The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-07-01

We Went to Meet the Man With the
Lantern.
broken on all railroads, the different
sections of train are supposed to
keep at least five minutes apart, and
our first" wasn't much more than a
minute away from us at any time.
Another thing that struck me as be-
ing funny was the way Chandler was
running. 1t was only sixty mountain
miles up the branch to the big gold
camp, and we ought to have been
able to make it by one o'clock, taking
1t dead easy. But the way Buck was
niggling along it looked as if it might
be going to take us all night.
Just the same, nothing happened.
The first ten miles was across desert
stretch with only slightly rising
grade, and it was pretty much all
tangent-straight line. Beyond the
ten-mile station of hippo we hit the
mountain proper, climbing it through
a dry canyon, with curves that blocked
off everything fifty feet ahead Of the
engine, and grades that would have
made pretty good toboggan slides. The
night was fine and starlit, but there
was no moon and the canyon shadows
doomed like huge walls to shut us in.
On the reverse curves I could Oc-
casionally get a glimpse Of the red
tail lights Of the engine which ought,
by rights, to have been five full min
utes ahead of us. 1t was still hold
ing it's short lead, jogging along as
leisurely as we were.
With nothing to do and not much
to see, I got sleepy after while,
and about the time when was think
ing that I might as well climb back
over the tender and turn in, dozed
off right there on the fireman's box
which was safe enough, at the snail's
pace we were running. When l awoke
it was nearly one o'clock in the morn
ing, and we had worried through the
thirty-miles of canyon run and were
climbing the steep talus of Slide noun
tain.
While was rubbing my eyes. the
eight-wheeler gave another little jerk.
and I saw that Chandler was slowing
for stop; saw this and got glimpse
of somebody on the track ahead, flag
ging us down with lantern.
A minute later the brakes had been
set and Buck and l were off. AS we
swung down from the engine step,
Maclise Joined us, and we went to
meet the man with the lantern. He
was the fireman of the engine ahead,
and when we got around on the track
I saw that our first section" was
stopped just little way farther on.
''What is it, Barty?" said Maclise,
when we came up to the fireman.
ITS them h-l-fireG wreckers again."
was the gritting reply. Rail joint
disconnected and sprung out SOS to
let us off down the mountain"
l thought it was up to me to go
back and tell the boss, but there
wasn't any need of it. The stop or
the slow running or something had
reused him, and he was up and dressed
and coming along beside the engine.
When he came up, Maclise told him
why we were stopping. He didn't say
anything about the rail break, but he
did ask, sort of sharp and quick, what
engine that was up ahead.
1 don't know what Maclise told him.
Chandler turned to go back to his en-
CINE, and the rest of us were moving
along the other way, the boss setting
the pace with Maclise at his elbow.
Three rail-lengths ahead of the stopped
light engine we came to the break.
The head engineer and another man
were down on their hands and knees
examining it, and when they stood up
at our coming, saw that the other
man was Mr.. Van Britt.
"What?" said the boss "you hereY
Our only millionaire nodded. II
ride the line once in a while-just to
see how things are going" he re-
turned crisply.
The boss didn't say anything more,
but he knelt to look at the break. 1t
was a trap, all right, set, beyond all
question of doubt, to catch the private