The sun., 1915-06-13

what do you say?" he asked. address
ing the leader Of the force, who APP
peared to weigh about 260.
What do 7 say?" echoed Murray
with decision, as he looked for a soft
place to alight alongside the track
81 say I'll drop out right here. I don't
mind train robbers but I don't tackle
n burning bridge-not II I know it,
and he jumped Off.
well. Peaters." asked Ferguson OF
the second man. coolly, do you want
to stay?"
"Me?" echoed Peaters, looking ahead
at the mass Of flame leaping upward
"me stay? Well, not in a thousand
years. You can have my gun, Mr..
Ferguson, and send my check to 439
Milwaukee avenue, IL you please.
Gentlemen. good-day." And off went
Peaters.
And of went every last man Of the
valorous detectives except one lame
fellow, who said he would just as lief
be dead as alive anyway. and declared
he would stay with Ferguson and die
rich,
Sinclair, thinking he might never
get another chance, was whistling
sharply for orders Francis. breath
less with the news. ran forward.
"Co!n? How much? Twelve hun
dred thousand. Whew." cried Sim
clair. Swing up, Pat We're or"
The Five-Nine gathered herself with
a spring. Even the engineers heart
quaied as they got headway. He knew
hts, 1.,,a - L.
the rails hadn't buckled they were per-
fectly safe. for the heavy truss would
stand a lot Of burning before giving
way under swiftly moving train
only. as they flew nearer, the blaze
rolling up in dense volume looked hor-
rIbly threatening. After all it was
foolhardy, and he felt it; but he was
past the stopping now. and he pulled
the choker to the limit.
1t seemed as IL she never covered
steel SO fast. Under the head she now
had the cracking bridge was less
than 500-400-300-200 feet. and there
was no longer time to think.
With a stare Sinclair shut off. He
wanted no push or pull on the track.
The McWllians Special was just a
~ utho"s llTOuRn
truss Of fire, and half a dozen
speechless men on either side Of the
river waiting for the catastrophe.
Jerry MacElroy crouched low under
the gauges. Sinclair jumped from his
box and stood with a hand on the
throttle and a hand on the air. the
glass crashing around his head like
hail. A blast of fiery air and flying
c!nders burned and choked him
The engine, alive with danger, flew
like a great monkey along the writh-
ing steel So quick, so black, so hot
the blast. and so terrific the leap.
she stuck her nose into clean air be-
fore the men in the cab could rise
to il.
There was a heave in the middle
ike the !urch OF a seasick steamer
and with it the Five Nine got her
paws on cool iron and solid ground,
and the Mattaback and the blaze
all except a dozen tongues which
licked the cab and the roof Of the
baggage car a minute-were behind.
George Sinclair, shaking the hot glass
out OF his hair. looked ahead through
his friZzled eyelids and gave her full
head for the western bluffs Of the vail
ley then looked at his watch.
1t was the 190th milepost just at
her nose. and the dial read O'Clock
and 90 minutes to second. There
was an hour To the good and seventy
SIX miles and a water TO cover. but
they were seventy-six Of the prettieet
miles under ballast anywhere. and the
Ftve-Nine reeled them of like a cylin-
der press. Seventy-nine minutes later
Sinclair whistled for the Denver yards.
There was "A tremendous commotion
among the waiting engines. If there
was one there were fifty big locomn-
tives waiting to charivari the McWiu-