New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1921-07-15
The WreCkerS
By FRANCIS LYNDE
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

Number Four"-Four was the east
bound "Flyer"-"is five hours off her
time he explained. AS nea as |
can get it. Durgin was going to make
her meet with Number Five at the
blind siding at Sand Creek tank. She
ought to have had her orders some
where west of BauXite Junction. and
Five ought to have got hers at Banta.
Durgin says he simply forgot that
the Flyer vas running late: that she
was still out and had "A meet TO make
somewhere with Five"
Brief rs Morris explanation was,
it was clear enough for anybody who
knew the road and the schedules. The
regular meeting-pOint for the two pas
senger trains was at Il point well east
of Portal City, instead of west, and
so. of course, would not concern the
Desert Division crew of either train,
since all crews were changed ut Portal
City. From Banta to Bauxite June
ton, some t~hirty-0dd miles, there was
only n telegraph station, namely,
that at the Crow Gulch lumber camp,
seven miles beyond the Timber Noun
tain "Y" and the gravel pit where the
stolen 10l6 had been abandoned.
Unluckily, Crow Gulch was only a
day station, the day wires being han
died by a young man who was half
In the pay of the railroad and half
Il, ,lnt % tho -, a. mill c,,n,,,pV frbiS
young man slept at the mill camp,
which was a mile back in the gulch.
There was only one chance in "A thou
sand that he would be down ut the
railroad station at ten o'clock at
night, and II was on that thOusandth
chance that Tarbell was rafting the
Grow Gulch call. If Five were max
ing her card time, she was now about
halfway between Timber Mountain
"l" and Crow Gulch. And -Four, the
"Flycr," had just left BauXite-with
no orders whatever. Which meant that
the two trains would come together
somewhere near Sand Creek.
Mr.. Van Britt was as good Il wire
llltI as an bbIA WI llf INV, thl II
was the boss who took things in hand.
There Is ii long-distance telephone
10 the Crow Gulch saW-mill have you
tried that?' he banked at Tarbell.
The big young fellow who looked
like "A CoW-hOy-and had really been
one, they said-glanced up and nodded
The calls in," he responded Gen
trail says She can't raise anybody"
For the next three or four minutes
the tension was something fierce. The
boss and Mr.. Van Britt hung ovcr the
train desk, and Turbell kept up his
insiSteut clutter at the key, ] had I'M
eye on Durgin. lie was still hunched
up in the rcc0rl-mun's chair, ana to
all appearances had gone stone-blind
crazy. Yet | couldn't get rid of the
idea that hc was MISUNDERSTANDING
as If all of his scaled-up senses had
turned In to intensity the one of hear
ing.
Just about the time when the sus-
pense had grown So keen that 1t
seemed as If it couldn't he borne a
second longer, Morris, who was sit
ting in AT the office phone. called out
sharply "Long-listance says she has
Crow Gulch lumber camp"
Mr.. Van Britt jumped to take the
phone, and we got one side Of the
side-in shot-like sentences:
THAT you, Bertram? All right this
is Van Britt, AT Portal City. Take n
of the mules and ride for your life
down the gulch 10 the station! Get
thatf Stop Number Five and make
her take siding quick, Report over
your own wire what you do. Hurry "
by the time Mr.. Van Britt got back
TO the train desk, the boss had his
pencil out and was figuring on Ber-
trans time margin. 1t was now ten