the
only safe place for Il man You pull
gun on is right in front of the muZZlc.
There's something downright uncanny