The Ordway new era., 1921-05-13

track But Mr.. Norcross hau u'i-
ferent think coming.
"Out of sight-quick, Jimmie!" he
whispered, and in another second he
had whipped the young woman over
the big footing timber to standing
place under the tank among the
braces. and | had done the same for
the girl.
What followed was as mysterious
as chapter out of an Anna Katherine
Green detective story. After dong
something to the switch of the unused
spur track, the four men separated. one
of them went back to the auto. ana
the other three walked down the main
track to the lower switch of the short
siding. which was on the same side of
the main line as the spur. Here the
fourth man reioined them, and the
girl at my elbow told us what he had
gone back to the car for.
He has lighted red lantern" she
whispered. Il saw 1t when he took
it out of the auto"
guess it was pretty plain to all of
us by this time that there was some
thing decidedly crooked on the cards,
but if we had known what it was, we
couldn't very well have done anything
to prevent 1t. There were only two
of us men to their four; and, besides,
there wasn't any time. The lantern
carrying man had barely reached the
lower switch when we heard the whis-
tie of locomotive. There was a train
coming from the west. and few sec
onds later an electric headlight showed
up on the long tangent beyond the
siding.
1t was a bandit hold-up, all right.
one of the men stood on the track
waving the red lantern; we could see
him plainly in the glare of the head
light There wasn't much of scrap.
There were two or three pistol shots,
and then, as near as we could make
out, the hold-up men, or some of them.
climbed into the engine.
Before you could count ten they had
made flying switch with the single
car, kicking it in on the siding. Before
the car had come fully to stop, the
engine was switched in behind it, cou-
pied on, and the reversed train, with
the engine pushing the car, ratified
away on the old spur that led off into
the hills; clattered away and was lost
to sight and hearing in less than
minute.
1t was not until after the train was
switched and gone that we discovered
that two of the bandits had been left
behind. These two reset the switches
for the main track, leaving everything
as they had found it, and then
crossed over to the auto.
was just thinking that all this
mystery and kidnapping and gun play
woman and the girl, but, though my
half of the allotment was shivering
little and smuggling up just grain
closer to me, she proved that she
hadn't lost her nerve.
did you see the name on that car
when the engine went past to get in
behind it?" she asked.
NO" said the boss; and l hadn't,
either.
81 did" she asserted, showing that
her eyes. or her wits were quicker
thnn ours. 81 had just one little
| glimpse of it. The name is 'A-l-e-x-a,' e"
spelling it out.
Mr.. Norcross started as if he had
been shot.
THE AleXa? That is Mr.. Chad
wick's private car-they've kidnapped
him!" Then he whirled short on me.
Jimmie, are you man enough to go
with me and try tackle on those
fellows over there in that auto?"
said l was; but l didn't add what
thought-that it would probably be
a case of double suicide for us two to
go up against pair of armed thugs
with our bare hands. The young wo.
man put in her word.
you mustn't think of doing such a
thing!" she protested; and she was
still telling him all the different rea.
sons why he mustn't, when we heard
the creak and grind of the stolen en-.
CINE coming back down the old spur
After that there was nothing to dc
but to wait and see what was going
to happen next. What did happen was
as blind as all the rest The engine
was stopped somewhere in the gulcb
back of us and out of sight from our
hiding-place. and pretty soon the two
men who had gone with her came hur.
rying across out of the hill shadows
making straight for the auto. A min
ute or two later they had climbed
into the machine, the motor had sput
tered, and the car was gone.
CHAPTER n