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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/25333-0.txt b/25333-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3d0f3da --- /dev/null +++ b/25333-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4617 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Great K. & A. Robbery, by Paul Leicester Ford + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: The Great K. & A. Robbery + +Author: Paul Leicester Ford + +Release Date: May 5, 2008 [eBook #25333] +[Most recently updated: January 29, 2022] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: Cline St. Charleskindt, Nick Wall and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT K. & A. ROBBERY *** + + + + +THE GREAT + +K. & A. TRAIN-ROBBERY + + + + +[Illustration: Frontispiece] + + + + +The +Great +K. & A. +Robbery + +[Illustration: Trains] + +By + +Paul Leicester Ford + +Author of The Honorable Peter Stirling + +New York +Dodd, Mead and Company +1897 + + + + +_Copyright, 1896,_ +BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. + +_Copyright, 1897,_ +BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY. + +University Press: +JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. + + + + +TO + +MY TRAVELLING COMPANIONS + +ON SPECIALS 218 AND 97 + +THIS ENDEAVOR TO WEAVE INTO A STORY SOME OF OUR +OVERLAND HAPPENINGS AND ADVENTURES + +IS GRATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. + + * * * * * + +_TO MISS GEORGE BARKER GIBBS._ + +_My dear George_: + +_At your request I originally inscribed this skit to our whole +party. In its republication, however, I can but feel that the +dedication should be more particular. Written because you asked +it, first read aloud to beguile our ride across the great +American desert, and finally printed because you wished a copy as +a souvenir of our journeyings, no one can so naturally be called +upon to stand sponsor to the little tale. Should the story but +give its readers a fraction of the pleasure I owe to your +kindness, its success is assured._ + +_Faithfully yours,_ + +_PAUL LEICESTER FORD._ + + + + +Contents + + + CHAPTER + + I THE PARTY ON SPECIAL NO. 218 + + II THE HOLDING-UP OF OVERLAND NO. 3 + + III A NIGHT'S WORK ON THE ALKALI PLAINS + + IV SOME RATHER QUEER ROAD AGENTS + + V A TRIP TO THE GRAND CAÑON + + VI THE HAPPENINGS DOWN HANCE'S TRAIL + + VII A CHANGE OF BASE + + VIII HOW DID THE SECRET LEAK OUT? + + IX A TALK BEFORE BREAKFAST + + X WAITING FOR HELP + + XI THE LETTERS CHANGE HANDS AGAIN + + XII AN EVENING IN JAIL + + XIII A LESSON IN POLITENESS + + XIV "LISTENERS NEVER HEAR ANYTHING GOOD" + + XV THE SURRENDER OF THE LETTERS + + XVI A GLOOMY GOOD-BY + + + + +THE + +Great K. & A. Train-Robbery + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE PARTY ON SPECIAL NO. 218 + + +Any one who hopes to find in what is here written a work of +literature had better lay it aside unread. At Yale I should have +got the sack in rhetoric and English composition, let alone other +studies, had it not been for the fact that I played half-back on +the team, and so the professors marked me away up above where I +ought to have ranked. That was twelve years ago, but my life +since I received my parchment has hardly been of a kind to +improve me in either style or grammar. It is true that one woman +tells me I write well, and my directors never find fault with my +compositions; but I know that she likes my letters because, +whatever else they may say to her, they always say in some form, +"I love you," while my board approve my annual reports because +thus far I have been able to end each with "I recommend the +declaration of a dividend of -- per cent from the earnings of the +current year." I should therefore prefer to reserve my writings +for such friendly critics, if it did not seem necessary to make +public a plain statement concerning an affair over which there +appears to be much confusion. I have heard in the last five years +not less than twenty renderings of what is commonly called "the +great K. & A. train-robbery,"--some so twisted and distorted that +but for the intermediate versions I should never have recognized +them as attempts to narrate the series of events in which I +played a somewhat prominent part. I have read or been told that, +unassisted, the pseudo-hero captured a dozen desperadoes; that he +was one of the road agents himself; that he was saved from +lynching only by the timely arrival of cavalry; that the action +of the United States government in rescuing him from the civil +authorities was a most high-handed interference with State +rights; that he received his reward from a grateful railroad by +being promoted; that a lovely woman as recompense for his +villany--but bother! it's my business to tell what really +occurred, and not what the world chooses to invent. And if any +man thinks he would have done otherwise in my position, I can +only say that he is a better or a worse man than Dick Gordon. + +Primarily, it was football which shaped my end. Owing to my skill +in the game, I took a post-graduate at the Sheffield Scientific +School, that the team might have my services for an extra two +years. That led to my knowing a little about mechanical +engineering, and when I left the "quad" for good I went into the +Alton Railroad shops. It wasn't long before I was foreman of a +section; next I became a division superintendent, and after I had +stuck to that for a time I was appointed superintendent of the +Kansas & Arizona Railroad, a line extending from Trinidad in +Kansas to The Needles in Arizona, tapping the Missouri Western +System at the first place, and the Great Southern at the other. +With both lines we had important traffic agreements, as well as +the closest relations, which sometimes were a little difficult, +as the two roads were anything but friendly, and we had directors +of each on the K. & A. board, in which they fought like cats. +Indeed, it could only be a question of time when one would oust +the other and then absorb my road. My head-quarters were at +Albuquerque, in New Mexico, and it was there, in October, 1890, +that I received the communication which was the beginning of all +that followed. + +This initial factor was a letter from the president of the +Missouri Western, telling me that their first vice-president, Mr. +Cullen (who was also a director of my road), was coming out to +attend the annual election of the K. & A., which under our +charter had to be held in Ash Forks, Arizona. A second paragraph +told me that Mr. Cullen's family accompanied him, and that they +all wished to visit the Grand Cañon of the Colorado on their way. +Finally the president wrote that the party travelled in his own +private car, and asked me to make myself generally useful to +them. Having become quite hardened to just such demands, at the +proper date I ordered my superintendent's car on to No. 2, and +the next morning it was dropped off at Trinidad. + +The moment No. 3 arrived, I climbed into the president's special, +that was the last car on the train, and introduced myself to Mr. +Cullen, whom, though an official of my road, I had never met. He +seemed surprised at my presence, but greeted me very pleasantly +as soon as I explained that the Missouri Western office had asked +me to do what I could for him, and that I was there for that +purpose. His party were about to sit down to breakfast, and he +asked me to join them: so we passed into the dining-room at the +forward end of the car, where I was introduced to "My son," "Lord +Ralles," and "Captain Ackland." The son was a junior copy of his +father, tall and fine-looking, but, in place of the frank and +easy manner of his sire, he was so very English that most people +would have sworn falsely as to his native land. Lord Ralles was a +little, well-built chap, not half so English as Albert Cullen, +quick in manner and thought, being in this the opposite of his +brother Captain Ackland, who was heavy enough to rock-ballast a +road-bed. Both brothers gave me the impression of being +gentlemen, and both were decidedly good-looking. + +After the introductions, Mr. Cullen said we would not wait, and +his remark called my attention to the fact that there was one +more place at the table than there were people assembled. I had +barely noted this, when my host said, "Here's the truant," and, +turning, I faced a lady who had just entered. Mr. Cullen said, +"Madge, let me introduce Mr. Gordon to you." My bow was made to a +girl of about twenty, with light brown hair, the bluest of eyes, +a fresh skin, and a fine figure, dressed so nattily as to be to +me, after my four years of Western life, a sight for tired eyes. +She greeted me pleasantly, made a neat little apology for having +kept us waiting, and then we all sat down. + +It was a very jolly breakfast-table, Mr. Cullen and his son being +capital talkers, and Lord Ralles a good third, while Miss Cullen +was quick and clever enough to match the three. Before the meal +was over I came to the conclusion that Lord Ralles was in love +with Miss Cullen, for he kept making low asides to her; and from +the fact that she allowed them, and indeed responded, I drew the +conclusion that he was a lucky beggar, feeling, I confess, a +little pang that a title was going to win such a nice American +girl. + +One of the first subjects spoken of was train-robbery, and Miss +Cullen, like most Easterners, seemed to take a great interest in +it, and had any quantity of questions to ask me. + +"I've left all my jewelry behind, except my watch," she said, +"and that I hide every night. So I really hope we'll be held up, +it would be such an adventure." + +"There isn't any chance of it, Miss Cullen," I told her; "and if +we were, you probably wouldn't even know that it was happening, +but would sleep right through it." + +"Wouldn't they try to get our money and our watches?" she +demanded. + +I told her no, and explained that the express- and mail-cars were +the only ones to which the road agents paid any attention. She +wanted to know the way it was done: so I described to her how +sometimes the train was flagged by a danger signal, and when it +had slowed down the runner found himself covered by armed men; or +how a gang would board the train, one by one, at way stations, +and then, when the time came, steal forward, secure the express +agent and postal clerk, climb over the tender, and compel the +runner to stop the train at some lonely spot on the road. She +made me tell her all the details of such robberies as I knew +about, and, though I had never been concerned in any, I was able +to describe several, which, as they were monotonously alike, I +confess I colored up a bit here and there, in an attempt to make +them interesting to her. I seemed to succeed, for she kept the +subject going even after we had left the table and were smoking +our cigars in the observation saloon. Lord Ralles had a lot to +say about the American lack of courage in letting trains +containing twenty and thirty men be held up by half a dozen +robbers. + +"Why," he ejaculated, "my brother and I each have a double +express with us, and do you think we'd sit still in our seats? +No. Hang me if we wouldn't pot something." + +"You might," I laughed, a little nettled, I confess, by his +speech, "but I'm afraid it would be yourselves." + +"Aw, you fancy resistance impossible?" drawled Albert Cullen. + +"It has been tried," I answered, "and without success. You can +see it's like all surprises. One side is prepared before the +other side knows there is danger. Without regard to relative +numbers, the odds are all in favor of the road agents." + +"But I wouldn't sit still, whatever the odds," asserted his +lordship. "And no Englishman would." + +"Well, Lord Ralles," I said, "I hope for your sake, then, that +you'll never be in a hold-up, for I should feel about you as the +runner of a locomotive did when the old lady asked him if it +wasn't very painful to him to run over people. 'Yes, madam,' he +sadly replied: 'there is nothing musses an engine up so.'" + +I don't think Miss Cullen liked Lord Ralles's comments on +American courage any better than I did, for she said,-- + +"Can't you take Lord Ralles and Captain Ackland into the service +of the K. & A., Mr. Gordon, as a special guard?" + +"The K. & A. has never had a robbery yet, Miss Cullen," I +replied, "and I don't think that it ever will have." + +"Why not?" she asked. + +I explained to her how the Cañon of the Colorado to the north, +and the distance of the Mexican border to the south, made escape +so almost desperate that the road agents preferred to devote +their attentions to other routes. "If we were boarded, Miss +Cullen," I said, "your jewelry would be as safe as it is in +Chicago, for the robbers would only clean out the express- and +mail-cars; but if they should so far forget their manners as to +take your trinkets, I'd agree to return them to you inside of one +week." + +"That makes it all the jollier," she cried, eagerly. "We could +have the fun of the adventure, and yet not lose anything. Can't +you arrange for it, Mr. Gordon?" + +"I'd like to please you, Miss Cullen," I said, "and I'd like to +give Lord Ralles a chance to show us how to handle those gentry; +but it's not to be done." I really should have been glad to have +the road agents pay us a call. + +We spent that day pulling up the Raton pass, and so on over the +Glorietta pass down to Lamy, where, as the party wanted to see +Santa Fé, I had our two cars dropped off the overland, and we ran +up the branch line to the old Mexican city. It was well-worn +ground to me, but I enjoyed showing the sights to Miss Cullen, +for by that time I had come to the conclusion that I had never +met a sweeter or jollier girl. Her beauty, too, was of a kind +that kept growing on one, and before I had known her twenty-four +hours, without quite being in love with her, I was beginning to +hate Lord Ralles, which was about the same thing, I suppose. +Every hour convinced me that the two understood each other, not +merely from the little asides and confidences they kept +exchanging, but even more so from the way Miss Cullen would take +his lordship down occasionally. Yet, like a fool, the more I saw +to confirm my first diagnosis, the more I found myself dwelling +on the dimples at the corners of Miss Cullen's mouth, the +bewitching uplift of her upper lip, the runaway curls about her +neck, and the curves and color of her cheeks. + +Half a day served to see everything in Santa Fé worth looking at, +but Mr. Cullen decided to spend there the time they had to wait +for his other son to join the party. To pass the hours, I hunted +up some ponies, and we spent three days in long rides up the old +Santa Fé trail and to the outlying mountains. Only one incident +was other than pleasant, and that was my fault. As we were riding +back to our cars on the second afternoon, we had to cross the +branch road-bed, where a gang happened to be at work tamping the +ties. + +"Since you're interested in road agents, Miss Cullen," I said, +"you may like to see one. That fellow standing in the ditch is +Jack Drute, who was concerned in the D. & R. G. hold-up three +years ago." + +Miss Cullen looked where I pointed, and seeing a man with a gun, +gave a startled jump, and pulled up her pony, evidently supposing +that we were about to be attacked. "Sha'n't we run?" she began, +but then checked herself, as she took in the facts of the drab +clothes of the gang and the two armed men in uniform. "They are +convicts?" she asked, and when I nodded, she said, "Poor things!" +After a pause, she asked, "How long is he in prison for?" + +"Twenty years," I told her. + +"How harsh that seems!" she said. "How cruel we are to people for +a few moments' wrong-doing, which the circumstances may almost +have justified!" She checked her pony as we came opposite Drute, +and said, "Can you use money?" + +"Can I, lyedy?" said the fellow, leering in an attempt to look +amiable. "Wish I had the chance to try." + +The guard interrupted by telling her it wasn't permitted to speak +to the convicts while out of bounds, and so we had to ride on. +All Miss Cullen was able to do was to throw him a little bunch of +flowers she had gathered in the mountains. It was literally +casting pearls before swine, for the fellow did not seem +particularly pleased, and when, late that night, I walked down +there with a lantern I found the flowers lying in the ditch. The +experience seemed to sadden and distress Miss Cullen very much +for the rest of the afternoon, and I kicked myself for having +called her attention to the brute, and could have knocked him +down for the way he had looked at her. It is curious that I felt +thankful at the time that Drute was not holding up a train Miss +Cullen was on. It is always the unexpected that happens. If I +could have looked into the future, what a strange variation on +this thought I should have seen! + +The three days went all too quickly, thanks to Miss Cullen, and +by the end of that time I began to understand what love really +meant to a chap, and how men could come to kill each other for +it. For a fairly sensible, hard-headed fellow it was pretty quick +work, I acknowledge; but let any man have seven years of Western +life without seeing a woman worth speaking of, and then meet +Miss Cullen, and if he didn't do as I did, I wouldn't trust him +on the tail-board of a locomotive, for I should put him down as +defective both in eyesight and in intellect. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE HOLDING-UP OF OVERLAND NO. 3 + + +On the third day a despatch came from Frederic Cullen telling his +father he would join us at Lamy on No. 3 that evening. I at once +ordered 97 and 218 coupled to the connecting train, and in an +hour we were back on the main line. While waiting for the +overland to arrive, Mr. Cullen asked me to do something which, as +it later proved to have considerable bearing on the events of +that night, is worth mentioning, trivial as it seems. When I had +first joined the party, I had given orders for 97 to be kicked in +between the main string and their special, so as not to deprive +the occupants of 218 of the view from their observation saloon +and balcony platform. Mr. Cullen came to me now and asked me to +reverse the arrangement and make my car the tail end. I was +giving orders for the splitting and kicking in when No. 3 +arrived, and thus did not see the greeting of Frederic Cullen and +his family. When I joined them, his father told me that the high +altitude had knocked his son up so, that he had to be helped from +the ordinary sleeper to the special and had gone to bed +immediately. Out West we have to know something of medicine, and +my car had its chest of drugs: so I took some tablets and went +into his state-room. Frederic was like his brother in appearance, +though not in manner, having a quick, alert way. He was breathing +with such difficulty that I was almost tempted to give him +nitroglycerin, instead of strychnine, but he said he would be all +right as soon as he became accustomed to the rarefied air, quite +pooh-poohing my suggestion that he take No. 2 back to Trinidad; +and while I was still urging, the train started. Leaving him the +vials of digitalis and strychnine, therefore, I went back, and +dined _solus_ on my own car, indulging at the end in a cigar, +the smoke of which would keep turning into pictures of Miss +Cullen. I have thought about those pictures since then, and have +concluded that when cigar-smoke behaves like that, a man might as +well read his destiny in it, for it can mean only one thing. + +After enjoying the combination, I went to No. 218 to have a look +at the son, and found that the heart tonics had benefited him +considerably. On leaving him, I went to the dining-room, where +the rest of the party were still at dinner, to ask that the +invalid have a strong cup of coffee, and after delivering my +request Mr. Cullen asked me to join them in a cigar. This I did +gladly, for a cigar and Miss Cullen's society were even +pleasanter than a cigar and Miss Cullen's pictures, because the +pictures never quite did her justice, and, besides, didn't talk. + +Our smoke finished, we went back to the saloon, where the +gentlemen sat down to poker, which Lord Ralles had just learned, +and liked. They did not ask me to take a hand, for which I was +grateful, as the salary of a railroad superintendent would hardly +stand the game they probably played; and I had my compensation +when Miss Cullen also was not asked to join them. She said she +was going to watch the moonlight on the mountains from the +platform, and opened the door to go out, finding for the first +time that No. 97 was the "ender." In her disappointment she +protested against this, and wanted to know the why and wherefore. + +"We shall have far less motion, Madge," Mr. Cullen explained, +"and then we sha'n't have the rear-end man in our car at night." + +"But I don't mind the motion," urged Miss Cullen, "and the +flagman is only there after we are all in our rooms. Please leave +us the view." + +"I prefer the present arrangement, Madge," insisted Mr. Cullen, +in a very positive voice. + +I was so sorry for Miss Cullen's disappointment that on impulse I +said, "The platform of 97 is entirely at your service, Miss +Cullen." The moment it was out I realized that I ought not to +have said it, and that I deserved a rebuke for supposing she +would use my car. + +Miss Cullen took it better than I hoped for, and was declining +the offer as kindly as my intention had been in making it, when, +much to my astonishment, her father interrupted by saying,-- + +"By all means, Madge. That relieves us of the discomfort of being +the last car, and yet lets you have the scenery and moonlight." + +Miss Cullen looked at her father for a moment as if not believing +what she had heard. Lord Ralles scowled and opened his mouth to +say something, but checked himself, and only flung his discard +down as if he hated the cards. + +"Thank you, papa," responded Miss Cullen, "but I think I will +watch you play." + +"Now, Madge, don't be foolish," said Mr. Cullen, irritably. "You +might just as well have the pleasure, and you'll only disturb the +game if you stay here." + +Miss Cullen leaned over and whispered something, and her father +answered her. Lord Ralles must have heard, for he muttered +something, which made Miss Cullen color up; but much good it did +him, for she turned to me and said, "Since my father doesn't +disapprove, I will gladly accept your hospitality, Mr. Gordon," +and after a glance at Lord Ralles that had a challenging "I'll do +as I please" in it, she went to get her hat and coat. The whole +incident had not taken ten seconds, yet it puzzled me beyond +measure, even while my heart beat with an unreasonable hope; for +my better sense told me that it simply meant that Lord Ralles +disapproved, and Miss Cullen, like any girl of spirit, was giving +him notice that he was not yet privileged to control her actions. +Whatever the scene meant, his lordship did not like it, for he +swore at his luck the moment Miss Cullen had left the room. + +When Miss Cullen returned we went back to the rear platform of +97. I let down the traps, closed the gates, got a camp-stool for +her to sit upon, with a cushion to lean back on, and a footstool, +and fixed her as comfortably as I could, even getting a +travelling-rug to cover her lap, for the plateau air was chilly. +Then I hesitated a moment, for I had the feeling that she had not +thoroughly approved of the thing and therefore she might not like +to have me stay. Yet she was so charming in the moonlight, and +the little balcony the platform made was such a tempting spot to +linger on, while she was there, that it wasn't easy to go. +Finally I asked,-- + +"You are quite comfortable, Miss Cullen?" + +"Sinfully so," she laughed. + +"Then perhaps you would like to be left to enjoy the moonlight +and your meditations by yourself?" I questioned. I knew I ought +to have just gone away, but I simply couldn't when she looked so +enticing. + +"Do you want to go?" she asked. + +"No!" I ejaculated, so forcibly that she gave a little startled +jump in her chair. "That is--I mean," I stuttered, embarrassed by +my own vehemence, "I rather thought you might not want me to +stay." + +"What made you think that?" she demanded. + +I never was a good hand at inventing explanations, and after a +moment's seeking for some reason, I plumped out, "Because I +feared you might not think it proper to use my car, and I suppose +it's my presence that made you think it." + +She took my stupid fumble very nicely; laughing merrily while +saying, "If you like mountains and moonlight, Mr. Gordon, and +don't mind the lack of a chaperon, get a stool for yourself, +too." What was more, she offered me half of the lap-robe when I +was seated beside her. + +I think she was pleased by my offer to go away, for she talked +very pleasantly, and far more intimately than she had ever done +before, telling me facts about her family, her Chicago life, her +travels, and even her thoughts. From this I learned that her +elder brother was an Oxford graduate, and that Lord Ralles and +his brother were classmates, who were visiting him for the first +time since he had graduated. She asked me some questions about +my work, which led me to tell her pretty much everything about +myself that I thought could be of the least interest; and it was +a very pleasant surprise to me to find that she knew one of the +old team, and had even heard of me from him. + +"Why," she exclaimed, "how absurd of me not to have thought of it +before! But, you see, Mr. Colston always speaks of you by your +first name. You ought to hear how he praises you." + +"Trust Harry to praise any one," I said. "There were some pretty +low fellows on the old team,--men who couldn't keep their word or +their tempers, and would slug every chance they got; but Harry +used to insist there wasn't a bad egg among the lot." + +"Don't you find it very lonely to live out here, away from all +your old friends?" she asked. + +I had to acknowledge that it was, and told her the worst part was +the absence of pleasant women. "Till you arrived, Miss Cullen," +I said, "I hadn't seen a well-gowned woman in four years." I've +always noticed that a woman would rather have a man notice and +praise her frock than her beauty, and Miss Cullen was apparently +no exception, for I could see the remark pleased her. + +"Don't Western women ever get Eastern gowns?" she asked. + +"Any quantity," I said, "but you know, Miss Cullen, that it isn't +the gown, but the way it's worn, that gives the artistic touch." +For a fellow who had devoted the last seven years of his life to +grades and fuel and rebates and pay-rolls, I don't think that was +bad. At least it made Miss Cullen's mouth dimple at the corners. + +The whole evening was so eminently satisfactory that I almost +believe I should be talking yet, if interruption had not come. +The first premonition of it was Miss Cullen's giving a little +shiver, which made me ask if she was cold. + +"Not at all," she replied. "I only--what place are we stopping +at?" + +I started to rise, but she checked the movement and said, "Don't +trouble yourself. I thought you would know without moving. I +really don't care to know." + +I took out my watch, and was startled to find it was twenty +minutes past twelve. I wasn't so green as to tell Miss Cullen so, +and merely said, "By the time, this must be Sanders." + +"Do we stop long?" she asked. + +"Only to take water," I told her, and then went on with what I +had been speaking about when she shivered. But as I talked it +slowly dawned on me that we had been standing still some time, +and presently I stopped speaking and glanced off, expecting to +recognize something, only to see alkali plain on both sides. A +little surprised, I looked down, to find no siding. Rising +hastily, I looked out forward. I could see moving figures on each +side of the train, but that meant nothing, as the train's crew, +and, for that matter, passengers, are very apt to alight at every +stop. What did mean something was that there was no water-tank, +no station, nor any other visible cause for a stop. + +"Is anything the matter?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"I think something's wrong with the engine or the road-bed, Miss +Cullen," I said, "and, if you'll excuse me a moment, I'll go +forward and see." + +I had barely spoken when "bang! bang!" went two shots. That they +were both fired from an English "express" my ears told me, for no +other people in this world make a mountain howitzer and call it a +rifle. + +Hardly were the two shots fired when "crack! crack! crack! +crack!" went some Winchesters. + +"Oh! what is it?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I think your wish has been granted," I answered hurriedly. "We +are being held up, and Lord Ralles is showing us how to--" + +My speech was interrupted. "Bang! bang!" challenged another "express," +the shots so close together as to be almost simultaneous. "Crack! +crack! crack!" retorted the Winchesters, and from the fact that +silence followed I drew a clear inference. I said to myself, "That +is an end of poor John Bull." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A NIGHT'S WORK ON THE ALKALI PLAINS + + +I hurried Miss Cullen into the car, and, after bolting the rear +door, took down my Winchester from its rack. + +"I'm going forward," I told her, "and will tell my darkies to +bolt the front door: so you'll be as safe in here as in Chicago." + +In another minute I was on my front platform. Dropping down +between the two cars, I crept along beside--indeed, half +under--Mr. Cullen's special. After my previous conclusion, my +surprise can be judged when at the farther end I found the two +Britishers and Albert Cullen, standing there in the most exposed +position possible. I joined them, muttering to myself something +about Providence and fools. + +"Aw," drawled Cullen, "here's Mr. Gordon, just too late for the +sport, by Jove." + +"Well," bragged Lord Ralles, "we've had a hand in this deal, Mr. +Superintendent, and haven't been potted. The scoundrels broke for +cover the moment we opened fire." + +By this time there were twenty passengers about our group, all of +them asking questions at once, making it difficult to learn just +what had happened; but, so far as I could piece the answers +together, the poker-players' curiosity had been aroused by the +long stop, and, looking out, they had seen a single man with a +rifle, standing by the engine. Instantly arming themselves, Lord +Ralles let fly both barrels at him, and in turn was the target +for the first four shots I had heard. The shooting had brought +the rest of the robbers tumbling off the cars, and the captain +and Cullen had fired the rest of the shots at them as they +scattered. I didn't stop to hear more, but went forward to see +what the road agents had got away with. + +I found the express agent tied hand and foot in the corner of +his car, and, telling a brakeman who had followed me to set him +at liberty, I turned my attention to the safe. That the diversion +had not come a moment too soon was shown by the dynamite +cartridge already in place, and by the fuse that lay on the +floor, as if dropped suddenly. But the safe was intact. + +Passing into the mail-car, I found the clerk tied to a post, with +a mail-sack pulled over his head, and the utmost confusion among +the pouches and sorting-compartments, while scattered over the +floor were a great many letters. Setting him at liberty, I asked +him if he could tell whether mail had been taken, and, after a +glance at the confusion, he said he could not know till he had +examined. + +Having taken stock of the harm done, I began asking questions. +Just after we had left Sanders, two masked men had entered the +mail-car, and while one covered the clerk with a revolver the +other had tied and "sacked" him. Two more had gone forward and +done the same to the express agent. Another had climbed over the +tender and ordered the runner to hold up. All this was regular +programme, as I had explained to Miss Cullen, but here had been a +variation which I had never heard of being done, and of which I +couldn't fathom the object. When the train had been stopped, the +man on the tender had ordered the fireman to dump his fire, and +now it was lying in the road-bed and threatening to burn through +the ties; so my first order was to extinguish it, and my second +was to start a new fire and get up steam as quickly as possible. +From all I could learn, there were eight men concerned in the +attempt; and I confess I shook my head in puzzlement why that +number should have allowed themselves to be scared off so easily. + +My wonderment grew when I called on the conductor for his +tickets. These showed nothing but two from Albuquerque, one from +Laguna, and four from Coolidge. This latter would have looked +hopeful but for the fact that it was a party of three women and +a man. Going back beyond Lamy didn't give anything, for the +conductor was able to account for every fare as either still in +the train or as having got off at some point. My only conclusion +was that the robbers had sneaked onto the platforms at Sanders; +and I gave the crew a good dressing down for their carelessness. +Of course they insisted it was impossible; but they were bound to +do that. + +Going back to 97, I got my telegraph instrument, though I thought +it a waste of time, the road agents being always careful to break +the lines. I told a brakeman to climb the pole and cut a wire. +While he was struggling up, Miss Cullen joined me. + +"Do you really expect to catch them?" she asked. + +"I shouldn't like to be one of them," I replied. + +"But how can you do it?" + +"You could understand better, Miss Cullen, if you knew this +country. You see every bit of water is in use by ranches, and +those fellows can't go more than fifty miles without watering. So +we shall have word of them, wherever they go." + +"Line cut, Mr. Gordon," came from overhead at this point, making +Miss Cullen jump with surprise. + +"What was that?" she asked. + +I explained to her, and, after making connections, I called +Sanders. Much to my surprise, the agent responded. I was so +astonished that for a moment I could not believe the fact. + +"This is the queerest hold-up of which I ever heard," I remarked +to Miss Cullen. + +"Aw, in what respect?" asked Albert Cullen's voice, and, looking +up, I found that he and quite a number of the passengers had +joined us. + +"The road agents make us dump our fire," I said, "and yet they +haven't cut the wires in either direction. I can't see how they +can escape us." + +"What fun!" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I don't see what difference either makes in their chance of +escaping," said Lord Ralles. + +While he was speaking, I ticked off the news of our being held +up, and asked the agent if there had been any men about Sanders, +or if he had seen any one board the train there. His answer was +positive that no one could have done so, and that settled it as +to Sanders. I asked the same questions of Allantown and Wingate, +which were the only places we had stopped at after leaving +Coolidge, getting the same answers. That eight men could have +remained concealed on any of the platforms from that point was +impossible, and I began to suspect magic. Then I called Coolidge, +and told of the holding up, after which I telegraphed the agent +at Navajo Springs to notify the commander at Fort Defiance, for I +suspected the road agents would make for the Navajo reservation. +Finally I called Flagstaff as I had Coolidge, directed that the +authorities be notified of the facts, and ordered an extra to +bring out the sheriff and posse. + +"I don't think," said Miss Cullen, "that I am a bit more curious +than most people, but it has nearly made me frantic to have you +tick away on that little machine and hear it tick back, and not +understand a word." + +After that I had to tell her what I had said and learned. + +"How clever of you to think of counting the tickets and finding +out where people got on and off! I never should have thought of +either," she said. + +"It hasn't helped me much," I laughed, rather grimly, "except to +eliminate every possible clue." + +"They probably did steal on at one of the stops," suggested a +passenger. + +I shook my head. "There isn't a stick of timber nor a place of +concealment on these alkali plains," I replied, "and it was +bright moonlight till an hour ago. It would be hard enough for +one man to get within a mile of the station without being seen, +and it would be impossible for seven or eight." + +"How do you know the number?" asked a passenger. + +"I don't," I said. "That's the number the crew think there were; +but I myself don't believe it." + +"Why don't you believe the men?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"First, because there is always a tendency to magnify, and next, +because the road agents ran away so quickly." + +"I counted at least seven," asserted Lord Ralles. + +"Well, Lord Ralles," I said, "I don't want to dispute your +eyesight, but if they had been that strong they would never have +bolted, and if you want to lay a bottle of wine, I'll wager that +when I catch those chaps we'll find there weren't more than three +or four of them." + +"Done!" he snapped. + +Leaving the group, I went forward to get the report of the mail +agent. He had put things to rights, and told me that, though the +mail had been pretty badly mixed up, only one pouch at worst had +been rifled. This--the one for registered mail--had been cut +open, but, as if to increase the mystery, the letters had been +scattered, unopened, about the car, only three out of the whole +being missing, and those very probably had fallen into the +pigeon-holes and would be found on a more careful search. + +I confess I breathed easier to think that the road agents had got +away with nothing, and was so pleased that I went back to the +wire to send the news of it, that the fact might be included in +the press despatches. The moon had set, and it was so dark that I +had some difficulty in finding the pole. When I found it, Miss +Cullen was still standing there. What was more, a man was close +beside her, and as I came up I heard her say, indignantly,-- + +"I will not allow it. It is unfair to take such advantage of me. +Take your arm away, or I shall call for help!" + +That was enough for me. One step carried my hundred and sixty +pounds over the intervening ground, and, using the momentum of +the stride to help, I put the flat of my hand against the +shoulder of the man and gave him a shove. There are three or four +Harvard men who can tell what that means, and they were braced +for it, which this fellow wasn't. He went staggering back as if +struck by a cow-catcher, and lay down on the ground a good +fifteen feet away. His having his arm around Miss Cullen's waist +unsteadied her so that she would have fallen too if I hadn't put +my hand against her shoulder. I longed to put it about her, but +by this time I didn't want to please myself, but to do only what +I thought she would wish, and so restrained myself. + +Before I had time to finish an apology to Miss Cullen, the fellow +was up on his feet, and came at me with an exclamation of anger. +In my surprise at recognizing the voice as that of Lord Ralles, I +almost neglected to take care of myself; but, though he was quick +with his fists, I caught him by the wrists as he closed, and he +had no chance after that against a fellow of my weight. + +"Oh, don't quarrel!" cried Miss Cullen. + +Holding him, I said, "Lord Ralles, I overheard what Miss Cullen +was saying, and, supposing some man was insulting her, I acted as +I did." Then I let go of him, and, turning, I continued, "I am +very sorry, Miss Cullen, if I did anything the circumstances did +not warrant," while cursing myself for my precipitancy and for +not thinking that Miss Cullen would never have been caught in +such a plight with a man unless she had been half willing; for a +girl does not merely threaten to call for help if she really +wants aid. + +Lord Ralles wasn't much mollified by my explanation. "You're too +much in a hurry, my man," he growled, speaking to me as if I were +a servant. "Be a bit more careful in the future." + +I think I should have retorted--for his manner was enough to make +a saint mad--if Miss Cullen hadn't spoken. + +"You tried to help me, Mr. Gordon, and I am deeply grateful for +that," she said. The words look simple enough set down here. But +the tone in which she said them, and the extended hand and the +grateful little squeeze she gave my fingers, all seemed to +express so much that I was more puzzled over them than I was over +the robbery. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SOME RATHER QUEER ROAD AGENTS + + +"You had better come back to the car, Miss Cullen," remarked Lord +Ralles, after a pause. + +But she declined to do so, saying she wanted to know what I was +going to telegraph; and he left us, for which I wasn't sorry. I +told her of the good news I had to send, and she wanted to know +if now we would try to catch the road agents. I set her mind at +rest on that score. + +"I think they'll give us very little trouble to bag," I added, +"for they are so green that it's almost pitiful." + +"In not cutting the wires?" she asked. + +"In everything," I replied. "But the worst botch is their waiting +till we had just passed the Arizona line. If they had held us up +an hour earlier, it would only have been State's prison." + +"And what will it be now?" + +"Hanging." + +"What?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"In New Mexico train-robbing is not capital, but in Arizona it +is," I told her. + +"And if you catch them they'll be hung?" she asked. + +"Yes." + +"That seems very hard." + +The first signs of dawn were beginning to show by this time, and +as the sky brightened I told Miss Cullen that I was going to look +for the trail of the fugitives. She said she would walk with me, +if not in the way, and my assurance was very positive on that +point. And here I want to remark that it's saying a good deal if +a girl can be up all night in such excitement and still look +fresh and pretty, and that she did. + +I ordered the crew to look about, and then began a big circle +around the train. Finding nothing, I swung a bigger one. That +being equally unavailing, I did a larger third. Not a trace of +foot or hoof within a half-mile of the cars! I had heard of +blankets laid down to conceal a trail, of swathed feet, even of +leathern horse-boots with cattle-hoofs on the bottom, but none of +these could have been used for such a distance, let alone the +entire absence of any signs of a place where the horses had been +hobbled. Returning to the train, the report of the men was the +same. + +"We've ghost road agents to deal with, Miss Cullen," I laughed. +"They come from nowhere, bullets touch them not, their lead hurts +nobody, they take nothing, and they disappear without touching +the ground." + +"How curious it is!" she exclaimed. "One would almost suppose it +a dream." + +"Hold on," I said. "We do have something tangible, for if they +disappeared they left their shells behind them." And I pointed to +some cartridge-shells that lay on the ground beside the mail-car. +"My theory of aerial bullets won't do." + +"The shells are as hollow as I feel," laughed Miss Cullen. + +"Your suggestion reminds me that I am desperately hungry," I +said. "Suppose we go back and end the famine." + +Most of the passengers had long since returned to their seats or +berths, and Mr. Cullen's party had apparently done the same, for +218 showed no signs of life. One of my darkies was awake, and he +broiled a steak and made us some coffee in no time, and just as +they were ready Albert Cullen appeared, so we made a very jolly +little breakfast. He told me at length the part he and the +Britishers had borne, and only made me marvel the more that any +one of them was alive, for apparently they had jumped off the car +without the slightest precaution, and had stood grouped together, +even after they had called attention to themselves by Lord +Ralles's shots. Cullen had to confess that he heard the whistle +of the four bullets unpleasantly close. + +"You have a right to be proud, Mr. Cullen," I said. "You fellows +did a tremendously plucky thing, and, thanks to you, we didn't +lose anything." + +"But you went to help too, Mr. Gordon," added Miss Cullen. + +That made me color up, and, after a moment's hesitation, I +said,-- + +"I'm not going to sail under false colors, Miss Cullen. When I +went forward I didn't think I could do anything. I supposed +whoever had pitched into the robbers was dead, and I expected to +be the same inside of ten minutes." + +"Then why did you risk your life," she asked, "if you thought it +was useless?" + +I laughed, and, though ashamed to tell it, replied, "I didn't +want you to think that the Britishers had more pluck than I had." + +She took my confession better than I hoped she would, laughing +with me, and then said, "Well, that was courageous, after all." + +"Yes," I confessed, "I was frightened into bravery." + +"Perhaps if they had known the danger as well as you, they would +have been less courageous," she continued; and I could have +blessed her for the speech. + +While we were still eating, the mail clerk came to my car and +reported that the most careful search had failed to discover the +three registered letters, and they had evidently been taken. This +made me feel sober, slight as the probable loss was. He told me +that his list showed they were all addressed to Ash Forks, +Arizona, making it improbable that their contents could be of any +real value. If possible, I was more puzzled than ever. + +At six-ten the runner whistled to show he had steam up. I told +one of the brakemen to stay behind, and then went into 218. Mr. +Cullen was still dressing, but I expressed my regrets through the +door that I could not go with his party to the Grand Cañon, told +him that all the stage arrangements had been completed, and +promised to join him there in case my luck was good. Then I saw +Frederic for a moment, to see how he was (for I had nearly +forgotten him in the excitement), to find that he was gaining all +the time, and preparing even to get up. When I returned to the +saloon, the rest of the party were there, and I bade good-by to +the captain and Albert. Then I turned to Lord Ralles, and, +holding out my hand, said,-- + +"Lord Ralles, I joked a little the other morning about the way +you thought road agents ought to be treated. You have turned the +joke very neatly and pluckily, and I want to apologize for myself +and thank you for the railroad." + +"Neither is necessary," he retorted airily, pretending not to see +my hand. + +I never claimed to have a good temper, and it was all I could do +to hold myself in. I turned to Miss Cullen to wish her a pleasant +trip, and the thought that this might be our last meeting made me +forget even Lord Ralles. + +"I hope it isn't good-by, but only _au revoir_," she said. +"Whether or no, you must let us see you some time in Chicago, so +that I may show you how grateful I am for all the pleasure you +have added to our trip." Then, as I stepped down off my platform, +she leaned over the rail of 218, and added, in a low voice, "I +thought you were just as brave as the rest, Mr. Gordon, and now I +think you are braver." + +I turned impulsively, and said, "You would think so, Miss Cullen, +if you knew the sacrifice I am making." Then, without looking at +her, I gave the signal, the bell rang, and No. 3 pulled off. The +last thing I saw was a handkerchief waving off the platform of +218. + +When the train dropped out of sight over a grade, I swallowed the +lump in my throat and went to the telegraph instrument. I wired +Coolidge to give the alarm to Fort Wingate, Fort Apache, Fort +Thomas, Fort Grant, Fort Bayard, and Fort Whipple, though I +thought the precaution a mere waste of energy. Then I sent the +brakeman up to connect the cut wire. + +"Two of the bullets struck up here, Mr. Gordon," the man called +from the top of the pole. + +"Surely not!" I exclaimed. + +"Yes, sir," he responded. "The bullet-holes are brand-new." + +I took in the lay of the land, the embers of the fire showing me +how the train had lain. "I don't wonder nobody was hit," I +exclaimed, "if that's a sample of their shooting. Some one was a +worse rattled man than I ever expect to be. Dig the bullets out, +Douglas, so that we can have a look at them." + +He brought them down in a minute. They proved to be Winchesters, +as I had expected, for they were on the side from which the +robbers must have fired. + +"That chap must have been full of Arizona tangle-foot, to have +fired as wild as he did," I ejaculated, and walked over to +where the mail-car had stood, to see just how bad the shooting +was. When I got there and faced about, it was really impossible +to believe any man could have done so badly, for raising my +own Winchester to the pole put it twenty degrees out of range +and nearly forty degrees in the air. Yet there were the +cartridge-shells on the ground, to show that I was in the place +from which the shots had been fired. + +While I was still cogitating over this, the special train I had +ordered out from Flagstaff came in sight, and in a few moments +was stopped where I was. It consisted of a string of three flats +and a box car, and brought the sheriff, a dozen cowboys whom he +had sworn in as deputies, and their horses. I was hopeful that +with these fellows' greater skill in such matters they could find +what I had not, but after a thorough examination of the ground +within a mile of the robbery they were as much at fault as I had +been. + +"Them cusses must have a dugout nigh abouts, for they couldn't +'a' got away without wings," the sheriff surmised. + +I didn't put much stock in that idea, and told the sheriff so. + +"Waal, round up a better one," was his retort. + +Not being able to do that, I told him of the bullets in the +telegraph pole, and took him over to where the mail car had +stood. + +"Jerusalem crickets!" was his comment as he measured the aim. "If +that's where they put two of their pills, they must have pumped +the other four inter the moon." + +"What other four?" I asked. + +"Shots," he replied sententiously. + +"The road agents only fired four times," I told him. + +"Them and your pards must have been pretty nigh together for a +minute, then," he said, pointing to the ground. + +I glanced down, and sure enough, there were six empty +cartridge-shells. I stood looking blankly at them, hardly able to +believe what I saw; for Albert Cullen had said distinctly that +the train-robbers had fired only four times, and that the last +three Winchester shots I had heard had been fired by himself. +Then, without speaking, I walked slowly back, searching along +the edge of the road-bed for more shells; but, though I went +beyond the point where the last car had stood, not one did I +find. Any man who has fired a Winchester knows that it drops its +empty shell in loading, and I could therefore draw only one +conclusion,--namely, that all seven discharges of the Winchesters +had occurred up by the mail-car. I had heard of men supposing +they had fired their guns through hearing another go off; but +with a repeating rifle one has to fire before one can reload. The +fact was evident that Albert Cullen either had fired his +Winchester up by the mail-car, or else had not fired it at all. +In either case he had lied, and Lord Ralles and Captain Ackland +had backed him up in it. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A TRIP TO THE GRAND CAÑON + + +I stood pondering, for no explanation that would fit the facts +seemed possible. I should have considered the young fellow's +story only an attempt to gain a little reputation for pluck, if +in any way I could have accounted for the appearance and +disappearance of the robbers. Yet to suppose--which seemed the +only other horn to the dilemma--that the son and guests of the +vice-president of the Missouri Western, and one of our own +directors, would be concerned in train-robbery was to believe +something equally improbable. Indeed, I should have put the whole +thing down as a practical joke of Mr. Cullen's party, if it had +not been for the loss of the registered letters. Even a practical +joker would hardly care to go to the length of cutting open +government mail-pouches; for Uncle Sam doesn't approve of such +conduct. + +Whatever the explanation, I had enough facts to prevent me from +wasting more time on that alkali plain. Getting the men and +horses back onto the cars, I jumped up on the tail-board and +ordered the runner to pull out for Flagstaff. It was a run of +seven hours, getting us in a little after eight, and in those +hours I had done a lot of thinking which had all come to one +result,--that Mr. Cullen's party was concerned in the hold-up. + +The two private cars were on a siding, but the Cullens had left +for the Grand Cañon the moment they had arrived, and were about +reaching there by this time. I went to 218 and questioned the +cook and waiter, but they had either seen nothing or else had +been primed, for not a fact did I get from them. Going to my own +car, I ordered a quick supper, and while I was eating it I +questioned my boy. He told me that he had heard the shots, and +had bolted the front door of my car, as I had ordered when I went +out; that as he turned to go to a safer place, he had seen a man, +revolver in hand, climb over the off-side gate of Mr. Cullen's +car, and for a moment he had supposed it a road agent, till he +saw that it was Albert Cullen. + +"That was just after I had got off?" I asked. + +"Yis, sah." + +"Then it couldn't have been Mr. Cullen, Jim," I declared, "for I +found him up at the other end of the car." + +"Tell you it wuz, Mr. Gordon," Jim insisted. "I done seen his +face clar in de light, and he done go into Mr. Cullen's car whar +de old gentleman wuz sittin'." + +That set me whistling to myself, and I laughed to think how near +I had come to giving nitroglycerin to a fellow who was only +shamming heart-failure; for that it was Frederic Cullen who had +climbed on the car I hadn't the slightest doubt, the resemblance +between the two brothers being quite strong enough to deceive any +one who had never seen them together. I smiled a little, and +remarked to myself, "I think I can make good my boast that I +would catch the robbers; but whether the Cullens will like my +doing it, I question. What is more, Lord Ralles will owe me a +bottle." Then I thought of Madge, and didn't feel as pleased over +my success as I had felt a moment before. + +By nine o'clock the posse and I were in the saddle and skirting +the San Francisco peaks. There was no use of pressing the ponies, +for our game wasn't trying to escape, and, for that matter, +couldn't, as the Colorado River wasn't passable within fifty +miles. It was a lovely moonlight night, and the ride through the +pines was as pretty a one as I remember ever to have made. It set +me thinking of Madge and of our talk the evening before, and of +what a change twenty-four hours had brought. It was lucky I was +riding an Indian pony, or I should probably have landed in a +heap. I don't know that I should have cared particularly if a +prairie-dog burrow had made me dash my brains out, for I wasn't +happy over the job that lay before me. + +We watered at Silver Spring at quarter-past twelve. From that +point we were clear of the pines and out on the plain, so we +could go a better pace. This brought us to the half-way ranch by +two, where we gave the ponies a feed and an hour's rest. We +reached the last relay station just as the moon set, about +three-forty; and, as all the rest of the ride was through +Coconino forest, we held up there for daylight, getting a little +sleep meanwhile. + +We rode into the camp at the Grand Cañon a little after eight, +and the deserted look of the tents gave me a moment's fright, for +I feared that the party had gone. Tolfree explained, however, +that some had ridden out to Moran Point, and the rest had gone +down Hance's trail. So I breakfasted and then took a look at +Albert Cullen's Winchester. That it had been recently fired was +as plain as the Grand Cañon itself; throwing back the bar, I +found an empty cartridge shell, still oily from the discharge. +That completed the tale of seven shots. I didn't feel absolutely +safe till I had asked Tolfree if there had been any shooting of +echoes by the party, but his denial rounded out my chain of +evidence. + +Telling the sheriff to guard the bags of the party carefully, I +took two of the posse and rode over to Moran's Point. Sure +enough, there were Mr. Cullen, Albert, and Captain Ackland. They +gave a shout at seeing me, and even before I had reached them +they called to know how I could come so soon, and if I had caught +the robbers. Mr. Cullen started to tell his pleasure at my +rejoining the party, but my expression made him pause, and it +seemed to dawn on all three that the Winchester across my saddle, +and the cowboys' hands resting nonchalantly on the revolvers in +their belts, had a meaning. + +"Mr. Cullen," I explained, "I've got a very unpleasant job on +hand, which I don't want to make any worse than need be. Every +fact points to your party as guilty of holding up the train last +night and stealing those letters. Probably you weren't all +concerned, but I've got to go on the assumption that you are all +guilty, till you prove otherwise." + +"Aw, you're joking," drawled Albert. + +"I hope so," I said, "but for the present I've got to be English +and treat the joke seriously." + +"What do you want to do?" asked Mr. Cullen. + +"I don't wish to arrest you gentlemen unless you force me to," I +said, "for I don't see that it will do any good. But I want you +to return to camp with us." + +They assented to that, and, single file, we rode back. When there +I told each that he must be searched, to which they submitted at +once. After that we went through their baggage. I wasn't going to +have the sheriff or cowboys tumbling over Miss Cullen's clothes, +so I looked over her bag myself. The prettiness and daintiness of +the various contents were a revelation to me, and I tried to put +them back as neatly as I had found them, but I didn't know much +about the articles, and it was a terrible job trying to fold up +some of the things. Why, there was a big pink affair, lined with +silk, with bits of ribbon and lace all over it, which nearly +drove me out of my head, for I would have defied mortal man to +pack it so that it shouldn't muss. I had a funny little feeling +of tenderness for everything, which made fussing over it all a +pleasure, even while I felt all the time that I was doing a sneak +act and had really no right to touch her belongings. I didn't +find anything incriminating, and the posse reported the same +result with the other baggage. If the letters were still in +existence, they were either concealed somewhere or were in the +possession of the party in the Cañon. Telling the sheriff to keep +those in the camp under absolute surveillance, I took a single +man, and saddling a couple of mules, started down the trail. + +We found Frederic and "Captain" Hance just dismounting at the +Rock Cabin, and I told the former he was in custody for the +present, and asked him where Miss Cullen and Lord Ralles were. He +told me they were just behind; but I wasn't going to take any +risks, and, ordering the deputy to look after Cullen, I went on +down the trail. I couldn't resist calling back,-- + +"How's your respiration, Mr. Cullen?" + +He laughed, and called, "Digitalis put me on my feet like a +flash." + +"He's got the most brains of any man in this party," I remarked +to myself. + +The trail at this point is very winding, so that one can rarely +see fifty feet in advance, and sometimes not ten. Owing to this, +the first thing I knew I plumped round a curve on to a mule, +which was patiently standing there. Just back of him was another, +on which sat Miss Cullen, and standing close beside her was Lord +Ralles. One of his hands held the mule's bridle; the other held +Madge's arm, and he was saying, "You owe it to me, and I will +have one. Or if--" + +I swore to myself, and coughed aloud, which made Miss Cullen +look up. The moment she saw me she cried, "Mr. Gordon! How +delightful!" even while she grew as red as she had been pale the +moment before. Lord Ralles grew red too, but in a different way. + +"Have you caught the robbers?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I'm afraid I have," I answered. + +"What do you mean?" she asked. + +I smiled at the absolute innocence and wonder with which she +spoke, and replied, "I know now, Miss Cullen, why you said I was +braver than the Britishers." + +"How do you know?" + +I couldn't resist getting in a side-shot at Lord Ralles, who had +mounted his mule and sat scowling. "The train-robbers were such +thoroughgoing duffers at the trade," I said, "that if they had +left their names and addresses they wouldn't have made it much +easier. We Americans may not know enough to deal with real road +agents, but we can do something with amateurs." + +"What are we stopping here for?" snapped Lord Ralles. + +"I'm sure I don't know," I responded. "Miss Cullen, if you will +kindly pass us, and then if Lord Ralles will follow you, we will +go on to the cabin. I must ask you to keep close together." + +"I stay or go as I please, and not by your orders," asserted Lord +Ralles, snappishly. + +"Out in this part of the country," I said calmly, "it is +considered shocking bad form for an unarmed man to argue with one +who carries a repeating rifle. Kindly follow Miss Cullen." And, +leaning over, I struck his mule with the loose ends of my bridle, +starting it up the trail. + +When we reached the cabin the deputy told me that he had made +Frederic strip and had searched his clothing, finding nothing. I +ordered Lord Ralles to dismount and go into the cabin. + +"For what?" he demanded. + +"We want to search you," I answered. + +"I don't choose to be searched," he protested. "You have shown no +warrant, nor--" + +I wasn't in a mood towards him to listen to his talk. I swung my +Winchester into line and announced, "I was sworn in last night as +a deputy-sheriff, and am privileged to shoot a train-robber on +sight. Either dead or alive, I'm going to search your clothing +inside of ten minutes; and if you have no preference as to +whether the examination is an ante- or post-mortem affair, I +certainly haven't." + +That brought him down off his high horse,--that is, mule,--and I +sent the deputy in with him with directions to toss his clothes +out to me, for I wanted to keep my eye on Miss Cullen and her +brother, so as to prevent any legerdemain on their part. + +One by one the garments came flying through the door to me. +As fast as I finished examining them I pitched them back, +except--Well, as I have thought it over since then, I have +decided that I did a mean thing, and have regretted it. But +just put yourself in my place, and think of how Lord Ralles +had talked to me as if I was his servant, had refused my +apology and thanks, and been as generally "nasty" as he could, +and perhaps you won't blame me that, after looking through his +trousers, I gave them a toss which, instead of sending them +back into the hut, sent them over the edge of the trail. They +went down six hundred feet before they lodged in a poplar, and +if his lordship followed the trail he could get round to them, +but there would then be a hundred feet of sheer rock between +the trail and the trousers. "I hope it will teach him to study +his Lord Chesterfield to better purpose, for if politeness +doesn't cost anything, rudeness can cost considerable," I +chuckled to myself. + +My amusement did not last long, for my next thought was, "If +those letters are concealed on any one, they are on Miss Cullen." +The thought made me lean up against my mule, and turn hot and +cold by turns. + +A nice situation for a lover! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE HAPPENINGS DOWN HANCE'S TRAIL + + +Miss Cullen was sitting on a rock apart from her brother and +Hance, as I had asked her to do when I helped her dismount. I +went over to where she sat, and said, boldly,-- + +"Miss Cullen, I want those letters." + +"What letters?" she asked, looking me in the eyes with the most +innocent of expressions. She made a mistake to do that, for I +knew her innocence must be feigned, and so didn't put much faith +in her face for the rest of the interview. + +"And what is more," I continued, with a firmness of manner about +as genuine as her innocence, "unless you will produce them at +once, I shall have to search you." + +"Mr. Gordon!" she exclaimed, but she put such surprise and grief +and disbelief into the four syllables that I wanted the earth to +swallow me then and there. + +"Why, Miss Cullen," I cried, "look at my position. I'm being paid +to do certain things, and--" + +"But that needn't prevent your being a gentleman," she +interrupted. + +That made me almost desperate. "Miss Cullen," I groaned, +hurriedly, "I'd rather be burned alive than do what I've got to, +but if you won't give me those letters, search you I must." + +"But how can I give you what I haven't?" she cried, indignantly, +assuming again her innocent expression. + +"Will you give me your word of honor that those letters are not +concealed in your clothes?" + +"I will," she answered. + +I was very much taken aback, for it would have been so easy for +Miss Cullen to have said so before that I had become convinced +she must have them. + +"And do you give me your word?" + +"I do," she affirmed, but she didn't look me in the face as she +said it. + +I ought to have been satisfied, but I wasn't, for, in spite of +her denial, something forced me still to believe she had them, +and looking back now, I think it was her manner. I stood +reflecting for a minute, and then requested, "Please stay where +you are for a moment." Leaving her, I went over to Fred. + +"Mr. Cullen," I said, "Miss Cullen, rather than be searched, has +acknowledged that she has the letters, and says that if we men +will go into the hut she'll get them for me." + +He rose at once. "I told my father not to drag her in," he +muttered, sadly. "I don't care about myself, Mr. Gordon, but +can't you keep her out of it? She's as innocent of any real wrong +as the day she was born." + +"I'll do everything in my power," I promised. Then he and Hance +went into the cabin, and I walked back to the culprit. + +"Miss Cullen," I said, gravely, "you have those letters, and must +give them to me." + +"But I told you--" she began. + +To spare her a second untruth, I interrupted her by saying, "I +trapped your brother into acknowledging that you have them." + +"You must have misunderstood him," she replied, calmly, "or else +he didn't know that the arrangement was changed." + +Her steadiness rather shook my conviction, but I said, "You must +give me those letters, or I must search you." + +"You never would!" she cried, rising and looking me in the face. + +On impulse I tried a big bluff. I took hold of the lapel of her +waist, intending to undo just one button. I let go in fright when +I found there was no button,--only an awful complication of hooks +or some other feminine method for keeping things together,--and I +grew red and trembled, thinking what might have happened had I, +by bad luck, made anything come undone. If Miss Cullen had been +noticing me, she would have seen a terribly scared man. + +But she wasn't, luckily, for the moment my hand touched her +dress, and before she could realize that I snatched it away, she +collapsed on the rock, and burst into tears. "Oh! oh!" she +sobbed, "I begged papa not to, but he insisted they were safest +with me. I'll give them to you, if you'll only go away and not--" +Her tears made her inarticulate, and without waiting for more I +ran into the hut, feeling as near like a murderer as a guiltless +man could. + +Lord Ralles by this time was making almost as much noise as an +engine pulling a heavy freight up grade under forced draft, +swearing over his trousers, and was offering the cowboy and Hance +money to recover them. When they told him this was impossible he +tried to get them to sell or hire a pair, but they didn't like +the idea of riding into camp minus those essentials any better +than he did. While I waited they settled the difficulty by +strapping a blanket round him, and by splitting it up the middle +and using plenty of cord they rigged him out after a fashion; but +I think if he could have seen himself and been given an option he +would have preferred to wait till it was dark enough to creep +into camp unnoticed. + +Before long Miss Cullen called, and when I went to her she handed +me, without a word, three letters. As she did so she crimsoned +violently, and looked down in her mortification. I was so sorry +for her that, though a moment before I had been judging her +harshly, I now couldn't help saying,-- + +"Our positions have been so difficult, Miss Cullen, that I don't +think we either of us are quite responsible for our actions." + +She said nothing, and, after a pause, I continued,-- + +"I hope you'll think as leniently of my conduct as you can, for I +can't tell you how grieved I am to have pained you." + +Cullen joined us at this point, and, knowing that every moment we +remained would be distressing to his sister, I announced that we +would start up the trail. I hadn't the heart to offer to help her +mount, and after Frederic had put her up we fell into single file +behind Hance, Lord Ralles coming last. + +As soon as we started I took a look at the three letters. They +were all addressed to Theodore E. Camp, Esq., Ash Forks, +Arizona,--one of the directors of the K. & A. and also of the +Great Southern. With this clue, for the first time things began +to clear up to me, and when the trail broadened enough to permit +it, I pushed my mule up alongside of Cullen and asked,-- + +"The letters contain proxies for the K. & A. election next +Friday?" + +He nodded his head. "The Missouri Western and the Great Southern +are fighting for control," he explained, "and we should have won +but for three blocks of Eastern stock that had promised their +proxies to the G. S. Rather than lose the fight, we arranged to +learn when those proxies were mailed,--that was what kept me +behind,--and then to hold up the train that carried them." + +"Was it worth the risk?" I ejaculated. + +"If we had succeeded, yes. My father had put more than was safe +into Missouri Western and into California Central. The G. S. +wants control to end the traffic agreements, and that means +bankruptcy to my father." + +I nodded, seeing it all as clear as day, and hardly blaming the +Cullens for what they had done; for any one who has had dealings +with the G. S. is driven to pretty desperate methods to keep +from being crushed, and when one is fighting an antagonist that +won't regard the law, or rather one that, through control of +legislatures and judges, makes the law to suit its needs, the +temptation is strong to use the same weapons one's self. + +"The toughest part of it is," Fred went on, "that we thought we +had the whole thing 'hands down,' and that was what made my +father go in so deep. Only the death of one of the M. W. +directors, who held eight thousand shares of K. & A., got us in +this hole, for the G. S. put up a relation to contest the will, +and so delayed the obtaining of letters of administration, +blocking his executors from giving a proxy. It was as mean a +trick as ever was played." + +"The G. S. is a tough customer to fight," I remarked, and asked, +"Why didn't you burn the letters?" really wishing they had done +so. + +"We feared duplicate proxies might get through in time, and +thought that by keeping these we might cook up a question as to +which were legal, and then by injunction prevent the use of +either." + +"And those Englishmen," I inquired, "are they real?" + +"Oh, certainly," he rejoined. "They were visiting my brother, and +thought the whole thing great larks." Then he told me how the +thing had been done. They had sent Miss Cullen to my car, so as +to get me out of the way, though she hadn't known it. He and his +brother got off the train at the last stop, with the guns and +masks, and concealed themselves on the platform of the mail-car. +Here they had been joined by the Britishers at the right moment, +the disguises assumed, and the train held up as already told. Of +course the dynamite cartridge was only a blind, and the letters +had been thrown about the car merely to confuse the clerk. Then +while Frederic Cullen, with the letters, had stolen back to the +car, the two Englishmen had crept back to where they had stood. +Here, as had been arranged, they opened fire, which Albert Cullen +duly returned, and then joined them. "I don't see now how you +spotted us," Frederic ended. + +I told him, and his disgust was amusing to see. "Going to Oxford +may be all right for the classics," he growled, "but it's +destructive to gumption." + +We rode into camp a pretty gloomy crowd, and those of the party +waiting for us there were not much better; but when Lord Ralles +dismounted and showed up in his substitute for trousers there was +a general shout of laughter. Even Miss Cullen had to laugh for a +moment. And as his lordship bolted for his tent, I said to +myself, "Honors are easy." + +I told the sheriff that I had recovered the lost property, but +did not think any arrests necessary as yet; and, as he was the +agent of the K. & A. at Flagstaff, he didn't question my opinion. +I ordered the stage out, and told Tolfree to give us a feed +before we started, but a more silent meal I never sat down to, +and I noticed that Miss Cullen didn't eat anything, while the +tragic look on her face was so pathetic as nearly to drive me +frantic. + +We started a little after five, and were clear of the timber +before it was too dark to see. At the relay station we waited an +hour for the moon, after which it was a clear track. We reached +the half-way ranch about eleven, and while changing the stage +horses I roused Mrs. Klostermeyer, and succeeded in getting +enough cold mutton and bread to make two rather decent-looking +sandwiches. With these and a glass of whiskey and water I went +to the stage, to find Miss Cullen curled up on the seat asleep, +her head resting in her brother's arms. + +"She has nearly worried herself to death ever since you told her +that road agents were hung," Frederic whispered; "and she's been +crying to-night over that lie she told you, and altogether she's +worn out with travel and excitement." + +I screwed the cover on the travelling-glass, and put it with the +sandwiches in the bottom of the stage. "It's a long and a rough +ride," I said, "and if she wakes up they may give her a little +strength. I only wish I could have spared her the fatigue and +anxiety." + +"She thought she had to lie for father's sake, but she's nearly +broken-hearted over it," he continued. + +I looked Frederic in the face as I said, "I honor her for it," +and in that moment he and I became friends. + +"Just see how pretty she is!" he whispered, with evident +affection and pride, turning back the flap of the rug in which +she was wrapped. + +She was breathing gently, and there was just that touch of +weariness and sadness in her face that would appeal to any man. +It made me gulp, I'm proud to say; and when I was back on my +pony, I said to myself, "For her sake, I'll pull the Cullens out +of this scrape, if it costs me my position." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A CHANGE OF BASE + + +We did not reach Flagstaff till seven, and I told the stage-load +to take possession of their car, while I went to my own. It took +me some time to get freshened up, and then I ate my breakfast; +for after riding seventy-two miles in one night even the most +heroic purposes have to take the side-track. I think, as it was, +I proved my devotion pretty well by not going to sleep, since I +had been up three nights, with only such naps as I could steal in +the saddle, and had ridden over a hundred and fifty miles to +boot. But I couldn't bear to think of Miss Cullen's anxiety, and +the moment I had made myself decent, and finished eating, I went +into 218. + +The party were all in the dining-room, but it was a very +different-looking crowd from the one with which that first +breakfast had been eaten, and they all looked at me as I entered +as if I were the executioner come for victims. + +"Mr. Cullen," I began, "I've been forced to do a lot of things +that weren't pleasant, but I don't want to do more than I need. +You're not the ordinary kind of road agents, and, as I presume +your address is known, I don't see any need of arresting one of +our own directors as yet. All I ask is that you give me your +word, for the party, that none of you will try to leave the +country." + +"Certainly, Mr. Gordon," he responded. "And I thank you for your +great consideration." + +"I shall have to report the case to our president, and, I +suppose, to the Postmaster-General, but I sha'n't hurry about +either. What they will do, I can't say. Probably you know how far +you can keep them quiet." + +"I think the local authorities are all I have to fear, provided +time is given me." + +"I have dismissed the sheriff and his posse, and I gave them a +hundred dollars for their work, and three bottles of pretty good +whiskey I had on my car. Unless they get orders from elsewhere, +you will not hear any further from them." + +"You must let me reimburse what expense we have put you to, Mr. +Gordon. I only wish I could as easily repay your kindness." + +Nodding my head in assent, as well as in recognition of his +thanks, I continued, "It was my duty, as an official of the K. & +A., to recover the stolen mail, and I had to do it." + +"We understand that," said Mr. Cullen, "and do not for a moment +blame you." + +"But," I went on, for the first time looking at Madge, "it is not +my duty to take part in a contest for control of the K. & A., and +I shall therefore act in this case as I should in any other loss +of mail." + +"And that is--?" asked Frederic. + +"I am about to telegraph for instructions from Washington," I +replied. "As the G. S. by trickery has dishonestly tied up some +of your proxies, they ought not to object if we do the same by +honest means; and I think I can manage so that Uncle Sam will +prevent those proxies from being voted at Ash Forks on Friday." + +If a galvanic battery had been applied to the group about the +breakfast table, it wouldn't have made a bigger change. Madge +clapped her hands in joy; Mr. Cullen said "God bless you!" with +real feeling; Frederic jumped up and slapped me on the shoulder, +crying, "Gordon, you're the biggest old trump breathing;" while +Albert and the captain shook hands with each other, in evident +jubilation. Only Lord Ralles remained passive. + +"Have you breakfasted?" asked Mr. Cullen, when the first joy was +over. + +"Yes," I said. "I only stopped in on my way to the station to +telegraph the Postmaster-General." + +"May I come with you and see what you say?" cried Fred, jumping +up. + +I nodded, and Miss Cullen said, questioningly, "Me too?" making +me very happy by the question, for it showed that she would speak +to me. I gave an assent quite as eagerly and in a moment we were +all walking towards the platform. Despite Lord Ralles, I felt +happy, and especially as I had not dreamed that she would ever +forgive me. + +I took a telegraph blank, and, putting it so that Miss Cullen +could see what I said, wrote,-- + +"Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C. I hold, awaiting your +instructions, the three registered letters stolen from No. 3 +Overland Missouri Western Express on Monday, October fourteenth, +loss of which has already been notified you." + +Then I paused and said, "So far, that's routine, Miss Cullen. Now +comes the help for you," and I continued:-- + +"The letters may have been tampered with, and I recommend a +special agent. Reply Flagstaff, Arizona. RICHARD GORDON, +Superintendent K. & A. R. R." + +"What will that do?" she asked. + +"I'm not much at prophecy, and we'll wait for the reply," I said. + +All that day we lay at Flagstaff, and after a good sleep, as +there was no use keeping the party cooped up in their car, I +drummed up some ponies and took the Cullens and Ackland over to +the Indian cliff-dwellings. I don't think Lord Ralles gained +anything by staying behind in a sulk, for it was a very jolly +ride, or at least that was what it was to me. I had of course to +tell them all how I had settled on them as the criminals, and a +general history of my doings. To hear Miss Cullen talk, one would +have inferred I was the greatest of living detectives. + +"The mistake we made," she asserted, "was not securing Mr. +Gordon's help to begin with, for then we should never have needed +to hold the train up, or if we had we should never have been +discovered." + +What was more to me than this ill-deserved admiration were two +things she said on the way back, when we two had paired off and +were a bit behind the rest. + +"The sandwiches and the whiskey were very good," she told me, +"and I'm so grateful for the trouble you took." + +"It was a pleasure," I said. + +"And, Mr. Gordon," she continued, and then hesitated for a +moment,--"my--Frederic told me that you--you said you honored me +for--?" + +"I do," I exclaimed energetically, as she paused and colored. + +"Do you really?" she cried. "I thought Fred was only trying to +make me less unhappy by saying that you did." + +"I said it, and I meant it," I told her. + +"I have been so miserable over that lie," she went on; "but I +thought if I let you have the letters it would ruin papa. I +really wouldn't mind poverty myself, Mr. Gordon, but he takes +such pride in success that I couldn't be the one to do it. And +then, after you told me that train-robbers were hung, I had to +lie to save them. I ought to have known you would help us." + +I thought this a pretty good time to make a real apology for my +conduct on the trail, as well as to tell her how sorry I was at +not having been able to repack her bag better. She accepted my +apology very sweetly, and assured me her belongings had been put +away so neatly that she had wondered who did it. I knew she only +said this out of kindness, and told her so, telling also of my +struggles over that pink-beribboned and belaced affair, in a way +which made her laugh. I had thought it was a ball gown, and +wondered at her taking it to the Cañon; but she explained that it +was what she called a "throw"--which I told her accounted for the +throes I had gone through over it. It made me open my eyes, +thinking that anything so pretty could be used for the same +purposes for which I use my crash bath-gown, and while my eyes +were open I saw the folly of thinking that a girl who wore such +things would, or in fact could, ever get along on my salary. In +that way the incident was a good lesson for me, for it made me +feel that, even if there had been no Lord Ralles, I still should +have had no chance. + +On our return to the cars there was a telegram from the +Postmaster-General awaiting me. After a glance at it, as the rest +of the party looked anxiously on, I passed it over to Miss +Cullen, for I wanted her to have the triumph of reading it aloud +to them. It read,-- + +"Hold letters pending arrival of special agent Jackson, due in +Flagstaff October twentieth." + +"The election is the eighteenth," Frederic laughed, executing a +war dance on the platform. "The G. S.'s dough is cooked." + +"I must waltz with some one," cried Madge, and before I could +offer she took hold of Albert and the two went whirling about, +much to my envy. The Cullens were about the most jubilant road +agents I had ever seen. + +After consultation with Mr. Cullen, we had 218 and 97 attached to +No. 1 when it arrived, and started for Ash Forks. He wanted to be +on the ground a day in advance, and I could easily be back in +Flagstaff before the arrival of the special agent. + +I took dinner in 218, and they toasted me, as if I had done +something heroic instead of merely having sent a telegram. Later +four sat down to poker, while Miss Cullen, Fred, and I went out +and sat on the platform of the car while Madge played on her +guitar and sang to us. She had a very sweet voice, and before she +had been singing long we had the crew of a "dust express"--as we +jokingly call a gravel train--standing about, and they were +speedily reinforced by many cowboys, who deserted the medley of +cracked pianos or accordions of the Western saloons to listen to +her, and who, not being over-careful in the terms with which they +expressed their approval, finally by their riotous admiration +drove us inside. At Miss Cullen's suggestion we three had a +second game of poker, but with chips and not money. She was an +awfully reckless player, and the luck was dead in my favor, so +Madge kept borrowing my chips, till she was so deep in that we +both lost account. Finally, when we parted for the night she held +out her hand, and, in the prettiest of ways, said,-- + +"I am so deeply in your debt, Mr. Gordon, that I don't see how I +can ever repay you." + +I tried to think of something worth saying, but the words +wouldn't come, and I could only shake her hand. But, duffer as I +was, the way she had said those words, and the double meaning she +had given them, would have made me the happiest fellow alive if I +could only have forgotten the existence of Lord Ralles. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +HOW DID THE SECRET LEAK OUT? + + +I made up for my three nights' lack of sleep by not waking the +next morning till after ten. When I went to 218, I found only the +_chef_, and he told me the party had gone for a ride. Since I +couldn't talk to Madge, I went to work at my desk, for I had been +rather neglecting my routine work. While I still wrote, I heard +horses' hoofs, and, looking up, saw the Cullens returning. I went +out on the platform to wish them good-morning, arriving just in +time to see Lord Ralles help Miss Cullen out of her saddle; and +the way he did it, and the way he continued to hold her hand +after she was down, while he said something to her, made me grit +my teeth and look the other way. None of the riders had seen me, +so I slipped into my car and went back to work. Fred came in +presently to see if I was up yet, and to ask me to lunch, but I +felt so miserable and down-hearted that I made an excuse of my +late breakfast for not joining them. + +After luncheon the party in the other special all came out and +walked up and down the platform, the sound of their voices and +laughter only making me feel the bluer. Before long I heard a rap +on one of my windows, and there was Miss Cullen peering in at me. +The moment I looked up, she called,-- + +"Won't you make one of us, Mr. Misanthrope?" + +I called myself all sorts of a fool, but out I went as eagerly as +if there had been some hope. Miss Cullen began to tease me over +my sudden access of energy, declaring that she was sure it was a +pose for their benefit, or else due to a guilty conscience over +having slept so late. + +"I hoped you would ride with us, though perhaps it wouldn't have +paid you. Apparently there is nothing to see in Ash Forks." + +"There is something that may interest you all," I suggested, +pointing to a special that had been dropped off No. 2 that +morning. + +"What is it?" asked Madge. + +"It's a G. S. special," I said, "and Mr. Camp and Mr. Baldwin and +two G. S. officials came in on it." + +"What do you think he'd give for those letters?" laughed Fred. + +"If they were worth so much to you, I suppose they can't be worth +any less to the G. S.," I replied. + +"Fortunately, there is no way that he can learn where they are," +said Mr. Cullen. + +"Don't let's stand still," cried Miss Cullen. "Mr. Gordon, I'll +run you a race to the end of the platform." She said this only +after getting a big lead, and she got there about eight inches +ahead of me, which pleased her mightily. "It takes men so long +to get started," was the way she explained her victory. Then she +walked me beyond the end of the boarding to explain the workings +of a switch to her. That it was only a pretext she proved to me +the moment I had relocked the bar, by saying,-- + +"Mr. Gordon, may I ask you a question?" + +"Certainly," I assented. + +"It is one I should ask papa or Fred, but I am afraid they might +not tell me the truth. You will, won't you?" she begged, very +earnestly. + +"I will," I promised. + +"Supposing," she continued, "that it became known that you have +those letters? Would it do our side any harm?" + +I thought for a moment, and then shook my head. "No new proxies +could arrive here in time for the election," I said, "and the +ones I have will not be voted." + +She still looked doubtful, and asked, "Then why did papa say just +now, 'Fortunately'?" + +"He merely meant that it was safer they shouldn't know." + +"Then it is better to keep it a secret?" she asked, anxiously. + +"I suppose so," I said, and then added, "Why should you be afraid +of asking your father?" + +"Because he might--well, if he knew, I'm sure he would sacrifice +himself; and I couldn't run the risk." + +"I am afraid I don't understand?" I questioned. + +"I would rather not explain," she said, and of course that ended +the subject. + +Our exercise taken, we went back to the Cullens' car, and Madge +left us to write some letters. A moment later Lord Ralles +remembered he had not written home recently, and he too went +forward to the dining-room. That made me call myself--something, +for not having offered Miss Cullen the use of my desk in 97. +Owing to this the two missed part of the big game we were +playing; for barely were they gone when one of the servants +brought a card to Mr. Cullen, who looked at it and exclaimed, +"Mr. Camp!" Then, after a speaking pause, in which we all +exchanged glances, he said, "Bring him in." + +On Mr. Camp's entrance he looked as much surprised as we had all +done a moment before. "I beg your pardon for intruding, Mr. +Cullen," he said. "I was told that this was Mr. Gordon's car, and +I wish to see him." + +"I am Mr. Gordon." + +"You are travelling with Mr. Cullen?" he inquired, with a touch +of suspicion in his manner. + +"No," I answered. "My special is the next car, and I was merely +enjoying a cigar here." + +"Ah!" said Mr. Camp. "Then I won't interrupt your smoke, and will +only relieve you of those letters of mine." + +I took a good pull at my cigar, and blew the smoke out in a cloud +slowly to gain time. "I don't think I follow you," I said. + +"I understand that you have in your possession three letters +addressed to me." + +"I have," I assented. + +"Then I will ask you to deliver them to me." + +"I can't do that." + +"Why not?" he challenged. "They're my property." + +I produced the Postmaster-General's telegram and read it to him. + +"Why, this is infamous!" Mr. Camp cried. "What use will those +letters be after the eighteenth? It's a conspiracy." + +"I can only obey instructions," I said. + +"It shall cost you your position if you do," Mr. Camp threatened. + +As I've already said, I haven't a good temper, and when he told +me that I couldn't help retorting,-- + +"That's quite on a par with most G. S. methods." + +"I'm not speaking for the G. S., young man," roared Mr. Camp. "I +speak as a director of the Kansas & Arizona. What is more, I +will have those letters inside of twenty-four hours." + +He made an angry exit, and I said to Fred, "I wish you would +stroll about and spy out the proceedings of the enemy's camp. He +may telegraph to Washington, and if there's any chance of the +Postmaster-General revoking his order I must go back to Flagstaff +on No. 4 this afternoon." + +"He sha'n't do anything that I don't know about till he goes to +bed," Fred promised. "But how the deuce did he know that you had +those letters?" + +That was just what we were all puzzling over, for only the +occupants of No. 218 and myself, so far as I knew, were in a +position to let Mr. Camp hear of that fact. + +As Fred made his exit he said, "Don't tell Madge that there is a +new complication, for the dear girl has had worries enough +already." + +Miss Cullen not rejoining us, and Lord Ralles presently doing so, +I went to my own car, for he and I were not good furniture for +the same room. Before I had been there long, Fred came rushing +in. + +"Camp and Baldwin have been in consultation with a lawyer," he +said, "and now the three have just boarded those cars," pointing +out the window at the branch-line train that was to leave for +Phoenix in two minutes. + +"You must go with them," I urged, "and keep us informed as to +what they do, for they evidently are going to set the law on us, +and the G. S. has always owned the Territorial judges, so they'll +stretch a point to oblige them." + +"Have I time to fill a bag?" + +"Plenty," I assured him, and, going out, I ordered the train held +till I should give the word. + +"What does it all mean?" asked Miss Cullen, joining me. + +I laughed, and replied, "I'm doing a braver thing even than your +party did; I'm holding up a train all by my lonesome." + +"But my brother came dashing in just now and said he was starting +for Phoenix." + +"Let her go," I called to the conductor, as Fred jumped aboard; +and the train pulled out. + +"I hope there's nothing wrong?" Madge questioned, anxiously. + +"Nothing to worry over," I laughed. "Only a little more fun for +our money. By the way, Miss Cullen," I went on, to avoid her +questions, "if you have your letters ready, and will let me have +them at once, I can get them on No. 4, so that they'll go East +to-night." + +Miss Cullen blushed as if I had said something I ought not to +have, and stammered, "I--I changed my mind, and--that is--I +didn't write them, after all." + +"I beg your pardon,--I ought to have known; I mean, it's very +natural," I faltered and stuttered, thinking what a dunce I had +been not to understand that both hers and Lord Ralles's letters +had been only a pretext to get away from the rest of us. + +My blundering apology and evident embarrassment deepened Miss +Cullen's blush fivefold, and she explained, hurriedly, "I found +I was tired, and so, instead of writing, I went to my room and +rested." + +I suppose any girl would have invented the same yarn, yet it hurt +me more than the bigger one she had told on Hance's trail. Small +as the incident was, it made me very blue, and led me to shut +myself up in my own car for the rest of that afternoon and +evening. Indeed, I couldn't sleep, but sat up working, quite +forgetful of the passing hours, till a glance at my watch +startled me with the fact that it was a quarter of two. Feeling +like anything more than sleep, I went out on the platform, and, +lighting a cigar, paced up and down, thinking of--well, thinking. + +The night agent was sitting in the station, nodding, and after I +had walked for an hour I went in to ask him if the train to +Phoenix had arrived on time. Just as I opened the door, the +telegraph instrument began clicking, and called Ash Forks. The +man, with the curious ability that operators get of recognizing +their own call, even in sleep, waked up instantly and responded, +and, not wishing to interrupt him, I delayed asking my question +till he should be free. I stood there thinking of Madge, and +listening heedlessly as the instrument ticked off the cipher +signature of the sending operator, and the "twenty-four paid." +But as I heard the clicks ..... .... which meant ph, I suddenly +became attentive, and when it completed "Phoenix" I concluded +Fred was wiring me, and listened for what followed the date. This +is what the instrument ticked:-- + + ... .... . . .. .. .-. .-. .. .. .- ...- .- ..... .- .. + .. . . . ..- -. - .. .. .- ... .... .-. . . . .. -.- ... + .- . .. .. ... . . . -. .- -... . .- - . .. .- .. -- + . .. . . .- -.. ... - .- - .. . . -. - .... . .. . . + .-. . . . .. - .. .. .-. .. ...- . - . . -.. .- .. .. - . . + - - . . - - . .. .- .. -. .- . .. . .. .. ...- .. -. --. + .-. . .. . . - - ..... .... . . . -. .. .-.. ..... . .. . + ..... .- . .. . -.. - . . .. - - - - . -.. .. .- - . -- .. .. + ... . . .. ...- . ..... . . .. . - - ..... - . . . .. .. .. + - - .- -. -.. .- - - ..- ... .. ... ... ..- . -.. - . . + -. .. --. .... - -... .. .. -.-. ..- -.. --. . .-- .. -- + ... . . -. ... .. --. - .... . . . -.. . . . .. . . + .. . .- - - ..... + +That may not look particularly intelligible, but if the Phoenix +operator had been talking over the 'phone to me he couldn't have +said any plainer,-- + +"Sheriff yavapai county ash forks arizona be at railroad station +three forty five today to meet train arriving from phoenix +prepared to immediately serve peremptory mandamus issued tonight +by judge wilson sig theodore e camp." + +My question being pretty thoroughly answered, I went back and +continued my walk; but before five minutes had passed, the +operator came out, and handed me a message. It was from Fred, and +read thus:-- + +"Camp, Baldwin, and lawyer went at once to house of Judge Wilson, +where they stayed an hour. They then returned with judge to +station, and after despatching a telegram have taken seats in +train for Ash Forks, leaving here at three twenty-five. I shall +return with them." + +A bigger idiot than I could have understood the move. I was to be +hauled before Judge Wilson by means of mandamus proceedings, +and, as he was notoriously a G. S. judge, and was coming to Ash +Forks solely to oblige Mr. Camp, he would unquestionably declare +the letters the property of Mr. Camp and order their delivery. + +Apparently I had my choice of being a traitor to Madge, of going +to prison for contempt of court, or of running away, which was +not far off from acknowledging that I had done something wrong. I +didn't like any one of the options. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A TALK BEFORE BREAKFAST + + +Looking at my watch, I found it was a little after three, which +meant six in Washington: allowing for transmission, a telegram +would reach there in time to be on hand with the opening of the +Departments. I therefore wired at once to the following effect:-- + +"Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C. A peremptory mandamus has +been issued by Territorial judge to compel me to deliver to +addressee the three registered letters which by your directions, +issued October sixteenth, I was to hold pending arrival of +special agent Jackson. Service of writ will be made at three +forty-five to-day unless prevented. Telegraph me instructions how +to act." + +That done I had a good tub, took a brisk walk down the track, and +felt so freshened up as to be none the worse for my sleepless +night. I returned to the station a little after six, and, to my +surprise, found Miss Cullen walking up and down the platform. + +"You are up early!" we both said together. + +"Yes," she sighed. "I couldn't sleep last night." + +"You're not unwell, I hope?" + +"No,--except mentally." + +I looked a question, and she went on: "I have some worries, and +then last night I saw you were all keeping some bad news from me, +and so I couldn't sleep." + +"Then we did wrong to make a mystery of it, Miss Cullen," I said, +"for it really isn't anything to trouble about. Mr. Camp is +simply taking legal steps to try to force me to deliver those +letters to him." + +"And can he succeed?" + +"No." + +"How will you stop him?" + +"I don't know yet just what we shall do, but if worse comes to +worse I will allow myself to be committed for contempt of +court." + +"What would they do with you?" + +"Give me free board for a time." + +"Not send you to prison?" + +"Yes." + +"Oh!" she cried, "that mustn't be. You must not make such a +sacrifice for us." + +"I'd do more than that for _you_," I said, and I couldn't help +putting a little emphasis on the last word, though I knew I had +no right to do it. + +She understood me, and blushed rosily, even while she protested, +"It is too much--" + +"There's really no likelihood," I interrupted, "of my being able +to assume a martyr's crown, Miss Cullen; so don't begin to pity +me till I'm behind the bars." + +"But I can't bear to think--" + +"Don't," I interrupted again, rejoicing all the time at her +evident anxiety, and blessing my stars for the luck they had +brought me. "Why, Miss Cullen," I went on, "I've become so +interested in your success and the licking of those fellows that +I really think I'd stand about anything rather than that they +should win. Yesterday, when Mr. Camp threatened to--" Then I +stopped, as it suddenly occurred to me that it was best not to +tell Madge that I might lose my position, for it would look like +a kind of bid for her favor, and, besides, would only add to her +worries. + +"Threatened what?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"Threatened to lose his temper," I answered. + +"You know that wasn't what you were going to say," Madge said +reproachfully. + +"No, it wasn't," I laughed. + +"Then what was it?" + +"Nothing worth speaking about." + +"But I want to know what he threatened." + +"Really, Miss Cullen," I began; but she interrupted me by saying +anxiously,-- + +"He can't hurt papa, can he?" + +"No," I replied. + +"Or my brothers?" + +"He can't touch any of them without my help. And he'll have work +to get that, I suspect." + +"Then why can't you tell me?" demanded Miss Cullen. "Your refusal +makes me think you are keeping back some danger to them." + +"Why, Miss Cullen," I said, "I didn't like to tell his threat, +because it seemed--well, I may be wrong, but I thought it might +look like an attempt--an appeal--Oh, pshaw!" I faltered, like a +donkey,--"I can't say it as I want to put it." + +"Then tell me right out what he threatened," begged Madge. + +"He threatened to get me discharged." + +That made Madge look very sober, and for a moment there was +silence. Then she said,-- + +"I never thought of what you were risking to help us, Mr. Gordon. +And I'm afraid it's too late to--" + +"Don't worry about me," I hastened to interject. "I'm a long way +from being discharged, and, even if I should be, Miss Cullen, I +know my business, and it won't be long before I have another +place." + +"But it's terrible to think of the injury we may have caused +you," sighed Madge, sadly. "It makes me hate the thought of +money." + +"That's a very poor thing to hate," I said, "except the lack of +it." + +"Are you so anxious to get rich?" asked Madge, looking up at me +quickly, as we walked,--for we had been pacing up and down the +platform during our chat. + +"I haven't been till lately." + +"And what made you change?" she questioned. + +"Well," I said, fishing round for some reason other than the true +one, "perhaps I want to take a rest." + +"You are the worst man for fibs I ever knew," she laughed. + +I felt myself getting red, while I exclaimed, "Why, Miss Cullen, +I never set up for a George Washington, but I don't think I'm a +bit worse liar than nine men in--" + +"Oh," she cried, interrupting me, "I didn't mean that way. I +meant that when you try to fib you always do it so badly that one +sees right through you. Now, acknowledge that you wouldn't stop +work if you could?" + +"Well, no, I wouldn't," I owned up. "The truth is, Miss Cullen, +that I'd like to be rich, because--well, hang it, I don't care if +I do say it--because I'm in love." + +Madge laughed at my confusion, and asked, "With money?" + +"No," I said. "With just the nicest, sweetest, prettiest girl in +the world." + +Madge took a look at me out of the corner of her eye, and +remarked, "It must be breakfast time." + +Considering that it was about six-thirty, I wanted to ask who was +telling a taradiddle now; but I resisted the temptation, and +replied,-- + +"No. And I promise not to bother you about my private affairs any +more." + +Madge laughed again merrily, saying, "You are the most obvious +man I ever met. Now why did you say that?" + +"I thought you were making breakfast an excuse," I said, "because +you didn't like the subject." + +"Yes, I was," said Madge, frankly. "Tell me about the girl you +are engaged to." + +I was so taken aback that I stopped in my walk, and merely looked +at her. + +"For instance," she asked coolly, when she saw that I was +speechless, "what does she look like?" + +"Like, like--" I stammered, still embarrassed by this bold +carrying of the war into my own camp,--"like an angel." + +"Oh," said Madge, eagerly, "I've always wanted to know what +angels were like. Describe her to me." + +"Well," I said, getting my second wind, so to speak, "she has the +bluest eyes I've ever seen. Why, Miss Cullen, you said you'd +never seen anything so blue as the sky yesterday; but even the +atmosphere of 'rainless Arizona' has to take a back seat when +her eyes are round. And they are just like the atmosphere out +here. You can look into them for a hundred miles, but you can't +get to the bottom." + +"The Arizona sky is wonderful," said Madge. "How do the +scientists account for it?" + +I wasn't going to have my description of Miss Cullen +side-tracked, for, since she had given me the chance, I wanted +her to know just what I thought of her. Therefore I didn't follow +lead on the Arizona skies, but went on,-- + +"And I really think her hair is just as beautiful as her eyes. +It's light brown, very curly, and--" + +"Her complexion!" exclaimed Madge. "Is she a mulatto? And, if so, +how can a complexion be curly?" + +"Her complexion," I said, not a bit rattled, "is another great +beauty of hers. She has one of those skins--" + +"Furs are out of fashion at present," she interjected, laughing +wickedly. + +"Now look here, Miss Cullen," I cried, indignantly, "I'm not +going to let even you make fun of her." + +"I can't help it," she laughed, "when you look so serious and +intense." + +"It's something I feel intense about, Miss Cullen," I said, not a +little pained, I confess, at the way she was joking. I don't mind +a bit being laughed at, but Miss Cullen knew, about as well as I, +whom I was talking about, and it seemed to me she was laughing at +my love for her. Under this impression I went on, "I suppose it +is funny to you; probably so many men have been in love with you +that a man's love for a woman has come to mean very little in +your eyes. But out here we don't make a joke of love, and when we +care for a woman we care--well, it's not to be put in words, Miss +Cullen." + +"I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Mr. Gordon," said +Madge, gently, and quite serious now. "I ought not to have tried +to tease you." + +"There!" I said, my irritation entirely gone. "I had no right to +lose my temper, and I'm sorry I spoke so unkindly. The truth is, +Miss Cullen, the girl I care for is in love with another man, and +so I'm bitter and ill-natured in these days." + +My companion stopped walking at the steps of 218, and asked, "Has +she told you so?" + +"No," I answered. "But it's as plain as she's pretty." + +Madge ran up the steps and opened the door of the car. As she +turned to close it, she looked down at me with the oddest of +expressions, and said,-- + +"How dreadfully ugly she must be!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +WAITING FOR HELP + + +If ever a fellow was bewildered by a single speech, it was +Richard Gordon. I walked up and down that platform till I was +called to breakfast, trying to decide what Miss Cullen had meant +to express, only to succeed in reading fifty different meanings +into her parting six words. I wanted to think that it was her way +of suggesting that I deceived myself in thinking that there was +anything between Lord Ralles and herself; but, though I wished to +believe this, I had seen too much to the contrary to take stock +in the idea. Yet I couldn't believe that Madge was a coquette; I +became angry and hot with myself for even thinking it for a +moment. + +Puzzle as I did over the words, I managed to eat a good +breakfast, and then went into the Cullens' car and electrified +the party by telling them of Camp's and Fred's despatches, and +how I had come to overhear the former. Mr. Cullen and Albert +couldn't say enough about my cleverness in what had really been +pure luck, and seemed to think I had sat up all night in order to +hear that telegram. The person for whose opinion I cared the +most--Miss Cullen--didn't say anything, but she gave me a look +that set my heart beating like a trip-hammer and made me put the +most hopeful construction on that speech of hers. It seemed +impossible that she didn't care for Lord Ralles, and that she +might care for me; but, after having had no hope whatsoever, the +smallest crumb of a chance nearly lifted me off my feet. + +We had a consultation over what was best to be done, but didn't +reach any definite conclusion till the station-agent brought me a +telegram from the Postmaster-General. Breaking it open, I read +aloud,-- + +"Do not allow service of writ, and retain possession of letters +according to prior instructions. At the request of this +department, the Secretary of War has directed the commanding +officer at Fort Whipple to furnish you with military protection, +and you will call upon him at once, if in your judgment it is +necessary. On no account surrender United States property to +Territorial authorities. Keep Department notified." + +"Oh, splendid!" cried Madge, clapping her hands. + +"Mr. Camp will find that other people can give surprise parties +as well as himself," I said cheerfully. + +"You'll telegraph at once?" asked Mr. Cullen. + +"Instantly," I said, rising, and added, "Don't you want to see +what I say, Miss Cullen?" + +"Of course I do," she cried, jumping up eagerly. + +Lord Ralles scowled as he said, "Yes; let's see what Mr. +Superintendent has to say." + +"You needn't trouble yourself," I remarked, but he followed us +into the station. I was disgusted, but at the same time it seemed +to me that he had come because he was jealous; and that wasn't an +unpleasant thought. Whatever his motive, he was a third party in +the writing of that telegram, and had to stand by while Miss +Cullen and I discussed and draughted it. I didn't try to make it +any too brief, not merely asking for a guard and when I might +expect it, but giving as well a pretty full history of the case, +which was hardly necessary. + +"You'll bankrupt yourself," laughed Madge. "You must let us pay." + +"I'll let you pay, Miss Cullen, if you want," I offered. "How +much is it, Welply?" I asked, shoving the blanks in to the +operator. + +"Nothin' for a lady," said Welply, grinning. + +"There, Miss Cullen," I asked, "does the East come up to that in +gallantry?" + +"Do you really mean that there is no charge?" demanded Madge, +incredulously, with her purse in her hand. + +"That's the size of it," said the operator. + +"I'm not going to believe that!" cried Madge. "I know you are +only deceiving me, and I really want to pay." + +I laughed as I said, "Sometimes railroad superintendents can send +messages free, Miss Cullen." + +"How silly of me!" exclaimed Madge. Then she remarked, "How nice +it is to be a railroad superintendent, Mr. Gordon! I should like +to be one myself." + +That speech really lifted me off my feet, but while I was +thinking what response to make, I came down to earth with a +bounce. + +"Since the telegram's done," said Lord Ralles to Miss Cullen, in +a cool, almost commanding tone, "suppose we take a walk." + +"I don't think I care to this morning," answered Madge. + +"I think you had better," insisted his lordship, with such a +manner that I felt inclined to knock him down. + +To my surprise, Madge seemed to hesitate, and finally said, +"I'll walk up and down the platform, if you wish." + +Lord Ralles nodded, and they went out, leaving me in a state of +mingled amazement and rage at the way he had cut me out. Try as I +would, I wasn't able to hit upon any theory that supplied a +solution to the conduct of either Lord Ralles or Miss Cullen, +unless they were engaged and Miss Cullen displeased him by her +behavior to me. But Madge seemed such an honest, frank girl that +I'd have believed anything sooner than that she was only playing +with me. + +If I was perplexed, I wasn't going to give Lord Ralles the right +of way, and as soon as I had made certain that the telegram was +safely started I joined the walkers. I don't think any of us +enjoyed the hour that followed, but I didn't care how miserable I +was myself, so long as I was certain that I was blocking Lord +Ralles; and his grumpiness showed very clearly that my presence +did that. As for Madge, I couldn't make her out. I had always +thought I understood women a little, but her conduct was beyond +understanding. + +Apparently Miss Cullen didn't altogether relish her position, for +presently she said she was going to the car. "I'm sure you and +Lord Ralles will be company enough for each other," she +predicted, giving me a flash of her eyes which showed them full +of suppressed merriment, even while her face was grave. + +In spite of her prediction, the moment she was gone Lord Ralles +and I pulled apart about as quickly as a yard-engine can split a +couple of cars. + +I moped around for an hour, too unsettled mentally to do anything +but smoke, and only waiting for an invitation or for some excuse +to go into 218. About eleven o'clock I obtained the latter in +another telegram, and went into the car at once. + +"Telegram received," I read triumphantly. "A detail of two +companies of the Twelfth Cavalry, under the command of Captain +Singer, is ordered to Ash Forks, and will start within an hour, +arriving at five o'clock. C. D. OLMSTEAD, Adjutant." + +"That won't do, Gordon," cried Mr. Cullen. "The mandamus will be +here before that." + +"Oh, don't say there is something more wrong!" sighed Madge. + +"Won't it be safer to run while there is still time?" suggested +Albert, anxiously. + +"I was born lazy about running away," I said. + +"Oh, but please, just for once," Madge begged. "We know already +how brave you are." + +I thought for a moment, not so much objecting, in truth, to the +running away as to the running away from Madge. + +"I'd do it for you," I said, looking at Miss Cullen so that she +understood this time what I meant, without my using any emphasis, +"but I don't see any need of making myself uncomfortable, when I +can make the other side so. Come along and see if my method isn't +quite as good." + +We went to the station, and I told the operator to call Rock +Butte; then I dictated: + +"Direct conductor of Phoenix No. 3 on its arrival at Rock +Butte to hold it there till further orders. RICHARD GORDON, +Superintendent." + +"That will save my running and their chasing," I laughed; "though +I'm afraid a long wait in Rock Butte won't improve their +tempers." + +The next few hours were pretty exciting ones to all of us, as +can well be imagined. Most of the time was spent, I have to +confess, in manoeuvres and struggles between Lord Ralles and +myself as to which should monopolize Madge, without either of us +succeeding. I was so engrossed with the contest that I forgot +all about the passage of time, and only when the sheriff +strolled up to the station did I realize that the climax was at +hand. As a joke I introduced him to the Cullens, and we all +stood chatting till far out on the hill to the south I saw a +cloud of dust and quietly called Miss Cullen's attention to it. +She and I went to 97 for my field-glasses, and the moment Madge +looked through them she cried,-- + +"Yes, I can see horses, and, oh, there are the stars and stripes! +I don't think I ever loved them so much before." + +"I suppose we civilians will have to take a back seat now, Miss +Cullen?" I said; and she answered me with a demure smile +worth--well, I'm not going to put a value on that smile. + +"They'll be here very quickly," she almost sang. + +"You forget the clearness of the air," I said, and then asked the +sheriff how far away the dust-cloud was. + +"Yer mean that cattle-drive?" he asked. "'Bout ten miles." + +"You seem to think of everything," exclaimed Miss Cullen, as if +my knowing that distances are deceptive in Arizona was wonderful. +I sometimes think one gets the most praise in this world for what +least deserves it. + +I waited half an hour to be safe, and then released No. 3, just +as we were called to luncheon; and this time I didn't refuse the +invitation to eat mine in 218. + +We didn't hurry over the meal, and towards the end I took to +looking at my watch, wondering what could keep the cavalry from +arriving. + +"I hope there is no danger of the train arriving first, is +there?" asked Madge. + +"Not the slightest," I assured her. "The train won't be here for +an hour, and the cavalry had only five miles to cover forty +minutes ago. I must say, they seem to be taking their time." + +"There they are now!" cried Albert. + +Listening, we heard the clatter of horses' feet, going at a good +pace, and we all rose and went to the windows, to see the +arrival. Our feelings can be judged when across the tracks came +only a mob of thirty or forty cowboys, riding in their usual +"show-off" style. + +"The deuce!" I couldn't help exclaiming, in my surprise. "Are +you sure you saw a flag, Miss Cullen?" + +"Why--I--thought--" she faltered. "I saw something red, and--I +supposed of course--" + +Not waiting to let her finish, I exclaimed, "There's been a fluke +somewhere, I'm afraid; but we are still in good shape, for the +train can't possibly be here under an hour. I'll get my +field-glasses and have another look before I decide what--" + +My speech was interrupted by the entrance of the sheriff and Mr. +Camp! + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE LETTERS CHANGE HANDS AGAIN + + +What seemed at the moment an incomprehensible puzzle had, as we +afterwards learned, a very simple explanation. One of the G. S. +directors, Mr. Baldwin, who had come in on Mr. Camp's car, was +the owner of a great cattle-ranch near Rock Butte. When the train +had been held at that station for a few minutes, Camp went to the +conductor, demanded the cause for the delay, and was shown my +telegram. Seeing through the device, the party had at once gone +to this ranch, where the owner, Baldwin, mounted them, and it was +their dust-cloud we had seen as they rode up to Ash Forks. To +make matters more serious, Baldwin had rounded up his cowboys and +brought them along with him, in order to make any resistance +impossible. + +I made no objection to the sheriff serving the paper, though it +nearly broke my heart to see Madge's face. To cheer her I said, +suggestively, "They've got me, but they haven't got the letters, +Miss Cullen. And, remember, it's always darkest before the dawn, +and the stars in their courses are against Sisera." + +With the sheriff and Mr. Camp I then walked over to the saloon, +where Judge Wilson was waiting to dispose of my case. Mr. Cullen +and Albert tried to come too, but all outsiders were excluded by +order of the "court." I was told to show cause why I should not +forthwith produce the letters, and answered that I asked an +adjournment of the case so that I might be heard by counsel. It +was denied, as was to have been expected; indeed, why they took +the trouble to go through the forms was beyond me. I told Wilson +I should not produce the letters, and he asked if I knew what +that meant. I couldn't help laughing and retorting,-- + +"It very appropriately means 'contempt of the court,' your +honor." + +"I'll give you a stiff term, young man," he said. + +"It will take just one day to have habeas corpus proceedings in a +United States court, and one more to get the papers here," I +rejoined pleasantly. + +Seeing that I understood the moves too well to be bluffed, the +judge, Mr. Camp, and the lawyer held a whispered consultation. My +surprise can be imagined when, at its conclusion, Mr. Camp +said,-- + +"Your honor, I charge Richard Gordon with being concerned in the +holding up of the Missouri Western Overland No. 3 on the night of +October 14, and ask that he be taken into custody on that +charge." + +I couldn't make out this new move, and puzzled over it, while +Judge Wilson ordered my commitment. But the next step revealed +the object, for the lawyer then asked for a search-warrant to +look for stolen property. The judge was equally obliging, and +began to fill one out on the instant. + +This made me feel pretty serious, for the letters were in my +breast-pocket, and I swore at my own stupidity in not having put +them in the station safe when I had first arrived at Ash Forks. +There weren't many moments in which to think while the judge +scribbled away at the warrant, but in what time there was I did a +lot of head-work, without, however, finding more than one way out +of the snarl. And when I saw the judge finish off his signature +with a flourish, I played a pretty desperate card. + +"You're just too late, gentlemen," I said, pointing out the side +window of the saloon. "There come the cavalry." + +The three conspirators jumped to their feet and bolted for the +window; even the sheriff turned to look. As he did so I gave him +a shove towards the three which sent them all sprawling on the +floor in a pretty badly mixed-up condition. I made a dash for the +door, and as I went through it I grabbed the key and locked them +in. When I turned to do so I saw the lot struggling up from the +floor, and, knowing that it wouldn't take them many seconds to +find their way out through the window, I didn't waste much time +in watching them. + +Camp, Baldwin, and the judge had left their horses just outside +the saloon, and there they were still patiently standing, with +their bridles thrown over their heads, as only Western horses +will stand. It didn't take me long to have those bridles back in +place, and as I tossed each over the peak of the Mexican saddle I +gave two of the ponies slaps which started them off at a lope +across the railroad tracks. I swung myself into the saddle of the +third, and flicked him with the loose ends of the bridle in a way +which made him understand that I meant business. + +Baldwin's cowboys had most of them scattered to the various +saloons of the place, but two of them were standing in the +door-way of a store. I acted so quickly, however, that they +didn't seem to take in what I was about till I was well mounted. +Then I heard a yell, and fearing that they might shoot,--for the +cowboy does love to use his gun,--I turned sharp at the saloon +corner and rode up the side street, just in time to see Camp +climbing through the window, with Baldwin's head in view behind +him. + +Before I had ridden a hundred feet I realized that I had a +done-up horse under me, and, considering that he had covered over +forty miles that afternoon in pretty quick time, it was not +surprising that there wasn't very much go left in him. I knew +that Baldwin's cowboys could get new mounts in plenty without +wasting many minutes, and that then they would overhaul me in +very short order. Clearly there was no use in my attempting to +escape by running. And, as I wasn't armed, my only hope was to +beat them by some finesse. + +Ash Forks, like all Western railroad towns, is one long line of +buildings running parallel with the railway tracks. Two hundred +feet, therefore, brought me to the edge of the town, and I +wheeled my pony and rode down behind the rear of the buildings. +In turning, I looked back, and saw half a dozen mounted men +already in pursuit, but I lost sight of them the next moment. As +soon as I reached a street leading back to the railroad I turned +again, and rode towards it, my one thought being to get back, if +possible, to the station, and put the letters into the railroad +agent's safe. + +When I reached the main street I saw that my hope was futile, for +another batch of cowboys were coming in full gallop towards me, +very thoroughly heading me off in that direction. To escape them, +I headed up the street away from the station, with the pack in +close pursuit. They yelled at me to hold up, and I expected every +moment to hear the crack of revolvers, for the poorest shot among +them would have found no difficulty in dropping my horse at that +distance if they had wanted to stop me. It isn't a very nice +sensation to keep your ears pricked up in expectation of hearing +the shooting begin, and to know that any moment may be your +last. I don't suppose I was on the ragged edge more than thirty +seconds, but they were enough to prove to me that to keep one's +back turned to an enemy as one runs away takes a deal more pluck +than to stand up and face his gun. Fortunately for me, my +pursuers felt so sure of my capture that not one of them drew a +bead on me. + +The moment I saw that there was no escape, I put my hand in my +breast-pocket and took out the letters, intending to tear them +into a hundred pieces. But as I did so I realized that to destroy +United States mail not merely entailed criminal liability, but +was off color morally. I faltered, balancing the outwitting of +Camp against State's prison, the doing my best for Madge against +the wrong of it. I think I'm as honest a fellow as the average, +but I have to confess that I couldn't decide to do right till I +thought that Madge wouldn't want me to be dishonest, even for +her. + +I turned across the railroad tracks, and cut in behind some +freight-cars that were standing on a siding. This put me out of +view of my pursuers for a moment, and in that instant I stood up +in my stirrups, lifted the broad leather flap of the saddle, and +tucked the letters underneath it, as far in as I could force +them. It was a desperate place in which to hide them, but the +game was a desperate one at best, and the very boldness of the +idea might be its best chance of success. + +I was now heading for the station over the ties, and was +surprised to see Fred Cullen with Lord Ralles on the tracks up +by the special, for my mind had been so busy in the last hour +that I had forgotten that Fred was due. The moment I saw him, I +rode towards him, pressing my pony for all he was worth. My hope +was that I might get time to give Fred the tip as to where the +letters were; but before I was within speaking distance Baldwin +came running out from behind the station, and, seeing me, +turned, called back and gesticulated, evidently to summon some +cowboys to head me off. Afraid to shout anything which should +convey the slightest clue as to the whereabouts of the letters, +as the next best thing I pulled a couple of old section reports +from my pocket, intending to ride up and run into my car, for I +knew that the papers in my hand would be taken to be the wanted +letters, and that if I could only get inside the car even for a +moment the suspicion would be that I had been able to hide them. +Unfortunately, the plan was no sooner thought of than I heard +the whistle of a lariat, and before I could guard myself the +noose settled over my head. I threw the papers towards Fred and +Lord Ralles, shouting, "Hide them!" Fred was quick as a flash, +and, grabbing them off the ground, sprang up the steps of my car +and ran inside, just escaping a bullet from my pursuers. I tried +to pull up my pony, for I did not want to be jerked off, but I +was too late, and the next moment I was lying on the ground in a +pretty well shaken and jarred condition, surrounded by a lot of +men. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +AN EVENING IN JAIL + + +Before my ideas had had time to straighten themselves out, I was +lifted to my feet, and half pushed, half lifted to the station +platform. Camp was already there, and as I took this fact in I +saw Frederic and his lordship pulled through the door-way of my +car by the cowboys and dragged out on the platform beside me. The +reports were now in Lord Ralles's hands. + +"That's what we want, boys," cried Camp. "Those letters." + +"Take your hands off me," said Lord Ralles, coolly, "and I'll +give them to you." + +The men who had hold of his arms let go of him, and quick as a +flash Ralles tore the papers in two. He tried to tear them once +more, but, before he could do so, half a dozen men were holding +him, and the papers were forced out of his hands. + +Albert Cullen--for all of them were on the platform of 218 by +this time--shouted, "Well done, Ralles!" quite forgetting in the +excitement of the moment his English accent and drawl. + +Apparently Camp didn't agree with him, for he ripped out a +string of oaths which he impartially divided among Ralles, the +cowboys, and myself. I was decidedly sorry that I hadn't given +the real letters, for his lordship clearly had no scruple about +destroying them, and I knew few men whom I would have seen +behind prison-bars with as little personal regret. However, no +one had, so far as I could see, paid the slightest attention to +the pony, and the probabilities were that he was already headed +for Baldwin's ranch, with no likelihood of his stopping till he +reached home. At least that was what I hoped; but there were a +lot of ponies standing about, and, not knowing the markings of +the one I had ridden, I wasn't able to tell whether he might not +be among them. + +Just as the fragments of the papers were passed over to Mr. Camp, +he was joined by Baldwin and the judge, and Camp held the torn +pieces up to them, saying,-- + +"They've torn the proxies in two." + +"Don't let that trouble you," said the judge. "Make an affidavit +before me, reciting the manner in which they were destroyed, and +I'll grant you a mandamus compelling the directors to accept them +as bona-fide proxies. Let me see how much injured they are." + +Camp unfolded the papers, and I chuckled to myself at the look of +surprise that overspread his face as he took in the fact that +they were nothing but section reports. And, though I don't like +cuss-words, I have to acknowledge that I enjoyed the two or three +that he promptly ejaculated. + +When the first surprise of the trio was over, they called on the +sheriff, who arrived opportunely, to take us into 97 and search +the three of us,--a proceeding that puzzled Fred and his lordship +not a little, for they weren't on to the fact that the letters +hadn't been recovered. I presume the latter will some day write a +book dwelling on the favorite theme of the foreigner, that there +is no personal privacy in America, and I don't know but his +experiences justify the view. The running remarks as the search +was made seemed to open Fred's eyes, for he looked at me with a +puzzled air, but I winked and frowned at him, and he put his face +in order. + +When the papers were not found on any of us, Camp and Baldwin +both nearly went demented. Baldwin suggested that I had never had +the papers, but Camp argued that Fred or Lord Ralles must have +hidden them in the car, in spite of the fact that the cowboys who +had caught them insisted that they couldn't have had time to hide +the papers. Anyway, they spent an hour in ferreting about in my +car, and even searched my two darkies, on the possibility that +the true letters had been passed on to them. + +While they were engaged in this, I was trying to think out some +way of letting Mr. Cullen and Albert know where the letters were. +The problem was to suggest the saddle to them, without letting +the cowboys understand, and by good luck I thought I had the +means. Albert had complained to me the day we had ridden out to +the Indian dwellings at Flagstaff that his saddle fretted some +galled spots which he had chafed on his trip to Moran's Point. +Hoping he would "catch on," I shouted to him,-- + +"How are your sore spots, Albert?" + +He looked at me in a puzzled way, and called, "Aw, I don't +understand you." + +"Those sore spots you complained about to me the day before +yesterday," I explained. + +He didn't seem any the less befogged as he replied, "I had +forgotten all about them." + +"I've got a touch of the same trouble," I went on; "and, if I +were you, I'd look into the cause." + +Albert only looked very much mystified, and I didn't dare say +more, for at this point the trio, with the sheriff, came out of +my car. If I hadn't known that the letters were safe, I could +have read the story in their faces, for more disgusted and +angry-looking men I have rarely seen. + +They had a talk with the sheriff, and then Fred, Lord Ralles, and +I were marched off by the official, his lordship loudly demanding +sight of a warrant, and protesting against the illegality of his +arrest, varied at moments by threats to appeal to the British +consul, minister plenipo., Her Majesty's Foreign Office, etc., +all of which had about as much influence on the sheriff and his +cowboy assistants as a Moqui Indian snake-dance would have in +stopping a runaway engine. I confess to feeling a certain grim +satisfaction in the fact that if I was to be shut off from seeing +Madge, the Britisher was in the same box with me. + +Ash Forks, though only six years old, had advanced far enough +towards civilization to have a small jail, and into that we were +shoved. Night was come by the time we were lodged there, and, +being in pretty good appetite, I struck the sheriff for some +grub. + +"I'll git yer somethin'," he said, good-naturedly; "but next time +yer shove people, Mr. Gordon, just quit shovin' yer friends. My +shoulder feels like--" perhaps it's just as well not to say what +his shoulder felt like. The Western vocabulary is expressive, but +at times not quite fit for publication. + +The moment the sheriff was gone, Fred wanted the mystery of the +letters explained, and I told him all there was to tell, +including as good a description of the pony as I could give him. +We tried to hit on some plan to get word to those outside, but it +wasn't to be done. At least it was a point gained that some one +of our party besides myself knew where the letters were. + +The sheriff returned presently with a loaf of canned bread and a +tin of beans. If I had been alone, I should have kicked at the +food and got permission for my darkies to send me up something +from 97; but I thought I'd see how Lord Ralles would like genuine +Western fare, so I said nothing. That, I have to state, is +more--or rather less--than the Britisher did, after he had +sampled the stuff; and really I don't blame him, much as I +enjoyed his rage and disgust. + +It didn't take long to finish our supper, and then Fred, who +hadn't slept much the night before, stretched out on the floor +and went to sleep. Lord Ralles and I sat on boxes--the only +furniture the room contained--about as far apart as we could get, +he in the sulks, and I whistling cheerfully. I should have liked +to be with Madge, but he wasn't; so there was some compensation, +and I knew that time was playing the cards in our favor: so long +as they hadn't found the letters we had only to sit still to +win. + +About an hour after supper, the sheriff came back and told me +Camp and Baldwin wanted to see me. I saw no reason to object, so +in they came, accompanied by the judge. Baldwin opened the ball +by saying genially,-- + +"Well, Mr. Gordon, you've played a pretty cute gamble, and I +suppose you think you stand to win the pot." + +"I'm not complaining," I said. + +"Still," snarled Camp, angrily, as if my contented manner fretted +him, "our time will come presently, and we can make it pretty +uncomfortable for you. Illegal proceedings put a man in jail in +the long run." + +"I hope you take your lesson to heart," I remarked cheerfully, +which made Camp scowl worse than ever. + +"Now," said Baldwin, who kept cool, "we know you are not risking +loss of position and the State's prison for nothing, and we want +to know what there is in it for you?" + +"I wouldn't stake my chance of State's prison against yours, +gentlemen. And, while I may lose my position, I'll be a long way +from starvation." + +"That doesn't tell us what Cullen gives you to take the risk." + +"Mr. Cullen hasn't given, or even hinted that he'll give, +anything." + +"And Mr. Gordon hasn't asked, and, if I know him, wouldn't take a +cent for what he has done," said Fred, rising from the floor. + +"You mean to say you are doing it for nothing?" exclaimed Camp, +incredulously. + +"That's about the truth of it," I said; though I thought of Madge +as I said it, and felt guilty in suggesting that she was nothing. + +"Then what is your motive?" cried Baldwin. + +If there had been any use, I should have replied, "The right;" +but I knew that they would only think I was posing if I said it. +Instead I replied: "Mr. Cullen's party has the stock majority in +their favor, and would have won a fair fight if you had played +fair. Since you didn't, I'm doing my best to put things to +rights." + +Camp cried, "All the more fool--" but Baldwin interrupted him by +saying,-- + +"That only shows what a mean cuss Cullen is. He ought to give you +ten thousand, if he gives you a cent." + +"Yes," cried Camp, "those letters are worth money, whether he's +offered it or not." + +"Mr. Cullen never so much as hinted paying me," said I. + +"Well, Mr. Gordon," said Baldwin, suavely, "we'll show you that +we can be more liberal. Though the letters rightfully belong to +Mr. Camp, if you'll deliver them to us we'll see that you don't +lose your place, and we'll give you five thousand dollars." + +I glanced at Fred, whom I found looking at me anxiously, and +asked him,-- + +"Can't you do better than that?" + +"We could with any one but you," said Fred. + +I should have liked to shake hands over this compliment, but I +only nodded, and turning to Mr. Camp, said,-- + +"You see how mean they are." + +"You'll find we are not built that way," said Baldwin. "Five +thousand isn't a bad day's work, eh?" + +"No," I said, laughing; "but you just told me I ought to get ten +thousand if I got a cent." + +"It's worth ten to Mr. Cullen, but--" + +I interrupted by saying, "If it's worth ten to him, it's worth a +hundred to me." + +That was too much for Camp. First he said something best omitted, +and then went on, "I told you it was waste time trying to win him +over." + +The three stood apart for a moment whispering, and then Judge +Wilson called the sheriff over, and they all went out together. +The moment we were alone, Frederic held out his hand, and +said,-- + +"Gordon, it's no use saying anything, but if we can ever do--" + +I merely shook hands, but I wanted the worst way to say,-- + +"Tell Madge what I've done, and the thing's square." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A LESSON IN POLITENESS + + +Within five minutes we had a big surprise, for the sheriff and +Mr. Baldwin came back, and the former announced that Fred and +Lord Ralles were free, having been released on bail. When we +found that Baldwin had gone on the bond, I knew that there was a +scheme of some sort in the move, and, taking Fred aside, I warned +him against trying to recover the proxies. + +"They probably think that one or the other of you knows where the +letters are hidden," I whispered, "and they'll keep a watch on +you; so go slow." + +He nodded, and followed the sheriff and Lord Ralles out. + +The moment they were gone, Mr. Camp said, "I came back to give +you a last chance." + +"That's very good of you," I said. + +"I warn you," he muttered threateningly, "we are not men to be +beaten. There are fifty cowboys of Baldwin's in this town, who +think you were concerned in the holding up. By merely tipping +them the wink, they'll have you out of this, and after they've +got you outside I wouldn't give the toss of a nickel for your +life. Now, then, will you hand over those letters, or will you go +to ---- inside of ten minutes?" + +I lost my temper in turn. "I'd much prefer going to some place +where I was less sure of meeting you," I retorted; "and as for +the cowboys, you'll have to be as tricky with them as you want to +be with me before you'll get them to back you up in your dirty +work." + +At this point the sheriff called back to ask Camp if he was +coming. + +"All right," cried Camp, and went to the door. "This is the last +call," he snarled, pausing for a moment on the threshold. + +"I hope so," said I, more calmly in manner than in feeling, I +have to acknowledge, for I didn't like the look of things. That +they were in earnest I felt pretty certain, for I understood now +why they had let my companions out of jail. They knew that angry +cowboys were a trifle undiscriminating, and didn't care to risk +hanging more than was necessary. + +A long time seemed to pass after they were gone, but in reality +it wasn't more than fifteen minutes before I heard some one steal +up and softly unlock the door. I confess the evident endeavor to +do it quietly gave me a scare, for it seemed to me it couldn't be +an above-board movement. Thinking this, I picked up the box on +which I had been sitting and prepared to make the best fight I +could. It was a good deal of relief, therefore, when the door +opened just wide enough for a man to put in his head, and I heard +the sheriff's voice say, softly,-- + +"Hi, Gordon!" + +I was at the door in an instant, and asked,-- + +"What's up?" + +"They're gettin' the fellers together, and sayin' that yer shot a +woman in the hold-up." + +"It's an infernal lie," I said. + +"Sounds that way to me," assented the sheriff; "but two-thirds of +the boys are drunk, and it's a long time since they've had any +fun." + +"Well," I said, as calmly as I could, "are you going to stand by +me?" + +"I would, Mr. Gordon," he replied, "if there was any good, but +there ain't time to get a posse, and what's one Winchester +against a mob of cowboys like them?" + +"If you'll lend me your gun," I said, "I'll show just what it is +worth, without troubling you." + +"I'll do better than that," offered the sheriff, "and that's what +I'm here for. Just sneak, while there's time." + +"You mean--?" I exclaimed. + +"That's it. I'm goin' away, and I'll leave the door unlocked. If +yer get clear let me know yer address, and later, if I want yer, +I'll send yer word." He took a grip on my fingers that numbed +them as if they had been caught in an air-brake, and disappeared. + +I slipped out after the sheriff without loss of time. That there +wasn't much to spare was shown by a crowd with some torches down +the street, collected in front of a saloon. They were making a +good deal of noise, even for the West; evidently the flame was +being fanned. Not wasting time, I struck for the railroad, +because I knew the geography of that best, but still more because +I wanted to get to the station. It was a big risk to go there, +but it was one I was willing to take for the object I had in +view, and, since I had to take it, it was safest to get through +with the job before the discovery was made that I was no longer +in jail. + +It didn't take me three minutes to reach the station. The whole +place was black as a coal-dumper, except for the slices of light +which shone through the cracks of the curtained windows in the +specials, the dim light of the lamp in the station, and the glow +of the row of saloons two hundred feet away. I was afraid, +however, that there might be a spy lurking somewhere, for it was +likely that Camp would hope to get some clue of the letters by +keeping a watch on the station and the cars. Thinking boldness the +safest course, I walked on to the platform without hesitation, and +went into the station. The "night man" was sitting in his chair, +nodding, but he waked up the moment I spoke. + +"Don't speak my name," I said, warningly, as he struggled to his +feet; and then in the fewest possible words I told him what I +wanted of him,--to find if the pony I had ridden (Camp's or +Baldwin's) was in town and, if so, to learn where it was, and to +get the letters on the quiet from under the saddle-flap. I chose +this man, first, because I could trust him, and next, because I +had only one of the Cullens as an alternative, and if any of them +went sneaking round, it would be sure to attract attention. "The +moment you have the letters, put them in the station safe," I +ended, "and then get word to me." + +"And where'll you be, Mr. Gordon?" asked the man. + +"Is there any place about here that's a safe hiding spot for a +few hours?" I asked. "I want to stay till I'm sure those letters +are safe, and after that I'll steal on board the first train that +comes along." + +"Then you'll want to be near here," said the man. "I'll tell you, +I've got just the place for you. The platform's boarded in all +round, but I noticed one plank that's loose at one end, right at +this nigh corner, and if you just pry it open enough to get in, +and then pull the board in place, they'll never find you." + +"That will do," I said; "and when the letters are safe, come out +on the platform, walk up and down once, bang the door twice, and +then say, 'That way freight is late.' And if you get a chance, +tell one of the Cullens where I'm hidden." + +I crossed the platform boldly, jumped down, and walked away. But +after going fifty feet I dropped down on my hands and knees and +crawled back. Inside of two minutes I was safely stowed away +under the platform, in about as neat a hiding-place as a man +could ask. In fact, if I had only had my wits enough about me to +borrow a revolver of the man, I could have made a pretty good +defence, even if discovered. + +Underneath the platform was loose gravel, and, as an additional +precaution, I scooped out, close to the side-boarding, a trough +long enough for me to lie in. Then I got into the hole, shovelled +the sand over my legs, and piled the rest up in a heap close to +me, so that by a few sweeps of my arm I could cover my whole +body, leaving only my mouth and nose exposed, and those below the +level. That made me feel pretty safe, for, even if the cowboys +found the loose plank and crawled in, it would take uncommon good +eyesight, in the darkness, to find me. I had hollowed out my +living grave to fit, and if I could have smoked, I should have +been decidedly comfortable. Sleep I dared not indulge in, and the +sequel showed that I was right in not allowing myself that +luxury. + +I hadn't much more than comfortably settled myself, and let +thoughts of a cigar and a nap flit through my mind, when a row up +the street showed that the jail-breaking had been discovered. +Then followed shouts and confusion for a few moments, while a +search was being organized. I heard some horsemen ride over the +tracks, and also down the street, followed by the hurried +footsteps of half a dozen men. Some banged at the doors of the +specials, while others knocked at the station door. + +One of the Cullens' servants opened the door of 218, and I heard +the sheriff's voice telling him he'd got to search the car. The +darky protested, saying that the "gentmun was all away, and only +de miss inside." The row brought Miss Cullen to the door, and I +heard her ask what was the matter. + +"Sorry to trouble yer, miss," said the sheriff, "but a prisoner +has broken jail, and we've got to look for him." + +"Escaped!" cried Madge, joyfully. "How?" + +"That's just what gits away with me," marvelled the sheriff. "My +idee is--" + +"Don't waste time on theories," said Camp's voice, angrily. +"Search the car." + +"Sorry to discommode a lady," apologized the sheriff, gallantly, +"but if we may just look around a little?" + +"My father and brothers went out a few minutes ago," said Madge, +hesitatingly, "and I don't know if they would be willing." + +Camp laughed angrily, and ordered, "Stand aside, there." + +"Don't yer worry," said the sheriff. "If he's on the car, he +can't git away. We'll send a feller up for Mr. Cullen, while we +search Mr. Gordon's car and the station." + +They set about it at once, and used up ten minutes in the task. +Then I heard Camp say,-- + +"Come, we can't wait all night for permission to search this car. +Go ahead." + +"I hope you'll wait till my father comes," begged Madge. + +"Now go slow, Mr. Camp," said the sheriff. "We mustn't discomfort +the lady if we can avoid it." + +"I believe you're wasting time in order to help him escape," +snapped Camp. + +"Nothin' of the kind," denied the sheriff. + +"If you won't do your duty, I'll take the law into my own hands, +and order the car searched," sputtered Camp, so angry as hardly +to be able to articulate. + +"Look a here," growled the sheriff, "who are yer sayin' all this +to anyway? If yer talkin' to me, say so right off." + +"All I mean," hastily said Camp, "is that it's your duty, in your +honorable position, to search this car." + +"I don't need no instructin' in my dooty as sheriff," retorted +the official. "But a bigger dooty is what is owin' to the +feminine sex. When a female is in question, a gentleman, Mr. +Camp,--yes, sir, a gentleman,--is in dooty bound to be perlite." + +"Politeness be ---- ----!" swore Camp. + +"Git as angry as yer ---- please," roared the sheriff, +wrathfully, "but ---- me if any ---- ---- cuss has a right to use +such ---- ---- talk in the presence of a lady!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +"LISTENERS NEVER HEAR ANYTHING GOOD" + + +Before I had ceased chuckling over the sheriff's indignant +declaration of the canons of etiquette, I heard Mr. Cullen's +voice demanding to know what the trouble was, and it was quickly +explained to him that I had escaped. He at once gave them +permission to search his car, and went in with the sheriff and +the cowboys. Apparently Madge went in too, for in a moment I +heard Camp say, in a low voice,-- + +"Two of you fellows get down below the car and crawl in under the +truck where you can't be seen. Evidently that cuss isn't here, +but he's likely to come by and by. If so, nab him if you can, and +if you can't, fire two shots. Mosely, are you heeled?" + +"Do I chaw terbaccy?" asked Mosely, ironically, clearly insulted +at the suggestion that he would travel without a gun. + +"Then keep a sharp lookout, and listen to everything you hear, +especially the whereabouts of some letters. If you can spot their +lay, crawl out and get word to me at once. Now, under you go +before they come out." + +I heard two men drop into the gravel close alongside of where I +lay, and then crawl under the truck of 218. They weren't a moment +too soon, for the next instant I heard two or three people jump +on to the platform, and Albert Cullen's voice drawl, "Aw, by +Jove, what's the row?" Camp not enlightening them, Lord Ralles +suggested that they get on the car to find out, and the three did +so. A moment later the sheriff came to the door and told Camp +that I was not to be found. + +"I told yer this was the last place to look for the cuss, Mr. +Camp," he said. "We've just discomforted the lady for nothin'." + +"Then we must search elsewhere," spoke up Camp. "Come on, boys." + +The sheriff turned and made another elaborate apology for having +had to trouble the lady. + +I heard Madge tell him that he hadn't troubled her at all, and +then, as the cowboys and Camp walked off, she added, "And, Mr. +Gunton, I want to thank you for reproving Mr. Camp's dreadful +swearing." + +"Thank yer, miss," said the sheriff. "We fellers are a little +rough at times, but ---- me if we don't know what's due to a +lady." + +"Papa," said Madge, as soon as he was out of hearing, "the +sheriff is the most beautiful swearer I ever heard." + +For a while there was silence round the station; I suppose the +party in 218 were comparing notes, while the two cowboys and I +had the best reasons for being quiet. Presently, however, the men +came out of the car and jumped down on the platform. Madge +evidently followed them to the door, for she called, "Please let +me know the moment something happens or you learn anything." + +"Better go to bed, Madgy," Albert called. "You'll only worry, and +it's after three." + +"I couldn't sleep if I tried," she answered. + +Their footsteps died away in a moment, and I heard her close the +door of 218. In a few moments she opened it again, and, stepping +down to the station platform, began to pace up and down it. If I +had only dared, I could have put my finger through the crack of +the planks and touched her foot as she walked over my head, but I +was afraid it might startle her into a shriek, and there was no +explaining to her what it meant without telling the cowboys how +close they were to their quarry. + +Madge hadn't walked from one end of the platform to the other +more than three or four times, when I heard some one coming. She +evidently heard it also, for she said,-- + +"I began to be afraid you hadn't understood me." + +"I thought you told me to see first if I were needed," responded +a voice that even the distance and the planks did not prevent me +from recognizing as that of Lord Ralles. + +"Yes," said she. "You are sure you can be spared?" + +"I couldn't be of the slightest use," asserted Ralles, getting on +to the platform and joining Madge. "It's as black as ink +everywhere, and I don't think there's anything to be done till +daylight." + +"Then I'm glad you came back, for I really want to say +something,--to ask the greatest favor of you." + +"You only have to tell me what it is," said his lordship. + +"Even that is very hard," murmured Madge. "If--if--Oh! I'm afraid +I haven't the courage, after all." + +"I'll be glad to do anything I can." + +"It's--well--Oh, dear, I can't. Let's walk a little, while I +think how to put it." + +They began to walk, which took a weight off my mind, as I had +been forced to hear every word thus far spoken, and was dreading +what might follow, since I was perfectly helpless to warn them. +The platform was built around the station, and in a moment they +were out of hearing. + +Before many seconds were over, however, they had walked round the +building, and I heard Lord Ralles say,-- + +"You really don't mean that he's insulted you?" + +"That is just what I do mean," cried Madge, indignantly. "It's +been almost past endurance. I haven't dared to tell any one, but +he had the cruelty, the meanness, on Hance's trail to threaten +that--" + +At that point the walkers turned the corner again, and I could +not hear the rest of the sentence. But I had heard more than +enough to make me grow hot with mortification, even while I could +hardly believe I had understood aright. Madge had been so kind to +me lately that I couldn't think she had been feeling as bitterly +as she spoke. That such an apparently frank girl was a consummate +actress wasn't to be thought, and yet--I remembered how well she +had played her part on Hance's trail; but even that wouldn't +convince me. Proof of her duplicity came quickly enough, for, +while I was still thinking, the walkers were round again, and +Lord Ralles was saying,-- + +"Why haven't you complained to your father or brothers?" + +"Because I knew they would resent his conduct to me, and--" + +"Of course they would," cried her companion, interrupting. "But +why should you object to that?" + +"Because of the letters," explained Madge. "Don't you see that if +we made him angry he would betray us to Mr. Camp, and--" + +Then they passed out of hearing, leaving me almost desperate, +both at being an eavesdropper to such a conversation, and that +Madge could think so meanly of me. To say it, too, to Lord Ralles +made it cut all the deeper, as any fellow who has been in love +will understand. + +Round they came again in a moment, and I braced myself for the +lash of the whip that I felt was coming. I didn't escape it, for +Madge was saying,-- + +"Can you conceive of a man pretending to care for a girl and yet +treating her so? I can't tell you the grief, the mortification, I +have endured." She spoke with a half-sob in her throat, as if she +was struggling not to cry, which made me wish I had never been +born. "It's been all I could do to control myself in his +presence, I have come so utterly to hate and despise him," she +added. + +"I don't wonder," growled Lord Ralles. "My only surprise is--" + +With that they passed out of hearing again, leaving me fairly +desperate with shame, grief, and, I'm afraid, with anger. I felt +at once guilty and yet wronged. I knew my conduct on the trail +must have seemed to her ungentlemanly because I had never dared +to explain that my action there had been a pure bluff, and that I +wouldn't have really searched her for--well, for anything; but +though she might think badly of me for that, yet I had done my +best to counterbalance it, and was running big risks, both +present and eventual, for Madge's sake. Yet here she was +acknowledging that thus far she had used me as a puppet, while +all the time disliking me. It was a terrible blow, made all the +harder by the fact that she was proving herself such a different +girl from the one I loved,--so different, in fact, that, despite +what I had heard, I couldn't quite believe it of her, and found +myself seeking to extenuate and even justify her conduct. While I +was doing this, they came within hearing, and Lord Ralles was +speaking. + +"--with you," he said. "But I still do not see what I can do, +however much I may wish to serve you." + +"Can't you go to him and insist that he--or tell him what I +really feel towards him--or anything, in fact, to shame him? I +really can't go on acting longer." + +That reached the limit of my endurance, and I crawled from my +burrow, intending to get out from under that platform, whether I +was caught or not. I know it was a foolish move; after having +heard what I had, a little more or less was quite immaterial. But +I entirely forgot my danger, in the sting of what Madge had said, +and my one thought was to stand face to face with her long enough +to--I'm sure I don't know what I intended to say. + +Just as I reached the plank, however, I heard Lord Ralles ask,-- + +"Who's that?" + +"It's me," said a voice,--"the station agent." Then I heard a +door close. Some one walked out to the centre of the platform and +remarked,-- + +"That 'ere way freight is late." + +At least the letters were recovered. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE SURRENDER OF THE LETTERS + + +If the letters were safe, that was a good deal more than I +was. The moment the station-master had made his agreed-upon +announcement, he said to the walkers,-- + +"Had any news of Mr. Gordon?" + +"No," replied Lord Ralles. "And, as the lights keep moving in the +town, they must still be hunting for him." + +"I reckon they'll do considerable more huntin' before they find +him up there," chuckled the man, with a self-important manner. +"He's hidden away under this ere platform." + +"Not right here?" I heard Madge cry, but I had too much to do to +take in what followed. I was lying close to the loose plank, and +even before the station-master had completed his sentence I was +squirming through the crack. As I freed my legs I heard two +shots, which I knew was the signal given by the cowboys, followed +by a shriek of fright from Madge, for which she was hardly to be +blamed. I was on my feet in an instant and ran down the tracks at +my best speed. It wasn't with much hope of escape, for once out +from under the planking I found, what I had not before realized, +that day was dawning, and already outlines at a distance could be +seen. However, I was bound to do my best, and I did it. + +Before I had run a hundred feet I could hear pursuers, and a +moment later a revolver cracked, ploughing up the dust in front +of me. Another bullet followed, and, seeing that affairs were +getting desperate, I dodged round the end of some cars, only to +plump into a man running at full speed. The collision was so +unexpected that we both fell, and before I could get on my feet +one of my pursuers plumped down on top of me and I felt something +cold on the back of my neck. + +"Lie still, yer sneakin' coyote of a road agent," said the man, +"or I'll blow yer so full of lead that yer couldn't float in Salt +Lake." + +I preferred to take his advice, and lay quiet while the cowboys +gathered. From all directions I heard them coming, calling to +each other that "the skunk that shot the woman is corralled," and +other forms of the same information. In a moment I was jerked to +my feet, only to be swept off them with equal celerity, and was +half carried, half dragged, along the tracks. It wasn't as rough +handling as I have taken on the football-field, but I didn't +enjoy it. + +In a space of time that seemed only seconds, I was close to a +telegraph-pole; but, brief as the moment had been, a fellow with +a lariat tied round his waist was half-way up the post. I knew +the mob had been told that I had killed a woman in the hold-up, +for the cowboy, bad as he is, has his own standards, beyond which +he won't go. But I might as well have tried to tell my innocence +to the moon as to get them to listen to denials, even if I could +have made my voice heard. + +The lariat was dropped over the crosspiece, and as a man adjusted +the noose a sudden silence fell. I thought it was a little sense +of what they were doing, but it was merely due to the command of +Baldwin, who, with Camp, stood just outside the mob. + +"Let me say a word before you pull," he called, and then to me he +said, "Now will you give up the property?" + +I was pretty pale and shaky, but I come of stiffish stock, and I +wouldn't have backed down then, it seemed to me, if they had been +going to boil me alive. I suppose it sounds foolish, and if I had +had plenty of time I have no doubt my common-sense would have +made me crawl. Not having time, I was on the point of saying +"No," when the door of 218, which lay about two hundred yards +away, flew open, and out came Mr. Cullen, Fred, Albert, Lord +Ralles, and Captain Ackland, all with rifles. Of course it was +perfect desperation for the five to tackle the cowboys, but they +were game to do it, all the same. + +How it would have ended I don't know, but as they sprang off the +car platform Miss Cullen came out on it, and stood there, one +hand holding on to the door-way, as if she needed support, and +the other covering her heart. It was too far for me to see her +face, but the whole attitude expressed such suffering that it was +terrible to see. What was more, her position put her in range of +every shot the cowboys might fire at the five as they charged. If +I could have stopped them I would have done so, but, since that +was impossible, I cried,-- + +"Mr. Camp, I'll surrender the letters." + +"Hold on, boys," shouted Baldwin; "wait till we get the property +he stole." And, coming through the crowd, he threw the noose off +my neck. + +"Don't shoot, Mr. Cullen," I yelled, as my friends halted and +raised their rifles, and, fortunately, the cowboys had opened up +enough to let them hear me and see that I was free of the rope. + +Escorted by Camp, Baldwin, and the cowboys, I walked towards +them. On the way Baldwin said, in a low voice, "Deliver the +letters, and we'll tell the boys there has been a mistake. +Otherwise--" + +When we came up to the five, I called to them that I had agreed +to surrender the letters. While I was saying it, Miss Cullen +joined them, and it was curious to see how respectfully the +cowboys took off their hats and fell back. + +"You are quite right," Mr. Cullen called. "Give them the letters +at once." + +"Oh, do, Mr. Gordon," said Madge, still white and breathless with +emotion. "The money is nothing. Don't think--" It was all she +could say. + +I felt pretty small, but with Camp and Baldwin, now reinforced by +Judge Wilson, I went to the station, ordered the agent to open +the safe, took out the three letters, and handed them to Mr. +Camp, realizing how poor Madge must have felt on Hance's trail. +It was a pretty big take down to my pride I tell you, and made +all the worse by the way the three gloated over the letters and +over our defeat. + +"We've taught you a lesson, young man," sneered Camp, as after +opening the envelopes, to assure himself that the proxies were +all right, he tucked them into his pocket. "And we'll teach you +another one after to-day's election." + +Just as he concluded, we heard outside the first note of a bugle, +and as it sounded "By fours, column left," my heart gave a big +jump, and the blood came rushing to my face. Camp, Baldwin, and +Wilson broke for the door, but I got there first, and prevented +their escape. They tried to force their way through, but I hadn't +blocked and interfered at football for nothing, and they might as +well have tried to break through the Sierras. Discovering this, +Camp whipped out his gun, and told me to let them out. Being used +to the West, I recognized the goodness of the argument and +stepped out on the platform, giving them free passage. But the +twenty seconds I had delayed them had cooked their goose, for +outside was a squadron of cavalry swinging a circle round the +station; and we had barely reached the platform when the bugle +sounded "Halt," quickly followed by "Forward left." As the ranks +wheeled, and closed up as a solid line about us, I could have +cheered with delight. There was a moment's dramatic hush, in +which we could all hear the breathing of the winded horses, and +then came the clatter of sword and spurs, as an officer sprang +from his saddle. + +"I want Richard Gordon," the officer called. + +I responded, "At your service, and badly in need of yours, +Captain Singer." + +"Hope the delay hasn't spoilt things," said the captain. "We had +a cursed fool of a guide, who took the wrong trail and ran us +into Limestone Cañon, where we had to camp for the night." + +I explained the situation as quickly as I could, and the +captain's eyes gleamed. "I'd have given a bad quarter to have got +here ten minutes sooner and ridden my men over those scoundrels," +he muttered. "I saw them scatter as we rode up, and if I'd known +what they'd been doing we'd have given them a volley." Then he +walked over to Mr. Camp and said, "Give me those letters." + +"I hold those letters by virtue of an order--" Camp began. + +"Give me those letters," the captain interrupted. + +"Do you intend a high-handed interference with the civil +authorities?" Judge Wilson demanded. + +"Come, come," said the captain, sternly. "You have taken forcible +possession of United States property. Any talk about civil +authorities is rubbish, and you know it." + +"I will never--" cried Mr. Camp. + +"Corporal Jackson, dismount a guard of six men," rang the +captain's voice, interrupting him. + +Evidently something in the voice or order convinced Mr. Camp, for +the letters were hastily produced and given to Singer, who at +once handed them to me. I turned with them to the Cullens, and, +laughing, quoted, "'All's well that ends well.'" + +But they didn't seem to care a bit about the recovery of the +letters, and only wanted to have a hand-shake all round over my +escape. Even Lord Ralles said, "Glad we could be of a little +service," and didn't refuse my thanks, though the deuce knows +they were badly enough expressed, in my consciousness that I had +done an ungentlemanly trick over those trousers of his, and that +he had been above remembering it when I was in real danger. I'm +ashamed enough to confess that when Miss Cullen held out her hand +I made believe not to see it. I'm a bad hand at pretending, and I +saw Madge color up at my act. + +The captain finally called me off to consult about our +proceedings. I felt no very strong love for Camp, Baldwin, or +Wilson, but I didn't see that a military arrest would accomplish +anything, and after a little discussion it was decided to let +them alone, as we could well afford to do, having won. + +This matter decided, I said to the captain, "I'll be obliged if +you'll put a guard round my car. And then, if you and your +officers will come inside it, I have a--something in a bottle, +recommended for removing alkali dust from the tonsils." + +"Very happy to test your prescription," responded Singer, +genially. + +I started to go with him, but I couldn't resist turning to Mr. +Camp and his friends and saying,-- + +"Gentlemen, the G. S. is a big affair, but it isn't quite big +enough to fight the U. S." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A GLOOMY GOOD-BY + + +At that point my importance ceased. Apparently seeing that the +game was up, Mr. Camp later in the morning asked Mr. Cullen to +give him an interview, and when he was allowed to pass the sentry +he came to the steps and suggested,-- + +"Perhaps we can arrange a compromise between the Missouri Western +and the Great Southern?" + +"We can try," Mr. Cullen assented. "Come into my car." He made +way for Mr. Camp, and was about to follow him, when Madge took +hold of her father's arm, and, making him stoop, whispered +something to him. + +"What kind of a place?" asked Mr. Cullen, laughing. + +"A good one," his daughter replied. + +I thought I understood what was meant. She didn't want to rest +under an obligation, and so I was to be paid up for what I had +done by promotion. It made me grit my teeth, and if I hadn't +taught myself not to swear, because of my position, I could have +given Sheriff Gunton points on cursing. I wanted to speak up +right there and tell Miss Cullen what I thought of her. + +Of the interview which took place inside 218, I can speak only at +second-hand, and the world knows about as well as I how the +contest was compromised by the K. & A. being turned over to the +Missouri Western, the territory in Southern California being +divided between the California Central and the Great Southern, +and a traffic arrangement agreed upon that satisfied the G. S. +That afternoon a Missouri Western board for the K. & A. was +elected without opposition, and they in turn elected Mr. Cullen +president of the K. & A.; so when my report of the holding-up +went in, he had the pleasure of reading it. I closed it with a +request for instructions, but I never received any, and that +ended the matter. I turned over the letters to the special agent +at Flagstaff, and I suppose his report is slumbering in some +pigeon-hole in Washington, for I should have known of any attempt +to bring the culprits to punishment. Mr. Cullen had taken a big +risk, but came out of it with a great lot of money, for the +Missouri Western bought all his holdings in the K. & A. and C. C. +But the scare must have taught him a lesson, for ever since then +he's been conservative, and talks about the foolishness of +investors who try to get more than five per cent, or who think of +anything but good railroad bonds. + +As for myself, a month after these occurrences I was appointed +superintendent of the Missouri Western, which by this deal had +become one of the largest railroad systems in the world. It was a +big step up for so young a man, and was of course pure favoritism, +due to Mr. Cullen's influence. I didn't stay in the position long, +for within two years I was offered the presidency of the Chicago +& St. Paul, and I think that was won on merit. Whether or not, I +hold the position still, and have made my road earn and pay +dividends right through the panic. + +All this is getting away ahead of events, however. The election +delayed us so that we couldn't couple on to No. 4 that afternoon, +and consequently we had to lie that night at Ash Forks. I made +the officers my excuse for keeping away from the Cullens, as I +wished to avoid Madge. I did my best to be good company to the +bluecoats, and had a first-class dinner for them on my car, but I +was in a pretty glum mood, which even champagne couldn't modify. +Though all necessity of a guard ceased with the compromise, the +cavalry remained till the next morning, and, after giving them a +good breakfast, about six o'clock we shook hands, the bugle +sounded, and off they rode. For the first time I understood how a +fellow disappointed in love comes to enlist. + +When I turned about to go into my car, I found Madge standing on +the platform of 218 waving a handkerchief. I paid no attention to +her, and started up my steps. + +"Mr. Gordon," she said,--and when I looked at her I saw that she +was flushing,--"what is the matter?" + +I suppose most fellows would have found some excuse, but for the +life of me I couldn't. All I was able to say was,-- + +"I would rather not say, Miss Cullen." + +"How unfair you are!" she cried. "You--without the slightest +reason you suddenly go out of your way to ill-treat--insult me, +and yet will not tell me the cause." + +That made me angry. "Cause?" I cried. "As if you didn't know of a +cause! What you don't know is that I overheard your conversation +with Lord Ralles night before last." + +"My conversation with Lord Ralles?" exclaimed Madge, in a +bewildered way. + +"Yes," I said bitterly, "keep up the acting. The practice is +good, even if it deceives no one." + +"I don't understand a word you are saying," she retorted, getting +angry in turn. "You speak as if I had done wrong,--as if--I don't +know what; and I have a right to know to what you allude." + +"I don't see how I can be any clearer," I muttered. "I was under +the station platform, hiding from the cowboys, while you and Lord +Ralles were walking. I didn't want to be a listener, but I heard +a good deal of what you said." + +"But I didn't walk with Lord Ralles," she cried. "The only person +I walked with was Captain Ackland." + +That took me very much aback, for I had never questioned in my +mind that it wasn't Lord Ralles. Yet the moment she spoke, I +realized how much alike the two brothers' voices were, and how +easily the blurring of distance and planking might have misled +me. For a moment I was speechless. Then I replied coldly,-- + +"It makes no difference with whom you were. What you said was the +essential part." + +"But how could you for an instant suppose that I could say what I +did to Lord Ralles?" she demanded. + +"I naturally thought he would be the one to whom you would appeal +concerning my 'insulting' conduct." + +Madge looked at me for a moment as if transfixed. Then she +laughed, and cried,-- + +"Oh, you idiot!" + +While I still looked at her in equal amazement, she went on, "I +beg your pardon, but you are so ridiculous that I had to say it. +Why, I wasn't talking about you, but about Lord Ralles." + +"Lord Ralles!" I cried. + +"Yes." + +"I don't understand," I exclaimed. + +"Why, Lord Ralles has been--has been--oh, he's threatened that if +I wouldn't--that--" + +"You mean he--?" I began, and then stopped, for I couldn't +believe my ears. + +"Oh," she burst out, "of course you couldn't understand, and you +probably despise me already, but if you knew how I scorn myself, +Mr. Gordon, and what I have endured from that man, you would only +pity me." + +Light broke on me suddenly. "Do you mean, Miss Cullen," I cried +hotly, "that he's been cad enough to force his attentions upon +you by threats?" + +"Yes. First he made me endure him because he was going to help +us, and from the moment the robbery was done, he has been +threatening to tell. Oh, how I have suffered!" + +Then I said a very silly thing. "Miss Cullen," I groaned, "I'd +give anything if I were only your brother." For the moment I +really meant it. + +"I haven't dared to tell any of them," she explained, "because I +knew they would resent it and make Lord Ralles angry, and then he +would tell, and so ruin papa. It seemed such a little thing to +bear for his sake, but, oh, it's been--I suppose you despise +me!" + +"I never dreamed of despising you," I said. "I only thought, of +course--seeing what I did--and--that you were fond--No--that +is--I mean--well--The beast!" I couldn't help exclaiming. + +"Oh," said Madge, blushing, and stammering breathlessly, "you +mustn't think--there was really--you happened to--usually I +managed to keep with papa or my brothers, or else run away, as I +did when he interrupted my letter-writing,--when you thought we +had--but it was nothing of the--I kept away just--but the night +of the robbery I forgot, and on the trail his mule blocked the +path. He never--there really wasn't--you saved me the only times +he--he--that he was really rude; and I am so grateful for it, Mr. +Gordon." + +I wasn't in a mood to enjoy even Miss Cullen's gratitude. Without +stopping for words, I dashed into 218, and, going straight to +Albert Cullen, I shook him out of a sound sleep, and before he +could well understand me I was alternately swearing at him and +raging at Lord Ralles. Finally he got the truth through his head, +and it was nuts to me, even in my rage, to see how his English +drawl disappeared, and how quick he could be when he really +became excited. + +I left him hurrying into his clothes, and went to my car, for I +didn't dare to see the exodus of Lord Ralles, through fear that I +couldn't behave myself. Albert came into 97 in a few moments to +say that the Englishmen were going to the hotel as soon as +dressed, the captain having elected to stay by his brother. + +"I wouldn't have believed it of Ralles. I feel jolly cut up, you +know," he drawled. + +I had been so enraged over Lord Ralles that I hadn't stopped to +reckon in what position I stood myself towards Miss Cullen, but I +didn't have to do much thinking to know that I had behaved about +as badly as was possible for me. And the worst of it was that she +could not know that right through the whole I had never quite +been able to think badly of her. I went out on the platform of +the station, and was lucky enough to find her there alone. + +"Miss Cullen," I said, "I've been ungentlemanly and suspicious, and +I'm about as ashamed of myself as a man can be and not jump into +the Grand Cañon. I've not come to you to ask your forgiveness, for +I can't forgive myself, much less expect it of you. But I want you +to know how I feel, and if there's any reparation, apology, +anything, that you'd like, I'll--" + +Madge interrupted my speech there by holding out her hand. + +"You don't suppose," she said, "that, after all you have done for +us, I could be angry over what was merely a mistake?" + +That's what I call a trump of a girl, worth loving for a +lifetime. + +Well, we coupled on to No. 2 that morning and started East, this +time Mr. Cullen's car being the "ender." All on 218 were wildly +jubilant, as was natural, but I kept growing bluer and bluer. I +took a farewell dinner on their car the night we were due in +Albuquerque, and afterwards Miss Cullen and I went out and sat on +the back platform. + +"I've had enough adventures to talk about for a year," Madge +said, as we chatted the whole thing over, "and you can no longer +brag that the K. & A. has never had a robbery, even if you didn't +lose anything." + +"I have lost something," I sighed sadly. + +Madge looked at me quickly, started to speak, hesitated, and then +said, "Oh, Mr. Gordon, if you only could know how badly I have +felt about that, and how I appreciate the sacrifice." + +I had only meant that I had lost my heart, and, for that matter, +probably my head, for it would have been ungenerous even to hint +to Miss Cullen that I had made any sacrifice of conscience for +her sake, and I would as soon have asked her to pay for it in +money as have told her. + +"You mustn't think--" I began. + +"I have felt," she continued, "that your wish to serve us made +you do something you never would have otherwise done, for--Well, +you--any one can see how truthful and honest--and it has made me +feel so badly that we--Oh, Mr. Gordon, no one has a right to do +wrong in this world, for it brings such sadness and danger to +innocent--And you have been so generous--" + +I couldn't let this go on. "What I did," I told her, "was to +fight fire with fire, and no one is responsible for it but +myself." + +"I should like to think that, but I can't," she said. "I know we +all tried to do something dishonest, and while you didn't do any +real wrong, yet I don't think you would have acted as you did +except for our sake. And I'm afraid you may some day regret--" + +"I sha'n't," I cried; "and, so far from meaning that I had lost +my self-respect, I was alluding to quite another thing." + +"Time?" she asked. + +"No." + +"What?" + +"Something else you have stolen." + +"I haven't," she denied. + +"You have," I affirmed. + +"You mean the novel?" she asked; "because I sent it in to 97 +to-night." + +"I don't mean the novel." + +"I can't think of anything more but those pieces of petrified +wood, and those you gave me," she said demurely. "I am sure that +whatever else I have of yours you have given me without even my +asking, and if you want it back you've only got to say so." + +"I suppose that would be my very best course," I groaned. + +"I hate people who force a present on one," she continued, "and +then, just as one begins to like it, want it back." + +Before I could speak, she asked hurriedly, "How often do you come +to Chicago?" + +I took that to be a sort of command that I was to wait, and +though longing to have it settled then and there, I braked myself +up and answered her question. Now I see what a duffer I +was--Madge told me afterwards that she asked only because she +was so frightened and confused that she felt she must stop my +speaking for a moment. + +I did my best till I heard the whistle the locomotive gives as it +runs into yard limits, and then rose. "Good-by, Miss Cullen," I +said, properly enough, though no death-bed farewell was ever more +gloomily spoken; and she responded, "Good-by, Mr. Gordon," with +equal propriety. + +I held her hand, hating to let her go, and the first thing I +knew, I blurted out, "I wish I had the brass of Lord Ralles!" + +"I don't," she laughed, "because, if you had, I shouldn't be +willing to let you--" + +And what she was going to say, and why she didn't say it, is +the concern of no one but Mr. and Mrs. Richard Gordon. + + +THE END + + + + + Transcriber's Note: + + The discrepancies of four or seven "years of Western life" on + Pages 7, 15 and 26 have been retained as in the original. + + The oe ligature in the Latin-1 and text versions of this book + have been changed to "oe". + + Page 49. Changed "good-bye" to "good-by" twice. (... the rest + of the party were there, and I bade good-by to the captain and + Albert.); ("I hope it isn't good-by, but only au revoir," ...) + + Page 59. Changed "coconino" to "Coconino". (... and, as all the + rest of the ride was through Coconino forest, ...) + + Page 104. Corrected American Morse Code (a.k.a. Railroad Morse + Code) to accurately reflect transmitted message. + + Page 105. Changed "rail road" to "railroad". ("Sheriff yavapai + county ash forks arizona be at railroad station ...") + + Page 140. Changed "doorway" to "door-way". (... pulled through + the door-way of my car by the cowboys ...) + + Page 145. Changed "her" to "Her". (... Her Majesty's ...) + + Page 181. Changed "Discoving" to "Discovering". (Discovering + this, Camp whipped out his gun, and told me to let them out.) + + Page 187. Changed "sheriff" to "Sheriff". (... I could have + given Sheriff Gunton points on cursing.) + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT K. & A. 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Robbery, by Paul Leicester Ford</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Great K. & A. Robbery</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Paul Leicester Ford</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 5, 2008 [eBook #25333]<br /> +[Most recently updated: January 29, 2022]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Cline St. Charleskindt, Nick Wall and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT K. & A. ROBBERY ***</div> + +<div class="fig" style="width:55%;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" style="width:100%;" alt="[Illustration]" /> +</div> + +<h1>THE GREAT<br /> K. & A. TRAIN-ROBBERY</h1> + +<hr /> + +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/greatkafrontis.jpg" width="375" height="600" alt="Frontispiece" title="Frontispiece" /> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Trains on Title Page"> +<tr> +<td> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/greatkatrain.jpg" width="185" height="375" alt="Train" title="Train" /> +</div> +</td> +<td> +<p class="red">The<br /> +Great<br /> +K. & A.<br /> +Robbery<br /> +<br /> +</p> +</td> +<td> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/greatkatrain.jpg" width="185" height="375" alt="Train" title="Train" /> +</div> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p class="center"> +By<br /> +<br /> +Paul Leicester Ford<br /> +Author of The Honorable Peter Stirling<br /> +</p> +<p class="center"> +<br /> +New York<br /> +Dodd, Mead and Company<br /> +1897<br /> +</p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="center"><small> +<i>Copyright, 1896,</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By J. B. Lippincott Company.</span><br /> +<br /> +<i>Copyright, 1897,</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Dodd, Mead and Company.</span><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +University Press:<br /> +<span class="smcap">John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U. S. A.</span><br /> +</small></p> + +<hr /> + +<p class="center"> +TO<br /> +<br /> +MY TRAVELLING COMPANIONS<br /> +<br /> +ON SPECIALS 218 AND 97<br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap"><small>THIS ENDEAVOR TO WEAVE INTO A STORY SOME OF OUR<br /> +OVERLAND HAPPENINGS AND ADVENTURES</small></span><br /> +<br /> +<span class="smcap"><small>IS GRATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.</small></span><br /> +</p> + +<p class="center"> +<br /> +<br /><i>TO MISS GEORGE BARKER GIBBS.</i><br /> +</p> + +<p> +<br /><i>My dear George</i>:</p> + +<p><i>At your request I originally inscribed this skit to our whole +party. In its republication, however, I can but feel that the +dedication should be more particular. Written because you asked +it, first read aloud to beguile our ride across the great +American desert, and finally printed because you wished a copy as +a souvenir of our journeyings, no one can so naturally be called +upon to stand sponsor to the little tale. Should the story but +give its readers a fraction of the pleasure I owe to your +kindness, its success is assured.</i></p> + +<p class="center"> +<i>Faithfully yours,</i> +</p> +<p class="right"> +<i>PAUL LEICESTER FORD.</i><br /> +</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2>Contents</h2> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents"> + +<tr> +<td class="rt"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span></td> +<td></td> + +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I</a></td> +<td class="pad">THE PARTY ON SPECIAL NO. 218</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II</a></td> +<td class="pad">THE HOLDING-UP OF OVERLAND NO. 3</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III</a></td> +<td class="pad">A NIGHT’S WORK ON THE ALKALI PLAINS</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV</a></td> +<td class="pad">SOME RATHER QUEER ROAD AGENTS</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V</a></td> +<td class="pad">A TRIP TO THE GRAND CAÑON</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI</a></td> +<td class="pad">THE HAPPENINGS DOWN HANCE’S TRAIL</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII</a></td> +<td class="pad">A CHANGE OF BASE</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII</a></td> +<td class="pad">HOW DID THE SECRET LEAK OUT?</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX</a></td> +<td class="pad">A TALK BEFORE BREAKFAST</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X</a></td> +<td class="pad">WAITING FOR HELP</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI</a></td> +<td class="pad">THE LETTERS CHANGE HANDS AGAIN</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII</a></td> +<td class="pad">AN EVENING IN JAIL</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII</a></td> +<td class="pad">A LESSON IN POLITENESS</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV</a></td> +<td class="pad">“LISTENERS NEVER HEAR ANYTHING GOOD”</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV</a></td> +<td class="pad">THE SURRENDER OF THE LETTERS</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI</a></td> +<td class="pad">A GLOOMY GOOD-BY</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<hr /> + +<h2><small>THE<br /> +Great K. & A. Train-Robbery</small></h2> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> +<h3>THE PARTY ON SPECIAL NO. 218</h3> +</div> + +<p>Any one who hopes to find in what is here written a work of +literature had better lay it aside unread. At Yale I should have +got the sack in rhetoric and English composition, let alone other +studies, had it not been for the fact that I played half-back on +the team, and so the professors marked me away up above where I +ought to have ranked. That was twelve years ago, but my life +since I received my parchment has hardly been of a kind to +improve me in either style or grammar. It is true that one woman +tells me I write well, and my directors never find fault with my +compositions; but I know that she likes my letters because, +whatever else they may say to her, they always say in some form, +“I love you,” while my board approve my annual reports because +thus far I have been able to end each with “I recommend the +declaration of a dividend of — per cent from the earnings of the +current year.” I should therefore prefer to reserve my writings +for such friendly critics, if it did not seem necessary to make +public a plain statement concerning an affair over which there +appears to be much confusion. I have heard in the last five years +not less than twenty renderings of what is commonly called “the +great K. & A. train-robbery,”—some so twisted and distorted that +but for the intermediate versions I should never have recognized +them as attempts to narrate the series of events in which I +played a somewhat prominent part. I have read or been told that, +unassisted, the pseudo-hero captured a dozen desperadoes; that he +was one of the road agents himself; that he was saved from +lynching only by the timely arrival of cavalry; that the action +of the United States government in rescuing him from the civil +authorities was a most high-handed interference with State +rights; that he received his reward from a grateful railroad by +being promoted; that a lovely woman as recompense for his +villany—but bother! it’s my business to tell what really +occurred, and not what the world chooses to invent. And if any +man thinks he would have done otherwise in my position, I can +only say that he is a better or a worse man than Dick Gordon.</p> + +<p>Primarily, it was football which shaped my end. Owing to my skill +in the game, I took a post-graduate at the Sheffield Scientific +School, that the team might have my services for an extra two +years. That led to my knowing a little about mechanical +engineering, and when I left the “quad” for good I went into the +Alton Railroad shops. It wasn’t long before I was foreman of a +section; next I became a division superintendent, and after I had +stuck to that for a time I was appointed superintendent of the +Kansas & Arizona Railroad, a line extending from Trinidad in +Kansas to The Needles in Arizona, tapping the Missouri Western +System at the first place, and the Great Southern at the other. +With both lines we had important traffic agreements, as well as +the closest relations, which sometimes were a little difficult, +as the two roads were anything but friendly, and we had directors +of each on the K. & A. board, in which they fought like cats. +Indeed, it could only be a question of time when one would oust +the other and then absorb my road. My head-quarters were at +Albuquerque, in New Mexico, and it was there, in October, 1890, +that I received the communication which was the beginning of all +that followed.</p> + +<p>This initial factor was a letter from the president of the +Missouri Western, telling me that their first vice-president, Mr. +Cullen (who was also a director of my road), was coming out to +attend the annual election of the K. & A., which under our +charter had to be held in Ash Forks, Arizona. A second paragraph +told me that Mr. Cullen’s family accompanied him, and that they +all wished to visit the Grand Cañon of the Colorado on their way. +Finally the president wrote that the party travelled in his own +private car, and asked me to make myself generally useful to +them. Having become quite hardened to just such demands, at the +proper date I ordered my superintendent’s car on to No. 2, and +the next morning it was dropped off at Trinidad.</p> + +<p>The moment No. 3 arrived, I climbed into the president’s special, +that was the last car on the train, and introduced myself to Mr. +Cullen, whom, though an official of my road, I had never met. He +seemed surprised at my presence, but greeted me very pleasantly +as soon as I explained that the Missouri Western office had asked +me to do what I could for him, and that I was there for that +purpose. His party were about to sit down to breakfast, and he +asked me to join them: so we passed into the dining-room at the +forward end of the car, where I was introduced to “My son,” “Lord +Ralles,” and “Captain Ackland.” The son was a junior copy of his +father, tall and fine-looking, but, in place of the frank and +easy manner of his sire, he was so very English that most people +would have sworn falsely as to his native land. Lord Ralles was a +little, well-built chap, not half so English as Albert Cullen, +quick in manner and thought, being in this the opposite of his +brother Captain Ackland, who was heavy enough to rock-ballast a +road-bed. Both brothers gave me the impression of being +gentlemen, and both were decidedly good-looking.</p> + +<p>After the introductions, Mr. Cullen said we would not wait, and +his remark called my attention to the fact that there was one +more place at the table than there were people assembled. I had +barely noted this, when my host said, “Here’s the truant,” and, +turning, I faced a lady who had just entered. Mr. Cullen said, +“Madge, let me introduce Mr. Gordon to you.” My bow was made to a +girl of about twenty, with light brown hair, the bluest of eyes, +a fresh skin, and a fine<a name="Page_7" id="Page_7"></a> figure, dressed so nattily as to be to +me, after my four years of Western life, a sight for tired eyes. +She greeted me pleasantly, made a neat little apology for having +kept us waiting, and then we all sat down.</p> + +<p>It was a very jolly breakfast-table, Mr. Cullen and his son being +capital talkers, and Lord Ralles a good third, while Miss Cullen +was quick and clever enough to match the three. Before the meal +was over I came to the conclusion that Lord Ralles was in love +with Miss Cullen, for he kept making low asides to her; and from +the fact that she allowed them, and indeed responded, I drew the +conclusion that he was a lucky beggar, feeling, I confess, a +little pang that a title was going to win such a nice American +girl.</p> + +<p>One of the first subjects spoken of was train-robbery, and Miss +Cullen, like most Easterners, seemed to take a great interest in +it, and had any quantity of questions to ask me.</p> + +<p>“I’ve left all my jewelry behind, except my watch,” she said, +“and that I hide every night. So I really hope we’ll be held up, +it would be such an adventure.”</p> + +<p>“There isn’t any chance of it, Miss Cullen,” I told her; “and if +we were, you probably wouldn’t even know that it was happening, +but would sleep right through it.”</p> + +<p>“Wouldn’t they try to get our money and our watches?” she +demanded.</p> + +<p>I told her no, and explained that the express- and mail-cars were +the only ones to which the road agents paid any attention. She +wanted to know the way it was done: so I described to her how +sometimes the train was flagged by a danger signal, and when it +had slowed down the runner found himself covered by armed men; or +how a gang would board the train, one by one, at way stations, +and then, when the time came, steal forward, secure the express +agent and postal clerk, climb over the tender, and compel the +runner to stop the train at some lonely spot on the road. She +made me tell her all the details of such robberies as I knew +about, and, though I had never been concerned in any, I was able +to describe several, which, as they were monotonously alike, I +confess I colored up a bit here and there, in an attempt to make +them interesting to her. I seemed to succeed, for she kept the +subject going even after we had left the table and were smoking +our cigars in the observation saloon. Lord Ralles had a lot to +say about the American lack of courage in letting trains +containing twenty and thirty men be held up by half a dozen +robbers.</p> + +<p>“Why,” he ejaculated, “my brother and I each have a double +express with us, and do you think we’d sit still in our seats? +No. Hang me if we wouldn’t pot something.”</p> + +<p>“You might,” I laughed, a little nettled, I confess, by his +speech, “but I’m afraid it would be yourselves.”</p> + +<p>“Aw, you fancy resistance impossible?” drawled Albert Cullen.</p> + +<p>“It has been tried,” I answered, “and without success. You can +see it’s like all surprises. One side is prepared before the +other side knows there is danger. Without regard to relative +numbers, the odds are all in favor of the road agents.”</p> + +<p>“But I wouldn’t sit still, whatever the odds,” asserted his +lordship. “And no Englishman would.”</p> + +<p>“Well, Lord Ralles,” I said, “I hope for your sake, then, that +you’ll never be in a hold-up, for I should feel about you as the +runner of a locomotive did when the old lady asked him if it +wasn’t very painful to him to run over people. ‘Yes, madam,’ he +sadly replied: ‘there is nothing musses an engine up so.’”</p> + +<p>I don’t think Miss Cullen liked Lord Ralles’s comments on +American courage any better than I did, for she said,—</p> + +<p>“Can’t you take Lord Ralles and Captain Ackland into the service +of the K. & A., Mr. Gordon, as a special guard?”</p> + +<p>“The K. & A. has never had a robbery yet, Miss Cullen,” I +replied, “and I don’t think that it ever will have.”</p> + +<p>“Why not?” she asked.</p> + +<p>I explained to her how the Cañon of the Colorado to the north, +and the distance of the Mexican border to the south, made escape +so almost desperate that the road agents preferred to devote +their attentions to other routes. “If we were boarded, Miss +Cullen,” I said, “your jewelry would be as safe as it is in +Chicago, for the robbers would only clean out the express- and +mail-cars; but if they should so far forget their manners as to +take your trinkets, I’d agree to return them to you inside of one +week.”</p> + +<p>“That makes it all the jollier,” she cried, eagerly. “We could +have the fun of the adventure, and yet not lose anything. Can’t +you arrange for it, Mr. Gordon?”</p> + +<p>“I’d like to please you, Miss Cullen,” I said, “and I’d like to +give Lord Ralles a chance to show us how to handle those gentry; +but it’s not to be done.” I really should have been glad to have +the road agents pay us a call.</p> + +<p>We spent that day pulling up the Raton pass, and so on over the +Glorietta pass down to Lamy, where, as the party wanted to see +Santa Fé, I had our two cars dropped off the overland, and we ran +up the branch line to the old Mexican city. It was well-worn +ground to me, but I enjoyed showing the sights to Miss Cullen, +for by that time I had come to the conclusion that I had never +met a sweeter or jollier girl. Her beauty, too, was of a kind +that kept growing on one, and before I had known her twenty-four +hours, without quite being in love with her, I was beginning to +hate Lord Ralles, which was about the same thing, I suppose. +Every hour convinced me that the two understood each other, not +merely from the little asides and confidences they kept +exchanging, but even more so from the way Miss Cullen would take +his lordship down occasionally. Yet, like a fool, the more I saw +to confirm my first diagnosis, the more I found myself dwelling +on the dimples at the corners of Miss Cullen’s mouth, the +bewitching uplift of her upper lip, the runaway curls about her +neck, and the curves and color of her cheeks.</p> + +<p>Half a day served to see everything in Santa Fé worth looking at, +but Mr. Cullen decided to spend there the time they had to wait +for his other son to join the party. To pass the hours, I hunted +up some ponies, and we spent three days in long rides up the old +Santa Fé trail and to the outlying mountains. Only one incident +was other than pleasant, and that was my fault. As we were riding +back to our cars on the second afternoon, we had to cross the +branch road-bed, where a gang happened to be at work tamping the +ties.</p> + +<p>“Since you’re interested in road agents, Miss Cullen,” I said, +“you may like to see one. That fellow standing in the ditch is +Jack Drute, who was concerned in the D. & R. G. hold-up three +years ago.”</p> + +<p>Miss Cullen looked where I pointed, and seeing a man with a gun, +gave a startled jump, and pulled up her pony, evidently supposing +that we were about to be attacked. “Sha’n’t we run?” she began, +but then checked herself, as she took in the facts of the drab +clothes of the gang and the two armed men in uniform. “They are +convicts?” she asked, and when I nodded, she said, “Poor things!” +After a pause, she asked, “How long is he in prison for?”</p> + +<p>“Twenty years,” I told her.</p> + +<p>“How harsh that seems!” she said. “How cruel we are to people for +a few moments’ wrong-doing, which the circumstances may almost +have justified!” She checked her pony as we came opposite Drute, +and said, “Can you use money?”</p> + +<p>“Can I, lyedy?” said the fellow, leering in an attempt to look +amiable. “Wish I had the chance to try.”</p> + +<p>The guard interrupted by telling her it wasn’t permitted to speak +to the convicts while out of bounds, and so we had to ride on. +All Miss Cullen was able to do was to throw him a little bunch of +flowers she had gathered in the mountains. It was literally +casting pearls before swine, for the fellow<a name="Page_15" id="Page_15"></a> did not seem +particularly pleased, and when, late that night, I walked down +there with a lantern I found the flowers lying in the ditch. The +experience seemed to sadden and distress Miss Cullen very much +for the rest of the afternoon, and I kicked myself for having +called her attention to the brute, and could have knocked him +down for the way he had looked at her. It is curious that I felt +thankful at the time that Drute was not holding up a train Miss +Cullen was on. It is always the unexpected that happens. If I +could have looked into the future, what a strange variation on +this thought I should have seen!</p> + +<p>The three days went all too quickly, thanks to Miss Cullen, and +by the end of that time I began to understand what love really +meant to a chap, and how men could come to kill each other for +it. For a fairly sensible, hard-headed fellow it was pretty quick +work, I acknowledge; but let any man have seven years of Western +life without seeing a woman worth speaking of, and then meet +Miss Cullen, and if he didn’t do as I did, I wouldn’t trust him +on the tail-board of a locomotive, for I should put him down as +defective both in eyesight and in intellect.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> +<h3>THE HOLDING-UP OF OVERLAND NO. 3</h3> +</div> + +<p>On the third day a despatch came from Frederic Cullen telling his +father he would join us at Lamy on No. 3 that evening. I at once +ordered 97 and 218 coupled to the connecting train, and in an +hour we were back on the main line. While waiting for the +overland to arrive, Mr. Cullen asked me to do something which, as +it later proved to have considerable bearing on the events of +that night, is worth mentioning, trivial as it seems. When I had +first joined the party, I had given orders for 97 to be kicked in +between the main string and their special, so as not to deprive +the occupants of 218 of the view from their observation saloon +and balcony platform. Mr. Cullen came to me now and asked me to +reverse the arrangement and make my car the tail end. I was +giving orders for the splitting and kicking in when No. 3 +arrived, and thus did not see the greeting of Frederic Cullen and +his family. When I joined them, his father told me that the high +altitude had knocked his son up so, that he had to be helped from +the ordinary sleeper to the special and had gone to bed +immediately. Out West we have to know something of medicine, and +my car had its chest of drugs: so I took some tablets and went +into his state-room. Frederic was like his brother in appearance, +though not in manner, having a quick, alert way. He was breathing +with such difficulty that I was almost tempted to give him +nitroglycerin, instead of strychnine, but he said he would be all +right as soon as he became accustomed to the rarefied air, quite +pooh-poohing my suggestion that he take No. 2 back to Trinidad; +and while I was still urging, the train started. Leaving him the +vials of digitalis and strychnine, therefore, I went back, and +dined <i>solus</i> on my own car, indulging at the end in a cigar, +the smoke of which would keep turning into pictures of Miss +Cullen. I have thought about those pictures since then, and have +concluded that when cigar-smoke behaves like that, a man might as +well read his destiny in it, for it can mean only one thing.</p> + +<p>After enjoying the combination, I went to No. 218 to have a look +at the son, and found that the heart tonics had benefited him +considerably. On leaving him, I went to the dining-room, where +the rest of the party were still at dinner, to ask that the +invalid have a strong cup of coffee, and after delivering my +request Mr. Cullen asked me to join them in a cigar. This I did +gladly, for a cigar and Miss Cullen’s society were even +pleasanter than a cigar and Miss Cullen’s pictures, because the +pictures never quite did her justice, and, besides, didn’t talk.</p> + +<p>Our smoke finished, we went back to the saloon, where the +gentlemen sat down to poker, which Lord Ralles had just learned, +and liked. They did not ask me to take a hand, for which I was +grateful, as the salary of a railroad superintendent would hardly +stand the game they probably played; and I had my compensation +when Miss Cullen also was not asked to join them. She said she +was going to watch the moonlight on the mountains from the +platform, and opened the door to go out, finding for the first +time that No. 97 was the “ender.” In her disappointment she +protested against this, and wanted to know the why and wherefore.</p> + +<p>“We shall have far less motion, Madge,” Mr. Cullen explained, +“and then we sha’n’t have the rear-end man in our car at night.”</p> + +<p>“But I don’t mind the motion,” urged Miss Cullen, “and the +flagman is only there after we are all in our rooms. Please leave +us the view.”</p> + +<p>“I prefer the present arrangement, Madge,” insisted Mr. Cullen, +in a very positive voice.</p> + +<p>I was so sorry for Miss Cullen’s disappointment that on impulse I +said, “The platform of 97 is entirely at your service, Miss +Cullen.” The moment it was out I realized that I ought not to +have said it, and that I deserved a rebuke for supposing she +would use my car.</p> + +<p>Miss Cullen took it better than I hoped for, and was declining +the offer as kindly as my intention had been in making it, when, +much to my astonishment, her father interrupted by saying,—</p> + +<p>“By all means, Madge. That relieves us of the discomfort of being +the last car, and yet lets you have the scenery and moonlight.”</p> + +<p>Miss Cullen looked at her father for a moment as if not believing +what she had heard. Lord Ralles scowled and opened his mouth to +say something, but checked himself, and only flung his discard +down as if he hated the cards.</p> + +<p>“Thank you, papa,” responded Miss Cullen, “but I think I will +watch you play.”</p> + +<p>“Now, Madge, don’t be foolish,” said Mr. Cullen, irritably. “You +might just as well have the pleasure, and you’ll only disturb the +game if you stay here.”</p> + +<p>Miss Cullen leaned over and whispered something, and her father +answered her. Lord Ralles must have heard, for he muttered +something, which made Miss Cullen color up; but much good it did +him, for she turned to me and said, “Since my father doesn’t +disapprove, I will gladly accept your hospitality, Mr. Gordon,” +and after a glance at Lord Ralles that had a challenging “I’ll do +as I please” in it, she went to get her hat and coat. The whole +incident had not taken ten seconds, yet it puzzled me beyond +measure, even while my heart beat with an unreasonable hope; for +my better sense told me that it simply meant that Lord Ralles +disapproved, and Miss Cullen, like any girl of spirit, was giving +him notice that he was not yet privileged to control her actions. +Whatever the scene meant, his lordship did not like it, for he +swore at his luck the moment Miss Cullen had left the room.</p> + +<p>When Miss Cullen returned we went back to the rear platform of +97. I let down the traps, closed the gates, got a camp-stool for +her to sit upon, with a cushion to lean back on, and a footstool, +and fixed her as comfortably as I could, even getting a +travelling-rug to cover her lap, for the plateau air was chilly. +Then I hesitated a moment, for I had the feeling that she had not +thoroughly approved of the thing and therefore she might not like +to have me stay. Yet she was so charming in the moonlight, and +the little balcony the platform made was such a tempting spot to +linger on, while she was there, that it wasn’t easy to go. +Finally I asked,—</p> + +<p>“You are quite comfortable, Miss Cullen?”</p> + +<p>“Sinfully so,” she laughed.</p> + +<p>“Then perhaps you would like to be left to enjoy the moonlight +and your meditations by yourself?” I questioned. I knew I ought +to have just gone away, but I simply couldn’t when she looked so +enticing.</p> + +<p>“Do you want to go?” she asked.</p> + +<p>“No!” I ejaculated, so forcibly that she gave a little startled +jump in her chair. “That is—I mean,” I stuttered, embarrassed by +my own vehemence, “I rather thought you might not want me to +stay.”</p> + +<p>“What made you think that?” she demanded.</p> + +<p>I never was a good hand at inventing explanations, and after a +moment’s seeking for some reason, I plumped out, “Because I +feared you might not think it proper to use my car, and I suppose +it’s my presence that made you think it.”</p> + +<p>She took my stupid fumble very nicely; laughing merrily while +saying, “If you like mountains and moonlight, Mr. Gordon, and +don’t mind the lack of a chaperon, get a stool for yourself, +too.” What was more, she offered me half of the lap-robe when I +was seated beside her.</p> + +<p>I think she was pleased by my offer to go away, for she talked +very pleasantly, and far more intimately than she had ever done +before, telling me facts about her family, her Chicago life, her +travels, and even her thoughts. From this I learned that her +elder brother was an Oxford graduate, and that Lord Ralles and +his brother were classmates, who were visiting him for the first +time since he had graduated. She asked me some questions about +my work, which led me to tell her pretty much everything about +myself that I thought could be of the least interest; and it was +a very pleasant surprise to me to find that she knew one of the +old team, and had even heard of me from him.</p> + +<p>“Why,” she exclaimed, “how absurd of me not to have thought of it +before! But, you see, Mr. Colston always speaks of you by your +first name. You ought to hear how he praises you.”</p> + +<p>“Trust Harry to praise any one,” I said. “There were some pretty +low fellows on the old team,—men who couldn’t keep their word or +their tempers, and would slug every chance they got; but Harry +used to insist there wasn’t a bad egg among the lot.”</p> + +<p>“Don’t you find it very lonely to live out here, away from all +your old friends?” she asked.</p> + +<p>I had to acknowledge that it was, and told her the worst part was +the absence of pleasant women. “Till you arrived, Miss <a name="Page_26" id="Page_26"></a>Cullen,” +I said, “I hadn’t seen a well-gowned woman in four years.” I’ve +always noticed that a woman would rather have a man notice and +praise her frock than her beauty, and Miss Cullen was apparently +no exception, for I could see the remark pleased her.</p> + +<p>“Don’t Western women ever get Eastern gowns?” she asked.</p> + +<p>“Any quantity,” I said, “but you know, Miss Cullen, that it isn’t +the gown, but the way it’s worn, that gives the artistic touch.” +For a fellow who had devoted the last seven years of his life to +grades and fuel and rebates and pay-rolls, I don’t think that was +bad. At least it made Miss Cullen’s mouth dimple at the corners.</p> + +<p>The whole evening was so eminently satisfactory that I almost +believe I should be talking yet, if interruption had not come. +The first premonition of it was Miss Cullen’s giving a little +shiver, which made me ask if she was cold.</p> + +<p>“Not at all,” she replied. “I only—what place are we stopping +at?”</p> + +<p>I started to rise, but she checked the movement and said, “Don’t +trouble yourself. I thought you would know without moving. I +really don’t care to know.”</p> + +<p>I took out my watch, and was startled to find it was twenty +minutes past twelve. I wasn’t so green as to tell Miss Cullen so, +and merely said, “By the time, this must be Sanders.”</p> + +<p>“Do we stop long?” she asked.</p> + +<p>“Only to take water,” I told her, and then went on with what I +had been speaking about when she shivered. But as I talked it +slowly dawned on me that we had been standing still some time, +and presently I stopped speaking and glanced off, expecting to +recognize something, only to see alkali plain on both sides. A +little surprised, I looked down, to find no siding. Rising +hastily, I looked out forward. I could see moving figures on each +side of the train, but that meant nothing, as the train’s crew, +and, for that matter, passengers, are very apt to alight at every +stop. What did mean something was that there was no water-tank, +no station, nor any other visible cause for a stop.</p> + +<p>“Is anything the matter?” asked Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“I think something’s wrong with the engine or the road-bed, Miss +Cullen,” I said, “and, if you’ll excuse me a moment, I’ll go +forward and see.”</p> + +<p>I had barely spoken when “bang! bang!” went two shots. That they +were both fired from an English “express” my ears told me, for no +other people in this world make a mountain howitzer and call it a +rifle.</p> + +<p>Hardly were the two shots fired when “crack! crack! crack! +crack!” went some Winchesters.</p> + +<p>“Oh! what is it?” cried Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“I think your wish has been granted,” I answered hurriedly. “We +are being held up, and Lord Ralles is showing us how to—”</p> + +<p>My speech was interrupted. “Bang! bang!” challenged another +“express,” the shots so close together as to be almost +simultaneous. “Crack! crack! crack!” retorted the Winchesters, +and from the fact that silence followed I drew a clear inference. +I said to myself, “That is an end of poor John Bull.”</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> +<h3>A NIGHT’S WORK ON THE ALKALI PLAINS</h3> +</div> + +<p>I hurried Miss Cullen into the car, and, after bolting the rear +door, took down my Winchester from its rack.</p> + +<p>“I’m going forward,” I told her, “and will tell my darkies to +bolt the front door: so you’ll be as safe in here as in Chicago.”</p> + +<p>In another minute I was on my front platform. Dropping down +between the two cars, I crept along beside—indeed, half +under—Mr. Cullen’s special. After my previous conclusion, my +surprise can be judged when at the farther end I found the two +Britishers and Albert Cullen, standing there in the most exposed +position possible. I joined them, muttering to myself something +about Providence and fools.</p> + +<p>“Aw,” drawled Cullen, “here’s Mr. Gordon, just too late for the +sport, by Jove.”</p> + +<p>“Well,” bragged Lord Ralles, “we’ve had a hand in this deal, Mr. +Superintendent, and haven’t been potted. The scoundrels broke for +cover the moment we opened fire.”</p> + +<p>By this time there were twenty passengers about our group, all of +them asking questions at once, making it difficult to learn just +what had happened; but, so far as I could piece the answers +together, the poker-players’ curiosity had been aroused by the +long stop, and, looking out, they had seen a single man with a +rifle, standing by the engine. Instantly arming themselves, Lord +Ralles let fly both barrels at him, and in turn was the target +for the first four shots I had heard. The shooting had brought +the rest of the robbers tumbling off the cars, and the captain +and Cullen had fired the rest of the shots at them as they +scattered. I didn’t stop to hear more, but went forward to see +what the road agents had got away with.</p> + +<p>I found the express agent tied hand and foot in the corner of +his car, and, telling a brakeman who had followed me to set him +at liberty, I turned my attention to the safe. That the diversion +had not come a moment too soon was shown by the dynamite +cartridge already in place, and by the fuse that lay on the +floor, as if dropped suddenly. But the safe was intact.</p> + +<p>Passing into the mail-car, I found the clerk tied to a post, with +a mail-sack pulled over his head, and the utmost confusion among +the pouches and sorting-compartments, while scattered over the +floor were a great many letters. Setting him at liberty, I asked +him if he could tell whether mail had been taken, and, after a +glance at the confusion, he said he could not know till he had +examined.</p> + +<p>Having taken stock of the harm done, I began asking questions. +Just after we had left Sanders, two masked men had entered the +mail-car, and while one covered the clerk with a revolver the +other had tied and “sacked” him. Two more had gone forward and +done the same to the express agent. Another had climbed over the +tender and ordered the runner to hold up. All this was regular +programme, as I had explained to Miss Cullen, but here had been a +variation which I had never heard of being done, and of which I +couldn’t fathom the object. When the train had been stopped, the +man on the tender had ordered the fireman to dump his fire, and +now it was lying in the road-bed and threatening to burn through +the ties; so my first order was to extinguish it, and my second +was to start a new fire and get up steam as quickly as possible. +From all I could learn, there were eight men concerned in the +attempt; and I confess I shook my head in puzzlement why that +number should have allowed themselves to be scared off so easily.</p> + +<p>My wonderment grew when I called on the conductor for his +tickets. These showed nothing but two from Albuquerque, one from +Laguna, and four from Coolidge. This latter would have looked +hopeful but for the fact that it was a party of three women and +a man. Going back beyond Lamy didn’t give anything, for the +conductor was able to account for every fare as either still in +the train or as having got off at some point. My only conclusion +was that the robbers had sneaked onto the platforms at Sanders; +and I gave the crew a good dressing down for their carelessness. +Of course they insisted it was impossible; but they were bound to +do that.</p> + +<p>Going back to 97, I got my telegraph instrument, though I thought +it a waste of time, the road agents being always careful to break +the lines. I told a brakeman to climb the pole and cut a wire. +While he was struggling up, Miss Cullen joined me.</p> + +<p>“Do you really expect to catch them?” she asked.</p> + +<p>“I shouldn’t like to be one of them,” I replied.</p> + +<p>“But how can you do it?”</p> + +<p>“You could understand better, Miss Cullen, if you knew this +country. You see every bit of water is in use by ranches, and +those fellows can’t go more than fifty miles without watering. So +we shall have word of them, wherever they go.”</p> + +<p>“Line cut, Mr. Gordon,” came from overhead at this point, making +Miss Cullen jump with surprise.</p> + +<p>“What was that?” she asked.</p> + +<p>I explained to her, and, after making connections, I called +Sanders. Much to my surprise, the agent responded. I was so +astonished that for a moment I could not believe the fact.</p> + +<p>“This is the queerest hold-up of which I ever heard,” I remarked +to Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“Aw, in what respect?” asked Albert Cullen’s voice, and, looking +up, I found that he and quite a number of the passengers had +joined us.</p> + +<p>“The road agents make us dump our fire,” I said, “and yet they +haven’t cut the wires in either direction. I can’t see how they +can escape us.”</p> + +<p>“What fun!” cried Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“I don’t see what difference either makes in their chance of +escaping,” said Lord Ralles.</p> + +<p>While he was speaking, I ticked off the news of our being held +up, and asked the agent if there had been any men about Sanders, +or if he had seen any one board the train there. His answer was +positive that no one could have done so, and that settled it as +to Sanders. I asked the same questions of Allantown and Wingate, +which were the only places we had stopped at after leaving +Coolidge, getting the same answers. That eight men could have +remained concealed on any of the platforms from that point was +impossible, and I began to suspect magic. Then I called Coolidge, +and told of the holding up, after which I telegraphed the agent +at Navajo Springs to notify the commander at Fort Defiance, for I +suspected the road agents would make for the Navajo reservation. +Finally I called Flagstaff as I had Coolidge, directed that the +authorities be notified of the facts, and ordered an extra to +bring out the sheriff and posse.</p> + +<p>“I don’t think,” said Miss Cullen, “that I am a bit more curious +than most people, but it has nearly made me frantic to have you +tick away on that little machine and hear it tick back, and not +understand a word.”</p> + +<p>After that I had to tell her what I had said and learned.</p> + +<p>“How clever of you to think of counting the tickets and finding +out where people got on and off! I never should have thought of +either,” she said.</p> + +<p>“It hasn’t helped me much,” I laughed, rather grimly, “except to +eliminate every possible clue.”</p> + +<p>“They probably did steal on at one of the stops,” suggested a +passenger.</p> + +<p>I shook my head. “There isn’t a stick of timber nor a place of +concealment on these alkali plains,” I replied, “and it was +bright moonlight till an hour ago. It would be hard enough for +one man to get within a mile of the station without being seen, +and it would be impossible for seven or eight.”</p> + +<p>“How do you know the number?” asked a passenger.</p> + +<p>“I don’t,” I said. “That’s the number the crew think there were; +but I myself don’t believe it.”</p> + +<p>“Why don’t you believe the men?” asked Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“First, because there is always a tendency to magnify, and next, +because the road agents ran away so quickly.”</p> + +<p>“I counted at least seven,” asserted Lord Ralles.</p> + +<p>“Well, Lord Ralles,” I said, “I don’t want to dispute your +eyesight, but if they had been that strong they would never have +bolted, and if you want to lay a bottle of wine, I’ll wager that +when I catch those chaps we’ll find there weren’t more than three +or four of them.”</p> + +<p>“Done!” he snapped.</p> + +<p>Leaving the group, I went forward to get the report of the mail +agent. He had put things to rights, and told me that, though the +mail had been pretty badly mixed up, only one pouch at worst had +been rifled. This—the one for registered mail—had been cut +open, but, as if to increase the mystery, the letters had been +scattered, unopened, about the car, only three out of the whole +being missing, and those very probably had fallen into the +pigeon-holes and would be found on a more careful search.</p> + +<p>I confess I breathed easier to think that the road agents had got +away with nothing, and was so pleased that I went back to the +wire to send the news of it, that the fact might be included in +the press despatches. The moon had set, and it was so dark that I +had some difficulty in finding the pole. When I found it, Miss +Cullen was still standing there. What was more, a man was close +beside her, and as I came up I heard her say, indignantly,—</p> + +<p>“I will not allow it. It is unfair to take such advantage of me. +Take your arm away, or I shall call for help!”</p> + +<p>That was enough for me. One step carried my hundred and sixty +pounds over the intervening ground, and, using the momentum of +the stride to help, I put the flat of my hand against the +shoulder of the man and gave him a shove. There are three or four +Harvard men who can tell what that means, and they were braced +for it, which this fellow wasn’t. He went staggering back as if +struck by a cow-catcher, and lay down on the ground a good +fifteen feet away. His having his arm around Miss Cullen’s waist +unsteadied her so that she would have fallen too if I hadn’t put +my hand against her shoulder. I longed to put it about her, but +by this time I didn’t want to please myself, but to do only what +I thought she would wish, and so restrained myself.</p> + +<p>Before I had time to finish an apology to Miss Cullen, the fellow +was up on his feet, and came at me with an exclamation of anger. +In my surprise at recognizing the voice as that of Lord Ralles, I +almost neglected to take care of myself; but, though he was quick +with his fists, I caught him by the wrists as he closed, and he +had no chance after that against a fellow of my weight.</p> + +<p>“Oh, don’t quarrel!” cried Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>Holding him, I said, “Lord Ralles, I overheard what Miss Cullen +was saying, and, supposing some man was insulting her, I acted as +I did.” Then I let go of him, and, turning, I continued, “I am +very sorry, Miss Cullen, if I did anything the circumstances did +not warrant,” while cursing myself for my precipitancy and for +not thinking that Miss Cullen would never have been caught in +such a plight with a man unless she had been half willing; for a +girl does not merely threaten to call for help if she really +wants aid.</p> + +<p>Lord Ralles wasn’t much mollified by my explanation. “You’re too +much in a hurry, my man,” he growled, speaking to me as if I were +a servant. “Be a bit more careful in the future.”</p> + +<p>I think I should have retorted—for his manner was enough to make +a saint mad—if Miss Cullen hadn’t spoken.</p> + +<p>“You tried to help me, Mr. Gordon, and I am deeply grateful for +that,” she said. The words look simple enough set down here. But +the tone in which she said them, and the extended hand and the +grateful little squeeze she gave my fingers, all seemed to +express so much that I was more puzzled over them than I was over +the robbery.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> +<h3>SOME RATHER QUEER ROAD AGENTS</h3> +</div> + +<p>“You had better come back to the car, Miss Cullen,” remarked Lord +Ralles, after a pause.</p> + +<p>But she declined to do so, saying she wanted to know what I was +going to telegraph; and he left us, for which I wasn’t sorry. I +told her of the good news I had to send, and she wanted to know +if now we would try to catch the road agents. I set her mind at +rest on that score.</p> + +<p>“I think they’ll give us very little trouble to bag,” I added, +“for they are so green that it’s almost pitiful.”</p> + +<p>“In not cutting the wires?” she asked.</p> + +<p>“In everything,” I replied. “But the worst botch is their waiting +till we had just passed the Arizona line. If they had held us up +an hour earlier, it would only have been State’s prison.”</p> + +<p>“And what will it be now?”</p> + +<p>“Hanging.”</p> + +<p>“What?” cried Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“In New Mexico train-robbing is not capital, but in Arizona it +is,” I told her.</p> + +<p>“And if you catch them they’ll be hung?” she asked.</p> + +<p>“Yes.”</p> + +<p>“That seems very hard.”</p> + +<p>The first signs of dawn were beginning to show by this time, and +as the sky brightened I told Miss Cullen that I was going to look +for the trail of the fugitives. She said she would walk with me, +if not in the way, and my assurance was very positive on that +point. And here I want to remark that it’s saying a good deal if +a girl can be up all night in such excitement and still look +fresh and pretty, and that she did.</p> + +<p>I ordered the crew to look about, and then began a big circle +around the train. Finding nothing, I swung a bigger one. That +being equally unavailing, I did a larger third. Not a trace of +foot or hoof within a half-mile of the cars! I had heard of +blankets laid down to conceal a trail, of swathed feet, even of +leathern horse-boots with cattle-hoofs on the bottom, but none of +these could have been used for such a distance, let alone the +entire absence of any signs of a place where the horses had been +hobbled. Returning to the train, the report of the men was the +same.</p> + +<p>“We’ve ghost road agents to deal with, Miss Cullen,” I laughed. +“They come from nowhere, bullets touch them not, their lead hurts +nobody, they take nothing, and they disappear without touching +the ground.”</p> + +<p>“How curious it is!” she exclaimed. “One would almost suppose it +a dream.”</p> + +<p>“Hold on,” I said. “We do have something tangible, for if they +disappeared they left their shells behind them.” And I pointed to +some cartridge-shells that lay on the ground beside the mail-car. +“My theory of aerial bullets won’t do.”</p> + +<p>“The shells are as hollow as I feel,” laughed Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“Your suggestion reminds me that I am desperately hungry,” I +said. “Suppose we go back and end the famine.”</p> + +<p>Most of the passengers had long since returned to their seats or +berths, and Mr. Cullen’s party had apparently done the same, for +218 showed no signs of life. One of my darkies was awake, and he +broiled a steak and made us some coffee in no time, and just as +they were ready Albert Cullen appeared, so we made a very jolly +little breakfast. He told me at length the part he and the +Britishers had borne, and only made me marvel the more that any +one of them was alive, for apparently they had jumped off the car +without the slightest precaution, and had stood grouped together, +even after they had called attention to themselves by Lord +Ralles’s shots. Cullen had to confess that he heard the whistle +of the four bullets unpleasantly close.</p> + +<p>“You have a right to be proud, Mr. Cullen,” I said. “You fellows +did a tremendously plucky thing, and, thanks to you, we didn’t +lose anything.”</p> + +<p>“But you went to help too, Mr. Gordon,” added Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>That made me color up, and, after a moment’s hesitation, I +said,—</p> + +<p>“I’m not going to sail under false colors, Miss Cullen. When I +went forward I didn’t think I could do anything. I supposed +whoever had pitched into the robbers was dead, and I expected to +be the same inside of ten minutes.”</p> + +<p>“Then why did you risk your life,” she asked, “if you thought it +was useless?”</p> + +<p>I laughed, and, though ashamed to tell it, replied, “I didn’t +want you to think that the Britishers had more pluck than I had.”</p> + +<p>She took my confession better than I hoped she would, laughing +with me, and then said, “Well, that was courageous, after all.”</p> + +<p>“Yes,” I confessed, “I was frightened into bravery.”</p> + +<p>“Perhaps if they had known the danger as well as you, they would +have been less courageous,” she continued; and I could have +blessed her for the speech.</p> + +<p>While we were still eating, the mail clerk came to my car and +reported that the most careful search had failed to discover the +three registered letters, and they had evidently been taken. This +made me feel sober, slight as the probable loss was. He told me +that his list showed they were all addressed to Ash Forks, +Arizona, making it improbable that their contents could be of any +real value. If possible, I was more puzzled than ever.</p> + +<p>At six-ten the runner whistled to show he had steam up. I told +one of the brakemen to stay behind, and then went into 218. Mr. +Cullen was still dressing, but I expressed my regrets through the +door that I could not go with his party to the Grand Cañon, told +him that all the stage arrangements had been completed, and +promised to join him there in case my luck was good. Then I saw +Frederic for a moment, to see how he was (for I had nearly +forgotten him in the excitement), to find that he was gaining all +the time, and preparing even to get up. When I returned to the +saloon, the rest of the party were there, and I bade <ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'good-bye'"><a name="goodby1" id="goodby1"></a>good-by</ins> to +the captain and Albert. Then I turned to Lord Ralles, and, +holding out my hand, said,—</p> + +<p>“Lord Ralles, I joked a little the other morning about the way +you thought road agents ought to be treated. You have turned the +joke very neatly and pluckily, and I want to apologize for myself +and thank you for the railroad.”</p> + +<p>“Neither is necessary,” he retorted airily, pretending not to see +my hand.</p> + +<p>I never claimed to have a good temper, and it was all I could do +to hold myself in. I turned to Miss Cullen to wish her a pleasant +trip, and the thought that this might be our last meeting made me +forget even Lord Ralles.</p> + +<p>“I hope it isn’t <ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'good-bye'"><a name="goodby2" id="goodby2"></a>good-by</ins>, but only <i>au revoir</i>,” she said. +“Whether or no, you must let us see you some time in Chicago, so +that I may show you how grateful I am for all the pleasure you +have added to our trip.” Then, as I stepped down off my platform, +she leaned over the rail of 218, and added, in a low voice, “I +thought you were just as brave as the rest, Mr. Gordon, and now I +think you are braver.”</p> + +<p>I turned impulsively, and said, “You would think so, Miss Cullen, +if you knew the sacrifice I am making.” Then, without looking at +her, I gave the signal, the bell rang, and No. 3 pulled off. The +last thing I saw was a handkerchief waving off the platform of +218.</p> + +<p>When the train dropped out of sight over a grade, I swallowed the +lump in my throat and went to the telegraph instrument. I wired +Coolidge to give the alarm to Fort Wingate, Fort Apache, Fort +Thomas, Fort Grant, Fort Bayard, and Fort Whipple, though I +thought the precaution a mere waste of energy. Then I sent the +brakeman up to connect the cut wire.</p> + +<p>“Two of the bullets struck up here, Mr. Gordon,” the man called +from the top of the pole.</p> + +<p>“Surely not!” I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir,” he responded. “The bullet-holes are brand-new.”</p> + +<p>I took in the lay of the land, the embers of the fire showing me +how the train had lain. “I don’t wonder nobody was hit,” I +exclaimed, “if that’s a sample of their shooting. Some one was a +worse rattled man than I ever expect to be. Dig the bullets out, +Douglas, so that we can have a look at them.”</p> + +<p>He brought them down in a minute. They proved to be Winchesters, +as I had expected, for they were on the side from which the +robbers must have fired.</p> + +<p>“That chap must have been full of Arizona tangle-foot, to have +fired as wild as he did,” I ejaculated, and walked over to where +the mail-car had stood, to see just how bad the shooting was. +When I got there and faced about, it was really impossible to +believe any man could have done so badly, for raising my own +Winchester to the pole put it twenty degrees out of range and +nearly forty degrees in the air. Yet there were the +cartridge-shells on the ground, to show that I was in the place +from which the shots had been fired.</p> + +<p>While I was still cogitating over this, the special train I had +ordered out from Flagstaff came in sight, and in a few moments +was stopped where I was. It consisted of a string of three flats +and a box car, and brought the sheriff, a dozen cowboys whom he +had sworn in as deputies, and their horses. I was hopeful that +with these fellows’ greater skill in such matters they could find +what I had not, but after a thorough examination of the ground +within a mile of the robbery they were as much at fault as I had +been.</p> + +<p>“Them cusses must have a dugout nigh abouts, for they couldn’t +’a’ got away without wings,” the sheriff surmised.</p> + +<p>I didn’t put much stock in that idea, and told the sheriff so.</p> + +<p>“Waal, round up a better one,” was his retort.</p> + +<p>Not being able to do that, I told him of the bullets in the +telegraph pole, and took him over to where the mail car had +stood.</p> + +<p>“Jerusalem crickets!” was his comment as he measured the aim. “If +that’s where they put two of their pills, they must have pumped +the other four inter the moon.”</p> + +<p>“What other four?” I asked.</p> + +<p>“Shots,” he replied sententiously.</p> + +<p>“The road agents only fired four times,” I told him.</p> + +<p>“Them and your pards must have been pretty nigh together for a +minute, then,” he said, pointing to the ground.</p> + +<p>I glanced down, and sure enough, there were six empty +cartridge-shells. I stood looking blankly at them, hardly able to +believe what I saw; for Albert Cullen had said distinctly that +the train-robbers had fired only four times, and that the last +three Winchester shots I had heard had been fired by himself. +Then, without speaking, I walked slowly back, searching along +the edge of the road-bed for more shells; but, though I went +beyond the point where the last car had stood, not one did I +find. Any man who has fired a Winchester knows that it drops its +empty shell in loading, and I could therefore draw only one +conclusion,—namely, that all seven discharges of the Winchesters +had occurred up by the mail-car. I had heard of men supposing +they had fired their guns through hearing another go off; but +with a repeating rifle one has to fire before one can reload. The +fact was evident that Albert Cullen either had fired his +Winchester up by the mail-car, or else had not fired it at all. +In either case he had lied, and Lord Ralles and Captain Ackland +had backed him up in it.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> +<h3>A TRIP TO THE GRAND CAÑON</h3> +</div> + +<p>I stood pondering, for no explanation that would fit the facts +seemed possible. I should have considered the young fellow’s +story only an attempt to gain a little reputation for pluck, if +in any way I could have accounted for the appearance and +disappearance of the robbers. Yet to suppose—which seemed the +only other horn to the dilemma—that the son and guests of the +vice-president of the Missouri Western, and one of our own +directors, would be concerned in train-robbery was to believe +something equally improbable. Indeed, I should have put the whole +thing down as a practical joke of Mr. Cullen’s party, if it had +not been for the loss of the registered letters. Even a practical +joker would hardly care to go to the length of cutting open +government mail-pouches; for Uncle Sam doesn’t approve of such +conduct.</p> + +<p>Whatever the explanation, I had enough facts to prevent me from +wasting more time on that alkali plain. Getting the men and +horses back onto the cars, I jumped up on the tail-board and +ordered the runner to pull out for Flagstaff. It was a run of +seven hours, getting us in a little after eight, and in those +hours I had done a lot of thinking which had all come to one +result,—that Mr. Cullen’s party was concerned in the hold-up.</p> + +<p>The two private cars were on a siding, but the Cullens had left +for the Grand Cañon the moment they had arrived, and were about +reaching there by this time. I went to 218 and questioned the +cook and waiter, but they had either seen nothing or else had +been primed, for not a fact did I get from them. Going to my own +car, I ordered a quick supper, and while I was eating it I +questioned my boy. He told me that he had heard the shots, and +had bolted the front door of my car, as I had ordered when I went +out; that as he turned to go to a safer place, he had seen a man, +revolver in hand, climb over the off-side gate of Mr. Cullen’s +car, and for a moment he had supposed it a road agent, till he +saw that it was Albert Cullen.</p> + +<p>“That was just after I had got off?” I asked.</p> + +<p><ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original missing end-quotes.">“Yis, sah.”</ins></p> + +<p>“Then it couldn’t have been Mr. Cullen, Jim,” I declared, “for I +found him up at the other end of the car.”</p> + +<p>“Tell you it wuz, Mr. Gordon,” Jim insisted. “I done seen his +face clar in de light, and he done go into Mr. Cullen’s car whar +de old gentleman wuz sittin’.”</p> + +<p>That set me whistling to myself, and I laughed to think how near +I had come to giving nitroglycerin to a fellow who was only +shamming heart-failure; for that it was Frederic Cullen who had +climbed on the car I hadn’t the slightest doubt, the resemblance +between the two brothers being quite strong enough to deceive any +one who had never seen them together. I smiled a little, and +remarked to myself, “I think I can make good my boast that I +would catch the robbers; but whether the Cullens will like my +doing it, I question. What is more, Lord Ralles will owe me a +bottle.” Then I thought of Madge, and didn’t feel as pleased over +my success as I had felt a moment before.</p> + +<p>By nine o’clock the posse and I were in the saddle and skirting +the San Francisco peaks. There was no use of pressing the ponies, +for our game wasn’t trying to escape, and, for that matter, +couldn’t, as the Colorado River wasn’t passable within fifty +miles. It was a lovely moonlight night, and the ride through the +pines was as pretty a one as I remember ever to have made. It set +me thinking of Madge and of our talk the evening before, and of +what a change twenty-four hours had brought. It was lucky I was +riding an Indian pony, or I should probably have landed in a +heap. I don’t know that I should have cared particularly if a +prairie-dog burrow had made me dash my brains out, for I wasn’t +happy over the job that lay before me.</p> + +<p>We watered at Silver Spring at quarter-past twelve. From that +point we were clear of the pines and out on the plain, so we +could go a better pace. This brought us to the half-way ranch by +two, where we gave the ponies a feed and an hour’s rest. We +reached the last relay station just as the moon set, about +three-forty; and, as all the rest of the ride was through +<ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'coconino forest'"><a name="Coconino" id="Coconino"></a>Coconino forest,</ins> we held up there for daylight, getting a little +sleep meanwhile.</p> + +<p>We rode into the camp at the Grand Cañon a little after eight, +and the deserted look of the tents gave me a moment’s fright, for +I feared that the party had gone. Tolfree explained, however, +that some had ridden out to Moran Point, and the rest had gone +down Hance’s trail. So I breakfasted and then took a look at +Albert Cullen’s Winchester. That it had been recently fired was +as plain as the Grand Cañon itself; throwing back the bar, I +found an empty cartridge shell, still oily from the discharge. +That completed the tale of seven shots. I didn’t feel absolutely +safe till I had asked Tolfree if there had been any shooting of +echoes by the party, but his denial rounded out my chain of +evidence.</p> + +<p>Telling the sheriff to guard the bags of the party carefully, I +took two of the posse and rode over to Moran’s Point. Sure +enough, there were Mr. Cullen, Albert, and Captain Ackland. They +gave a shout at seeing me, and even before I had reached them +they called to know how I could come so soon, and if I had caught +the robbers. Mr. Cullen started to tell his pleasure at my +rejoining the party, but my expression made him pause, and it +seemed to dawn on all three that the Winchester across my saddle, +and the cowboys’ hands resting nonchalantly on the revolvers in +their belts, had a meaning.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Cullen,” I explained, “I’ve got a very unpleasant job on +hand, which I don’t want to make any worse than need be. Every +fact points to your party as guilty of holding up the train last +night and stealing those letters. Probably you weren’t all +concerned, but I’ve got to go on the assumption that you are all +guilty, till you prove otherwise.”</p> + +<p>“Aw, you’re joking,” drawled Albert.</p> + +<p>“I hope so,” I said, “but for the present I’ve got to be English +and treat the joke seriously.”</p> + +<p>“What do you want to do?” asked Mr. Cullen.</p> + +<p>“I don’t wish to arrest you gentlemen unless you force me to,” I +said, “for I don’t see that it will do any good. But I want you +to return to camp with us.”</p> + +<p>They assented to that, and, single file, we rode back. When there +I told each that he must be searched, to which they submitted at +once. After that we went through their baggage. I wasn’t going to +have the sheriff or cowboys tumbling over Miss Cullen’s clothes, +so I looked over her bag myself. The prettiness and daintiness of +the various contents were a revelation to me, and I tried to put +them back as neatly as I had found them, but I didn’t know much +about the articles, and it was a terrible job trying to fold up +some of the things. Why, there was a big pink affair, lined with +silk, with bits of ribbon and lace all over it, which nearly +drove me out of my head, for I would have defied mortal man to +pack it so that it shouldn’t muss. I had a funny little feeling +of tenderness for everything, which made fussing over it all a +pleasure, even while I felt all the time that I was doing a sneak +act and had really no right to touch her belongings. I didn’t +find anything incriminating, and the posse reported the same +result with the other baggage. If the letters were still in +existence, they were either concealed somewhere or were in the +possession of the party in the Cañon. Telling the sheriff to keep +those in the camp under absolute surveillance, I took a single +man, and saddling a couple of mules, started down the trail.</p> + +<p>We found Frederic and “Captain” Hance just dismounting at the +Rock Cabin, and I told the former he was in custody for the +present, and asked him where Miss Cullen and Lord Ralles were. He +told me they were just behind; but I wasn’t going to take any +risks, and, ordering the deputy to look after Cullen, I went on +down the trail. I couldn’t resist calling back,—</p> + +<p>“How’s your respiration, Mr. Cullen?”</p> + +<p>He laughed, and called, “Digitalis put me on my feet like a +flash.”</p> + +<p>“He’s got the most brains of any man in this party,” I remarked +to myself.</p> + +<p>The trail at this point is very winding, so that one can rarely +see fifty feet in advance, and sometimes not ten. Owing to this, +the first thing I knew I plumped round a curve on to a mule, +which was patiently standing there. Just back of him was another, +on which sat Miss Cullen, and standing close beside her was Lord +Ralles. One of his hands held the mule’s bridle; the other held +Madge’s arm, and he was saying, “You owe it to me, and I will +have one. Or if—”</p> + +<p>I swore to myself, and coughed aloud, which made Miss Cullen look +up. The moment she saw me she cried, “Mr. Gordon! How +delightful!” even while she grew as red as she had been pale the +moment before. Lord Ralles grew red too, but in a different way.</p> + +<p>“Have you caught the robbers?” cried Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“I’m afraid I have,” I answered.</p> + +<p>“What do you mean?” she asked.</p> + +<p>I smiled at the absolute innocence and wonder with which she +spoke, and replied, “I know now, Miss Cullen, why you said I was +braver than the Britishers.”</p> + +<p>“How do you know?”</p> + +<p>I couldn’t resist getting in a side-shot at Lord Ralles, who had +mounted his mule and sat scowling. “The train-robbers were such +thoroughgoing duffers at the trade,” I said, “that if they had +left their names and addresses they wouldn’t have made it much +easier. We Americans may not know enough to deal with real road +agents, but we can do something with amateurs.”</p> + +<p>“What are we stopping here for?” snapped Lord Ralles.</p> + +<p>“I’m sure I don’t know,” I responded. “Miss Cullen, if you will +kindly pass us, and then if Lord Ralles will follow you, we will +go on to the cabin. I must ask you to keep close together.”</p> + +<p>“I stay or go as I please, and not by your orders,” asserted Lord +Ralles, snappishly.</p> + +<p>“Out in this part of the country,” I said calmly, “it is +considered shocking bad form for an unarmed man to argue with one +who carries a repeating rifle. Kindly follow Miss Cullen.” And, +leaning over, I struck his mule with the loose ends of my bridle, +starting it up the trail.</p> + +<p>When we reached the cabin the deputy told me that he had made +Frederic strip and had searched his clothing, finding nothing. I +ordered Lord Ralles to dismount and go into the cabin.</p> + +<p>“For what?” he demanded.</p> + +<p>“We want to search you,” I answered.</p> + +<p>“I don’t choose to be searched,” he protested. “You have shown no +warrant, nor—”</p> + +<p>I wasn’t in a mood towards him to listen to his talk. I swung my +Winchester into line and announced, “I was sworn in last night as +a deputy-sheriff, and am privileged to shoot a train-robber on +sight. Either dead or alive, I’m going to search your clothing +inside of ten minutes; and if you have no preference as to +whether the examination is an ante- or post-mortem affair, I +certainly haven’t.”</p> + +<p>That brought him down off his high horse,—that is, mule,—and I +sent the deputy in with him with directions to toss his clothes +out to me, for I wanted to keep my eye on Miss Cullen and her +brother, so as to prevent any legerdemain on their part.</p> + +<p>One by one the garments came flying through the door to me. As +fast as I finished examining them I pitched them back, +except—Well, as I have thought it over since then, I have +decided that I did a mean thing, and have regretted it. But just +put yourself in my place, and think of how Lord Ralles had talked +to me as if I was his servant, had refused my apology and thanks, +and been as generally “nasty” as he could, and perhaps you won’t +blame me that, after looking through his trousers, I gave them a +toss which, instead of sending them back into the hut, sent them +over the edge of the trail. They went down six hundred feet +before they lodged in a poplar, and if his lordship followed the +trail he could get round to them, but there would then be a +hundred feet of sheer rock between the trail and the trousers. “I +hope it will teach him to study his Lord Chesterfield to better +purpose, for if politeness doesn’t cost anything, rudeness can +cost considerable,” I chuckled to myself.</p> + +<p>My amusement did not last long, for my next thought was, “If +those letters are concealed on any one, they are on Miss Cullen.” +The thought made me lean up against my mule, and turn hot and +cold by turns.</p> + +<p>A nice situation for a lover!</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> +<h3>THE HAPPENINGS DOWN HANCE’S TRAIL</h3> +</div> + +<p>Miss Cullen was sitting on a rock apart from her brother and +Hance, as I had asked her to do when I helped her dismount. I +went over to where she sat, and said, boldly,—</p> + +<p>“Miss Cullen, I want those letters.”</p> + +<p>“What letters?” she asked, looking me in the eyes with the most +innocent of expressions. She made a mistake to do that, for I +knew her innocence must be feigned, and so didn’t put much faith +in her face for the rest of the interview.</p> + +<p>“And what is more,” I continued, with a firmness of manner about +as genuine as her innocence, “unless you will produce them at +once, I shall have to search you.”</p> + +<p>“Mr. Gordon!” she exclaimed, but she put such surprise and grief +and disbelief into the four syllables that I wanted the earth to +swallow me then and there.</p> + +<p>“Why, Miss Cullen,” I cried, “look at my position. I’m being paid +to do certain things, and—”</p> + +<p>“But that needn’t prevent your being a gentleman,” she +interrupted.</p> + +<p>That made me almost desperate. “Miss Cullen,” I groaned, +hurriedly, “I’d rather be burned alive than do what I’ve got to, +but if you won’t give me those letters, search you I must.”</p> + +<p>“But how can I give you what I haven’t?” she cried, indignantly, +assuming again her innocent expression.</p> + +<p>“Will you give me your word of honor that those letters are not +concealed in your clothes?”</p> + +<p>“I will,” she answered.</p> + +<p>I was very much taken aback, for it would have been so easy for +Miss Cullen to have said so before that I had become convinced +she must have them.</p> + +<p>“And do you give me your word?”</p> + +<p>“I do,” she affirmed, but she didn’t look me in the face as she +said it.</p> + +<p>I ought to have been satisfied, but I wasn’t, for, in spite of +her denial, something forced me still to believe she had them, +and looking back now, I think it was her manner. I stood +reflecting for a minute, and then requested, “Please stay where +you are for a moment.” Leaving her, I went over to Fred.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Cullen,” I said, “Miss Cullen, rather than be searched, has +acknowledged that she has the letters, and says that if we men +will go into the hut she’ll get them for me.”</p> + +<p>He rose at once. “I told my father not to drag her in,” he +muttered, sadly. “I don’t care about myself, Mr. Gordon, but +can’t you keep her out of it? She’s as innocent of any real wrong +as the day she was born.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll do everything in my power,” I promised. Then he and Hance +went into the cabin, and I walked back to the culprit.</p> + +<p>“Miss Cullen,” I said, gravely, “you have those letters, and must +give them to me.”</p> + +<p>“But I told you—” she began.</p> + +<p>To spare her a second untruth, I interrupted her by saying, “I +trapped your brother into acknowledging that you have them.”</p> + +<p>“You must have misunderstood him,” she replied, calmly, “or else +he didn’t know that the arrangement was changed.”</p> + +<p>Her steadiness rather shook my conviction, but I said, “You must +give me those letters, or I must search you.”</p> + +<p>“You never would!” she cried, rising and looking me in the face.</p> + +<p>On impulse I tried a big bluff. I took hold of the lapel of her +waist, intending to undo just one button. I let go in fright when +I found there was no button,—only an awful complication of hooks +or some other feminine method for keeping things together,—and I +grew red and trembled, thinking what might have happened had I, +by bad luck, made anything come undone. If Miss Cullen had been +noticing me, she would have seen a terribly scared man.</p> + +<p>But she wasn’t, luckily, for the moment my hand touched her +dress, and before she could realize that I snatched it away, she +collapsed on the rock, and burst into tears. “Oh! oh!” she +sobbed, “I begged papa not to, but he insisted they were safest +with me. I’ll give them to you, if you’ll only go away and not—” +Her tears made her inarticulate, and without waiting for more I +ran into the hut, feeling as near like a murderer as a guiltless +man could.</p> + +<p>Lord Ralles by this time was making almost as much noise as an +engine pulling a heavy freight up grade under forced draft, +swearing over his trousers, and was offering the cowboy and Hance +money to recover them. When they told him this was impossible he +tried to get them to sell or hire a pair, but they didn’t like +the idea of riding into camp minus those essentials any better +than he did. While I waited they settled the difficulty by +strapping a blanket round him, and by splitting it up the middle +and using plenty of cord they rigged him out after a fashion; but +I think if he could have seen himself and been given an option he +would have preferred to wait till it was dark enough to creep +into camp unnoticed.</p> + +<p>Before long Miss Cullen called, and when I went to her she handed +me, without a word, three letters. As she did so she crimsoned +violently, and looked down in her mortification. I was so sorry +for her that, though a moment before I had been judging her +harshly, I now couldn’t help saying,—</p> + +<p>“Our positions have been so difficult, Miss Cullen, that I don’t +think we either of us are quite responsible for our actions.”</p> + +<p>She said nothing, and, after a pause, I continued,—</p> + +<p>“I hope you’ll think as leniently of my conduct as you can, for I +can’t tell you how grieved I am to have pained you.”</p> + +<p>Cullen joined us at this point, and, knowing that every moment we +remained would be distressing to his sister, I announced that we +would start up the trail. I hadn’t the heart to offer to help her +mount, and after Frederic had put her up we fell into single file +behind Hance, Lord Ralles coming last.</p> + +<p>As soon as we started I took a look at the three letters. They +were all addressed to Theodore E. Camp, Esq., Ash Forks, +Arizona,—one of the directors of the K. & A. and also of the +Great Southern. With this clue, for the first time things began +to clear up to me, and when the trail broadened enough to permit +it, I pushed my mule up alongside of Cullen and asked,—</p> + +<p>“The letters contain proxies for the K. & A. election next +Friday?”</p> + +<p>He nodded his head. “The Missouri Western and the Great Southern +are fighting for control,” he explained, “and we should have won +but for three blocks of Eastern stock that had promised their +proxies to the G. S. Rather than lose the fight, we arranged to +learn when those proxies were mailed,—that was what kept me +behind,—and then to hold up the train that carried them.”</p> + +<p>“Was it worth the risk?” I ejaculated.</p> + +<p>“If we had succeeded, yes. My father had put more than was safe +into Missouri Western and into California Central. The G. S. +wants control to end the traffic agreements, and that means +bankruptcy to my father.”</p> + +<p>I nodded, seeing it all as clear as day, and hardly blaming the +Cullens for what they had done; for any one who has had dealings +with the G. S. is driven to pretty desperate methods to keep from +being crushed, and when one is fighting an antagonist that won’t +regard the law, or rather one that, through control of +legislatures and judges, makes the law to suit its needs, the +temptation is strong to use the same weapons one’s self.</p> + +<p>“The toughest part of it is,” Fred went on, “that we thought we +had the whole thing ‘hands down,’ and that was what made my +father go in so deep. Only the death of one of the M. W. +directors, who held eight thousand shares of K. & A., got us in +this hole, for the G. S. put up a relation to contest the will, +and so delayed the obtaining of letters of administration, +blocking his executors from giving a proxy. It was as mean a +trick as ever was played.”</p> + +<p>“The G. S. is a tough customer to fight,” I remarked, and asked, +“Why didn’t you burn the letters?” really wishing they had done +so.</p> + +<p>“We feared duplicate proxies might get through in time, and +thought that by keeping these we might cook up a question as to +which were legal, and then by injunction prevent the use of +either.”</p> + +<p>“And those Englishmen,” I inquired, “are they real?”</p> + +<p>“Oh, certainly,” he rejoined. “They were visiting my brother, and +thought the whole thing great larks.” Then he told me how the +thing had been done. They had sent Miss Cullen to my car, so as +to get me out of the way, though she hadn’t known it. He and his +brother got off the train at the last stop, with the guns and +masks, and concealed themselves on the platform of the mail-car. +Here they had been joined by the Britishers at the right moment, +the disguises assumed, and the train held up as already told. Of +course the dynamite cartridge was only a blind, and the letters +had been thrown about the car merely to confuse the clerk. Then +while Frederic Cullen, with the letters, had stolen back to the +car, the two Englishmen had crept back to where they had stood. +Here, as had been arranged, they opened fire, which Albert Cullen +duly returned, and then joined them. “I don’t see now how you +spotted us,” Frederic ended.</p> + +<p>I told him, and his disgust was amusing to see. “Going to Oxford +may be all right for the classics,” he growled, “but it’s +destructive to gumption.”</p> + +<p>We rode into camp a pretty gloomy crowd, and those of the party +waiting for us there were not much better; but when Lord Ralles +dismounted and showed up in his substitute for trousers there was +a general shout of laughter. Even Miss Cullen had to laugh for a +moment. And as his lordship bolted for his tent, I said to +myself, “Honors are easy.”</p> + +<p>I told the sheriff that I had recovered the lost property, but +did not think any arrests necessary as yet; and, as he was the +agent of the K. & A. at Flagstaff, he didn’t question my opinion. +I ordered the stage out, and told Tolfree to give us a feed +before we started, but a more silent meal I never sat down to, +and I noticed that Miss Cullen didn’t eat anything, while the +tragic look on her face was so pathetic as nearly to drive me +frantic.</p> + +<p>We started a little after five, and were clear of the timber +before it was too dark to see. At the relay station we waited an +hour for the moon, after which it was a clear track. We reached +the half-way ranch about eleven, and while changing the stage +horses I roused Mrs. Klostermeyer, and succeeded in getting +enough cold mutton and bread to make two rather decent-looking +sandwiches. With these and a glass of whiskey and water I went +to the stage, to find Miss Cullen curled up on the seat asleep, +her head resting in her brother’s arms.</p> + +<p>“She has nearly worried herself to death ever since you told her +that road agents were hung,” Frederic whispered; “and she’s been +crying to-night over that lie she told you, and altogether she’s +worn out with travel and excitement.”</p> + +<p>I screwed the cover on the travelling-glass, and put it with the +sandwiches in the bottom of the stage. “It’s a long and a rough +ride,” I said, “and if she wakes up they may give her a little +strength. I only wish I could have spared her the fatigue and +anxiety.”</p> + +<p>“She thought she had to lie for father’s sake, but she’s nearly +broken-hearted over it,” he continued.</p> + +<p>I looked Frederic in the face as I said, “I honor her for it,” +and in that moment he and I became friends.</p> + +<p>“Just see how pretty she is!” he whispered, with evident +affection and pride, turning back the flap of the rug in which +she was wrapped.</p> + +<p>She was breathing gently, and there was just that touch of +weariness and sadness in her face that would appeal to any man. +It made me gulp, I’m proud to say; and when I was back on my +pony, I said to myself, “For her sake, I’ll pull the Cullens out +of this scrape, if it costs me my position.”</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> +<h3>A CHANGE OF BASE</h3> +</div> + +<p>We did not reach Flagstaff till seven, and I told the stage-load +to take possession of their car, while I went to my own. It took +me some time to get freshened up, and then I ate my breakfast; +for after riding seventy-two miles in one night even the most +heroic purposes have to take the side-track. I think, as it was, +I proved my devotion pretty well by not going to sleep, since I +had been up three nights, with only such naps as I could steal in +the saddle, and had ridden over a hundred and fifty miles to +boot. But I couldn’t bear to think of Miss Cullen’s anxiety, and +the moment I had made myself decent, and finished eating, I went +into 218.</p> + +<p>The party were all in the dining-room, but it was a very +different-looking crowd from the one with which that first +breakfast had been eaten, and they all looked at me as I entered +as if I were the executioner come for victims.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Cullen,” I began, “I’ve been forced to do a lot of things +that weren’t pleasant, but I don’t want to do more than I need. +You’re not the ordinary kind of road agents, and, as I presume +your address is known, I don’t see any need of arresting one of +our own directors as yet. All I ask is that you give me your +word, for the party, that none of you will try to leave the +country.”</p> + +<p>“Certainly, Mr. Gordon,” he responded. “And I thank you for your +great consideration.”</p> + +<p>“I shall have to report the case to our president, and, I +suppose, to the Postmaster-General, but I sha’n’t hurry about +either. What they will do, I can’t say. Probably you know how far +you can keep them quiet.”</p> + +<p>“I think the local authorities are all I have to fear, provided +time is given me.”</p> + +<p>“I have dismissed the sheriff and his posse, and I gave them a +hundred dollars for their work, and three bottles of pretty good +whiskey I had on my car. Unless they get orders from elsewhere, +you will not hear any further from them.”</p> + +<p>“You must let me reimburse what expense we have put you to, Mr. +Gordon. I only wish I could as easily repay your kindness.”</p> + +<p>Nodding my head in assent, as well as in recognition of his +thanks, I continued, “It was my duty, as an official of the K. & +A., to recover the stolen mail, and I had to do it.”</p> + +<p>“We understand that,” said Mr. Cullen, “and do not for a moment +blame you.”</p> + +<p>“But,” I went on, for the first time looking at Madge, “it is not +my duty to take part in a contest for control of the K. & A., and +I shall therefore act in this case as I should in any other loss +of mail.”</p> + +<p>“And that is—?” asked Frederic.</p> + +<p>“I am about to telegraph for instructions from Washington,” I +replied. “As the G. S. by trickery has dishonestly tied up some +of your proxies, they ought not to object if we do the same by +honest means; and I think I can manage so that Uncle Sam will +prevent those proxies from being voted at Ash Forks on Friday.”</p> + +<p>If a galvanic battery had been applied to the group about the +breakfast table, it wouldn’t have made a bigger change. Madge +clapped her hands in joy; Mr. Cullen said “God bless you!” with +real feeling; Frederic jumped up and slapped me on the shoulder, +crying, “Gordon, you’re the biggest old trump breathing;” while +Albert and the captain shook hands with each other, in evident +jubilation. Only Lord Ralles remained passive.</p> + +<p>“Have you breakfasted?” asked Mr. Cullen, when the first joy was +over.</p> + +<p>“Yes,” I said. “I only stopped in on my way to the station to +telegraph the Postmaster-General.”</p> + +<p>“May I come with you and see what you say?” cried Fred, jumping +up.</p> + +<p>I nodded, and Miss Cullen said, questioningly, “Me too?” making +me very happy by the question, for it showed that she would speak +to me. I gave an assent quite as eagerly and in a moment we were +all walking towards the platform. Despite Lord Ralles, I felt +happy, and especially as I had not dreamed that she would ever +forgive me.</p> + +<p>I took a telegraph blank, and, putting it so that Miss Cullen +could see what I said, wrote,—</p> + +<p>“Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C. I hold, awaiting your +instructions, the three registered letters stolen from No. 3 +Overland Missouri Western Express on Monday, October fourteenth, +loss of which has already been notified you.”</p> + +<p>Then I paused and said, “So far, that’s routine, Miss Cullen. Now +comes the help for you,” and I continued:—</p> + +<p>“The letters may have been tampered with, and I recommend a +special agent. Reply Flagstaff, Arizona. <span class="smcap">Richard Gordon</span>, +Superintendent K. & A. R. R.”</p> + +<p>“What will that do?” she asked.</p> + +<p>“I’m not much at prophecy, and we’ll wait for the reply,” I said.</p> + +<p>All that day we lay at Flagstaff, and after a good sleep, as +there was no use keeping the party cooped up in their car, I +drummed up some ponies and took the Cullens and Ackland over to +the Indian cliff-dwellings. I don’t think Lord Ralles gained +anything by staying behind in a sulk, for it was a very jolly +ride, or at least that was what it was to me. I had of course to +tell them all how I had settled on them as the criminals, and a +general history of my doings. To hear Miss Cullen talk, one would +have inferred I was the greatest of living detectives.</p> + +<p>“The mistake we made,” she asserted, “was not securing Mr. +Gordon’s help to begin with, for then we should never have needed +to hold the train up, or if we had we should never have been +discovered.”</p> + +<p>What was more to me than this ill-deserved admiration were two +things she said on the way back, when we two had paired off and +were a bit behind the rest.</p> + +<p>“The sandwiches and the whiskey were very good,” she told me, +“and I’m so grateful for the trouble you took.”</p> + +<p>“It was a pleasure,” I said.</p> + +<p>“And, Mr. Gordon,” she continued, and then hesitated for a +moment,—“my—Frederic told me that you—you said you honored me +for—?”</p> + +<p>“I do,” I exclaimed energetically, as she paused and colored.</p> + +<p>“Do you really?” she cried. “I thought Fred was only trying to +make me less unhappy by saying that you did.”</p> + +<p>“I said it, and I meant it,” I told her.</p> + +<p>“I have been so miserable over that lie,” she went on; “but I +thought if I let you have the letters it would ruin papa. I +really wouldn’t mind poverty myself, Mr. Gordon, but he takes +such pride in success that I couldn’t be the one to do it. And +then, after you told me that train-robbers were hung, I had to +lie to save them. I ought to have known you would help us.”</p> + +<p>I thought this a pretty good time to make a real apology for my +conduct on the trail, as well as to tell her how sorry I was at +not having been able to repack her bag better. She accepted my +apology very sweetly, and assured me her belongings had been put +away so neatly that she had wondered who did it. I knew she only +said this out of kindness, and told her so, telling also of my +struggles over that pink-beribboned and belaced affair, in a way +which made her laugh. I had thought it was a ball gown, and +wondered at her taking it to the Cañon; but she explained that it +was what she called a “throw”—which I told her accounted for the +throes I had gone through over it. It made me open my eyes, +thinking that anything so pretty could be used for the same +purposes for which I use my crash bath-gown, and while my eyes +were open I saw the folly of thinking that a girl who wore such +things would, or in fact could, ever get along on my salary. In +that way the incident was a good lesson for me, for it made me +feel that, even if there had been no Lord Ralles, I still should +have had no chance.</p> + +<p>On our return to the cars there was a telegram from the +Postmaster-General awaiting me. After a glance at it, as the rest +of the party looked anxiously on, I passed it over to Miss +Cullen, for I wanted her to have the triumph of reading it aloud +to them. It read,—</p> + +<p>“Hold letters pending arrival of special agent Jackson, due in +Flagstaff October twentieth.”</p> + +<p>“The election is the eighteenth,” Frederic laughed, executing a +war dance on the platform. “The G. S.’s dough is cooked.”</p> + +<p>“I must waltz with some one,” cried Madge, and before I could +offer she took hold of Albert and the two went whirling about, +much to my envy. The Cullens were about the most jubilant road +agents I had ever seen.</p> + +<p>After consultation with Mr. Cullen, we had 218 and 97 attached to +No. 1 when it arrived, and started for Ash Forks. He wanted to be +on the ground a day in advance, and I could easily be back in +Flagstaff before the arrival of the special agent.</p> + +<p>I took dinner in 218, and they toasted me, as if I had done +something heroic instead of merely having sent a telegram. Later +four sat down to poker, while Miss Cullen, Fred, and I went out +and sat on the platform of the car while Madge played on her +guitar and sang to us. She had a very sweet voice, and before she +had been singing long we had the crew of a “dust express”—as we +jokingly call a gravel train—standing about, and they were +speedily reinforced by many cowboys, who deserted the medley of +cracked pianos or accordions of the Western saloons to listen to +her, and who, not being over-careful in the terms with which they +expressed their approval, finally by their riotous admiration +drove us inside. At Miss Cullen’s suggestion we three had a +second game of poker, but with chips and not money. She was an +awfully reckless player, and the luck was dead in my favor, so +Madge kept borrowing my chips, till she was so deep in that we +both lost account. Finally, when we parted for the night she held +out her hand, and, in the prettiest of ways, said,—</p> + +<p>“I am so deeply in your debt, Mr. Gordon, that I don’t see how I +can ever repay you.”</p> + +<p>I tried to think of something worth saying, but the words +wouldn’t come, and I could only shake her hand. But, duffer as I +was, the way she had said those words, and the double meaning she +had given them, would have made me the happiest fellow alive if I +could only have forgotten the existence of Lord Ralles.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> +<h3>HOW DID THE SECRET LEAK OUT?</h3> +</div> + +<p>I made up for my three nights’ lack of sleep by not waking the +next morning till after ten. When I went to 218, I found only the +<i>chef</i>, and he told me the party had gone for a ride. Since I +couldn’t talk to Madge, I went to work at my desk, for I had been +rather neglecting my routine work. While I still wrote, I heard +horses’ hoofs, and, looking up, saw the Cullens returning. I went +out on the platform to wish them good-morning, arriving just in +time to see Lord Ralles help Miss Cullen out of her saddle; and +the way he did it, and the way he continued to hold her hand +after she was down, while he said something to her, made me grit +my teeth and look the other way. None of the riders had seen me, +so I slipped into my car and went back to work. Fred came in +presently to see if I was up yet, and to ask me to lunch, but I +felt so miserable and down-hearted that I made an excuse of my +late breakfast for not joining them.</p> + +<p>After luncheon the party in the other special all came out and +walked up and down the platform, the sound of their voices and +laughter only making me feel the bluer. Before long I heard a rap +on one of my windows, and there was Miss Cullen peering in at me. +The moment I looked up, she called,—</p> + +<p>“Won’t you make one of us, Mr. Misanthrope?”</p> + +<p>I called myself all sorts of a fool, but out I went as eagerly as +if there had been some hope. Miss Cullen began to tease me over +my sudden access of energy, declaring that she was sure it was a +pose for their benefit, or else due to a guilty conscience over +having slept so late.</p> + +<p>“I hoped you would ride with us, though perhaps it wouldn’t have +paid you. Apparently there is nothing to see in Ash Forks.”</p> + +<p>“There is something that may interest you all,” I suggested, +pointing to a special that had been dropped off No. 2 that +morning.</p> + +<p>“What is it?” asked Madge.</p> + +<p>“It’s a G. S. special,” I said, “and Mr. Camp and Mr. Baldwin and +two G. S. officials came in on it.”</p> + +<p>“What do you think he’d give for those letters?” laughed Fred.</p> + +<p>“If they were worth so much to you, I suppose they can’t be worth +any less to the G. S.,” I replied.</p> + +<p>“Fortunately, there is no way that he can learn where they are,” +said Mr. Cullen.</p> + +<p>“Don’t let’s stand still,” cried Miss Cullen. “Mr. Gordon, I’ll +run you a race to the end of the platform.” She said this only +after getting a big lead, and she got there about eight inches +ahead of me, which pleased her mightily. “It takes men so long +to get started,” was the way she explained her victory. Then she +walked me beyond the end of the boarding to explain the workings +of a switch to her. That it was only a pretext she proved to me +the moment I had relocked the bar, by saying,—</p> + +<p>“Mr. Gordon, may I ask you a question?”</p> + +<p>“Certainly,” I assented.</p> + +<p>“It is one I should ask papa or Fred, but I am afraid they might +not tell me the truth. You will, won’t you?” she begged, very +earnestly.</p> + +<p>“I will,” I promised.</p> + +<p>“Supposing,” she continued, “that it became known that you have +those letters? Would it do our side any harm?”</p> + +<p>I thought for a moment, and then shook my head. “No new proxies +could arrive here in time for the election,” I said, “and the +ones I have will not be voted.”</p> + +<p>She still looked doubtful, and asked, “Then why did papa say just +now, ‘Fortunately’?”</p> + +<p>“He merely meant that it was safer they shouldn’t know.”</p> + +<p>“Then it is better to keep it a secret?” she asked, anxiously.</p> + +<p>“I suppose so,” I said, and then added, “Why should you be afraid +of asking your father?”</p> + +<p>“Because he might—well, if he knew, I’m sure he would sacrifice +himself; and I couldn’t run the risk.”</p> + +<p>“I am afraid I don’t understand?” I questioned.</p> + +<p>“I would rather not explain,” she said, and of course that ended +the subject.</p> + +<p>Our exercise taken, we went back to the Cullens’ car, and Madge +left us to write some letters. A moment later Lord Ralles +remembered he had not written home recently, and he too went +forward to the dining-room. That made me call myself—something, +for not having offered Miss Cullen the use of my desk in 97. +Owing to this the two missed part of the big game we were +playing; for barely were they gone when one of the servants +brought a card to Mr. Cullen, who looked at it and exclaimed, +“Mr. Camp!” Then, after a speaking pause, in which we all +exchanged glances, he said, “Bring him in.”</p> + +<p>On Mr. Camp’s entrance he looked as much surprised as we had all +done a moment before. “I beg your pardon for intruding, Mr. +Cullen,” he said. “I was told that this was Mr. Gordon’s car, and +I wish to see him.”</p> + +<p>“I am Mr. Gordon.”</p> + +<p>“You are travelling with Mr. Cullen?” he inquired, with a touch +of suspicion in his manner.</p> + +<p>“No,” I answered. “My special is the next car, and I was merely +enjoying a cigar here.”</p> + +<p>“Ah!” said Mr. Camp. “Then I won’t interrupt your smoke, and will +only relieve you of those letters of mine.”</p> + +<p>I took a good pull at my cigar, and blew the smoke out in a cloud +slowly to gain time. “I don’t think I follow you,” I said.</p> + +<p>“I understand that you have in your possession three letters +addressed to me.”</p> + +<p>“I have,” I assented.</p> + +<p>“Then I will ask you to deliver them to me.”</p> + +<p>“I can’t do that.”</p> + +<p>“Why not?” he challenged. “They’re my property.”</p> + +<p>I produced the Postmaster-General’s telegram and read it to him.</p> + +<p>“Why, this is infamous!” Mr. Camp cried. “What use will those +letters be after the eighteenth? It’s a conspiracy.”</p> + +<p>“I can only obey instructions,” I said.</p> + +<p>“It shall cost you your position if you do,” Mr. Camp threatened.</p> + +<p>As I’ve already said, I haven’t a good temper, and when he told +me that I couldn’t help retorting,—</p> + +<p>“That’s quite on a par with most G. S. methods.”</p> + +<p>“I’m not speaking for the G. S., young man,” roared Mr. Camp. “I +speak as a director of the Kansas & Arizona. What is more, I +will have those letters inside of twenty-four hours.”</p> + +<p>He made an angry exit, and I said to Fred, “I wish you would +stroll about and spy out the proceedings of the enemy’s camp. He +may telegraph to Washington, and if there’s any chance of the +Postmaster-General revoking his order I must go back to Flagstaff +on No. 4 this afternoon.”</p> + +<p>“He sha’n’t do anything that I don’t know about till he goes to +bed,” Fred promised. “But how the deuce did he know that you had +those letters?”</p> + +<p>That was just what we were all puzzling over, for only the +occupants of No. 218 and myself, so far as I knew, were in a +position to let Mr. Camp hear of that fact.</p> + +<p>As Fred made his exit he said, “Don’t tell Madge that there is a +new complication, for the dear girl has had worries enough +already.”</p> + +<p>Miss Cullen not rejoining us, and Lord Ralles presently doing so, +I went to my own car, for he and I were not good furniture for +the same room. Before I had been there long, Fred came rushing +in.</p> + +<p>“Camp and Baldwin have been in consultation with a lawyer,” he +said, “and now the three have just boarded those cars,” pointing +out the window at the branch-line train that was to leave for +Phœnix in two minutes.</p> + +<p>“You must go with them,” I urged, “and keep us informed as to +what they do, for they evidently are going to set the law on us, +and the G. S. has always owned the Territorial judges, so they’ll +stretch a point to oblige them.”</p> + +<p>“Have I time to fill a bag?”</p> + +<p>“Plenty,” I assured him, and, going out, I ordered the train held +till I should give the word.</p> + +<p>“What does it all mean?” asked Miss Cullen, joining me.</p> + +<p>I laughed, and replied, “I’m doing a braver thing even than your +party did; I’m holding up a train all by my lonesome.”</p> + +<p>“But my brother came dashing in just now and said he was starting +for Phœnix.”</p> + +<p>“Let her go,” I called to the conductor, as Fred jumped aboard; +and the train pulled out.</p> + +<p>“I hope there’s nothing wrong?” Madge questioned, anxiously.</p> + +<p>“Nothing to worry over,” I laughed. “Only a little more fun for +our money. By the way, Miss Cullen,” I went on, to avoid her +questions, “if you have your letters ready, and will let me have +them at once, I can get them on No. 4, so that they’ll go East +to-night.”</p> + +<p>Miss Cullen blushed as if I had said something I ought not to +have, and stammered, “I—I changed my mind, and—that is—I +didn’t write them, after all.”</p> + +<p>“I beg your pardon,—I ought to have known; I mean, it’s very +natural,” I faltered and stuttered, thinking what a dunce I had +been not to understand that both hers and Lord Ralles’s letters +had been only a pretext to get away from the rest of us.</p> + +<p>My blundering apology and evident embarrassment deepened Miss +Cullen’s blush fivefold, and she explained, hurriedly, “I found +I was tired, and so, instead of writing, I went to my room and +rested.”</p> + +<p>I suppose any girl would have invented the same yarn, yet it hurt +me more than the bigger one she had told on Hance’s trail. Small +as the incident was, it made me very blue, and led me to shut +myself up in my own car for the rest of that afternoon and +evening. Indeed, I couldn’t sleep, but sat up working, quite +forgetful of the passing hours, till a glance at my watch +startled me with the fact that it was a quarter of two. Feeling +like anything more than sleep, I went out on the platform, and, +lighting a cigar, paced up and down, thinking of—well, thinking.</p> + +<p>The night agent was sitting in the station, nodding, and after I +had walked for an hour I went in to ask him if the train to +Phœnix had arrived on time. Just as I opened the door, the +telegraph instrument began clicking, and called Ash Forks. The +man, with the curious ability that operators get of recognizing +their own call, even in sleep, waked up instantly and responded, +and, not wishing to interrupt him, I delayed asking my question +till he should be free. I stood there thinking of Madge, and +listening heedlessly as the instrument ticked off the cipher +signature of the sending operator, and the “twenty-four paid.” +But as I heard the clicks ..... .... which meant ph, I suddenly +became attentive, and when it completed “Phœnix” I concluded +Fred was wiring me, and listened for what followed the date. This +is what the <a name="morse" id="morse">instrument ticked</a>:—</p> + +<div class="morsecode"> +... .... . . .. .. .-. .-. .. .. .- ...- .- ..... .- ..<br /> +.. . . . ..- -. - .. .. .- ... .... .-. . . . .. -.- ...<br /> +.- . .. .. ... . . . -. .- -... . .- - . .. .- .. --<br /> +. .. . . .- -.. ... - .- - .. . . -. - .... . .. . .<br /> +.-. . . . .. - .. .. .-. .. ...- . - . . -.. .- .. .. - . .<br /> +- - . . - - . .. .- .. -. .- . .. . .. .. ...- .. -. --.<br /> +.-. . .. . . - - ..... .... . . . -. .. .-.. ..... . .. .<br /> +..... .- . .. . -.. - . . .. - - - - . -.. .. .- - . -- .. ..<br /> +... . . .. ...- . ..... . . .. . - - ..... - . . . .. .. ..<br /> +- - .- -. -.. .- - - ..- ... .. ... ... ..- . -.. - . .<br /> +-. .. --. .... - -... .. .. -.-. ..- -.. --. . .-- .. --<br /> +... . . -. ... .. --. - .... . . . -.. . . . .. . .<br /> +.. . .- - - .....<br /> +</div> + +<p> +That may not look particularly intelligible, but if the Phœnix +operator had been talking over the ’phone to me he couldn’t have +said any plainer,—</p> + +<p>“Sheriff yavapai county ash forks arizona be at <ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'rail road'"><a name="rroad" id="rroad">railroad</a></ins> station +three forty five today to meet train arriving from phœnix +prepared to immediately serve peremptory mandamus issued tonight +by judge wilson sig theodore e camp.”</p> + +<p>My question being pretty thoroughly answered, I went back and +continued my walk; but before five minutes had passed, the +operator came out, and handed me a message. It was from Fred, and +read thus:—</p> + +<p>“Camp, Baldwin, and lawyer went at once to house of Judge Wilson, +where they stayed an hour. They then returned with judge to +station, and after despatching a telegram have taken seats in +train for Ash Forks, leaving here at three twenty-five. I shall +return with them.”</p> + +<p>A bigger idiot than I could have understood the move. I was to be +hauled before Judge Wilson by means of mandamus proceedings, +and, as he was notoriously a G. S. judge, and was coming to Ash +Forks solely to oblige Mr. Camp, he would unquestionably declare +the letters the property of Mr. Camp and order their delivery.</p> + +<p>Apparently I had my choice of being a traitor to Madge, of going +to prison for contempt of court, or of running away, which was +not far off from acknowledging that I had done something wrong. I +didn’t like any one of the options.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> +<h3>A TALK BEFORE BREAKFAST</h3> +</div> + +<p>Looking at my watch, I found it was a little after three, which +meant six in Washington: allowing for transmission, a telegram +would reach there in time to be on hand with the opening of the +Departments. I therefore wired at once to the following effect:—</p> + +<p>“Postmaster-General, Washington, <ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'D.C.'">D. C.</ins> A peremptory mandamus has +been issued by Territorial judge to compel me to deliver to +addressee the three registered letters which by your directions, +issued October sixteenth, I was to hold pending arrival of +special agent Jackson. Service of writ will be made at three +forty-five to-day unless prevented. Telegraph me instructions how +to act.”</p> + +<p>That done I had a good tub, took a brisk walk down the track, and +felt so freshened up as to be none the worse for my sleepless +night. I returned to the station a little after six, and, to my +surprise, found Miss Cullen walking up and down the platform.</p> + +<p>“You are up early!” we both said together.</p> + +<p>“Yes,” she sighed. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”</p> + +<p>“You’re not unwell, I hope?”</p> + +<p>“No,—except mentally.”</p> + +<p>I looked a question, and she went on: “I have some worries, and +then last night I saw you were all keeping some bad news from me, +and so I couldn’t sleep.”</p> + +<p>“Then we did wrong to make a mystery of it, Miss Cullen,” I said, +“for it really isn’t anything to trouble about. Mr. Camp is +simply taking legal steps to try to force me to deliver those +letters to him.”</p> + +<p>“And can he succeed?”</p> + +<p>“No.”</p> + +<p>“How will you stop him?”</p> + +<p>“I don’t know yet just what we shall do, but if worse comes to +worse I will allow myself to be committed for contempt of +court.”</p> + +<p>“What would they do with you?”</p> + +<p>“Give me free board for a time.”</p> + +<p>“Not send you to prison?”</p> + +<p>“Yes.”</p> + +<p>“Oh!” she cried, “that mustn’t be. You must not make such a +sacrifice for us.”</p> + +<p>“I’d do more than that for <i>you</i>,” I said, and I couldn’t help +putting a little emphasis on the last word, though I knew I had +no right to do it.</p> + +<p>She understood me, and blushed rosily, even while she protested, +“It is too much—”</p> + +<p>“There’s really no likelihood,” I interrupted, “of my being able +to assume a martyr’s crown, Miss Cullen; so don’t begin to pity +me till I’m behind the bars.”</p> + +<p>“But I can’t bear to think—”</p> + +<p>“Don’t,” I interrupted again, rejoicing all the time at her +evident anxiety, and blessing my stars for the luck they had +brought me. “Why, Miss Cullen,” I went on, “I’ve become so +interested in your success and the licking of those fellows that +I really think I’d stand about anything rather than that they +should win. Yesterday, when Mr. Camp threatened to—” Then I +stopped, as it suddenly occurred to me that it was best not to +tell Madge that I might lose my position, for it would look like +a kind of bid for her favor, and, besides, would only add to her +worries.</p> + +<p>“Threatened what?” asked Miss Cullen.</p> + +<p>“Threatened to lose his temper,” I answered.</p> + +<p>“You know that wasn’t what you were going to say,” Madge said +reproachfully.</p> + +<p>“No, it wasn’t,” I laughed.</p> + +<p>“Then what was it?”</p> + +<p>“Nothing worth speaking about.”</p> + +<p>“But I want to know what he threatened.”</p> + +<p>“Really, Miss Cullen,” I began; but she interrupted me by saying +anxiously,—</p> + +<p>“He can’t hurt papa, can he?”</p> + +<p>“No,” I replied.</p> + +<p>“Or my brothers?”</p> + +<p>“He can’t touch any of them without my help. And he’ll have work +to get that, I suspect.”</p> + +<p>“Then why can’t you tell me?” demanded Miss Cullen. “Your refusal +makes me think you are keeping back some danger to them.”</p> + +<p>“Why, Miss Cullen,” I said, “I didn’t like to tell his threat, +because it seemed—well, I may be wrong, but I thought it might +look like an attempt—an appeal—Oh, pshaw!” I faltered, like a +donkey,—“I can’t say it as I want to put it.”</p> + +<p>“Then tell me right out what he threatened,” begged Madge.</p> + +<p>“He threatened to get me discharged.”</p> + +<p>That made Madge look very sober, and for a moment there was +silence. Then she said,—</p> + +<p>“I never thought of what you were risking to help us, Mr. Gordon. +And I’m afraid it’s too late to—”</p> + +<p>“Don’t worry about me,” I hastened to interject. “I’m a long way +from being discharged, and, even if I should be, Miss Cullen, I +know my business, and it won’t be long before I have another +place.”</p> + +<p>“But it’s terrible to think of the injury we may have caused +you,” sighed Madge, sadly. “It makes me hate the thought of +money.”</p> + +<p>“That’s a very poor thing to hate,” I said, “except the lack of +it.”</p> + +<p>“Are you so anxious to get rich?” asked Madge, looking up at me +quickly, as we walked,—for we had been pacing up and down the +platform during our chat.</p> + +<p>“I haven’t been till lately.”</p> + +<p>“And what made you change?” she questioned.</p> + +<p>“Well,” I said, fishing round for some reason other than the true +one, “perhaps I want to take a rest.”</p> + +<p>“You are the worst man for fibs I ever knew,” she laughed.</p> + +<p>I felt myself getting red, while I exclaimed, “Why, Miss Cullen, +I never set up for a George Washington, but I don’t think I’m a +bit worse liar than nine men in—”</p> + +<p>“Oh,” she cried, interrupting me, “I didn’t mean that way. I +meant that when you try to fib you always do it so badly that one +sees right through you. Now, acknowledge that you wouldn’t stop +work if you could?”</p> + +<p>“Well, no, I wouldn’t,” I owned up. “The truth is, Miss Cullen, +that I’d like to be rich, because—well, hang it, I don’t care if +I do say it—because I’m in love.”</p> + +<p>Madge laughed at my confusion, and asked, “With money?”</p> + +<p>“No,” I said. “With just the nicest, sweetest, prettiest girl in +the world.”</p> + +<p>Madge took a look at me out of the corner of her eye, and +remarked, “It must be breakfast time.”</p> + +<p>Considering that it was about six-thirty, I wanted to ask who was +telling a taradiddle now; but I resisted the temptation, and +replied,—</p> + +<p>“No. And I promise not to bother you about my private affairs any +more.”</p> + +<p>Madge laughed again merrily, saying, “You are the most obvious +man I ever met. Now why did you say that?”</p> + +<p>“I thought you were making breakfast an excuse,” I said, “because +you didn’t like the subject.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, I was,” said Madge, frankly. “Tell me about the girl you +are engaged to.”</p> + +<p>I was so taken aback that I stopped in my walk, and merely looked +at her.</p> + +<p>“For instance,” she asked coolly, when she saw that I was +speechless, “what does she look like?”</p> + +<p>“Like, like—” I stammered, still embarrassed by this bold +carrying of the war into my own camp,—“like an angel.”</p> + +<p>“Oh,” said Madge, eagerly, “I’ve always wanted to know what +angels were like. Describe her to me.”</p> + +<p>“Well,” I said, getting my second wind, so to speak, “she has the +bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Why, Miss Cullen, you said you’d +never seen anything so blue as the sky yesterday; but even the +atmosphere of ‘rainless Arizona’ has to take a back seat when +her eyes are round. And they are just like the atmosphere out +here. You can look into them for a hundred miles, but you can’t +get to the bottom.”</p> + +<p>“The Arizona sky is wonderful,” said Madge. “How do the +scientists account for it?”</p> + +<p>I wasn’t going to have my description of Miss Cullen +side-tracked, for, since she had given me the chance, I wanted +her to know just what I thought of her. Therefore I didn’t follow +lead on the Arizona skies, but went on,—</p> + +<p>“And I really think her hair is just as beautiful as her eyes. +It’s light brown, very curly, and—”</p> + +<p>“Her complexion!” exclaimed Madge. “Is she a mulatto? And, if so, +how can a complexion be curly?”</p> + +<p>“Her complexion,” I said, not a bit rattled, “is another great +beauty of hers. She has one of those skins—”</p> + +<p>“Furs are out of fashion at present,” she interjected, laughing +wickedly.</p> + +<p>“Now look here, Miss Cullen,” I cried, indignantly, “I’m not +going to let even you make fun of her.”</p> + +<p>“I can’t help it,” she laughed, “when you look so serious and +intense.”</p> + +<p>“It’s something I feel intense about, Miss Cullen,” I said, not a +little pained, I confess, at the way she was joking. I don’t mind +a bit being laughed at, but Miss Cullen knew, about as well as I, +whom I was talking about, and it seemed to me she was laughing at +my love for her. Under this impression I went on, “I suppose it +is funny to you; probably so many men have been in love with you +that a man’s love for a woman has come to mean very little in +your eyes. But out here we don’t make a joke of love, and when we +care for a woman we care—well, it’s not to be put in words, Miss +Cullen.”</p> + +<p>“I really didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Mr. Gordon,” said +Madge, gently, and quite serious now. “I ought not to have tried +to tease you.”</p> + +<p>“There!” I said, my irritation entirely gone. “I had no right to +lose my temper, and I’m sorry I spoke so unkindly. The truth is, +Miss Cullen, the girl I care for is in love with another man, and +so I’m bitter and ill-natured in these days.”</p> + +<p>My companion stopped walking at the steps of 218, and asked, “Has +she told you so?”</p> + +<p>“No,” I answered. “But it’s as plain as she’s pretty.”</p> + +<p>Madge ran up the steps and opened the door of the car. As she +turned to close it, she looked down at me with the oddest of +expressions, and said,—</p> + +<p>“How dreadfully ugly she must be!”</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> +<h3>WAITING FOR HELP</h3> +</div> + +<p>If ever a fellow was bewildered by a single speech, it was +Richard Gordon. I walked up and down that platform till I was +called to breakfast, trying to decide what Miss Cullen had meant +to express, only to succeed in reading fifty different meanings +into her parting six words. I wanted to think that it was her way +of suggesting that I deceived myself in thinking that there was +anything between Lord Ralles and herself; but, though I wished to +believe this, I had seen too much to the contrary to take stock +in the idea. Yet I couldn’t believe that Madge was a coquette; I +became angry and hot with myself for even thinking it for a +moment.</p> + +<p>Puzzle as I did over the words, I managed to eat a good +breakfast, and then went into the Cullens’ car and electrified +the party by telling them of Camp’s and Fred’s despatches, and +how I had come to overhear the former. Mr. Cullen and Albert +couldn’t say enough about my cleverness in what had really been +pure luck, and seemed to think I had sat up all night in order to +hear that telegram. The person for whose opinion I cared the +most—Miss Cullen—didn’t say anything, but she gave me a look +that set my heart beating like a trip-hammer and made me put the +most hopeful construction on that speech of hers. It seemed +impossible that she didn’t care for Lord Ralles, and that she +might care for me; but, after having had no hope whatsoever, the +smallest crumb of a chance nearly lifted me off my feet.</p> + +<p>We had a consultation over what was best to be done, but didn’t +reach any definite conclusion till the station-agent brought me a +telegram from the Postmaster-General. Breaking it open, I read +aloud,—</p> + +<p>“Do not allow service of writ, and retain possession of letters +according to prior instructions. At the request of this +department, the Secretary of War has directed the commanding +officer at Fort Whipple to furnish you with military protection, +and you will call upon him at once, if in your judgment it is +necessary. On no account surrender United States property to +Territorial authorities. Keep Department notified.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, splendid!” cried Madge, clapping her hands.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Camp will find that other people can give surprise parties +as well as himself,” I said cheerfully.</p> + +<p>“You’ll telegraph at once?” asked Mr. Cullen.</p> + +<p>“Instantly,” I said, rising, and added, “Don’t you want to see +what I say, Miss Cullen?”</p> + +<p>“Of course I do,” she cried, jumping up eagerly.</p> + +<p>Lord Ralles scowled as he said, “Yes; let’s see what Mr. +Superintendent has to say.”</p> + +<p>“You needn’t trouble yourself,” I remarked, but he followed us +into the station. I was disgusted, but at the same time it seemed +to me that he had come because he was jealous; and that wasn’t an +unpleasant thought. Whatever his motive, he was a third party in +the writing of that telegram, and had to stand by while Miss +Cullen and I discussed and draughted it. I didn’t try to make it +any too brief, not merely asking for a guard and when I might +expect it, but giving as well a pretty full history of the case, +which was hardly necessary.</p> + +<p>“You’ll bankrupt yourself,” laughed Madge. “You must let us pay.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll let you pay, Miss Cullen, if you want,” I offered. “How +much is it, Welply?” I asked, shoving the blanks in to the +operator.</p> + +<p>“Nothin’ for a lady,” said Welply, grinning.</p> + +<p>“There, Miss Cullen,” I asked, “does the East come up to that in +gallantry?”</p> + +<p>“Do you really mean that there is no charge?” demanded Madge, +incredulously, with her purse in her hand.</p> + +<p>“That’s the size of it,” said the operator.</p> + +<p>“I’m not going to believe that!” cried Madge. “I know you are +only deceiving me, and I really want to pay.”</p> + +<p>I laughed as I said, “Sometimes railroad superintendents can send +messages free, Miss Cullen.”</p> + +<p>“How silly of me!” exclaimed Madge. Then she remarked, “How nice +it is to be a railroad superintendent, Mr. Gordon! I should like +to be one myself.”</p> + +<p>That speech really lifted me off my feet, but while I was +thinking what response to make, I came down to earth with a +bounce.</p> + +<p>“Since the telegram’s done,” said Lord Ralles to Miss Cullen, in +a cool, almost commanding tone, “suppose we take a walk.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t think I care to this morning,” answered Madge.</p> + +<p>“I think you had better,” insisted his lordship, with such a +manner that I felt inclined to knock him down.</p> + +<p>To my surprise, Madge seemed to hesitate, and finally said, +“I’ll walk up and down the platform, if you wish.”</p> + +<p>Lord Ralles nodded, and they went out, leaving me in a state of +mingled amazement and rage at the way he had cut me out. Try as I +would, I wasn’t able to hit upon any theory that supplied a +solution to the conduct of either Lord Ralles or Miss Cullen, +unless they were engaged and Miss Cullen displeased him by her +behavior to me. But Madge seemed such an honest, frank girl that +I’d have believed anything sooner than that she was only playing +with me.</p> + +<p>If I was perplexed, I wasn’t going to give Lord Ralles the right +of way, and as soon as I had made certain that the telegram was +safely started I joined the walkers. I don’t think any of us +enjoyed the hour that followed, but I didn’t care how miserable I +was myself, so long as I was certain that I was blocking Lord +Ralles; and his grumpiness showed very clearly that my presence +did that. As for Madge, I couldn’t make her out. I had always +thought I understood women a little, but her conduct was beyond +understanding.</p> + +<p>Apparently Miss Cullen didn’t altogether relish her position, for +presently she said she was going to the car. “I’m sure you and +Lord Ralles will be company enough for each other,” she +predicted, giving me a flash of her eyes which showed them full +of suppressed merriment, even while her face was grave.</p> + +<p>In spite of her prediction, the moment she was gone Lord Ralles +and I pulled apart about as quickly as a yard-engine can split a +couple of cars.</p> + +<p>I moped around for an hour, too unsettled mentally to do anything +but smoke, and only waiting for an invitation or for some excuse +to go into 218. About eleven o’clock I obtained the latter in +another telegram, and went into the car at once.</p> + +<p>“Telegram received,” I read triumphantly. “A detail of two +companies of the Twelfth Cavalry, under the command of Captain +Singer, is ordered to Ash Forks, and will start within an hour, +arriving at five o’clock. <span class="smcap">C. D. Olmstead</span>, Adjutant.”</p> + +<p>“That won’t do, Gordon,” cried Mr. Cullen. “The mandamus will be +here before that.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, don’t say there is something more wrong!” sighed Madge.</p> + +<p>“Won’t it be safer to run while there is still time?” suggested +Albert, anxiously.</p> + +<p>“I was born lazy about running away,” I said.</p> + +<p>“Oh, but please, just for once,” Madge begged. “We know already +how brave you are.”</p> + +<p>I thought for a moment, not so much objecting, in truth, to the +running away as to the running away from Madge.</p> + +<p>“I’d do it for you,” I said, looking at Miss Cullen so that she +understood this time what I meant, without my using any emphasis, +“but I don’t see any need of making myself uncomfortable, when I +can make the other side so. Come along and see if my method isn’t +quite as good.”</p> + +<p>We went to the station, and I told the operator to call Rock +Butte; then I dictated:</p> + +<p>“Direct conductor of Phœnix No. 3 on its arrival at Rock Butte +to hold it there till further orders. <span class="smcap">Richard Gordon</span>, +Superintendent.”</p> + +<p>“That will save my running and their chasing,” I laughed; “though +I’m afraid a long wait in Rock Butte won’t improve their +tempers.”</p> + +<p>The next few hours were pretty exciting ones to all of us, as can +well be imagined. Most of the time was spent, I have to confess, +in manœuvres and struggles between Lord Ralles and myself as +to which should monopolize Madge, without either of us +succeeding. I was so engrossed with the contest that I forgot all +about the passage of time, and only when the sheriff strolled up +to the station did I realize that the climax was at hand. As a +joke I introduced him to the Cullens, and we all stood chatting +till far out on the hill to the south I saw a cloud of dust and +quietly called Miss Cullen’s attention to it. She and I went to +97 for my field-glasses, and the moment Madge looked through them +she cried,—</p> + +<p>“Yes, I can see horses, and, oh, there are the stars and stripes! +I don’t think I ever loved them so much before.”</p> + +<p>“I suppose we civilians will have to take a back seat now, Miss +Cullen?” I said; and she answered me with a demure smile +worth—well, I’m not going to put a value on that smile.</p> + +<p>“They’ll be here very quickly,” she almost sang.</p> + +<p>“You forget the clearness of the air,” I said, and then asked the +sheriff how far away the dust-cloud was.</p> + +<p>“Yer mean that cattle-drive?” he asked. “’Bout ten miles.”</p> + +<p>“You seem to think of everything,” exclaimed Miss Cullen, as if +my knowing that distances are deceptive in Arizona was wonderful. +I sometimes think one gets the most praise in this world for what +least deserves it.</p> + +<p>I waited half an hour to be safe, and then released No. 3, just +as we were called to luncheon; and this time I didn’t refuse the +invitation to eat mine in 218.</p> + +<p>We didn’t hurry over the meal, and towards the end I took to +looking at my watch, wondering what could keep the cavalry from +arriving.</p> + +<p>“I hope there is no danger of the train arriving first, is +there?” asked Madge.</p> + +<p>“Not the slightest,” I assured her. “The train won’t be here for +an hour, and the cavalry had only five miles to cover forty +minutes ago. I must say, they seem to be taking their time.”</p> + +<p>“There they are now!” cried Albert.</p> + +<p>Listening, we heard the clatter of horses’ feet, going at a good +pace, and we all rose and went to the windows, to see the +arrival. Our feelings can be judged when across the tracks came +only a mob of thirty or forty cowboys, riding in their usual +“show-off” style.</p> + +<p>“The deuce!” I couldn’t help exclaiming, in my surprise. “Are +you sure you saw a flag, Miss Cullen?”</p> + +<p>“Why—I—thought—” she faltered. “I saw something red, and—I +supposed of course—”</p> + +<p>Not waiting to let her finish, I exclaimed, “There’s been a fluke +somewhere, I’m afraid; but we are still in good shape, for the +train can’t possibly be here under an hour. I’ll get my +field-glasses and have another look before I decide what—”</p> + +<p>My speech was interrupted by the entrance of the sheriff and Mr. +Camp!</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> +<h3>THE LETTERS CHANGE HANDS AGAIN</h3> +</div> + +<p>What seemed at the moment an incomprehensible puzzle had, as we +afterwards learned, a very simple explanation. One of the G. S. +directors, Mr. Baldwin, who had come in on Mr. Camp’s car, was +the owner of a great cattle-ranch near Rock Butte. When the train +had been held at that station for a few minutes, Camp went to the +conductor, demanded the cause for the delay, and was shown my +telegram. Seeing through the device, the party had at once gone +to this ranch, where the owner, Baldwin, mounted them, and it was +their dust-cloud we had seen as they rode up to Ash Forks. To +make matters more serious, Baldwin had rounded up his cowboys and +brought them along with him, in order to make any resistance +impossible.</p> + +<p>I made no objection to the sheriff serving the paper, though it +nearly broke my heart to see Madge’s face. To cheer her I said, +suggestively, “They’ve got me, but they haven’t got the letters, +Miss Cullen. And, remember, it’s always darkest before the dawn, +and the stars in their courses are against Sisera.”</p> + +<p>With the sheriff and Mr. Camp I then walked over to the saloon, +where Judge Wilson was waiting to dispose of my case. Mr. Cullen +and Albert tried to come too, but all outsiders were excluded by +order of the “court.” I was told to show cause why I should not +forthwith produce the letters, and answered that I asked an +adjournment of the case so that I might be heard by counsel. It +was denied, as was to have been expected; indeed, why they took +the trouble to go through the forms was beyond me. I told Wilson +I should not produce the letters, and he asked if I knew what +that meant. I couldn’t help laughing and retorting,—</p> + +<p>“It very appropriately means ‘contempt of the court,’ your +honor.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll give you a stiff term, young man,” he said.</p> + +<p>“It will take just one day to have habeas corpus proceedings in a +United States court, and one more to get the papers here,” I +rejoined pleasantly.</p> + +<p>Seeing that I understood the moves too well to be bluffed, the +judge, Mr. Camp, and the lawyer held a whispered consultation. My +surprise can be imagined when, at its conclusion, Mr. Camp +said,—</p> + +<p>“Your honor, I charge Richard Gordon with being concerned in the +holding up of the Missouri Western Overland No. 3 on the night of +October 14, and ask that he be taken into custody on that +charge.”</p> + +<p>I couldn’t make out this new move, and puzzled over it, while +Judge Wilson ordered my commitment. But the next step revealed +the object, for the lawyer then asked for a search-warrant to +look for stolen property. The judge was equally obliging, and +began to fill one out on the instant.</p> + +<p>This made me feel pretty serious, for the letters were in my +breast-pocket, and I swore at my own stupidity in not having put +them in the station safe when I had first arrived at Ash Forks. +There weren’t many moments in which to think while the judge +scribbled away at the warrant, but in what time there was I did a +lot of head-work, without, however, finding more than one way out +of the snarl. And when I saw the judge finish off his signature +with a flourish, I played a pretty desperate card.</p> + +<p>“You’re just too late, gentlemen,” I said, pointing out the side +window of the saloon. “There come the cavalry.”</p> + +<p>The three conspirators jumped to their feet and bolted for the +window; even the sheriff turned to look. As he did so I gave him +a shove towards the three which sent them all sprawling on the +floor in a pretty badly mixed-up condition. I made a dash for the +door, and as I went through it I grabbed the key and locked them +in. When I turned to do so I saw the lot struggling up from the +floor, and, knowing that it wouldn’t take them many seconds to +find their way out through the window, I didn’t waste much time +in watching them.</p> + +<p>Camp, Baldwin, and the judge had left their horses just outside +the saloon, and there they were still patiently standing, with +their bridles thrown over their heads, as only Western horses +will stand. It didn’t take me long to have those bridles back in +place, and as I tossed each over the peak of the Mexican saddle I +gave two of the ponies slaps which started them off at a lope +across the railroad tracks. I swung myself into the saddle of the +third, and flicked him with the loose ends of the bridle in a way +which made him understand that I meant business.</p> + +<p>Baldwin’s cowboys had most of them scattered to the various +saloons of the place, but two of them were standing in the +door-way of a store. I acted so quickly, however, that they +didn’t seem to take in what I was about till I was well mounted. +Then I heard a yell, and fearing that they might shoot,—for the +cowboy does love to use his gun,—I turned sharp at the saloon +corner and rode up the side street, just in time to see Camp +climbing through the window, with Baldwin’s head in view behind +him.</p> + +<p>Before I had ridden a hundred feet I realized that I had a +done-up horse under me, and, considering that he had covered over +forty miles that afternoon in pretty quick time, it was not +surprising that there wasn’t very much go left in him. I knew +that Baldwin’s cowboys could get new mounts in plenty without +wasting many minutes, and that then they would overhaul me in +very short order. Clearly there was no use in my attempting to +escape by running. And, as I wasn’t armed, my only hope was to +beat them by some finesse.</p> + +<p>Ash Forks, like all Western railroad towns, is one long line of +buildings running parallel with the railway tracks. Two hundred +feet, therefore, brought me to the edge of the town, and I +wheeled my pony and rode down behind the rear of the buildings. +In turning, I looked back, and saw half a dozen mounted men +already in pursuit, but I lost sight of them the next moment. As +soon as I reached a street leading back to the railroad I turned +again, and rode towards it, my one thought being to get back, if +possible, to the station, and put the letters into the railroad +agent’s safe.</p> + +<p>When I reached the main street I saw that my hope was futile, for +another batch of cowboys were coming in full gallop towards me, +very thoroughly heading me off in that direction. To escape them, +I headed up the street away from the station, with the pack in +close pursuit. They yelled at me to hold up, and I expected every +moment to hear the crack of revolvers, for the poorest shot among +them would have found no difficulty in dropping my horse at that +distance if they had wanted to stop me. It isn’t a very nice +sensation to keep your ears pricked up in expectation of hearing +the shooting begin, and to know that any moment may be your +last. I don’t suppose I was on the ragged edge more than thirty +seconds, but they were enough to prove to me that to keep one’s +back turned to an enemy as one runs away takes a deal more pluck +than to stand up and face his gun. Fortunately for me, my +pursuers felt so sure of my capture that not one of them drew a +bead on me.</p> + +<p>The moment I saw that there was no escape, I put my hand in my +breast-pocket and took out the letters, intending to tear them +into a hundred pieces. But as I did so I realized that to destroy +United States mail not merely entailed criminal liability, but +was off color morally. I faltered, balancing the outwitting of +Camp against State’s prison, the doing my best for Madge against +the wrong of it. I think I’m as honest a fellow as the average, +but I have to confess that I couldn’t decide to do right till I +thought that Madge wouldn’t want me to be dishonest, even for +her.</p> + +<p>I turned across the railroad tracks, and cut in behind some +freight-cars that were standing on a siding. This put me out of +view of my pursuers for a moment, and in that instant I stood up +in my stirrups, lifted the broad leather flap of the saddle, and +tucked the letters underneath it, as far in as I could force +them. It was a desperate place in which to hide them, but the +game was a desperate one at best, and the very boldness of the +idea might be its best chance of success.</p> + +<p>I was now heading for the station over the ties, and was +surprised to see Fred Cullen with Lord Ralles on the tracks up by +the special, for my mind had been so busy in the last hour that I +had forgotten that Fred was due. The moment I saw him, I rode +towards him, pressing my pony for all he was worth. My hope was +that I might get time to give Fred the tip as to where the +letters were; but before I was within speaking distance Baldwin +came running out from behind the station, and, seeing me, turned, +called back and gesticulated, evidently to summon some cowboys to +head me off. Afraid to shout anything which should convey the +slightest clue as to the whereabouts of the letters, as the next +best thing I pulled a couple of old section reports from my +pocket, intending to ride up and run into my car, for I knew that +the papers in my hand would be taken to be the wanted letters, +and that if I could only get inside the car even for a moment the +suspicion would be that I had been able to hide them. +Unfortunately, the plan was no sooner thought of than I heard the +whistle of a lariat, and before I could guard myself the noose +settled over my head. I threw the papers towards Fred and Lord +Ralles, shouting, “Hide them!” Fred was quick as a flash, and, +grabbing them off the ground, sprang up the steps of my car and +ran inside, just escaping a bullet from my pursuers. I tried to +pull up my pony, for I did not want to be jerked off, but I was +too late, and the next moment I was lying on the ground in a +pretty well shaken and jarred condition, surrounded by a lot of +men.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> +<h3>AN EVENING IN JAIL</h3> +</div> + +<p>Before my ideas had had time to straighten themselves out, I was +lifted to my feet, and half pushed, half lifted to the station +platform. Camp was already there, and as I took this fact in I +saw Frederic and his lordship pulled through the <ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'doorway'"><a name="dway" id="dway">door-way</a></ins> of my +car by the cowboys and dragged out on the platform beside me. The +reports were now in Lord Ralles’s hands.</p> + +<p>“That’s what we want, boys,” cried Camp. “Those letters.”</p> + +<p>“Take your hands off me,” said Lord Ralles, coolly, “and I’ll +give them to you.”</p> + +<p>The men who had hold of his arms let go of him, and quick as a +flash Ralles tore the papers in two. He tried to tear them once +more, but, before he could do so, half a dozen men were holding +him, and the papers were forced out of his hands.</p> + +<p>Albert Cullen—for all of them were on the platform of 218 by +this time—shouted, “Well done, Ralles!” quite forgetting in the +excitement of the moment his English accent and drawl.</p> + +<p>Apparently Camp didn’t agree with him, for he ripped out a string +of oaths which he impartially divided among Ralles, the cowboys, +and myself. I was decidedly sorry that I hadn’t given the real +letters, for his lordship clearly had no scruple about destroying +them, and I knew few men whom I would have seen behind +prison-bars with as little personal regret. However, no one had, +so far as I could see, paid the slightest attention to the pony, +and the probabilities were that he was already headed for +Baldwin’s ranch, with no likelihood of his stopping till he +reached home. At least that was what I hoped; but there were a +lot of ponies standing about, and, not knowing the markings of +the one I had ridden, I wasn’t able to tell whether he might not +be among them.</p> + +<p>Just as the fragments of the papers were passed over to Mr. Camp, +he was joined by Baldwin and the judge, and Camp held the torn +pieces up to them, saying,—</p> + +<p>“They’ve torn the proxies in two.”</p> + +<p>“Don’t let that trouble you,” said the judge. “Make an affidavit +before me, reciting the manner in which they were destroyed, and +I’ll grant you a mandamus compelling the directors to accept them +as bona-fide proxies. Let me see how much injured they are.”</p> + +<p>Camp unfolded the papers, and I chuckled to myself at the look of +surprise that overspread his face as he took in the fact that +they were nothing but section reports. And, though I don’t like +cuss-words, I have to acknowledge that I enjoyed the two or three +that he promptly ejaculated.</p> + +<p>When the first surprise of the trio was over, they called on the +sheriff, who arrived opportunely, to take us into 97 and search +the three of us,—a proceeding that puzzled Fred and his lordship +not a little, for they weren’t on to the fact that the letters +hadn’t been recovered. I presume the latter will some day write a +book dwelling on the favorite theme of the foreigner, that there +is no personal privacy in America, and I don’t know but his +experiences justify the view. The running remarks as the search +was made seemed to open Fred’s eyes, for he looked at me with a +puzzled air, but I winked and frowned at him, and he put his face +in order.</p> + +<p>When the papers were not found on any of us, Camp and Baldwin +both nearly went demented. Baldwin suggested that I had never had +the papers, but Camp argued that Fred or Lord Ralles must have +hidden them in the car, in spite of the fact that the cowboys who +had caught them insisted that they couldn’t have had time to hide +the papers. Anyway, they spent an hour in ferreting about in my +car, and even searched my two darkies, on the possibility that +the true letters had been passed on to them.</p> + +<p>While they were engaged in this, I was trying to think out some +way of letting Mr. Cullen and Albert know where the letters were. +The problem was to suggest the saddle to them, without letting +the cowboys understand, and by good luck I thought I had the +means. Albert had complained to me the day we had ridden out to +the Indian dwellings at Flagstaff that his saddle fretted some +galled spots which he had chafed on his trip to Moran’s Point. +Hoping he would “catch on,” I shouted to him,—</p> + +<p>“How are your sore spots, Albert?”</p> + +<p>He looked at me in a puzzled way, and called, “Aw, I don’t +understand you.”</p> + +<p>“Those sore spots you complained about to me the day before +yesterday,” I explained.</p> + +<p>He didn’t seem any the less befogged as he replied, “I had +forgotten all about them.”</p> + +<p>“I’ve got a touch of the same trouble,” I went on; “and, if I +were you, I’d look into the cause.”</p> + +<p>Albert only looked very much mystified, and I didn’t dare say +more, for at this point the trio, with the sheriff, came out of +my car. If I hadn’t known that the letters were safe, I could +have read the story in their faces, for more disgusted and +angry-looking men I have rarely seen.</p> + +<p>They had a talk with the sheriff, and then Fred, Lord Ralles, and +I were marched off by the official, his lordship loudly demanding +sight of a warrant, and protesting against the illegality of his +arrest, varied at moments by threats to appeal to the British +consul, minister plenipo., <ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'her Majesty's'"><a name="hmajesty" id="hmajesty">Her Majesty’s</a></ins> Foreign Office, etc., +all of which had about as much influence on the sheriff and his +cowboy assistants as a Moqui Indian snake-dance would have in +stopping a runaway engine. I confess to feeling a certain grim +satisfaction in the fact that if I was to be shut off from seeing +Madge, the Britisher was in the same box with me.</p> + +<p>Ash Forks, though only six years old, had advanced far enough +towards civilization to have a small jail, and into that we were +shoved. Night was come by the time we were lodged there, and, +being in pretty good appetite, I struck the sheriff for some +grub.</p> + +<p>“I’ll git yer somethin’,” he said, good-naturedly; “but next time +yer shove people, Mr. Gordon, just quit shovin’ yer friends. My +shoulder feels like—” perhaps it’s just as well not to say what +his shoulder felt like. The Western vocabulary is expressive, but +at times not quite fit for publication.</p> + +<p>The moment the sheriff was gone, Fred wanted the mystery of the +letters explained, and I told him all there was to tell, +including as good a description of the pony as I could give him. +We tried to hit on some plan to get word to those outside, but it +wasn’t to be done. At least it was a point gained that some one +of our party besides myself knew where the letters were.</p> + +<p>The sheriff returned presently with a loaf of canned bread and a +tin of beans. If I had been alone, I should have kicked at the +food and got permission for my darkies to send me up something +from 97; but I thought I’d see how Lord Ralles would like genuine +Western fare, so I said nothing. That, I have to state, is +more—or rather less—than the Britisher did, after he had +sampled the stuff; and really I don’t blame him, much as I +enjoyed his rage and disgust.</p> + +<p>It didn’t take long to finish our supper, and then Fred, who +hadn’t slept much the night before, stretched out on the floor +and went to sleep. Lord Ralles and I sat on boxes—the only +furniture the room contained—about as far apart as we could get, +he in the sulks, and I whistling cheerfully. I should have liked +to be with Madge, but he wasn’t; so there was some compensation, +and I knew that time was playing the cards in our favor: so long +as they hadn’t found the letters we had only to sit still to +win.</p> + +<p>About an hour after supper, the sheriff came back and told me +Camp and Baldwin wanted to see me. I saw no reason to object, so +in they came, accompanied by the judge. Baldwin opened the ball +by saying genially,—</p> + +<p>“Well, Mr. Gordon, you’ve played a pretty cute gamble, and I +suppose you think you stand to win the pot.”</p> + +<p>“I’m not complaining,” I said.</p> + +<p>“Still,” snarled Camp, angrily, as if my contented manner fretted +him, “our time will come presently, and we can make it pretty +uncomfortable for you. Illegal proceedings put a man in jail in +the long run.”</p> + +<p>“I hope you take your lesson to heart,” I remarked cheerfully, +which made Camp scowl worse than ever.</p> + +<p>“Now,” said Baldwin, who kept cool, “we know you are not risking +loss of position and the State’s prison for nothing, and we want +to know what there is in it for you?”</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t stake my chance of State’s prison against yours, +gentlemen. And, while I may lose my position, I’ll be a long way +from starvation.”</p> + +<p>“That doesn’t tell us what Cullen gives you to take the risk.”</p> + +<p>“Mr. Cullen hasn’t given, or even hinted that he’ll give, +anything.”</p> + +<p>“And Mr. Gordon hasn’t asked, and, if I know him, wouldn’t take a +cent for what he has done,” said Fred, rising from the floor.</p> + +<p>“You mean to say you are doing it for nothing?” exclaimed Camp, +incredulously.</p> + +<p>“That’s about the truth of it,” I said; though I thought of Madge +as I said it, and felt guilty in suggesting that she was nothing.</p> + +<p>“Then what is your motive?” cried Baldwin.</p> + +<p>If there had been any use, I should have replied, “The right;” +but I knew that they would only think I was posing if I said it. +Instead I replied: “Mr. Cullen’s party has the stock majority in +their favor, and would have won a fair fight if you had played +fair. Since you didn’t, I’m doing my best to put things to +rights.”</p> + +<p>Camp cried, “All the more fool—” but Baldwin interrupted him by +saying,—</p> + +<p>“That only shows what a mean cuss Cullen is. He ought to give you +ten thousand, if he gives you a cent.”</p> + +<p>“Yes,” cried Camp, “those letters are worth money, whether he’s +offered it or not.”</p> + +<p>“Mr. Cullen never so much as hinted paying me,” said I.</p> + +<p>“Well, Mr. Gordon,” said Baldwin, suavely, “we’ll show you that +we can be more liberal. Though the letters rightfully belong to +Mr. Camp, if you’ll deliver them to us we’ll see that you don’t +lose your place, and we’ll give you five thousand dollars.”</p> + +<p>I glanced at Fred, whom I found looking at me anxiously, and +asked him,—</p> + +<p>“Can’t you do better than that?”</p> + +<p>“We could with any one but you,” said Fred.</p> + +<p>I should have liked to shake hands over this compliment, but I +only nodded, and turning to Mr. Camp, said,—</p> + +<p>“You see how mean they are.”</p> + +<p>“You’ll find we are not built that way,” said Baldwin. “Five +thousand isn’t a bad day’s work, eh?”</p> + +<p>“No,” I said, laughing; “but you just told me I ought to get ten +thousand if I got a cent.”</p> + +<p>“It’s worth ten to Mr. Cullen, but—”</p> + +<p>I interrupted by saying, “If it’s worth ten to him, it’s worth a +hundred to me.”</p> + +<p>That was too much for Camp. First he said something best omitted, +and then went on, “I told you it was waste time trying to win him +over.”</p> + +<p>The three stood apart for a moment whispering, and then Judge +Wilson called the sheriff over, and they all went out together. +The moment we were alone, Frederic held out his hand, and +said,—</p> + +<p>“Gordon, it’s no use saying anything, but if we can ever do—”</p> + +<p>I merely shook hands, but I wanted the worst way to say,—</p> + +<p>“Tell Madge what I’ve done, and the thing’s square.”</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> +<h3>A LESSON IN POLITENESS</h3> +</div> + +<p>Within five minutes we had a big surprise, for the sheriff and +Mr. Baldwin came back, and the former announced that Fred and +Lord Ralles were free, having been released on bail. When we +found that Baldwin had gone on the bond, I knew that there was a +scheme of some sort in the move, and, taking Fred aside, I warned +him against trying to recover the proxies.</p> + +<p>“They probably think that one or the other of you knows where the +letters are hidden,” I whispered, “and they’ll keep a watch on +you; so go slow.”</p> + +<p>He nodded, and followed the sheriff and Lord Ralles out.</p> + +<p>The moment they were gone, Mr. Camp said, “I came back to give +you a last chance.”</p> + +<p>“That’s very good of you,” I said.</p> + +<p>“I warn you,” he muttered threateningly, “we are not men to be +beaten. There are fifty cowboys of Baldwin’s in this town, who +think you were concerned in the holding up. By merely tipping +them the wink, they’ll have you out of this, and after they’ve +got you outside I wouldn’t give the toss of a nickel for your +life. Now, then, will you hand over those letters, or will you go +to —— inside of ten minutes?”</p> + +<p>I lost my temper in turn. “I’d much prefer going to some place +where I was less sure of meeting you,” I retorted; “and as for +the cowboys, you’ll have to be as tricky with them as you want to +be with me before you’ll get them to back you up in your dirty +work.”</p> + +<p>At this point the sheriff called back to ask Camp if he was +coming.</p> + +<p>“All right,” cried Camp, and went to the door. “This is the last +call,” he snarled, pausing for a moment on the threshold.</p> + +<p>“I hope so,” said I, more calmly in manner than in feeling, I +have to acknowledge, for I didn’t like the look of things. That +they were in earnest I felt pretty certain, for I understood now +why they had let my companions out of jail. They knew that angry +cowboys were a trifle undiscriminating, and didn’t care to risk +hanging more than was necessary.</p> + +<p>A long time seemed to pass after they were gone, but in reality +it wasn’t more than fifteen minutes before I heard some one steal +up and softly unlock the door. I confess the evident endeavor to +do it quietly gave me a scare, for it seemed to me it couldn’t be +an above-board movement. Thinking this, I picked up the box on +which I had been sitting and prepared to make the best fight I +could. It was a good deal of relief, therefore, when the door +opened just wide enough for a man to put in his head, and I heard +the sheriff’s voice say, softly,—</p> + +<p>“Hi, Gordon!”</p> + +<p>I was at the door in an instant, and asked,—</p> + +<p>“What’s up?”</p> + +<p>“They’re gettin’ the fellers together, and sayin’ that yer shot a +woman in the hold-up.”</p> + +<p>“It’s an infernal lie,” I said.</p> + +<p>“Sounds that way to me,” assented the sheriff; “but two-thirds of +the boys are drunk, and it’s a long time since they’ve had any +fun.”</p> + +<p>“Well,” I said, as calmly as I could, “are you going to stand by +me?”</p> + +<p>“I would, Mr. Gordon,” he replied, “if there was any good, but +there ain’t time to get a posse, and what’s one Winchester +against a mob of cowboys like them?”</p> + +<p>“If you’ll lend me your gun,” I said, “I’ll show just what it is +worth, without troubling you.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll do better than that,” offered the sheriff, “and that’s what +I’m here for. Just sneak, while there’s time.”</p> + +<p>“You mean—?” I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>“That’s it. I’m goin’ away, and I’ll leave the door unlocked. If +yer get clear let me know yer address, and later, if I want yer, +I’ll send yer word.” He took a grip on my fingers that numbed +them as if they had been caught in an air-brake, and disappeared.</p> + +<p>I slipped out after the sheriff without loss of time. That there +wasn’t much to spare was shown by a crowd with some torches down +the street, collected in front of a saloon. They were making a +good deal of noise, even for the West; evidently the flame was +being fanned. Not wasting time, I struck for the railroad, +because I knew the geography of that best, but still more because +I wanted to get to the station. It was a big risk to go there, +but it was one I was willing to take for the object I had in +view, and, since I had to take it, it was safest to get through +with the job before the discovery was made that I was no longer +in jail.</p> + +<p>It didn’t take me three minutes to reach the station. The whole +place was black as a coal-dumper, except for the slices of light +which shone through the cracks of the curtained windows in the +specials, the dim light of the lamp in the station, and the glow +of the row of saloons two hundred feet away. I was afraid, +however, that there might be a spy lurking somewhere, for it was +likely that Camp would hope to get some clue of the letters by +keeping a watch on the station and the cars. Thinking boldness +the safest course, I walked on to the platform without +hesitation, and went into the station. The “night man” was +sitting in his chair, nodding, but he waked up the moment I +spoke.</p> + +<p>“Don’t speak my name,” I said, warningly, as he struggled to his +feet; and then in the fewest possible words I told him what I +wanted of him,—to find if the pony I had ridden (Camp’s or +Baldwin’s) was in town and, if so, to learn where it was, and to +get the letters on the quiet from under the saddle-flap. I chose +this man, first, because I could trust him, and next, because I +had only one of the Cullens as an alternative, and if any of them +went sneaking round, it would be sure to attract attention. “The +moment you have the letters, put them in the station safe,” I +ended, “and then get word to me.”</p> + +<p>“And where’ll you be, Mr. Gordon?” asked the man.</p> + +<p>“Is there any place about here that’s a safe hiding spot for a +few hours?” I asked. “I want to stay till I’m sure those letters +are safe, and after that I’ll steal on board the first train that +comes along.”</p> + +<p>“Then you’ll want to be near here,” said the man. “I’ll tell you, +I’ve got just the place for you. The platform’s boarded in all +round, but I noticed one plank that’s loose at one end, right at +this nigh corner, and if you just pry it open enough to get in, +and then pull the board in place, they’ll never find you.”</p> + +<p>“That will do,” I said; “and when the letters are safe, come out +on the platform, walk up and down once, bang the door twice, and +then say, ‘That way freight is late.’ And if you get a chance, +tell one of the Cullens where I’m hidden.”</p> + +<p>I crossed the platform boldly, jumped down, and walked away. But +after going fifty feet I dropped down on my hands and knees and +crawled back. Inside of two minutes I was safely stowed away +under the platform, in about as neat a hiding-place as a man +could ask. In fact, if I had only had my wits enough about me to +borrow a revolver of the man, I could have made a pretty good +defence, even if discovered.</p> + +<p>Underneath the platform was loose gravel, and, as an additional +precaution, I scooped out, close to the side-boarding, a trough +long enough for me to lie in. Then I got into the hole, shovelled +the sand over my legs, and piled the rest up in a heap close to +me, so that by a few sweeps of my arm I could cover my whole +body, leaving only my mouth and nose exposed, and those below the +level. That made me feel pretty safe, for, even if the cowboys +found the loose plank and crawled in, it would take uncommon good +eyesight, in the darkness, to find me. I had hollowed out my +living grave to fit, and if I could have smoked, I should have +been decidedly comfortable. Sleep I dared not indulge in, and the +sequel showed that I was right in not allowing myself that +luxury.</p> + +<p>I hadn’t much more than comfortably settled myself, and let +thoughts of a cigar and a nap flit through my mind, when a row up +the street showed that the jail-breaking had been discovered. +Then followed shouts and confusion for a few moments, while a +search was being organized. I heard some horsemen ride over the +tracks, and also down the street, followed by the hurried +footsteps of half a dozen men. Some banged at the doors of the +specials, while others knocked at the station door.</p> + +<p>One of the Cullens’ servants opened the door of 218, and I heard +the sheriff’s voice telling him he’d got to search the car. The +darky protested, saying that the “gentmun was all away, and only +de miss inside.” The row brought Miss Cullen to the door, and I +heard her ask what was the matter.</p> + +<p>“Sorry to trouble yer, miss,” said the sheriff, “but a prisoner +has broken jail, and we’ve got to look for him.”</p> + +<p>“Escaped!” cried Madge, joyfully. “How?”</p> + +<p>“That’s just what gits away with me,” marvelled the sheriff. “My +idee is—”</p> + +<p>“Don’t waste time on theories,” said Camp’s voice, angrily. +“Search the car.”</p> + +<p>“Sorry to discommode a lady,” apologized the sheriff, gallantly, +“but if we may just look around a little?”</p> + +<p>“My father and brothers went out a few minutes ago,” said Madge, +hesitatingly, “and I don’t know if they would be willing.”</p> + +<p>Camp laughed angrily, and ordered, “Stand aside, there.”</p> + +<p>“Don’t yer worry,” said the sheriff. “If he’s on the car, he +can’t git away. We’ll send a feller up for Mr. Cullen, while we +search Mr. Gordon’s car and the station.”</p> + +<p>They set about it at once, and used up ten minutes in the task. +Then I heard Camp say,—</p> + +<p>“Come, we can’t wait all night for permission to search this car. +Go ahead.”</p> + +<p>“I hope you’ll wait till my father comes,” begged Madge.</p> + +<p>“Now go slow, Mr. Camp,” said the sheriff. “We mustn’t discomfort +the lady if we can avoid it.”</p> + +<p>“I believe you’re wasting time in order to help him escape,” +snapped Camp.</p> + +<p>“Nothin’ of the kind,” denied the sheriff.</p> + +<p>“If you won’t do your duty, I’ll take the law into my own hands, +and order the car searched,” sputtered Camp, so angry as hardly +to be able to articulate.</p> + +<p>“Look a here,” growled the sheriff, “who are yer sayin’ all this +to anyway? If yer talkin’ to me, say so right off.”</p> + +<p>“All I mean,” hastily said Camp, “is that it’s your duty, in your +honorable position, to search this car.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t need no instructin’ in my dooty as sheriff,” retorted +the official. “But a bigger dooty is what is owin’ to the +feminine sex. When a female is in question, a gentleman, Mr. +Camp,—yes, sir, a gentleman,—is in dooty bound to be perlite.”</p> + +<p>“Politeness be —— ——!” swore Camp.</p> + +<p>“Git as angry as yer —— please,” roared the sheriff, +wrathfully, “but —— me if any —— —— cuss has a right to use +such —— —— talk in the presence of a lady!”</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> +<h3>“LISTENERS NEVER HEAR ANYTHING GOOD”</h3> +</div> + +<p>Before I had ceased chuckling over the sheriff’s indignant +declaration of the canons of etiquette, I heard Mr. Cullen’s +voice demanding to know what the trouble was, and it was quickly +explained to him that I had escaped. He at once gave them +permission to search his car, and went in with the sheriff and +the cowboys. Apparently Madge went in too, for in a moment I +heard Camp say, in a low voice,—</p> + +<p>“Two of you fellows get down below the car and crawl in under the +truck where you can’t be seen. Evidently that cuss isn’t here, +but he’s likely to come by and by. If so, nab him if you can, and +if you can’t, fire two shots. Mosely, are you heeled?”</p> + +<p>“Do I chaw terbaccy?” asked Mosely, ironically, clearly insulted +at the suggestion that he would travel without a gun.</p> + +<p>“Then keep a sharp lookout, and listen to everything you hear, +especially the whereabouts of some letters. If you can spot their +lay, crawl out and get word to me at once. Now, under you go +before they come out.”</p> + +<p>I heard two men drop into the gravel close alongside of where I +lay, and then crawl under the truck of 218. They weren’t a moment +too soon, for the next instant I heard two or three people jump +on to the platform, and Albert Cullen’s voice drawl, “Aw, by +Jove, what’s the row?” Camp not enlightening them, Lord Ralles +suggested that they get on the car to find out, and the three did +so. A moment later the sheriff came to the door and told Camp +that I was not to be found.</p> + +<p>“I told yer this was the last place to look for the cuss, Mr. +Camp,” he said. “We’ve just discomforted the lady for nothin’.”</p> + +<p>“Then we must search elsewhere,” spoke up Camp. “Come on, boys.”</p> + +<p>The sheriff turned and made another elaborate apology for having +had to trouble the lady.</p> + +<p>I heard Madge tell him that he hadn’t troubled her at all, and +then, as the cowboys and Camp walked off, she added, “And, Mr. +Gunton, I want to thank you for reproving Mr. Camp’s dreadful +swearing.”</p> + +<p>“Thank yer, miss,” said the sheriff. “We fellers are a little +rough at times, but —— me if we don’t know what’s due to a +lady.”</p> + +<p>“Papa,” said Madge, as soon as he was out of hearing, “the +sheriff is the most beautiful swearer I ever heard.”</p> + +<p>For a while there was silence round the station; I suppose the +party in 218 were comparing notes, while the two cowboys and I +had the best reasons for being quiet. Presently, however, the men +came out of the car and jumped down on the platform. Madge +evidently followed them to the door, for she called, “Please let +me know the moment something happens or you learn anything.”</p> + +<p>“Better go to bed, Madgy,” Albert called. “You’ll only worry, and +it’s after three.”</p> + +<p>“I couldn’t sleep if I tried,” she answered.</p> + +<p>Their footsteps died away in a moment, and I heard her close the +door of 218. In a few moments she opened it again, and, stepping +down to the station platform, began to pace up and down it. If I +had only dared, I could have put my finger through the crack of +the planks and touched her foot as she walked over my head, but I +was afraid it might startle her into a shriek, and there was no +explaining to her what it meant without telling the cowboys how +close they were to their quarry.</p> + +<p>Madge hadn’t walked from one end of the platform to the other +more than three or four times, when I heard some one coming. She +evidently heard it also, for she said,—</p> + +<p>“I began to be afraid you hadn’t understood me.”</p> + +<p>“I thought you told me to see first if I were needed,” responded +a voice that even the distance and the planks did not prevent me +from recognizing as that of Lord Ralles.</p> + +<p>“Yes,” said she. “You are sure you can be spared?”</p> + +<p>“I couldn’t be of the slightest use,” asserted Ralles, getting on +to the platform and joining Madge. “It’s as black as ink +everywhere, and I don’t think there’s anything to be done till +daylight.”</p> + +<p>“Then I’m glad you came back, for I really want to say +something,—to ask the greatest favor of you.”</p> + +<p>“You only have to tell me what it is,” said his lordship.</p> + +<p>“Even that is very hard,” murmured Madge. “If—if—Oh! I’m afraid +I haven’t the courage, after all.”</p> + +<p>“I’ll be glad to do anything I can.”</p> + +<p>“It’s—well—Oh, dear, I can’t. Let’s walk a little, while I +think how to put it.”</p> + +<p>They began to walk, which took a weight off my mind, as I had +been forced to hear every word thus far spoken, and was dreading +what might follow, since I was perfectly helpless to warn them. +The platform was built around the station, and in a moment they +were out of hearing.</p> + +<p>Before many seconds were over, however, they had walked round the +building, and I heard Lord Ralles say,—</p> + +<p>“You really don’t mean that he’s insulted you?”</p> + +<p>“That is just what I do mean,” cried Madge, indignantly. “It’s +been almost past endurance. I haven’t dared to tell any one, but +he had the cruelty, the meanness, on Hance’s trail to threaten +that—”</p> + +<p>At that point the walkers turned the corner again, and I could +not hear the rest of the sentence. But I had heard more than +enough to make me grow hot with mortification, even while I could +hardly believe I had understood aright. Madge had been so kind to +me lately that I couldn’t think she had been feeling as bitterly +as she spoke. That such an apparently frank girl was a consummate +actress wasn’t to be thought, and yet—I remembered how well she +had played her part on Hance’s trail; but even that wouldn’t +convince me. Proof of her duplicity came quickly enough, for, +while I was still thinking, the walkers were round again, and +Lord Ralles was saying,—</p> + +<p>“Why haven’t you complained to your father or brothers?”</p> + +<p>“Because I knew they would resent his conduct to me, and—”</p> + +<p>“Of course they would,” cried her companion, interrupting. “But +why should you object to that?”</p> + +<p>“Because of the letters,” explained Madge. “Don’t you see that if +we made him angry he would betray us to Mr. Camp, and—”</p> + +<p>Then they passed out of hearing, leaving me almost desperate, +both at being an eavesdropper to such a conversation, and that +Madge could think so meanly of me. To say it, too, to Lord Ralles +made it cut all the deeper, as any fellow who has been in love +will understand.</p> + +<p>Round they came again in a moment, and I braced myself for the +lash of the whip that I felt was coming. I didn’t escape it, for +Madge was saying,—</p> + +<p>“Can you conceive of a man pretending to care for a girl and yet +treating her so? I can’t tell you the grief, the mortification, I +have endured.” She spoke with a half-sob in her throat, as if she +was struggling not to cry, which made me wish I had never been +born. “It’s been all I could do to control myself in his +presence, I have come so utterly to hate and despise him,” she +added.</p> + +<p>“I don’t wonder,” growled Lord Ralles. “My only surprise is—”</p> + +<p>With that they passed out of hearing again, leaving me fairly +desperate with shame, grief, and, I’m afraid, with anger. I felt +at once guilty and yet wronged. I knew my conduct on the trail +must have seemed to her ungentlemanly because I had never dared +to explain that my action there had been a pure bluff, and that I +wouldn’t have really searched her for—well, for anything; but +though she might think badly of me for that, yet I had done my +best to counterbalance it, and was running big risks, both +present and eventual, for Madge’s sake. Yet here she was +acknowledging that thus far she had used me as a puppet, while +all the time disliking me. It was a terrible blow, made all the +harder by the fact that she was proving herself such a different +girl from the one I loved,—so different, in fact, that, despite +what I had heard, I couldn’t quite believe it of her, and found +myself seeking to extenuate and even justify her conduct. While I +was doing this, they came within hearing, and Lord Ralles was +speaking.</p> + +<p>“—with you,” he said. “But I still do not see what I can do, +however much I may wish to serve you.”</p> + +<p>“Can’t you go to him and insist that he—or tell him what I +really feel towards him—or anything, in fact, to shame him? I +really can’t go on acting longer.”</p> + +<p>That reached the limit of my endurance, and I crawled from my +burrow, intending to get out from under that platform, whether I +was caught or not. I know it was a foolish move; after having +heard what I had, a little more or less was quite immaterial. But +I entirely forgot my danger, in the sting of what Madge had said, +and my one thought was to stand face to face with her long enough +to—I’m sure I don’t know what I intended to say.</p> + +<p>Just as I reached the plank, however, I heard Lord Ralles ask,—</p> + +<p>“Who’s that?”</p> + +<p>“It’s me,” said a voice,—“the station agent.” Then I heard a +door close. Some one walked out to the centre of the platform and +remarked,—</p> + +<p>“That ’ere way freight is late.”</p> + +<p>At least the letters were recovered.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> +<h3>THE SURRENDER OF THE LETTERS</h3> +</div> + +<p>If the letters were safe, that was a good deal more than I was. +The moment the station-master had made his agreed-upon +announcement, he said to the walkers,—</p> + +<p>“Had any news of Mr. Gordon?”</p> + +<p>“No,” replied Lord Ralles. “And, as the lights keep moving in the +town, they must still be hunting for him.”</p> + +<p>“I reckon they’ll do considerable more huntin’ before they find +him up there,” chuckled the man, with a self-important manner. +“He’s hidden away under this ere platform.”</p> + +<p>“Not right here?” I heard Madge cry, but I had too much to do to +take in what followed. I was lying close to the loose plank, and +even before the station-master had completed his sentence I was +squirming through the crack. As I freed my legs I heard two +shots, which I knew was the signal given by the cowboys, followed +by a shriek of fright from Madge, for which she was hardly to be +blamed. I was on my feet in an instant and ran down the tracks at +my best speed. It wasn’t with much hope of escape, for once out +from under the planking I found, what I had not before realized, +that day was dawning, and already outlines at a distance could be +seen. However, I was bound to do my best, and I did it.</p> + +<p>Before I had run a hundred feet I could hear pursuers, and a +moment later a revolver cracked, ploughing up the dust in front +of me. Another bullet followed, and, seeing that affairs were +getting desperate, I dodged round the end of some cars, only to +plump into a man running at full speed. The collision was so +unexpected that we both fell, and before I could get on my feet +one of my pursuers plumped down on top of me and I felt something +cold on the back of my neck.</p> + +<p>“Lie still, yer sneakin’ coyote of a road agent,” said the man, +“or I’ll blow yer so full of lead that yer couldn’t float in Salt +Lake.”</p> + +<p>I preferred to take his advice, and lay quiet while the cowboys +gathered. From all directions I heard them coming, calling to +each other that “the skunk that shot the woman is corralled,” and +other forms of the same information. In a moment I was jerked to +my feet, only to be swept off them with equal celerity, and was +half carried, half dragged, along the tracks. It wasn’t as rough +handling as I have taken on the football-field, but I didn’t +enjoy it.</p> + +<p>In a space of time that seemed only seconds, I was close to a +telegraph-pole; but, brief as the moment had been, a fellow with +a lariat tied round his waist was half-way up the post. I knew +the mob had been told that I had killed a woman in the hold-up, +for the cowboy, bad as he is, has his own standards, beyond which +he won’t go. But I might as well have tried to tell my innocence +to the moon as to get them to listen to denials, even if I could +have made my voice heard.</p> + +<p>The lariat was dropped over the crosspiece, and as a man adjusted +the noose a sudden silence fell. I thought it was a little sense +of what they were doing, but it was merely due to the command of +Baldwin, who, with Camp, stood just outside the mob.</p> + +<p>“Let me say a word before you pull,” he called, and then to me he +said, “Now will you give up the property?”</p> + +<p>I was pretty pale and shaky, but I come of stiffish stock, and I +wouldn’t have backed down then, it seemed to me, if they had been +going to boil me alive. I suppose it sounds foolish, and if I had +had plenty of time I have no doubt my common-sense would have +made me crawl. Not having time, I was on the point of saying +“No,” when the door of 218, which lay about two hundred yards +away, flew open, and out came Mr. Cullen, Fred, Albert, Lord +Ralles, and Captain Ackland, all with rifles. Of course it was +perfect desperation for the five to tackle the cowboys, but they +were game to do it, all the same.</p> + +<p>How it would have ended I don’t know, but as they sprang off the +car platform Miss Cullen came out on it, and stood there, one +hand holding on to the door-way, as if she needed support, and +the other covering her heart. It was too far for me to see her +face, but the whole attitude expressed such suffering that it was +terrible to see. What was more, her position put her in range of +every shot the cowboys might fire at the five as they charged. If +I could have stopped them I would have done so, but, since that +was impossible, I cried,—</p> + +<p>“Mr. Camp, I’ll surrender the letters.”</p> + +<p>“Hold on, boys,” shouted Baldwin; “wait till we get the property +he stole.” And, coming through the crowd, he threw the noose off +my neck.</p> + +<p>“Don’t shoot, Mr. Cullen,” I yelled, as my friends halted and +raised their rifles, and, fortunately, the cowboys had opened up +enough to let them hear me and see that I was free of the rope.</p> + +<p>Escorted by Camp, Baldwin, and the cowboys, I walked towards +them. On the way Baldwin said, in a low voice, “Deliver the +letters, and we’ll tell the boys there has been a mistake. +Otherwise—”</p> + +<p>When we came up to the five, I called to them that I had agreed +to surrender the letters. While I was saying it, Miss Cullen +joined them, and it was curious to see how respectfully the +cowboys took off their hats and fell back.</p> + +<p>“You are quite right,” Mr. Cullen called. “Give them the letters +at once.”</p> + +<p>“Oh, do, Mr. Gordon,” said Madge, still white and breathless with +emotion. “The money is nothing. Don’t think—” It was all she +could say.</p> + +<p>I felt pretty small, but with Camp and Baldwin, now reinforced by +Judge Wilson, I went to the station, ordered the agent to open +the safe, took out the three letters, and handed them to Mr. +Camp, realizing how poor Madge must have felt on Hance’s trail. +It was a pretty big take down to my pride I tell you, and made +all the worse by the way the three gloated over the letters and +over our defeat.</p> + +<p>“We’ve taught you a lesson, young man,” sneered Camp, as after +opening the envelopes, to assure himself that the proxies were +all right, he tucked them into his pocket. “And we’ll teach you +another one after to-day’s election.”</p> + +<p>Just as he concluded, we heard outside the first note of a bugle, +and as it sounded “By fours, column left,” my heart gave a big +jump, and the blood came rushing to my face. Camp, Baldwin, and +Wilson broke for the door, but I got there first, and prevented +their escape. They tried to force their way through, but I hadn’t +blocked and interfered at football for nothing, and they might as +well have tried to break through the Sierras. <ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'Discoving'"><a name="Disc" id="Disc">Discovering</a></ins> this, +Camp whipped out his gun, and told me to let them out. Being used +to the West, I recognized the goodness of the argument and +stepped out on the platform, giving them free passage. But the +twenty seconds I had delayed them had cooked their goose, for +outside was a squadron of cavalry swinging a circle round the +station; and we had barely reached the platform when the bugle +sounded “Halt,” quickly followed by “Forward left.” As the ranks +wheeled, and closed up as a solid line about us, I could have +cheered with delight. There was a moment’s dramatic hush, in +which we could all hear the breathing of the winded horses, and +then came the clatter of sword and spurs, as an officer sprang +from his saddle.</p> + +<p>“I want Richard Gordon,” the officer called.</p> + +<p>I responded, “At your service, and badly in need of yours, +Captain Singer.”</p> + +<p>“Hope the delay hasn’t spoilt things,” said the captain. “We had +a cursed fool of a guide, who took the wrong trail and ran us +into Limestone Cañon, where we had to camp for the night.”</p> + +<p>I explained the situation as quickly as I could, and the +captain’s eyes gleamed. “I’d have given a bad quarter to have got +here ten minutes sooner and ridden my men over those scoundrels,” +he muttered. “I saw them scatter as we rode up, and if I’d known +what they’d been doing we’d have given them a volley.” Then he +walked over to Mr. Camp and said, “Give me those letters.”</p> + +<p>“I hold those letters by virtue of an order—” Camp began.</p> + +<p>“Give me those letters,” the captain interrupted.</p> + +<p>“Do you intend a high-handed interference with the civil +authorities?” Judge Wilson demanded.</p> + +<p>“Come, come,” said the captain, sternly. “You have taken forcible +possession of United States property. Any talk about civil +authorities is rubbish, and you know it.”</p> + +<p>“I will never—” cried Mr. Camp.</p> + +<p>“Corporal Jackson, dismount a guard of six men,” rang the +captain’s voice, interrupting him.</p> + +<p>Evidently something in the voice or order convinced Mr. Camp, for +the letters were hastily produced and given to Singer, who at +once handed them to me. I turned with them to the Cullens, and, +laughing, quoted, “‘All’s well that ends well.’”</p> + +<p>But they didn’t seem to care a bit about the recovery of the +letters, and only wanted to have a hand-shake all round over my +escape. Even Lord Ralles said, “Glad we could be of a little +service,” and didn’t refuse my thanks, though the deuce knows +they were badly enough expressed, in my consciousness that I had +done an ungentlemanly trick over those trousers of his, and that +he had been above remembering it when I was in real danger. I’m +ashamed enough to confess that when Miss Cullen held out her hand +I made believe not to see it. I’m a bad hand at pretending, and I +saw Madge color up at my act.</p> + +<p>The captain finally called me off to consult about our +proceedings. I felt no very strong love for Camp, Baldwin, or +Wilson, but I didn’t see that a military arrest would accomplish +anything, and after a little discussion it was decided to let +them alone, as we could well afford to do, having won.</p> + +<p>This matter decided, I said to the captain, “I’ll be obliged if +you’ll put a guard round my car. And then, if you and your +officers will come inside it, I have a—something in a bottle, +recommended for removing alkali dust from the tonsils.”</p> + +<p>“Very happy to test your prescription,” responded Singer, +genially.</p> + +<p>I started to go with him, but I couldn’t resist turning to Mr. +Camp and his friends and saying,—</p> + +<p>“Gentlemen, the G. S. is a big affair, but it isn’t quite big +enough to fight the U. S.”</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> +<h3>A GLOOMY GOOD-BY</h3> +</div> + +<p>At that point my importance ceased. Apparently seeing that the +game was up, Mr. Camp later in the morning asked Mr. Cullen to +give him an interview, and when he was allowed to pass the sentry +he came to the steps and suggested,—</p> + +<p>“Perhaps we can arrange a compromise between the Missouri Western +and the Great Southern?”</p> + +<p>“We can try,” Mr. Cullen assented. “Come into my car.” He made +way for Mr. Camp, and was about to follow him, when Madge took +hold of her father’s arm, and, making him stoop, whispered +something to him.</p> + +<p>“What kind of a place?” asked Mr. Cullen, laughing.</p> + +<p>“A good one,” his daughter replied.</p> + +<p>I thought I understood what was meant. She didn’t want to rest +under an obligation, and so I was to be paid up for what I had +done by promotion. It made me grit my teeth, and if I hadn’t +taught myself not to swear, because of my position, I could have +given <ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'sheriff Gunton'"><a name="Sheriff" id="Sheriff">Sheriff Gunton</a></ins> points on cursing. I wanted to speak up +right there and tell Miss Cullen what I thought of her.</p> + +<p>Of the interview which took place inside 218, I can speak only at +second-hand, and the world knows about as well as I how the +contest was compromised by the K. & A. being turned over to the +Missouri Western, the territory in Southern California being +divided between the California Central and the Great Southern, +and a traffic arrangement agreed upon that satisfied the G. S. +That afternoon a Missouri Western board for the K. & A. was +elected without opposition, and they in turn elected Mr. Cullen +president of the K. & A.; so when my report of the holding-up +went in, he had the pleasure of reading it. I closed it with a +request for instructions, but I never received any, and that +ended the matter. I turned over the letters to the special agent +at Flagstaff, and I suppose his report is slumbering in some +pigeon-hole in Washington, for I should have known of any attempt +to bring the culprits to punishment. Mr. Cullen had taken a big +risk, but came out of it with a great lot of money, for the +Missouri Western bought all his holdings in the K. & A. and C. C. +But the scare must have taught him a lesson, for ever since then +he’s been conservative, and talks about the foolishness of +investors who try to get more than five per cent, or who think of +anything but good railroad bonds.</p> + +<p>As for myself, a month after these occurrences I was appointed +superintendent of the Missouri Western, which by this deal had +become one of the largest railroad systems in the world. It was a +big step up for so young a man, and was of course pure +favoritism, due to Mr. Cullen’s influence. I didn’t stay in the +position long, for within two years I was offered the presidency +of the Chicago & St. Paul, and I think that was won on merit. +Whether or not, I hold the position still, and have made my road +earn and pay dividends right through the panic.</p> + +<p>All this is getting away ahead of events, however. The election +delayed us so that we couldn’t couple on to No. 4 that afternoon, +and consequently we had to lie that night at Ash Forks. I made +the officers my excuse for keeping away from the Cullens, as I +wished to avoid Madge. I did my best to be good company to the +bluecoats, and had a first-class dinner for them on my car, but I +was in a pretty glum mood, which even champagne couldn’t modify. +Though all necessity of a guard ceased with the compromise, the +cavalry remained till the next morning, and, after giving them a +good breakfast, about six o’clock we shook hands, the bugle +sounded, and off they rode. For the first time I understood how a +fellow disappointed in love comes to enlist.</p> + +<p>When I turned about to go into my car, I found Madge standing on +the platform of 218 waving a handkerchief. I paid no attention to +her, and started up my steps.</p> + +<p>“Mr. Gordon,” she said,—and when I looked at her I saw that she +was flushing,—“what is the matter?”</p> + +<p>I suppose most fellows would have found some excuse, but for the +life of me I couldn’t. All I was able to say was,—</p> + +<p>“I would rather not say, Miss Cullen.”</p> + +<p>“How unfair you are!” she cried. “You—without the slightest +reason you suddenly go out of your way to ill-treat—insult me, +and yet will not tell me the cause.”</p> + +<p>That made me angry. “Cause?” I cried. “As if you didn’t know of a +cause! What you don’t know is that I overheard your conversation +with Lord Ralles night before last.”</p> + +<p>“My conversation with Lord Ralles?” exclaimed Madge, in a +bewildered way.</p> + +<p>“Yes,” I said bitterly, “keep up the acting. The practice is +good, even if it deceives no one.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t understand a word you are saying,” she retorted, getting +angry in turn. “You speak as if I had done wrong,—as if—I don’t +know what; and I have a right to know to what you allude.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t see how I can be any clearer,” I muttered. “I was under +the station platform, hiding from the cowboys, while you and Lord +Ralles were walking. I didn’t want to be a listener, but I heard +a good deal of what you said.”</p> + +<p>“But I didn’t walk with Lord Ralles,” she cried. “The only person +I walked with was Captain Ackland.”</p> + +<p>That took me very much aback, for I had never questioned in my +mind that it wasn’t Lord Ralles. Yet the moment she spoke, I +realized how much alike the two brothers’ voices were, and how +easily the blurring of distance and planking might have misled +me. For a moment I was speechless. Then I replied coldly,—</p> + +<p>“It makes no difference with whom you were. What you said was the +essential part.”</p> + +<p>“But how could you for an instant suppose that I could say what I +did to Lord Ralles?” she demanded.</p> + +<p>“I naturally thought he would be the one to whom you would appeal +concerning my ‘insulting’ conduct.”</p> + +<p>Madge looked at me for a moment as if transfixed. Then she +laughed, and cried,—</p> + +<p>“Oh, you idiot!”</p> + +<p>While I still looked at her in equal amazement, she went on, “I +beg your pardon, but you are so ridiculous that I had to say it. +Why, I wasn’t talking about you, but about Lord Ralles.”</p> + +<p>“Lord Ralles!” I cried.</p> + +<p>“Yes.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t understand,” I exclaimed.</p> + +<p>“Why, Lord Ralles has been—has been—oh, he’s threatened that if +I wouldn’t—that—”</p> + +<p>“You mean he—?” I began, and then stopped, for I couldn’t +believe my ears.</p> + +<p>“Oh,” she burst out, “of course you couldn’t understand, and you +probably despise me already, but if you knew how I scorn myself, +Mr. Gordon, and what I have endured from that man, you would only +pity me.”</p> + +<p>Light broke on me suddenly. “Do you mean, Miss Cullen,” I cried +hotly, “that he’s been cad enough to force his attentions upon +you by threats?”</p> + +<p>“Yes. First he made me endure him because he was going to help +us, and from the moment the robbery was done, he has been +threatening to tell. Oh, how I have suffered!”</p> + +<p>Then I said a very silly thing. “Miss Cullen,” I groaned, “I’d +give anything if I were only your brother.” For the moment I +really meant it.</p> + +<p>“I haven’t dared to tell any of them,” she explained, “because I +knew they would resent it and make Lord Ralles angry, and then he +would tell, and so ruin papa. It seemed such a little thing to +bear for his sake, but, oh, it’s been—I suppose you despise +me!”</p> + +<p>“I never dreamed of despising you,” I said. “I only thought, of +course—seeing what I did—and—that you were fond—No—that +is—I mean—well—The beast!” I couldn’t help exclaiming.</p> + +<p>“Oh,” said Madge, blushing, and stammering breathlessly, “you +mustn’t think—there was really—you happened to—usually I +managed to keep with papa or my brothers, or else run away, as I +did when he interrupted my letter-writing,—when you thought we +had—but it was nothing of the—I kept away just—but the night +of the robbery I forgot, and on the trail his mule blocked the +path. He never—there really wasn’t—you saved me the only times +he—he—that he was really rude; and I am so grateful for it, Mr. +Gordon.”</p> + +<p>I wasn’t in a mood to enjoy even Miss Cullen’s gratitude. Without +stopping for words, I dashed into 218, and, going straight to +Albert Cullen, I shook him out of a sound sleep, and before he +could well understand me I was alternately swearing at him and +raging at Lord Ralles. Finally he got the truth through his head, +and it was nuts to me, even in my rage, to see how his English +drawl disappeared, and how quick he could be when he really +became excited.</p> + +<p>I left him hurrying into his clothes, and went to my car, for I +didn’t dare to see the exodus of Lord Ralles, through fear that I +couldn’t behave myself. Albert came into 97 in a few moments to +say that the Englishmen were going to the hotel as soon as +dressed, the captain having elected to stay by his brother.</p> + +<p>“I wouldn’t have believed it of Ralles. I feel jolly cut up, you +know,” he drawled.</p> + +<p>I had been so enraged over Lord Ralles that I hadn’t stopped to +reckon in what position I stood myself towards Miss Cullen, but I +didn’t have to do much thinking to know that I had behaved about +as badly as was possible for me. And the worst of it was that she +could not know that right through the whole I had never quite +been able to think badly of her. I went out on the platform of +the station, and was lucky enough to find her there alone.</p> + +<p>“Miss Cullen,” I said, “I’ve been ungentlemanly and suspicious, +and I’m about as ashamed of myself as a man can be and not jump +into the Grand Cañon. I’ve not come to you to ask your +forgiveness, for I can’t forgive myself, much less expect it of +you. But I want you to know how I feel, and if there’s any +reparation, apology, anything, that you’d like, I’ll—”</p> + +<p>Madge interrupted my speech there by holding out her hand.</p> + +<p>“You don’t suppose,” she said, “that, after all you have done for +us, I could be angry over what was merely a mistake?”</p> + +<p>That’s what I call a trump of a girl, worth loving for a +lifetime.</p> + +<p>Well, we coupled on to No. 2 that morning and started East, this +time Mr. Cullen’s car being the “ender.” All on 218 were wildly +jubilant, as was natural, but I kept growing bluer and bluer. I +took a farewell dinner on their car the night we were due in +Albuquerque, and afterwards Miss Cullen and I went out and sat on +the back platform.</p> + +<p>“I’ve had enough adventures to talk about for a year,” Madge +said, as we chatted the whole thing over, “and you can no longer +brag that the K. & A. has never had a robbery, even if you didn’t +lose anything.”</p> + +<p>“I have lost something,” I sighed sadly.</p> + +<p>Madge looked at me quickly, started to speak, hesitated, and then +said, “Oh, Mr. Gordon, if you only could know how badly I have +felt about that, and how I appreciate the sacrifice.”</p> + +<p>I had only meant that I had lost my heart, and, for that matter, +probably my head, for it would have been ungenerous even to hint +to Miss Cullen that I had made any sacrifice of conscience for +her sake, and I would as soon have asked her to pay for it in +money as have told her.</p> + +<p>“You mustn’t think—” I began.</p> + +<p>“I have felt,” she continued, “that your wish to serve us made +you do something you never would have otherwise done, for—Well, +you—any one can see how truthful and honest—and it has made me +feel so badly that we—Oh, Mr. Gordon, no one has a right to do +wrong in this world, for it brings such sadness and danger to +innocent—And you have been so generous—”</p> + +<p>I couldn’t let this go on. “What I did,” I told her, “was to +fight fire with fire, and no one is responsible for it but +myself.”</p> + +<p>“I should like to think that, but I can’t,” she said. “I know we +all tried to do something dishonest, and while you didn’t do any +real wrong, yet I don’t think you would have acted as you did +except for our sake. And I’m afraid you may some day regret—”</p> + +<p>“I sha’n’t,” I cried; “and, so far from meaning that I had lost +my self-respect, I was alluding to quite another thing.”</p> + +<p>“Time?” she asked.</p> + +<p>“No.”</p> + +<p>“What?”</p> + +<p>“Something else you have stolen.”</p> + +<p>“I haven’t,” she denied.</p> + +<p>“You have,” I affirmed.</p> + +<p>“You mean the novel?” she asked; “because I sent it in to 97 +to-night.”</p> + +<p>“I don’t mean the novel.”</p> + +<p>“I can’t think of anything more but those pieces of petrified +wood, and those you gave me,” she said demurely. “I am sure that +whatever else I have of yours you have given me without even my +asking, and if you want it back you’ve only got to say so.”</p> + +<p>“I suppose that would be my very best course,” I groaned.</p> + +<p>“I hate people who force a present on one,” she continued, “and +then, just as one begins to like it, want it back.”</p> + +<p>Before I could speak, she asked hurriedly, “How often do you come +to Chicago?”</p> + +<p>I took that to be a sort of command that I was to wait, and +though longing to have it settled then and there, I braked myself +up and answered her question. Now I see what a duffer I +was—Madge told me after>wards that she asked only because she +was so frightened and confused that she felt she must stop my +speaking for a moment.</p> + +<p>I did my best till I heard the whistle the locomotive gives as it +runs into yard limits, and then rose. “Good-by, Miss Cullen,” I +said, properly enough, though no death-bed farewell was ever more +gloomily spoken; and she responded, “Good-by, Mr. Gordon,” with +equal propriety.</p> + +<p>I held her hand, hating to let her go, and the first thing I +knew, I blurted out, “I wish I had the brass of Lord Ralles!”</p> + +<p><ins class="TNsilent" title="Transcriber's note: original lacks comma">“I don’t,”</ins> she laughed, “because, if you had, I shouldn’t be +willing to let you—”</p> + +<p>And what she was going to say, and why she didn’t say it, is the +concern of no one but Mr. and Mrs. Richard Gordon.</p> + +<p class="center"> +<br /><br /><small>THE END</small></p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="tnote"> +<h3>Transcriber’s Note:</h3> + +<p>The discrepancies of four or seven “years of Western life” on +<a href="#Page_7">Page_7</a>, <a href="#Page_15">Page_15</a> and +<a href="#Page_26">Page_26</a> have been retained as in the original.</p> + +<p>Page 49. Changed “good-bye” to “good-by” twice. (... I bade <a href="#goodby1">good-by</a> +to the captain and Albert.); (“I hope it isn’t <a href="#goodby2">good-by</a>, +but only au revoir,” she said.)</p> + +<p>Page 59. Changed “coconino” to “<a href="#Coconino">Coconino</a>”.</p> + +<p>Page 104. Corrected <a href="#morse">American Morse Code</a> (a.k.a. Railroad Morse +Code) to accurately reflect transmitted message.</p> + +<p>Page 105. Changed “rail road” to “<a href="#rroad">railroad</a>”.</p> + +<p>Page 140. Changed “doorway” to “<a href="#dway">door-way</a>”.</p> + +<p>Page 145. Changed “her Majesty” to “<a href="#hmajesty">Her Majesty</a>”.</p> + +<p>Page 181. Changed “Discoving” to “<a href="#Disc">Discovering</a>”.</p> + +<p>Page 187. Changed “sheriff” to “<a href="#Sheriff">Sheriff</a>”.</p> +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT K. & A. 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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8e1ffef --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #25333 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25333) diff --git a/old/25333-8.txt b/old/25333-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..08b7417 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/25333-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4643 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Great K. & A. Robbery, by Paul Liechester Ford + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Great K. & A. Robbery + +Author: Paul Liechester Ford + +Release Date: May 5, 2008 [EBook #25333] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT K. & A. ROBBERY *** + + + + +Produced by Cline St. Charleskindt, Nick Wall and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +THE GREAT + +K. & A. TRAIN-ROBBERY + + + + +[Illustration: Frontispiece] + + + + +The +Great +K. & A. +Robbery + +[Illustration: Trains] + +By + +Paul Leicester Ford + +Author of The Honorable Peter Stirling + +New York +Dodd, Mead and Company +1897 + + + + +_Copyright, 1896,_ +BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. + +_Copyright, 1897,_ +BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY. + +University Press: +JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. + + + + +TO + +MY TRAVELLING COMPANIONS + +ON SPECIALS 218 AND 97 + +THIS ENDEAVOR TO WEAVE INTO A STORY SOME OF OUR +OVERLAND HAPPENINGS AND ADVENTURES + +IS GRATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. + + * * * * * + +_TO MISS GEORGE BARKER GIBBS._ + +_My dear George_: + +_At your request I originally inscribed this skit to our whole +party. In its republication, however, I can but feel that the +dedication should be more particular. Written because you asked +it, first read aloud to beguile our ride across the great +American desert, and finally printed because you wished a copy as +a souvenir of our journeyings, no one can so naturally be called +upon to stand sponsor to the little tale. Should the story but +give its readers a fraction of the pleasure I owe to your +kindness, its success is assured._ + +_Faithfully yours,_ + +_PAUL LEICESTER FORD._ + + + + +Contents + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I THE PARTY ON SPECIAL NO. 218 1 + + II THE HOLDING-UP OF OVERLAND NO. 3 17 + + III A NIGHT'S WORK ON THE ALKALI PLAINS 30 + + IV SOME RATHER QUEER ROAD AGENTS 43 + + V A TRIP TO THE GRAND CAON 55 + + VI THE HAPPENINGS DOWN HANCE'S TRAIL 69 + + VII A CHANGE OF BASE 82 + + VIII HOW DID THE SECRET LEAK OUT? 93 + + IX A TALK BEFORE BREAKFAST 107 + + X WAITING FOR HELP 118 + + XI THE LETTERS CHANGE HANDS AGAIN 130 + + XII AN EVENING IN JAIL 140 + + XIII A LESSON IN POLITENESS 153 + + XIV "LISTENERS NEVER HEAR ANYTHING GOOD" 165 + + XV THE SURRENDER OF THE LETTERS 175 + + XVI A GLOOMY GOOD-BY 186 + + + + +THE + +Great K. & A. Train-Robbery + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE PARTY ON SPECIAL NO. 218 + + +Any one who hopes to find in what is here written a work of +literature had better lay it aside unread. At Yale I should have +got the sack in rhetoric and English composition, let alone other +studies, had it not been for the fact that I played half-back on +the team, and so the professors marked me away up above where I +ought to have ranked. That was twelve years ago, but my life +since I received my parchment has hardly been of a kind to +improve me in either style or grammar. It is true that one woman +tells me I write well, and my directors never find fault with my +compositions; but I know that she likes my letters because, +whatever else they may say to her, they always say in some form, +"I love you," while my board approve my annual reports because +thus far I have been able to end each with "I recommend the +declaration of a dividend of -- per cent from the earnings of the +current year." I should therefore prefer to reserve my writings +for such friendly critics, if it did not seem necessary to make +public a plain statement concerning an affair over which there +appears to be much confusion. I have heard in the last five years +not less than twenty renderings of what is commonly called "the +great K. & A. train-robbery,"--some so twisted and distorted that +but for the intermediate versions I should never have recognized +them as attempts to narrate the series of events in which I +played a somewhat prominent part. I have read or been told that, +unassisted, the pseudo-hero captured a dozen desperadoes; that he +was one of the road agents himself; that he was saved from +lynching only by the timely arrival of cavalry; that the action +of the United States government in rescuing him from the civil +authorities was a most high-handed interference with State +rights; that he received his reward from a grateful railroad by +being promoted; that a lovely woman as recompense for his +villany--but bother! it's my business to tell what really +occurred, and not what the world chooses to invent. And if any +man thinks he would have done otherwise in my position, I can +only say that he is a better or a worse man than Dick Gordon. + +Primarily, it was football which shaped my end. Owing to my skill +in the game, I took a post-graduate at the Sheffield Scientific +School, that the team might have my services for an extra two +years. That led to my knowing a little about mechanical +engineering, and when I left the "quad" for good I went into the +Alton Railroad shops. It wasn't long before I was foreman of a +section; next I became a division superintendent, and after I had +stuck to that for a time I was appointed superintendent of the +Kansas & Arizona Railroad, a line extending from Trinidad in +Kansas to The Needles in Arizona, tapping the Missouri Western +System at the first place, and the Great Southern at the other. +With both lines we had important traffic agreements, as well as +the closest relations, which sometimes were a little difficult, +as the two roads were anything but friendly, and we had directors +of each on the K. & A. board, in which they fought like cats. +Indeed, it could only be a question of time when one would oust +the other and then absorb my road. My head-quarters were at +Albuquerque, in New Mexico, and it was there, in October, 1890, +that I received the communication which was the beginning of all +that followed. + +This initial factor was a letter from the president of the +Missouri Western, telling me that their first vice-president, Mr. +Cullen (who was also a director of my road), was coming out to +attend the annual election of the K. & A., which under our +charter had to be held in Ash Forks, Arizona. A second paragraph +told me that Mr. Cullen's family accompanied him, and that they +all wished to visit the Grand Caon of the Colorado on their way. +Finally the president wrote that the party travelled in his own +private car, and asked me to make myself generally useful to +them. Having become quite hardened to just such demands, at the +proper date I ordered my superintendent's car on to No. 2, and +the next morning it was dropped off at Trinidad. + +The moment No. 3 arrived, I climbed into the president's special, +that was the last car on the train, and introduced myself to Mr. +Cullen, whom, though an official of my road, I had never met. He +seemed surprised at my presence, but greeted me very pleasantly +as soon as I explained that the Missouri Western office had asked +me to do what I could for him, and that I was there for that +purpose. His party were about to sit down to breakfast, and he +asked me to join them: so we passed into the dining-room at the +forward end of the car, where I was introduced to "My son," "Lord +Ralles," and "Captain Ackland." The son was a junior copy of his +father, tall and fine-looking, but, in place of the frank and +easy manner of his sire, he was so very English that most people +would have sworn falsely as to his native land. Lord Ralles was a +little, well-built chap, not half so English as Albert Cullen, +quick in manner and thought, being in this the opposite of his +brother Captain Ackland, who was heavy enough to rock-ballast a +road-bed. Both brothers gave me the impression of being +gentlemen, and both were decidedly good-looking. + +After the introductions, Mr. Cullen said we would not wait, and +his remark called my attention to the fact that there was one +more place at the table than there were people assembled. I had +barely noted this, when my host said, "Here's the truant," and, +turning, I faced a lady who had just entered. Mr. Cullen said, +"Madge, let me introduce Mr. Gordon to you." My bow was made to a +girl of about twenty, with light brown hair, the bluest of eyes, +a fresh skin, and a fine figure, dressed so nattily as to be to +me, after my four years of Western life, a sight for tired eyes. +She greeted me pleasantly, made a neat little apology for having +kept us waiting, and then we all sat down. + +It was a very jolly breakfast-table, Mr. Cullen and his son being +capital talkers, and Lord Ralles a good third, while Miss Cullen +was quick and clever enough to match the three. Before the meal +was over I came to the conclusion that Lord Ralles was in love +with Miss Cullen, for he kept making low asides to her; and from +the fact that she allowed them, and indeed responded, I drew the +conclusion that he was a lucky beggar, feeling, I confess, a +little pang that a title was going to win such a nice American +girl. + +One of the first subjects spoken of was train-robbery, and Miss +Cullen, like most Easterners, seemed to take a great interest in +it, and had any quantity of questions to ask me. + +"I've left all my jewelry behind, except my watch," she said, +"and that I hide every night. So I really hope we'll be held up, +it would be such an adventure." + +"There isn't any chance of it, Miss Cullen," I told her; "and if +we were, you probably wouldn't even know that it was happening, +but would sleep right through it." + +"Wouldn't they try to get our money and our watches?" she +demanded. + +I told her no, and explained that the express- and mail-cars were +the only ones to which the road agents paid any attention. She +wanted to know the way it was done: so I described to her how +sometimes the train was flagged by a danger signal, and when it +had slowed down the runner found himself covered by armed men; or +how a gang would board the train, one by one, at way stations, +and then, when the time came, steal forward, secure the express +agent and postal clerk, climb over the tender, and compel the +runner to stop the train at some lonely spot on the road. She +made me tell her all the details of such robberies as I knew +about, and, though I had never been concerned in any, I was able +to describe several, which, as they were monotonously alike, I +confess I colored up a bit here and there, in an attempt to make +them interesting to her. I seemed to succeed, for she kept the +subject going even after we had left the table and were smoking +our cigars in the observation saloon. Lord Ralles had a lot to +say about the American lack of courage in letting trains +containing twenty and thirty men be held up by half a dozen +robbers. + +"Why," he ejaculated, "my brother and I each have a double +express with us, and do you think we'd sit still in our seats? +No. Hang me if we wouldn't pot something." + +"You might," I laughed, a little nettled, I confess, by his +speech, "but I'm afraid it would be yourselves." + +"Aw, you fancy resistance impossible?" drawled Albert Cullen. + +"It has been tried," I answered, "and without success. You can +see it's like all surprises. One side is prepared before the +other side knows there is danger. Without regard to relative +numbers, the odds are all in favor of the road agents." + +"But I wouldn't sit still, whatever the odds," asserted his +lordship. "And no Englishman would." + +"Well, Lord Ralles," I said, "I hope for your sake, then, that +you'll never be in a hold-up, for I should feel about you as the +runner of a locomotive did when the old lady asked him if it +wasn't very painful to him to run over people. 'Yes, madam,' he +sadly replied: 'there is nothing musses an engine up so.'" + +I don't think Miss Cullen liked Lord Ralles's comments on +American courage any better than I did, for she said,-- + +"Can't you take Lord Ralles and Captain Ackland into the service +of the K. & A., Mr. Gordon, as a special guard?" + +"The K. & A. has never had a robbery yet, Miss Cullen," I +replied, "and I don't think that it ever will have." + +"Why not?" she asked. + +I explained to her how the Caon of the Colorado to the north, +and the distance of the Mexican border to the south, made escape +so almost desperate that the road agents preferred to devote +their attentions to other routes. "If we were boarded, Miss +Cullen," I said, "your jewelry would be as safe as it is in +Chicago, for the robbers would only clean out the express- and +mail-cars; but if they should so far forget their manners as to +take your trinkets, I'd agree to return them to you inside of one +week." + +"That makes it all the jollier," she cried, eagerly. "We could +have the fun of the adventure, and yet not lose anything. Can't +you arrange for it, Mr. Gordon?" + +"I'd like to please you, Miss Cullen," I said, "and I'd like to +give Lord Ralles a chance to show us how to handle those gentry; +but it's not to be done." I really should have been glad to have +the road agents pay us a call. + +We spent that day pulling up the Raton pass, and so on over the +Glorietta pass down to Lamy, where, as the party wanted to see +Santa F, I had our two cars dropped off the overland, and we ran +up the branch line to the old Mexican city. It was well-worn +ground to me, but I enjoyed showing the sights to Miss Cullen, +for by that time I had come to the conclusion that I had never +met a sweeter or jollier girl. Her beauty, too, was of a kind +that kept growing on one, and before I had known her twenty-four +hours, without quite being in love with her, I was beginning to +hate Lord Ralles, which was about the same thing, I suppose. +Every hour convinced me that the two understood each other, not +merely from the little asides and confidences they kept +exchanging, but even more so from the way Miss Cullen would take +his lordship down occasionally. Yet, like a fool, the more I saw +to confirm my first diagnosis, the more I found myself dwelling +on the dimples at the corners of Miss Cullen's mouth, the +bewitching uplift of her upper lip, the runaway curls about her +neck, and the curves and color of her cheeks. + +Half a day served to see everything in Santa F worth looking at, +but Mr. Cullen decided to spend there the time they had to wait +for his other son to join the party. To pass the hours, I hunted +up some ponies, and we spent three days in long rides up the old +Santa F trail and to the outlying mountains. Only one incident +was other than pleasant, and that was my fault. As we were riding +back to our cars on the second afternoon, we had to cross the +branch road-bed, where a gang happened to be at work tamping the +ties. + +"Since you're interested in road agents, Miss Cullen," I said, +"you may like to see one. That fellow standing in the ditch is +Jack Drute, who was concerned in the D. & R. G. hold-up three +years ago." + +Miss Cullen looked where I pointed, and seeing a man with a gun, +gave a startled jump, and pulled up her pony, evidently supposing +that we were about to be attacked. "Sha'n't we run?" she began, +but then checked herself, as she took in the facts of the drab +clothes of the gang and the two armed men in uniform. "They are +convicts?" she asked, and when I nodded, she said, "Poor things!" +After a pause, she asked, "How long is he in prison for?" + +"Twenty years," I told her. + +"How harsh that seems!" she said. "How cruel we are to people for +a few moments' wrong-doing, which the circumstances may almost +have justified!" She checked her pony as we came opposite Drute, +and said, "Can you use money?" + +"Can I, lyedy?" said the fellow, leering in an attempt to look +amiable. "Wish I had the chance to try." + +The guard interrupted by telling her it wasn't permitted to speak +to the convicts while out of bounds, and so we had to ride on. +All Miss Cullen was able to do was to throw him a little bunch of +flowers she had gathered in the mountains. It was literally +casting pearls before swine, for the fellow did not seem +particularly pleased, and when, late that night, I walked down +there with a lantern I found the flowers lying in the ditch. The +experience seemed to sadden and distress Miss Cullen very much +for the rest of the afternoon, and I kicked myself for having +called her attention to the brute, and could have knocked him +down for the way he had looked at her. It is curious that I felt +thankful at the time that Drute was not holding up a train Miss +Cullen was on. It is always the unexpected that happens. If I +could have looked into the future, what a strange variation on +this thought I should have seen! + +The three days went all too quickly, thanks to Miss Cullen, and +by the end of that time I began to understand what love really +meant to a chap, and how men could come to kill each other for +it. For a fairly sensible, hard-headed fellow it was pretty quick +work, I acknowledge; but let any man have seven years of Western +life without seeing a woman worth speaking of, and then meet +Miss Cullen, and if he didn't do as I did, I wouldn't trust him +on the tail-board of a locomotive, for I should put him down as +defective both in eyesight and in intellect. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE HOLDING-UP OF OVERLAND NO. 3 + + +On the third day a despatch came from Frederic Cullen telling his +father he would join us at Lamy on No. 3 that evening. I at once +ordered 97 and 218 coupled to the connecting train, and in an +hour we were back on the main line. While waiting for the +overland to arrive, Mr. Cullen asked me to do something which, as +it later proved to have considerable bearing on the events of +that night, is worth mentioning, trivial as it seems. When I had +first joined the party, I had given orders for 97 to be kicked in +between the main string and their special, so as not to deprive +the occupants of 218 of the view from their observation saloon +and balcony platform. Mr. Cullen came to me now and asked me to +reverse the arrangement and make my car the tail end. I was +giving orders for the splitting and kicking in when No. 3 +arrived, and thus did not see the greeting of Frederic Cullen and +his family. When I joined them, his father told me that the high +altitude had knocked his son up so, that he had to be helped from +the ordinary sleeper to the special and had gone to bed +immediately. Out West we have to know something of medicine, and +my car had its chest of drugs: so I took some tablets and went +into his state-room. Frederic was like his brother in appearance, +though not in manner, having a quick, alert way. He was breathing +with such difficulty that I was almost tempted to give him +nitroglycerin, instead of strychnine, but he said he would be all +right as soon as he became accustomed to the rarefied air, quite +pooh-poohing my suggestion that he take No. 2 back to Trinidad; +and while I was still urging, the train started. Leaving him the +vials of digitalis and strychnine, therefore, I went back, and +dined _solus_ on my own car, indulging at the end in a cigar, +the smoke of which would keep turning into pictures of Miss +Cullen. I have thought about those pictures since then, and have +concluded that when cigar-smoke behaves like that, a man might as +well read his destiny in it, for it can mean only one thing. + +After enjoying the combination, I went to No. 218 to have a look +at the son, and found that the heart tonics had benefited him +considerably. On leaving him, I went to the dining-room, where +the rest of the party were still at dinner, to ask that the +invalid have a strong cup of coffee, and after delivering my +request Mr. Cullen asked me to join them in a cigar. This I did +gladly, for a cigar and Miss Cullen's society were even +pleasanter than a cigar and Miss Cullen's pictures, because the +pictures never quite did her justice, and, besides, didn't talk. + +Our smoke finished, we went back to the saloon, where the +gentlemen sat down to poker, which Lord Ralles had just learned, +and liked. They did not ask me to take a hand, for which I was +grateful, as the salary of a railroad superintendent would hardly +stand the game they probably played; and I had my compensation +when Miss Cullen also was not asked to join them. She said she +was going to watch the moonlight on the mountains from the +platform, and opened the door to go out, finding for the first +time that No. 97 was the "ender." In her disappointment she +protested against this, and wanted to know the why and wherefore. + +"We shall have far less motion, Madge," Mr. Cullen explained, +"and then we sha'n't have the rear-end man in our car at night." + +"But I don't mind the motion," urged Miss Cullen, "and the +flagman is only there after we are all in our rooms. Please leave +us the view." + +"I prefer the present arrangement, Madge," insisted Mr. Cullen, +in a very positive voice. + +I was so sorry for Miss Cullen's disappointment that on impulse I +said, "The platform of 97 is entirely at your service, Miss +Cullen." The moment it was out I realized that I ought not to +have said it, and that I deserved a rebuke for supposing she +would use my car. + +Miss Cullen took it better than I hoped for, and was declining +the offer as kindly as my intention had been in making it, when, +much to my astonishment, her father interrupted by saying,-- + +"By all means, Madge. That relieves us of the discomfort of being +the last car, and yet lets you have the scenery and moonlight." + +Miss Cullen looked at her father for a moment as if not believing +what she had heard. Lord Ralles scowled and opened his mouth to +say something, but checked himself, and only flung his discard +down as if he hated the cards. + +"Thank you, papa," responded Miss Cullen, "but I think I will +watch you play." + +"Now, Madge, don't be foolish," said Mr. Cullen, irritably. "You +might just as well have the pleasure, and you'll only disturb the +game if you stay here." + +Miss Cullen leaned over and whispered something, and her father +answered her. Lord Ralles must have heard, for he muttered +something, which made Miss Cullen color up; but much good it did +him, for she turned to me and said, "Since my father doesn't +disapprove, I will gladly accept your hospitality, Mr. Gordon," +and after a glance at Lord Ralles that had a challenging "I'll do +as I please" in it, she went to get her hat and coat. The whole +incident had not taken ten seconds, yet it puzzled me beyond +measure, even while my heart beat with an unreasonable hope; for +my better sense told me that it simply meant that Lord Ralles +disapproved, and Miss Cullen, like any girl of spirit, was giving +him notice that he was not yet privileged to control her actions. +Whatever the scene meant, his lordship did not like it, for he +swore at his luck the moment Miss Cullen had left the room. + +When Miss Cullen returned we went back to the rear platform of +97. I let down the traps, closed the gates, got a camp-stool for +her to sit upon, with a cushion to lean back on, and a footstool, +and fixed her as comfortably as I could, even getting a +travelling-rug to cover her lap, for the plateau air was chilly. +Then I hesitated a moment, for I had the feeling that she had not +thoroughly approved of the thing and therefore she might not like +to have me stay. Yet she was so charming in the moonlight, and +the little balcony the platform made was such a tempting spot to +linger on, while she was there, that it wasn't easy to go. +Finally I asked,-- + +"You are quite comfortable, Miss Cullen?" + +"Sinfully so," she laughed. + +"Then perhaps you would like to be left to enjoy the moonlight +and your meditations by yourself?" I questioned. I knew I ought +to have just gone away, but I simply couldn't when she looked so +enticing. + +"Do you want to go?" she asked. + +"No!" I ejaculated, so forcibly that she gave a little startled +jump in her chair. "That is--I mean," I stuttered, embarrassed by +my own vehemence, "I rather thought you might not want me to +stay." + +"What made you think that?" she demanded. + +I never was a good hand at inventing explanations, and after a +moment's seeking for some reason, I plumped out, "Because I +feared you might not think it proper to use my car, and I suppose +it's my presence that made you think it." + +She took my stupid fumble very nicely; laughing merrily while +saying, "If you like mountains and moonlight, Mr. Gordon, and +don't mind the lack of a chaperon, get a stool for yourself, +too." What was more, she offered me half of the lap-robe when I +was seated beside her. + +I think she was pleased by my offer to go away, for she talked +very pleasantly, and far more intimately than she had ever done +before, telling me facts about her family, her Chicago life, her +travels, and even her thoughts. From this I learned that her +elder brother was an Oxford graduate, and that Lord Ralles and +his brother were classmates, who were visiting him for the first +time since he had graduated. She asked me some questions about +my work, which led me to tell her pretty much everything about +myself that I thought could be of the least interest; and it was +a very pleasant surprise to me to find that she knew one of the +old team, and had even heard of me from him. + +"Why," she exclaimed, "how absurd of me not to have thought of it +before! But, you see, Mr. Colston always speaks of you by your +first name. You ought to hear how he praises you." + +"Trust Harry to praise any one," I said. "There were some pretty +low fellows on the old team,--men who couldn't keep their word or +their tempers, and would slug every chance they got; but Harry +used to insist there wasn't a bad egg among the lot." + +"Don't you find it very lonely to live out here, away from all +your old friends?" she asked. + +I had to acknowledge that it was, and told her the worst part was +the absence of pleasant women. "Till you arrived, Miss Cullen," +I said, "I hadn't seen a well-gowned woman in four years." I've +always noticed that a woman would rather have a man notice and +praise her frock than her beauty, and Miss Cullen was apparently +no exception, for I could see the remark pleased her. + +"Don't Western women ever get Eastern gowns?" she asked. + +"Any quantity," I said, "but you know, Miss Cullen, that it isn't +the gown, but the way it's worn, that gives the artistic touch." +For a fellow who had devoted the last seven years of his life to +grades and fuel and rebates and pay-rolls, I don't think that was +bad. At least it made Miss Cullen's mouth dimple at the corners. + +The whole evening was so eminently satisfactory that I almost +believe I should be talking yet, if interruption had not come. +The first premonition of it was Miss Cullen's giving a little +shiver, which made me ask if she was cold. + +"Not at all," she replied. "I only--what place are we stopping +at?" + +I started to rise, but she checked the movement and said, "Don't +trouble yourself. I thought you would know without moving. I +really don't care to know." + +I took out my watch, and was startled to find it was twenty +minutes past twelve. I wasn't so green as to tell Miss Cullen so, +and merely said, "By the time, this must be Sanders." + +"Do we stop long?" she asked. + +"Only to take water," I told her, and then went on with what I +had been speaking about when she shivered. But as I talked it +slowly dawned on me that we had been standing still some time, +and presently I stopped speaking and glanced off, expecting to +recognize something, only to see alkali plain on both sides. A +little surprised, I looked down, to find no siding. Rising +hastily, I looked out forward. I could see moving figures on each +side of the train, but that meant nothing, as the train's crew, +and, for that matter, passengers, are very apt to alight at every +stop. What did mean something was that there was no water-tank, +no station, nor any other visible cause for a stop. + +"Is anything the matter?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"I think something's wrong with the engine or the road-bed, Miss +Cullen," I said, "and, if you'll excuse me a moment, I'll go +forward and see." + +I had barely spoken when "bang! bang!" went two shots. That they +were both fired from an English "express" my ears told me, for no +other people in this world make a mountain howitzer and call it a +rifle. + +Hardly were the two shots fired when "crack! crack! crack! +crack!" went some Winchesters. + +"Oh! what is it?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I think your wish has been granted," I answered hurriedly. "We +are being held up, and Lord Ralles is showing us how to--" + +My speech was interrupted. "Bang! bang!" challenged another "express," +the shots so close together as to be almost simultaneous. "Crack! +crack! crack!" retorted the Winchesters, and from the fact that +silence followed I drew a clear inference. I said to myself, "That +is an end of poor John Bull." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A NIGHT'S WORK ON THE ALKALI PLAINS + + +I hurried Miss Cullen into the car, and, after bolting the rear +door, took down my Winchester from its rack. + +"I'm going forward," I told her, "and will tell my darkies to +bolt the front door: so you'll be as safe in here as in Chicago." + +In another minute I was on my front platform. Dropping down +between the two cars, I crept along beside--indeed, half +under--Mr. Cullen's special. After my previous conclusion, my +surprise can be judged when at the farther end I found the two +Britishers and Albert Cullen, standing there in the most exposed +position possible. I joined them, muttering to myself something +about Providence and fools. + +"Aw," drawled Cullen, "here's Mr. Gordon, just too late for the +sport, by Jove." + +"Well," bragged Lord Ralles, "we've had a hand in this deal, Mr. +Superintendent, and haven't been potted. The scoundrels broke for +cover the moment we opened fire." + +By this time there were twenty passengers about our group, all of +them asking questions at once, making it difficult to learn just +what had happened; but, so far as I could piece the answers +together, the poker-players' curiosity had been aroused by the +long stop, and, looking out, they had seen a single man with a +rifle, standing by the engine. Instantly arming themselves, Lord +Ralles let fly both barrels at him, and in turn was the target +for the first four shots I had heard. The shooting had brought +the rest of the robbers tumbling off the cars, and the captain +and Cullen had fired the rest of the shots at them as they +scattered. I didn't stop to hear more, but went forward to see +what the road agents had got away with. + +I found the express agent tied hand and foot in the corner of +his car, and, telling a brakeman who had followed me to set him +at liberty, I turned my attention to the safe. That the diversion +had not come a moment too soon was shown by the dynamite +cartridge already in place, and by the fuse that lay on the +floor, as if dropped suddenly. But the safe was intact. + +Passing into the mail-car, I found the clerk tied to a post, with +a mail-sack pulled over his head, and the utmost confusion among +the pouches and sorting-compartments, while scattered over the +floor were a great many letters. Setting him at liberty, I asked +him if he could tell whether mail had been taken, and, after a +glance at the confusion, he said he could not know till he had +examined. + +Having taken stock of the harm done, I began asking questions. +Just after we had left Sanders, two masked men had entered the +mail-car, and while one covered the clerk with a revolver the +other had tied and "sacked" him. Two more had gone forward and +done the same to the express agent. Another had climbed over the +tender and ordered the runner to hold up. All this was regular +programme, as I had explained to Miss Cullen, but here had been a +variation which I had never heard of being done, and of which I +couldn't fathom the object. When the train had been stopped, the +man on the tender had ordered the fireman to dump his fire, and +now it was lying in the road-bed and threatening to burn through +the ties; so my first order was to extinguish it, and my second +was to start a new fire and get up steam as quickly as possible. +From all I could learn, there were eight men concerned in the +attempt; and I confess I shook my head in puzzlement why that +number should have allowed themselves to be scared off so easily. + +My wonderment grew when I called on the conductor for his +tickets. These showed nothing but two from Albuquerque, one from +Laguna, and four from Coolidge. This latter would have looked +hopeful but for the fact that it was a party of three women and +a man. Going back beyond Lamy didn't give anything, for the +conductor was able to account for every fare as either still in +the train or as having got off at some point. My only conclusion +was that the robbers had sneaked onto the platforms at Sanders; +and I gave the crew a good dressing down for their carelessness. +Of course they insisted it was impossible; but they were bound to +do that. + +Going back to 97, I got my telegraph instrument, though I thought +it a waste of time, the road agents being always careful to break +the lines. I told a brakeman to climb the pole and cut a wire. +While he was struggling up, Miss Cullen joined me. + +"Do you really expect to catch them?" she asked. + +"I shouldn't like to be one of them," I replied. + +"But how can you do it?" + +"You could understand better, Miss Cullen, if you knew this +country. You see every bit of water is in use by ranches, and +those fellows can't go more than fifty miles without watering. So +we shall have word of them, wherever they go." + +"Line cut, Mr. Gordon," came from overhead at this point, making +Miss Cullen jump with surprise. + +"What was that?" she asked. + +I explained to her, and, after making connections, I called +Sanders. Much to my surprise, the agent responded. I was so +astonished that for a moment I could not believe the fact. + +"This is the queerest hold-up of which I ever heard," I remarked +to Miss Cullen. + +"Aw, in what respect?" asked Albert Cullen's voice, and, looking +up, I found that he and quite a number of the passengers had +joined us. + +"The road agents make us dump our fire," I said, "and yet they +haven't cut the wires in either direction. I can't see how they +can escape us." + +"What fun!" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I don't see what difference either makes in their chance of +escaping," said Lord Ralles. + +While he was speaking, I ticked off the news of our being held +up, and asked the agent if there had been any men about Sanders, +or if he had seen any one board the train there. His answer was +positive that no one could have done so, and that settled it as +to Sanders. I asked the same questions of Allantown and Wingate, +which were the only places we had stopped at after leaving +Coolidge, getting the same answers. That eight men could have +remained concealed on any of the platforms from that point was +impossible, and I began to suspect magic. Then I called Coolidge, +and told of the holding up, after which I telegraphed the agent +at Navajo Springs to notify the commander at Fort Defiance, for I +suspected the road agents would make for the Navajo reservation. +Finally I called Flagstaff as I had Coolidge, directed that the +authorities be notified of the facts, and ordered an extra to +bring out the sheriff and posse. + +"I don't think," said Miss Cullen, "that I am a bit more curious +than most people, but it has nearly made me frantic to have you +tick away on that little machine and hear it tick back, and not +understand a word." + +After that I had to tell her what I had said and learned. + +"How clever of you to think of counting the tickets and finding +out where people got on and off! I never should have thought of +either," she said. + +"It hasn't helped me much," I laughed, rather grimly, "except to +eliminate every possible clue." + +"They probably did steal on at one of the stops," suggested a +passenger. + +I shook my head. "There isn't a stick of timber nor a place of +concealment on these alkali plains," I replied, "and it was +bright moonlight till an hour ago. It would be hard enough for +one man to get within a mile of the station without being seen, +and it would be impossible for seven or eight." + +"How do you know the number?" asked a passenger. + +"I don't," I said. "That's the number the crew think there were; +but I myself don't believe it." + +"Why don't you believe the men?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"First, because there is always a tendency to magnify, and next, +because the road agents ran away so quickly." + +"I counted at least seven," asserted Lord Ralles. + +"Well, Lord Ralles," I said, "I don't want to dispute your +eyesight, but if they had been that strong they would never have +bolted, and if you want to lay a bottle of wine, I'll wager that +when I catch those chaps we'll find there weren't more than three +or four of them." + +"Done!" he snapped. + +Leaving the group, I went forward to get the report of the mail +agent. He had put things to rights, and told me that, though the +mail had been pretty badly mixed up, only one pouch at worst had +been rifled. This--the one for registered mail--had been cut +open, but, as if to increase the mystery, the letters had been +scattered, unopened, about the car, only three out of the whole +being missing, and those very probably had fallen into the +pigeon-holes and would be found on a more careful search. + +I confess I breathed easier to think that the road agents had got +away with nothing, and was so pleased that I went back to the +wire to send the news of it, that the fact might be included in +the press despatches. The moon had set, and it was so dark that I +had some difficulty in finding the pole. When I found it, Miss +Cullen was still standing there. What was more, a man was close +beside her, and as I came up I heard her say, indignantly,-- + +"I will not allow it. It is unfair to take such advantage of me. +Take your arm away, or I shall call for help!" + +That was enough for me. One step carried my hundred and sixty +pounds over the intervening ground, and, using the momentum of +the stride to help, I put the flat of my hand against the +shoulder of the man and gave him a shove. There are three or four +Harvard men who can tell what that means, and they were braced +for it, which this fellow wasn't. He went staggering back as if +struck by a cow-catcher, and lay down on the ground a good +fifteen feet away. His having his arm around Miss Cullen's waist +unsteadied her so that she would have fallen too if I hadn't put +my hand against her shoulder. I longed to put it about her, but +by this time I didn't want to please myself, but to do only what +I thought she would wish, and so restrained myself. + +Before I had time to finish an apology to Miss Cullen, the fellow +was up on his feet, and came at me with an exclamation of anger. +In my surprise at recognizing the voice as that of Lord Ralles, I +almost neglected to take care of myself; but, though he was quick +with his fists, I caught him by the wrists as he closed, and he +had no chance after that against a fellow of my weight. + +"Oh, don't quarrel!" cried Miss Cullen. + +Holding him, I said, "Lord Ralles, I overheard what Miss Cullen +was saying, and, supposing some man was insulting her, I acted as +I did." Then I let go of him, and, turning, I continued, "I am +very sorry, Miss Cullen, if I did anything the circumstances did +not warrant," while cursing myself for my precipitancy and for +not thinking that Miss Cullen would never have been caught in +such a plight with a man unless she had been half willing; for a +girl does not merely threaten to call for help if she really +wants aid. + +Lord Ralles wasn't much mollified by my explanation. "You're too +much in a hurry, my man," he growled, speaking to me as if I were +a servant. "Be a bit more careful in the future." + +I think I should have retorted--for his manner was enough to make +a saint mad--if Miss Cullen hadn't spoken. + +"You tried to help me, Mr. Gordon, and I am deeply grateful for +that," she said. The words look simple enough set down here. But +the tone in which she said them, and the extended hand and the +grateful little squeeze she gave my fingers, all seemed to +express so much that I was more puzzled over them than I was over +the robbery. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SOME RATHER QUEER ROAD AGENTS + + +"You had better come back to the car, Miss Cullen," remarked Lord +Ralles, after a pause. + +But she declined to do so, saying she wanted to know what I was +going to telegraph; and he left us, for which I wasn't sorry. I +told her of the good news I had to send, and she wanted to know +if now we would try to catch the road agents. I set her mind at +rest on that score. + +"I think they'll give us very little trouble to bag," I added, +"for they are so green that it's almost pitiful." + +"In not cutting the wires?" she asked. + +"In everything," I replied. "But the worst botch is their waiting +till we had just passed the Arizona line. If they had held us up +an hour earlier, it would only have been State's prison." + +"And what will it be now?" + +"Hanging." + +"What?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"In New Mexico train-robbing is not capital, but in Arizona it +is," I told her. + +"And if you catch them they'll be hung?" she asked. + +"Yes." + +"That seems very hard." + +The first signs of dawn were beginning to show by this time, and +as the sky brightened I told Miss Cullen that I was going to look +for the trail of the fugitives. She said she would walk with me, +if not in the way, and my assurance was very positive on that +point. And here I want to remark that it's saying a good deal if +a girl can be up all night in such excitement and still look +fresh and pretty, and that she did. + +I ordered the crew to look about, and then began a big circle +around the train. Finding nothing, I swung a bigger one. That +being equally unavailing, I did a larger third. Not a trace of +foot or hoof within a half-mile of the cars! I had heard of +blankets laid down to conceal a trail, of swathed feet, even of +leathern horse-boots with cattle-hoofs on the bottom, but none of +these could have been used for such a distance, let alone the +entire absence of any signs of a place where the horses had been +hobbled. Returning to the train, the report of the men was the +same. + +"We've ghost road agents to deal with, Miss Cullen," I laughed. +"They come from nowhere, bullets touch them not, their lead hurts +nobody, they take nothing, and they disappear without touching +the ground." + +"How curious it is!" she exclaimed. "One would almost suppose it +a dream." + +"Hold on," I said. "We do have something tangible, for if they +disappeared they left their shells behind them." And I pointed to +some cartridge-shells that lay on the ground beside the mail-car. +"My theory of aerial bullets won't do." + +"The shells are as hollow as I feel," laughed Miss Cullen. + +"Your suggestion reminds me that I am desperately hungry," I +said. "Suppose we go back and end the famine." + +Most of the passengers had long since returned to their seats or +berths, and Mr. Cullen's party had apparently done the same, for +218 showed no signs of life. One of my darkies was awake, and he +broiled a steak and made us some coffee in no time, and just as +they were ready Albert Cullen appeared, so we made a very jolly +little breakfast. He told me at length the part he and the +Britishers had borne, and only made me marvel the more that any +one of them was alive, for apparently they had jumped off the car +without the slightest precaution, and had stood grouped together, +even after they had called attention to themselves by Lord +Ralles's shots. Cullen had to confess that he heard the whistle +of the four bullets unpleasantly close. + +"You have a right to be proud, Mr. Cullen," I said. "You fellows +did a tremendously plucky thing, and, thanks to you, we didn't +lose anything." + +"But you went to help too, Mr. Gordon," added Miss Cullen. + +That made me color up, and, after a moment's hesitation, I +said,-- + +"I'm not going to sail under false colors, Miss Cullen. When I +went forward I didn't think I could do anything. I supposed +whoever had pitched into the robbers was dead, and I expected to +be the same inside of ten minutes." + +"Then why did you risk your life," she asked, "if you thought it +was useless?" + +I laughed, and, though ashamed to tell it, replied, "I didn't +want you to think that the Britishers had more pluck than I had." + +She took my confession better than I hoped she would, laughing +with me, and then said, "Well, that was courageous, after all." + +"Yes," I confessed, "I was frightened into bravery." + +"Perhaps if they had known the danger as well as you, they would +have been less courageous," she continued; and I could have +blessed her for the speech. + +While we were still eating, the mail clerk came to my car and +reported that the most careful search had failed to discover the +three registered letters, and they had evidently been taken. This +made me feel sober, slight as the probable loss was. He told me +that his list showed they were all addressed to Ash Forks, +Arizona, making it improbable that their contents could be of any +real value. If possible, I was more puzzled than ever. + +At six-ten the runner whistled to show he had steam up. I told +one of the brakemen to stay behind, and then went into 218. Mr. +Cullen was still dressing, but I expressed my regrets through the +door that I could not go with his party to the Grand Caon, told +him that all the stage arrangements had been completed, and +promised to join him there in case my luck was good. Then I saw +Frederic for a moment, to see how he was (for I had nearly +forgotten him in the excitement), to find that he was gaining all +the time, and preparing even to get up. When I returned to the +saloon, the rest of the party were there, and I bade good-by to +the captain and Albert. Then I turned to Lord Ralles, and, +holding out my hand, said,-- + +"Lord Ralles, I joked a little the other morning about the way +you thought road agents ought to be treated. You have turned the +joke very neatly and pluckily, and I want to apologize for myself +and thank you for the railroad." + +"Neither is necessary," he retorted airily, pretending not to see +my hand. + +I never claimed to have a good temper, and it was all I could do +to hold myself in. I turned to Miss Cullen to wish her a pleasant +trip, and the thought that this might be our last meeting made me +forget even Lord Ralles. + +"I hope it isn't good-by, but only _au revoir_," she said. +"Whether or no, you must let us see you some time in Chicago, so +that I may show you how grateful I am for all the pleasure you +have added to our trip." Then, as I stepped down off my platform, +she leaned over the rail of 218, and added, in a low voice, "I +thought you were just as brave as the rest, Mr. Gordon, and now I +think you are braver." + +I turned impulsively, and said, "You would think so, Miss Cullen, +if you knew the sacrifice I am making." Then, without looking at +her, I gave the signal, the bell rang, and No. 3 pulled off. The +last thing I saw was a handkerchief waving off the platform of +218. + +When the train dropped out of sight over a grade, I swallowed the +lump in my throat and went to the telegraph instrument. I wired +Coolidge to give the alarm to Fort Wingate, Fort Apache, Fort +Thomas, Fort Grant, Fort Bayard, and Fort Whipple, though I +thought the precaution a mere waste of energy. Then I sent the +brakeman up to connect the cut wire. + +"Two of the bullets struck up here, Mr. Gordon," the man called +from the top of the pole. + +"Surely not!" I exclaimed. + +"Yes, sir," he responded. "The bullet-holes are brand-new." + +I took in the lay of the land, the embers of the fire showing me +how the train had lain. "I don't wonder nobody was hit," I +exclaimed, "if that's a sample of their shooting. Some one was a +worse rattled man than I ever expect to be. Dig the bullets out, +Douglas, so that we can have a look at them." + +He brought them down in a minute. They proved to be Winchesters, +as I had expected, for they were on the side from which the +robbers must have fired. + +"That chap must have been full of Arizona tangle-foot, to have +fired as wild as he did," I ejaculated, and walked over to +where the mail-car had stood, to see just how bad the shooting +was. When I got there and faced about, it was really impossible +to believe any man could have done so badly, for raising my +own Winchester to the pole put it twenty degrees out of range +and nearly forty degrees in the air. Yet there were the +cartridge-shells on the ground, to show that I was in the place +from which the shots had been fired. + +While I was still cogitating over this, the special train I had +ordered out from Flagstaff came in sight, and in a few moments +was stopped where I was. It consisted of a string of three flats +and a box car, and brought the sheriff, a dozen cowboys whom he +had sworn in as deputies, and their horses. I was hopeful that +with these fellows' greater skill in such matters they could find +what I had not, but after a thorough examination of the ground +within a mile of the robbery they were as much at fault as I had +been. + +"Them cusses must have a dugout nigh abouts, for they couldn't +'a' got away without wings," the sheriff surmised. + +I didn't put much stock in that idea, and told the sheriff so. + +"Waal, round up a better one," was his retort. + +Not being able to do that, I told him of the bullets in the +telegraph pole, and took him over to where the mail car had +stood. + +"Jerusalem crickets!" was his comment as he measured the aim. "If +that's where they put two of their pills, they must have pumped +the other four inter the moon." + +"What other four?" I asked. + +"Shots," he replied sententiously. + +"The road agents only fired four times," I told him. + +"Them and your pards must have been pretty nigh together for a +minute, then," he said, pointing to the ground. + +I glanced down, and sure enough, there were six empty +cartridge-shells. I stood looking blankly at them, hardly able to +believe what I saw; for Albert Cullen had said distinctly that +the train-robbers had fired only four times, and that the last +three Winchester shots I had heard had been fired by himself. +Then, without speaking, I walked slowly back, searching along +the edge of the road-bed for more shells; but, though I went +beyond the point where the last car had stood, not one did I +find. Any man who has fired a Winchester knows that it drops its +empty shell in loading, and I could therefore draw only one +conclusion,--namely, that all seven discharges of the Winchesters +had occurred up by the mail-car. I had heard of men supposing +they had fired their guns through hearing another go off; but +with a repeating rifle one has to fire before one can reload. The +fact was evident that Albert Cullen either had fired his +Winchester up by the mail-car, or else had not fired it at all. +In either case he had lied, and Lord Ralles and Captain Ackland +had backed him up in it. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A TRIP TO THE GRAND CAON + + +I stood pondering, for no explanation that would fit the facts +seemed possible. I should have considered the young fellow's +story only an attempt to gain a little reputation for pluck, if +in any way I could have accounted for the appearance and +disappearance of the robbers. Yet to suppose--which seemed the +only other horn to the dilemma--that the son and guests of the +vice-president of the Missouri Western, and one of our own +directors, would be concerned in train-robbery was to believe +something equally improbable. Indeed, I should have put the whole +thing down as a practical joke of Mr. Cullen's party, if it had +not been for the loss of the registered letters. Even a practical +joker would hardly care to go to the length of cutting open +government mail-pouches; for Uncle Sam doesn't approve of such +conduct. + +Whatever the explanation, I had enough facts to prevent me from +wasting more time on that alkali plain. Getting the men and +horses back onto the cars, I jumped up on the tail-board and +ordered the runner to pull out for Flagstaff. It was a run of +seven hours, getting us in a little after eight, and in those +hours I had done a lot of thinking which had all come to one +result,--that Mr. Cullen's party was concerned in the hold-up. + +The two private cars were on a siding, but the Cullens had left +for the Grand Caon the moment they had arrived, and were about +reaching there by this time. I went to 218 and questioned the +cook and waiter, but they had either seen nothing or else had +been primed, for not a fact did I get from them. Going to my own +car, I ordered a quick supper, and while I was eating it I +questioned my boy. He told me that he had heard the shots, and +had bolted the front door of my car, as I had ordered when I went +out; that as he turned to go to a safer place, he had seen a man, +revolver in hand, climb over the off-side gate of Mr. Cullen's +car, and for a moment he had supposed it a road agent, till he +saw that it was Albert Cullen. + +"That was just after I had got off?" I asked. + +"Yis, sah." + +"Then it couldn't have been Mr. Cullen, Jim," I declared, "for I +found him up at the other end of the car." + +"Tell you it wuz, Mr. Gordon," Jim insisted. "I done seen his +face clar in de light, and he done go into Mr. Cullen's car whar +de old gentleman wuz sittin'." + +That set me whistling to myself, and I laughed to think how near +I had come to giving nitroglycerin to a fellow who was only +shamming heart-failure; for that it was Frederic Cullen who had +climbed on the car I hadn't the slightest doubt, the resemblance +between the two brothers being quite strong enough to deceive any +one who had never seen them together. I smiled a little, and +remarked to myself, "I think I can make good my boast that I +would catch the robbers; but whether the Cullens will like my +doing it, I question. What is more, Lord Ralles will owe me a +bottle." Then I thought of Madge, and didn't feel as pleased over +my success as I had felt a moment before. + +By nine o'clock the posse and I were in the saddle and skirting +the San Francisco peaks. There was no use of pressing the ponies, +for our game wasn't trying to escape, and, for that matter, +couldn't, as the Colorado River wasn't passable within fifty +miles. It was a lovely moonlight night, and the ride through the +pines was as pretty a one as I remember ever to have made. It set +me thinking of Madge and of our talk the evening before, and of +what a change twenty-four hours had brought. It was lucky I was +riding an Indian pony, or I should probably have landed in a +heap. I don't know that I should have cared particularly if a +prairie-dog burrow had made me dash my brains out, for I wasn't +happy over the job that lay before me. + +We watered at Silver Spring at quarter-past twelve. From that +point we were clear of the pines and out on the plain, so we +could go a better pace. This brought us to the half-way ranch by +two, where we gave the ponies a feed and an hour's rest. We +reached the last relay station just as the moon set, about +three-forty; and, as all the rest of the ride was through +Coconino forest, we held up there for daylight, getting a little +sleep meanwhile. + +We rode into the camp at the Grand Caon a little after eight, +and the deserted look of the tents gave me a moment's fright, for +I feared that the party had gone. Tolfree explained, however, +that some had ridden out to Moran Point, and the rest had gone +down Hance's trail. So I breakfasted and then took a look at +Albert Cullen's Winchester. That it had been recently fired was +as plain as the Grand Caon itself; throwing back the bar, I +found an empty cartridge shell, still oily from the discharge. +That completed the tale of seven shots. I didn't feel absolutely +safe till I had asked Tolfree if there had been any shooting of +echoes by the party, but his denial rounded out my chain of +evidence. + +Telling the sheriff to guard the bags of the party carefully, I +took two of the posse and rode over to Moran's Point. Sure +enough, there were Mr. Cullen, Albert, and Captain Ackland. They +gave a shout at seeing me, and even before I had reached them +they called to know how I could come so soon, and if I had caught +the robbers. Mr. Cullen started to tell his pleasure at my +rejoining the party, but my expression made him pause, and it +seemed to dawn on all three that the Winchester across my saddle, +and the cowboys' hands resting nonchalantly on the revolvers in +their belts, had a meaning. + +"Mr. Cullen," I explained, "I've got a very unpleasant job on +hand, which I don't want to make any worse than need be. Every +fact points to your party as guilty of holding up the train last +night and stealing those letters. Probably you weren't all +concerned, but I've got to go on the assumption that you are all +guilty, till you prove otherwise." + +"Aw, you're joking," drawled Albert. + +"I hope so," I said, "but for the present I've got to be English +and treat the joke seriously." + +"What do you want to do?" asked Mr. Cullen. + +"I don't wish to arrest you gentlemen unless you force me to," I +said, "for I don't see that it will do any good. But I want you +to return to camp with us." + +They assented to that, and, single file, we rode back. When there +I told each that he must be searched, to which they submitted at +once. After that we went through their baggage. I wasn't going to +have the sheriff or cowboys tumbling over Miss Cullen's clothes, +so I looked over her bag myself. The prettiness and daintiness of +the various contents were a revelation to me, and I tried to put +them back as neatly as I had found them, but I didn't know much +about the articles, and it was a terrible job trying to fold up +some of the things. Why, there was a big pink affair, lined with +silk, with bits of ribbon and lace all over it, which nearly +drove me out of my head, for I would have defied mortal man to +pack it so that it shouldn't muss. I had a funny little feeling +of tenderness for everything, which made fussing over it all a +pleasure, even while I felt all the time that I was doing a sneak +act and had really no right to touch her belongings. I didn't +find anything incriminating, and the posse reported the same +result with the other baggage. If the letters were still in +existence, they were either concealed somewhere or were in the +possession of the party in the Caon. Telling the sheriff to keep +those in the camp under absolute surveillance, I took a single +man, and saddling a couple of mules, started down the trail. + +We found Frederic and "Captain" Hance just dismounting at the +Rock Cabin, and I told the former he was in custody for the +present, and asked him where Miss Cullen and Lord Ralles were. He +told me they were just behind; but I wasn't going to take any +risks, and, ordering the deputy to look after Cullen, I went on +down the trail. I couldn't resist calling back,-- + +"How's your respiration, Mr. Cullen?" + +He laughed, and called, "Digitalis put me on my feet like a +flash." + +"He's got the most brains of any man in this party," I remarked +to myself. + +The trail at this point is very winding, so that one can rarely +see fifty feet in advance, and sometimes not ten. Owing to this, +the first thing I knew I plumped round a curve on to a mule, +which was patiently standing there. Just back of him was another, +on which sat Miss Cullen, and standing close beside her was Lord +Ralles. One of his hands held the mule's bridle; the other held +Madge's arm, and he was saying, "You owe it to me, and I will +have one. Or if--" + +I swore to myself, and coughed aloud, which made Miss Cullen +look up. The moment she saw me she cried, "Mr. Gordon! How +delightful!" even while she grew as red as she had been pale the +moment before. Lord Ralles grew red too, but in a different way. + +"Have you caught the robbers?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I'm afraid I have," I answered. + +"What do you mean?" she asked. + +I smiled at the absolute innocence and wonder with which she +spoke, and replied, "I know now, Miss Cullen, why you said I was +braver than the Britishers." + +"How do you know?" + +I couldn't resist getting in a side-shot at Lord Ralles, who had +mounted his mule and sat scowling. "The train-robbers were such +thoroughgoing duffers at the trade," I said, "that if they had +left their names and addresses they wouldn't have made it much +easier. We Americans may not know enough to deal with real road +agents, but we can do something with amateurs." + +"What are we stopping here for?" snapped Lord Ralles. + +"I'm sure I don't know," I responded. "Miss Cullen, if you will +kindly pass us, and then if Lord Ralles will follow you, we will +go on to the cabin. I must ask you to keep close together." + +"I stay or go as I please, and not by your orders," asserted Lord +Ralles, snappishly. + +"Out in this part of the country," I said calmly, "it is +considered shocking bad form for an unarmed man to argue with one +who carries a repeating rifle. Kindly follow Miss Cullen." And, +leaning over, I struck his mule with the loose ends of my bridle, +starting it up the trail. + +When we reached the cabin the deputy told me that he had made +Frederic strip and had searched his clothing, finding nothing. I +ordered Lord Ralles to dismount and go into the cabin. + +"For what?" he demanded. + +"We want to search you," I answered. + +"I don't choose to be searched," he protested. "You have shown no +warrant, nor--" + +I wasn't in a mood towards him to listen to his talk. I swung my +Winchester into line and announced, "I was sworn in last night as +a deputy-sheriff, and am privileged to shoot a train-robber on +sight. Either dead or alive, I'm going to search your clothing +inside of ten minutes; and if you have no preference as to +whether the examination is an ante- or post-mortem affair, I +certainly haven't." + +That brought him down off his high horse,--that is, mule,--and I +sent the deputy in with him with directions to toss his clothes +out to me, for I wanted to keep my eye on Miss Cullen and her +brother, so as to prevent any legerdemain on their part. + +One by one the garments came flying through the door to me. +As fast as I finished examining them I pitched them back, +except--Well, as I have thought it over since then, I have +decided that I did a mean thing, and have regretted it. But +just put yourself in my place, and think of how Lord Ralles +had talked to me as if I was his servant, had refused my +apology and thanks, and been as generally "nasty" as he could, +and perhaps you won't blame me that, after looking through his +trousers, I gave them a toss which, instead of sending them +back into the hut, sent them over the edge of the trail. They +went down six hundred feet before they lodged in a poplar, and +if his lordship followed the trail he could get round to them, +but there would then be a hundred feet of sheer rock between +the trail and the trousers. "I hope it will teach him to study +his Lord Chesterfield to better purpose, for if politeness +doesn't cost anything, rudeness can cost considerable," I +chuckled to myself. + +My amusement did not last long, for my next thought was, "If +those letters are concealed on any one, they are on Miss Cullen." +The thought made me lean up against my mule, and turn hot and +cold by turns. + +A nice situation for a lover! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE HAPPENINGS DOWN HANCE'S TRAIL + + +Miss Cullen was sitting on a rock apart from her brother and +Hance, as I had asked her to do when I helped her dismount. I +went over to where she sat, and said, boldly,-- + +"Miss Cullen, I want those letters." + +"What letters?" she asked, looking me in the eyes with the most +innocent of expressions. She made a mistake to do that, for I +knew her innocence must be feigned, and so didn't put much faith +in her face for the rest of the interview. + +"And what is more," I continued, with a firmness of manner about +as genuine as her innocence, "unless you will produce them at +once, I shall have to search you." + +"Mr. Gordon!" she exclaimed, but she put such surprise and grief +and disbelief into the four syllables that I wanted the earth to +swallow me then and there. + +"Why, Miss Cullen," I cried, "look at my position. I'm being paid +to do certain things, and--" + +"But that needn't prevent your being a gentleman," she +interrupted. + +That made me almost desperate. "Miss Cullen," I groaned, +hurriedly, "I'd rather be burned alive than do what I've got to, +but if you won't give me those letters, search you I must." + +"But how can I give you what I haven't?" she cried, indignantly, +assuming again her innocent expression. + +"Will you give me your word of honor that those letters are not +concealed in your clothes?" + +"I will," she answered. + +I was very much taken aback, for it would have been so easy for +Miss Cullen to have said so before that I had become convinced +she must have them. + +"And do you give me your word?" + +"I do," she affirmed, but she didn't look me in the face as she +said it. + +I ought to have been satisfied, but I wasn't, for, in spite of +her denial, something forced me still to believe she had them, +and looking back now, I think it was her manner. I stood +reflecting for a minute, and then requested, "Please stay where +you are for a moment." Leaving her, I went over to Fred. + +"Mr. Cullen," I said, "Miss Cullen, rather than be searched, has +acknowledged that she has the letters, and says that if we men +will go into the hut she'll get them for me." + +He rose at once. "I told my father not to drag her in," he +muttered, sadly. "I don't care about myself, Mr. Gordon, but +can't you keep her out of it? She's as innocent of any real wrong +as the day she was born." + +"I'll do everything in my power," I promised. Then he and Hance +went into the cabin, and I walked back to the culprit. + +"Miss Cullen," I said, gravely, "you have those letters, and must +give them to me." + +"But I told you--" she began. + +To spare her a second untruth, I interrupted her by saying, "I +trapped your brother into acknowledging that you have them." + +"You must have misunderstood him," she replied, calmly, "or else +he didn't know that the arrangement was changed." + +Her steadiness rather shook my conviction, but I said, "You must +give me those letters, or I must search you." + +"You never would!" she cried, rising and looking me in the face. + +On impulse I tried a big bluff. I took hold of the lapel of her +waist, intending to undo just one button. I let go in fright when +I found there was no button,--only an awful complication of hooks +or some other feminine method for keeping things together,--and I +grew red and trembled, thinking what might have happened had I, +by bad luck, made anything come undone. If Miss Cullen had been +noticing me, she would have seen a terribly scared man. + +But she wasn't, luckily, for the moment my hand touched her +dress, and before she could realize that I snatched it away, she +collapsed on the rock, and burst into tears. "Oh! oh!" she +sobbed, "I begged papa not to, but he insisted they were safest +with me. I'll give them to you, if you'll only go away and not--" +Her tears made her inarticulate, and without waiting for more I +ran into the hut, feeling as near like a murderer as a guiltless +man could. + +Lord Ralles by this time was making almost as much noise as an +engine pulling a heavy freight up grade under forced draft, +swearing over his trousers, and was offering the cowboy and Hance +money to recover them. When they told him this was impossible he +tried to get them to sell or hire a pair, but they didn't like +the idea of riding into camp minus those essentials any better +than he did. While I waited they settled the difficulty by +strapping a blanket round him, and by splitting it up the middle +and using plenty of cord they rigged him out after a fashion; but +I think if he could have seen himself and been given an option he +would have preferred to wait till it was dark enough to creep +into camp unnoticed. + +Before long Miss Cullen called, and when I went to her she handed +me, without a word, three letters. As she did so she crimsoned +violently, and looked down in her mortification. I was so sorry +for her that, though a moment before I had been judging her +harshly, I now couldn't help saying,-- + +"Our positions have been so difficult, Miss Cullen, that I don't +think we either of us are quite responsible for our actions." + +She said nothing, and, after a pause, I continued,-- + +"I hope you'll think as leniently of my conduct as you can, for I +can't tell you how grieved I am to have pained you." + +Cullen joined us at this point, and, knowing that every moment we +remained would be distressing to his sister, I announced that we +would start up the trail. I hadn't the heart to offer to help her +mount, and after Frederic had put her up we fell into single file +behind Hance, Lord Ralles coming last. + +As soon as we started I took a look at the three letters. They +were all addressed to Theodore E. Camp, Esq., Ash Forks, +Arizona,--one of the directors of the K. & A. and also of the +Great Southern. With this clue, for the first time things began +to clear up to me, and when the trail broadened enough to permit +it, I pushed my mule up alongside of Cullen and asked,-- + +"The letters contain proxies for the K. & A. election next +Friday?" + +He nodded his head. "The Missouri Western and the Great Southern +are fighting for control," he explained, "and we should have won +but for three blocks of Eastern stock that had promised their +proxies to the G. S. Rather than lose the fight, we arranged to +learn when those proxies were mailed,--that was what kept me +behind,--and then to hold up the train that carried them." + +"Was it worth the risk?" I ejaculated. + +"If we had succeeded, yes. My father had put more than was safe +into Missouri Western and into California Central. The G. S. +wants control to end the traffic agreements, and that means +bankruptcy to my father." + +I nodded, seeing it all as clear as day, and hardly blaming the +Cullens for what they had done; for any one who has had dealings +with the G. S. is driven to pretty desperate methods to keep +from being crushed, and when one is fighting an antagonist that +won't regard the law, or rather one that, through control of +legislatures and judges, makes the law to suit its needs, the +temptation is strong to use the same weapons one's self. + +"The toughest part of it is," Fred went on, "that we thought we +had the whole thing 'hands down,' and that was what made my +father go in so deep. Only the death of one of the M. W. +directors, who held eight thousand shares of K. & A., got us in +this hole, for the G. S. put up a relation to contest the will, +and so delayed the obtaining of letters of administration, +blocking his executors from giving a proxy. It was as mean a +trick as ever was played." + +"The G. S. is a tough customer to fight," I remarked, and asked, +"Why didn't you burn the letters?" really wishing they had done +so. + +"We feared duplicate proxies might get through in time, and +thought that by keeping these we might cook up a question as to +which were legal, and then by injunction prevent the use of +either." + +"And those Englishmen," I inquired, "are they real?" + +"Oh, certainly," he rejoined. "They were visiting my brother, and +thought the whole thing great larks." Then he told me how the +thing had been done. They had sent Miss Cullen to my car, so as +to get me out of the way, though she hadn't known it. He and his +brother got off the train at the last stop, with the guns and +masks, and concealed themselves on the platform of the mail-car. +Here they had been joined by the Britishers at the right moment, +the disguises assumed, and the train held up as already told. Of +course the dynamite cartridge was only a blind, and the letters +had been thrown about the car merely to confuse the clerk. Then +while Frederic Cullen, with the letters, had stolen back to the +car, the two Englishmen had crept back to where they had stood. +Here, as had been arranged, they opened fire, which Albert Cullen +duly returned, and then joined them. "I don't see now how you +spotted us," Frederic ended. + +I told him, and his disgust was amusing to see. "Going to Oxford +may be all right for the classics," he growled, "but it's +destructive to gumption." + +We rode into camp a pretty gloomy crowd, and those of the party +waiting for us there were not much better; but when Lord Ralles +dismounted and showed up in his substitute for trousers there was +a general shout of laughter. Even Miss Cullen had to laugh for a +moment. And as his lordship bolted for his tent, I said to +myself, "Honors are easy." + +I told the sheriff that I had recovered the lost property, but +did not think any arrests necessary as yet; and, as he was the +agent of the K. & A. at Flagstaff, he didn't question my opinion. +I ordered the stage out, and told Tolfree to give us a feed +before we started, but a more silent meal I never sat down to, +and I noticed that Miss Cullen didn't eat anything, while the +tragic look on her face was so pathetic as nearly to drive me +frantic. + +We started a little after five, and were clear of the timber +before it was too dark to see. At the relay station we waited an +hour for the moon, after which it was a clear track. We reached +the half-way ranch about eleven, and while changing the stage +horses I roused Mrs. Klostermeyer, and succeeded in getting +enough cold mutton and bread to make two rather decent-looking +sandwiches. With these and a glass of whiskey and water I went +to the stage, to find Miss Cullen curled up on the seat asleep, +her head resting in her brother's arms. + +"She has nearly worried herself to death ever since you told her +that road agents were hung," Frederic whispered; "and she's been +crying to-night over that lie she told you, and altogether she's +worn out with travel and excitement." + +I screwed the cover on the travelling-glass, and put it with the +sandwiches in the bottom of the stage. "It's a long and a rough +ride," I said, "and if she wakes up they may give her a little +strength. I only wish I could have spared her the fatigue and +anxiety." + +"She thought she had to lie for father's sake, but she's nearly +broken-hearted over it," he continued. + +I looked Frederic in the face as I said, "I honor her for it," +and in that moment he and I became friends. + +"Just see how pretty she is!" he whispered, with evident +affection and pride, turning back the flap of the rug in which +she was wrapped. + +She was breathing gently, and there was just that touch of +weariness and sadness in her face that would appeal to any man. +It made me gulp, I'm proud to say; and when I was back on my +pony, I said to myself, "For her sake, I'll pull the Cullens out +of this scrape, if it costs me my position." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A CHANGE OF BASE + + +We did not reach Flagstaff till seven, and I told the stage-load +to take possession of their car, while I went to my own. It took +me some time to get freshened up, and then I ate my breakfast; +for after riding seventy-two miles in one night even the most +heroic purposes have to take the side-track. I think, as it was, +I proved my devotion pretty well by not going to sleep, since I +had been up three nights, with only such naps as I could steal in +the saddle, and had ridden over a hundred and fifty miles to +boot. But I couldn't bear to think of Miss Cullen's anxiety, and +the moment I had made myself decent, and finished eating, I went +into 218. + +The party were all in the dining-room, but it was a very +different-looking crowd from the one with which that first +breakfast had been eaten, and they all looked at me as I entered +as if I were the executioner come for victims. + +"Mr. Cullen," I began, "I've been forced to do a lot of things +that weren't pleasant, but I don't want to do more than I need. +You're not the ordinary kind of road agents, and, as I presume +your address is known, I don't see any need of arresting one of +our own directors as yet. All I ask is that you give me your +word, for the party, that none of you will try to leave the +country." + +"Certainly, Mr. Gordon," he responded. "And I thank you for your +great consideration." + +"I shall have to report the case to our president, and, I +suppose, to the Postmaster-General, but I sha'n't hurry about +either. What they will do, I can't say. Probably you know how far +you can keep them quiet." + +"I think the local authorities are all I have to fear, provided +time is given me." + +"I have dismissed the sheriff and his posse, and I gave them a +hundred dollars for their work, and three bottles of pretty good +whiskey I had on my car. Unless they get orders from elsewhere, +you will not hear any further from them." + +"You must let me reimburse what expense we have put you to, Mr. +Gordon. I only wish I could as easily repay your kindness." + +Nodding my head in assent, as well as in recognition of his +thanks, I continued, "It was my duty, as an official of the K. & +A., to recover the stolen mail, and I had to do it." + +"We understand that," said Mr. Cullen, "and do not for a moment +blame you." + +"But," I went on, for the first time looking at Madge, "it is not +my duty to take part in a contest for control of the K. & A., and +I shall therefore act in this case as I should in any other loss +of mail." + +"And that is--?" asked Frederic. + +"I am about to telegraph for instructions from Washington," I +replied. "As the G. S. by trickery has dishonestly tied up some +of your proxies, they ought not to object if we do the same by +honest means; and I think I can manage so that Uncle Sam will +prevent those proxies from being voted at Ash Forks on Friday." + +If a galvanic battery had been applied to the group about the +breakfast table, it wouldn't have made a bigger change. Madge +clapped her hands in joy; Mr. Cullen said "God bless you!" with +real feeling; Frederic jumped up and slapped me on the shoulder, +crying, "Gordon, you're the biggest old trump breathing;" while +Albert and the captain shook hands with each other, in evident +jubilation. Only Lord Ralles remained passive. + +"Have you breakfasted?" asked Mr. Cullen, when the first joy was +over. + +"Yes," I said. "I only stopped in on my way to the station to +telegraph the Postmaster-General." + +"May I come with you and see what you say?" cried Fred, jumping +up. + +I nodded, and Miss Cullen said, questioningly, "Me too?" making +me very happy by the question, for it showed that she would speak +to me. I gave an assent quite as eagerly and in a moment we were +all walking towards the platform. Despite Lord Ralles, I felt +happy, and especially as I had not dreamed that she would ever +forgive me. + +I took a telegraph blank, and, putting it so that Miss Cullen +could see what I said, wrote,-- + +"Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C. I hold, awaiting your +instructions, the three registered letters stolen from No. 3 +Overland Missouri Western Express on Monday, October fourteenth, +loss of which has already been notified you." + +Then I paused and said, "So far, that's routine, Miss Cullen. Now +comes the help for you," and I continued:-- + +"The letters may have been tampered with, and I recommend a +special agent. Reply Flagstaff, Arizona. RICHARD GORDON, +Superintendent K. & A. R. R." + +"What will that do?" she asked. + +"I'm not much at prophecy, and we'll wait for the reply," I said. + +All that day we lay at Flagstaff, and after a good sleep, as +there was no use keeping the party cooped up in their car, I +drummed up some ponies and took the Cullens and Ackland over to +the Indian cliff-dwellings. I don't think Lord Ralles gained +anything by staying behind in a sulk, for it was a very jolly +ride, or at least that was what it was to me. I had of course to +tell them all how I had settled on them as the criminals, and a +general history of my doings. To hear Miss Cullen talk, one would +have inferred I was the greatest of living detectives. + +"The mistake we made," she asserted, "was not securing Mr. +Gordon's help to begin with, for then we should never have needed +to hold the train up, or if we had we should never have been +discovered." + +What was more to me than this ill-deserved admiration were two +things she said on the way back, when we two had paired off and +were a bit behind the rest. + +"The sandwiches and the whiskey were very good," she told me, +"and I'm so grateful for the trouble you took." + +"It was a pleasure," I said. + +"And, Mr. Gordon," she continued, and then hesitated for a +moment,--"my--Frederic told me that you--you said you honored me +for--?" + +"I do," I exclaimed energetically, as she paused and colored. + +"Do you really?" she cried. "I thought Fred was only trying to +make me less unhappy by saying that you did." + +"I said it, and I meant it," I told her. + +"I have been so miserable over that lie," she went on; "but I +thought if I let you have the letters it would ruin papa. I +really wouldn't mind poverty myself, Mr. Gordon, but he takes +such pride in success that I couldn't be the one to do it. And +then, after you told me that train-robbers were hung, I had to +lie to save them. I ought to have known you would help us." + +I thought this a pretty good time to make a real apology for my +conduct on the trail, as well as to tell her how sorry I was at +not having been able to repack her bag better. She accepted my +apology very sweetly, and assured me her belongings had been put +away so neatly that she had wondered who did it. I knew she only +said this out of kindness, and told her so, telling also of my +struggles over that pink-beribboned and belaced affair, in a way +which made her laugh. I had thought it was a ball gown, and +wondered at her taking it to the Caon; but she explained that it +was what she called a "throw"--which I told her accounted for the +throes I had gone through over it. It made me open my eyes, +thinking that anything so pretty could be used for the same +purposes for which I use my crash bath-gown, and while my eyes +were open I saw the folly of thinking that a girl who wore such +things would, or in fact could, ever get along on my salary. In +that way the incident was a good lesson for me, for it made me +feel that, even if there had been no Lord Ralles, I still should +have had no chance. + +On our return to the cars there was a telegram from the +Postmaster-General awaiting me. After a glance at it, as the rest +of the party looked anxiously on, I passed it over to Miss +Cullen, for I wanted her to have the triumph of reading it aloud +to them. It read,-- + +"Hold letters pending arrival of special agent Jackson, due in +Flagstaff October twentieth." + +"The election is the eighteenth," Frederic laughed, executing a +war dance on the platform. "The G. S.'s dough is cooked." + +"I must waltz with some one," cried Madge, and before I could +offer she took hold of Albert and the two went whirling about, +much to my envy. The Cullens were about the most jubilant road +agents I had ever seen. + +After consultation with Mr. Cullen, we had 218 and 97 attached to +No. 1 when it arrived, and started for Ash Forks. He wanted to be +on the ground a day in advance, and I could easily be back in +Flagstaff before the arrival of the special agent. + +I took dinner in 218, and they toasted me, as if I had done +something heroic instead of merely having sent a telegram. Later +four sat down to poker, while Miss Cullen, Fred, and I went out +and sat on the platform of the car while Madge played on her +guitar and sang to us. She had a very sweet voice, and before she +had been singing long we had the crew of a "dust express"--as we +jokingly call a gravel train--standing about, and they were +speedily reinforced by many cowboys, who deserted the medley of +cracked pianos or accordions of the Western saloons to listen to +her, and who, not being over-careful in the terms with which they +expressed their approval, finally by their riotous admiration +drove us inside. At Miss Cullen's suggestion we three had a +second game of poker, but with chips and not money. She was an +awfully reckless player, and the luck was dead in my favor, so +Madge kept borrowing my chips, till she was so deep in that we +both lost account. Finally, when we parted for the night she held +out her hand, and, in the prettiest of ways, said,-- + +"I am so deeply in your debt, Mr. Gordon, that I don't see how I +can ever repay you." + +I tried to think of something worth saying, but the words +wouldn't come, and I could only shake her hand. But, duffer as I +was, the way she had said those words, and the double meaning she +had given them, would have made me the happiest fellow alive if I +could only have forgotten the existence of Lord Ralles. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +HOW DID THE SECRET LEAK OUT? + + +I made up for my three nights' lack of sleep by not waking the +next morning till after ten. When I went to 218, I found only the +_chef_, and he told me the party had gone for a ride. Since I +couldn't talk to Madge, I went to work at my desk, for I had been +rather neglecting my routine work. While I still wrote, I heard +horses' hoofs, and, looking up, saw the Cullens returning. I went +out on the platform to wish them good-morning, arriving just in +time to see Lord Ralles help Miss Cullen out of her saddle; and +the way he did it, and the way he continued to hold her hand +after she was down, while he said something to her, made me grit +my teeth and look the other way. None of the riders had seen me, +so I slipped into my car and went back to work. Fred came in +presently to see if I was up yet, and to ask me to lunch, but I +felt so miserable and down-hearted that I made an excuse of my +late breakfast for not joining them. + +After luncheon the party in the other special all came out and +walked up and down the platform, the sound of their voices and +laughter only making me feel the bluer. Before long I heard a rap +on one of my windows, and there was Miss Cullen peering in at me. +The moment I looked up, she called,-- + +"Won't you make one of us, Mr. Misanthrope?" + +I called myself all sorts of a fool, but out I went as eagerly as +if there had been some hope. Miss Cullen began to tease me over +my sudden access of energy, declaring that she was sure it was a +pose for their benefit, or else due to a guilty conscience over +having slept so late. + +"I hoped you would ride with us, though perhaps it wouldn't have +paid you. Apparently there is nothing to see in Ash Forks." + +"There is something that may interest you all," I suggested, +pointing to a special that had been dropped off No. 2 that +morning. + +"What is it?" asked Madge. + +"It's a G. S. special," I said, "and Mr. Camp and Mr. Baldwin and +two G. S. officials came in on it." + +"What do you think he'd give for those letters?" laughed Fred. + +"If they were worth so much to you, I suppose they can't be worth +any less to the G. S.," I replied. + +"Fortunately, there is no way that he can learn where they are," +said Mr. Cullen. + +"Don't let's stand still," cried Miss Cullen. "Mr. Gordon, I'll +run you a race to the end of the platform." She said this only +after getting a big lead, and she got there about eight inches +ahead of me, which pleased her mightily. "It takes men so long +to get started," was the way she explained her victory. Then she +walked me beyond the end of the boarding to explain the workings +of a switch to her. That it was only a pretext she proved to me +the moment I had relocked the bar, by saying,-- + +"Mr. Gordon, may I ask you a question?" + +"Certainly," I assented. + +"It is one I should ask papa or Fred, but I am afraid they might +not tell me the truth. You will, won't you?" she begged, very +earnestly. + +"I will," I promised. + +"Supposing," she continued, "that it became known that you have +those letters? Would it do our side any harm?" + +I thought for a moment, and then shook my head. "No new proxies +could arrive here in time for the election," I said, "and the +ones I have will not be voted." + +She still looked doubtful, and asked, "Then why did papa say just +now, 'Fortunately'?" + +"He merely meant that it was safer they shouldn't know." + +"Then it is better to keep it a secret?" she asked, anxiously. + +"I suppose so," I said, and then added, "Why should you be afraid +of asking your father?" + +"Because he might--well, if he knew, I'm sure he would sacrifice +himself; and I couldn't run the risk." + +"I am afraid I don't understand?" I questioned. + +"I would rather not explain," she said, and of course that ended +the subject. + +Our exercise taken, we went back to the Cullens' car, and Madge +left us to write some letters. A moment later Lord Ralles +remembered he had not written home recently, and he too went +forward to the dining-room. That made me call myself--something, +for not having offered Miss Cullen the use of my desk in 97. +Owing to this the two missed part of the big game we were +playing; for barely were they gone when one of the servants +brought a card to Mr. Cullen, who looked at it and exclaimed, +"Mr. Camp!" Then, after a speaking pause, in which we all +exchanged glances, he said, "Bring him in." + +On Mr. Camp's entrance he looked as much surprised as we had all +done a moment before. "I beg your pardon for intruding, Mr. +Cullen," he said. "I was told that this was Mr. Gordon's car, and +I wish to see him." + +"I am Mr. Gordon." + +"You are travelling with Mr. Cullen?" he inquired, with a touch +of suspicion in his manner. + +"No," I answered. "My special is the next car, and I was merely +enjoying a cigar here." + +"Ah!" said Mr. Camp. "Then I won't interrupt your smoke, and will +only relieve you of those letters of mine." + +I took a good pull at my cigar, and blew the smoke out in a cloud +slowly to gain time. "I don't think I follow you," I said. + +"I understand that you have in your possession three letters +addressed to me." + +"I have," I assented. + +"Then I will ask you to deliver them to me." + +"I can't do that." + +"Why not?" he challenged. "They're my property." + +I produced the Postmaster-General's telegram and read it to him. + +"Why, this is infamous!" Mr. Camp cried. "What use will those +letters be after the eighteenth? It's a conspiracy." + +"I can only obey instructions," I said. + +"It shall cost you your position if you do," Mr. Camp threatened. + +As I've already said, I haven't a good temper, and when he told +me that I couldn't help retorting,-- + +"That's quite on a par with most G. S. methods." + +"I'm not speaking for the G. S., young man," roared Mr. Camp. "I +speak as a director of the Kansas & Arizona. What is more, I +will have those letters inside of twenty-four hours." + +He made an angry exit, and I said to Fred, "I wish you would +stroll about and spy out the proceedings of the enemy's camp. He +may telegraph to Washington, and if there's any chance of the +Postmaster-General revoking his order I must go back to Flagstaff +on No. 4 this afternoon." + +"He sha'n't do anything that I don't know about till he goes to +bed," Fred promised. "But how the deuce did he know that you had +those letters?" + +That was just what we were all puzzling over, for only the +occupants of No. 218 and myself, so far as I knew, were in a +position to let Mr. Camp hear of that fact. + +As Fred made his exit he said, "Don't tell Madge that there is a +new complication, for the dear girl has had worries enough +already." + +Miss Cullen not rejoining us, and Lord Ralles presently doing so, +I went to my own car, for he and I were not good furniture for +the same room. Before I had been there long, Fred came rushing +in. + +"Camp and Baldwin have been in consultation with a lawyer," he +said, "and now the three have just boarded those cars," pointing +out the window at the branch-line train that was to leave for +Phoenix in two minutes. + +"You must go with them," I urged, "and keep us informed as to +what they do, for they evidently are going to set the law on us, +and the G. S. has always owned the Territorial judges, so they'll +stretch a point to oblige them." + +"Have I time to fill a bag?" + +"Plenty," I assured him, and, going out, I ordered the train held +till I should give the word. + +"What does it all mean?" asked Miss Cullen, joining me. + +I laughed, and replied, "I'm doing a braver thing even than your +party did; I'm holding up a train all by my lonesome." + +"But my brother came dashing in just now and said he was starting +for Phoenix." + +"Let her go," I called to the conductor, as Fred jumped aboard; +and the train pulled out. + +"I hope there's nothing wrong?" Madge questioned, anxiously. + +"Nothing to worry over," I laughed. "Only a little more fun for +our money. By the way, Miss Cullen," I went on, to avoid her +questions, "if you have your letters ready, and will let me have +them at once, I can get them on No. 4, so that they'll go East +to-night." + +Miss Cullen blushed as if I had said something I ought not to +have, and stammered, "I--I changed my mind, and--that is--I +didn't write them, after all." + +"I beg your pardon,--I ought to have known; I mean, it's very +natural," I faltered and stuttered, thinking what a dunce I had +been not to understand that both hers and Lord Ralles's letters +had been only a pretext to get away from the rest of us. + +My blundering apology and evident embarrassment deepened Miss +Cullen's blush fivefold, and she explained, hurriedly, "I found +I was tired, and so, instead of writing, I went to my room and +rested." + +I suppose any girl would have invented the same yarn, yet it hurt +me more than the bigger one she had told on Hance's trail. Small +as the incident was, it made me very blue, and led me to shut +myself up in my own car for the rest of that afternoon and +evening. Indeed, I couldn't sleep, but sat up working, quite +forgetful of the passing hours, till a glance at my watch +startled me with the fact that it was a quarter of two. Feeling +like anything more than sleep, I went out on the platform, and, +lighting a cigar, paced up and down, thinking of--well, thinking. + +The night agent was sitting in the station, nodding, and after I +had walked for an hour I went in to ask him if the train to +Phoenix had arrived on time. Just as I opened the door, the +telegraph instrument began clicking, and called Ash Forks. The +man, with the curious ability that operators get of recognizing +their own call, even in sleep, waked up instantly and responded, +and, not wishing to interrupt him, I delayed asking my question +till he should be free. I stood there thinking of Madge, and +listening heedlessly as the instrument ticked off the cipher +signature of the sending operator, and the "twenty-four paid." +But as I heard the clicks ..... .... which meant ph, I suddenly +became attentive, and when it completed "Phoenix" I concluded +Fred was wiring me, and listened for what followed the date. This +is what the instrument ticked:-- + + ... .... . . .. .. .-. .-. .. .. .- ...- .- ..... .- .. + .. . . . ..- -. - .. .. .- ... .... .-. . . . .. -.- ... + .- . .. .. ... . . . -. .- -... . .- - . .. .- .. -- + . .. . . .- -.. ... - .- - .. . . -. - .... . .. . . + .-. . . . .. - .. .. .-. .. ...- . - . . -.. .- .. .. - . . + - - . . - - . .. .- .. -. .- . .. . .. .. ...- .. -. --. + .-. . .. . . - - ..... .... . . . -. .. .-.. ..... . .. . + ..... .- . .. . -.. - . . .. - - - - . -.. .. .- - . -- .. .. + ... . . .. ...- . ..... . . .. . - - ..... - . . . .. .. .. + - - .- -. -.. .- - - ..- ... .. ... ... ..- . -.. - . . + -. .. --. .... - -... .. .. -.-. ..- -.. --. . .-- .. -- + ... . . -. ... .. --. - .... . . . -.. . . . .. . . + .. . .- - - ..... + +That may not look particularly intelligible, but if the Phoenix +operator had been talking over the 'phone to me he couldn't have +said any plainer,-- + +"Sheriff yavapai county ash forks arizona be at railroad station +three forty five today to meet train arriving from phoenix +prepared to immediately serve peremptory mandamus issued tonight +by judge wilson sig theodore e camp." + +My question being pretty thoroughly answered, I went back and +continued my walk; but before five minutes had passed, the +operator came out, and handed me a message. It was from Fred, and +read thus:-- + +"Camp, Baldwin, and lawyer went at once to house of Judge Wilson, +where they stayed an hour. They then returned with judge to +station, and after despatching a telegram have taken seats in +train for Ash Forks, leaving here at three twenty-five. I shall +return with them." + +A bigger idiot than I could have understood the move. I was to be +hauled before Judge Wilson by means of mandamus proceedings, +and, as he was notoriously a G. S. judge, and was coming to Ash +Forks solely to oblige Mr. Camp, he would unquestionably declare +the letters the property of Mr. Camp and order their delivery. + +Apparently I had my choice of being a traitor to Madge, of going +to prison for contempt of court, or of running away, which was +not far off from acknowledging that I had done something wrong. I +didn't like any one of the options. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A TALK BEFORE BREAKFAST + + +Looking at my watch, I found it was a little after three, which +meant six in Washington: allowing for transmission, a telegram +would reach there in time to be on hand with the opening of the +Departments. I therefore wired at once to the following effect:-- + +"Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C. A peremptory mandamus has +been issued by Territorial judge to compel me to deliver to +addressee the three registered letters which by your directions, +issued October sixteenth, I was to hold pending arrival of +special agent Jackson. Service of writ will be made at three +forty-five to-day unless prevented. Telegraph me instructions how +to act." + +That done I had a good tub, took a brisk walk down the track, and +felt so freshened up as to be none the worse for my sleepless +night. I returned to the station a little after six, and, to my +surprise, found Miss Cullen walking up and down the platform. + +"You are up early!" we both said together. + +"Yes," she sighed. "I couldn't sleep last night." + +"You're not unwell, I hope?" + +"No,--except mentally." + +I looked a question, and she went on: "I have some worries, and +then last night I saw you were all keeping some bad news from me, +and so I couldn't sleep." + +"Then we did wrong to make a mystery of it, Miss Cullen," I said, +"for it really isn't anything to trouble about. Mr. Camp is +simply taking legal steps to try to force me to deliver those +letters to him." + +"And can he succeed?" + +"No." + +"How will you stop him?" + +"I don't know yet just what we shall do, but if worse comes to +worse I will allow myself to be committed for contempt of +court." + +"What would they do with you?" + +"Give me free board for a time." + +"Not send you to prison?" + +"Yes." + +"Oh!" she cried, "that mustn't be. You must not make such a +sacrifice for us." + +"I'd do more than that for _you_," I said, and I couldn't help +putting a little emphasis on the last word, though I knew I had +no right to do it. + +She understood me, and blushed rosily, even while she protested, +"It is too much--" + +"There's really no likelihood," I interrupted, "of my being able +to assume a martyr's crown, Miss Cullen; so don't begin to pity +me till I'm behind the bars." + +"But I can't bear to think--" + +"Don't," I interrupted again, rejoicing all the time at her +evident anxiety, and blessing my stars for the luck they had +brought me. "Why, Miss Cullen," I went on, "I've become so +interested in your success and the licking of those fellows that +I really think I'd stand about anything rather than that they +should win. Yesterday, when Mr. Camp threatened to--" Then I +stopped, as it suddenly occurred to me that it was best not to +tell Madge that I might lose my position, for it would look like +a kind of bid for her favor, and, besides, would only add to her +worries. + +"Threatened what?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"Threatened to lose his temper," I answered. + +"You know that wasn't what you were going to say," Madge said +reproachfully. + +"No, it wasn't," I laughed. + +"Then what was it?" + +"Nothing worth speaking about." + +"But I want to know what he threatened." + +"Really, Miss Cullen," I began; but she interrupted me by saying +anxiously,-- + +"He can't hurt papa, can he?" + +"No," I replied. + +"Or my brothers?" + +"He can't touch any of them without my help. And he'll have work +to get that, I suspect." + +"Then why can't you tell me?" demanded Miss Cullen. "Your refusal +makes me think you are keeping back some danger to them." + +"Why, Miss Cullen," I said, "I didn't like to tell his threat, +because it seemed--well, I may be wrong, but I thought it might +look like an attempt--an appeal--Oh, pshaw!" I faltered, like a +donkey,--"I can't say it as I want to put it." + +"Then tell me right out what he threatened," begged Madge. + +"He threatened to get me discharged." + +That made Madge look very sober, and for a moment there was +silence. Then she said,-- + +"I never thought of what you were risking to help us, Mr. Gordon. +And I'm afraid it's too late to--" + +"Don't worry about me," I hastened to interject. "I'm a long way +from being discharged, and, even if I should be, Miss Cullen, I +know my business, and it won't be long before I have another +place." + +"But it's terrible to think of the injury we may have caused +you," sighed Madge, sadly. "It makes me hate the thought of +money." + +"That's a very poor thing to hate," I said, "except the lack of +it." + +"Are you so anxious to get rich?" asked Madge, looking up at me +quickly, as we walked,--for we had been pacing up and down the +platform during our chat. + +"I haven't been till lately." + +"And what made you change?" she questioned. + +"Well," I said, fishing round for some reason other than the true +one, "perhaps I want to take a rest." + +"You are the worst man for fibs I ever knew," she laughed. + +I felt myself getting red, while I exclaimed, "Why, Miss Cullen, +I never set up for a George Washington, but I don't think I'm a +bit worse liar than nine men in--" + +"Oh," she cried, interrupting me, "I didn't mean that way. I +meant that when you try to fib you always do it so badly that one +sees right through you. Now, acknowledge that you wouldn't stop +work if you could?" + +"Well, no, I wouldn't," I owned up. "The truth is, Miss Cullen, +that I'd like to be rich, because--well, hang it, I don't care if +I do say it--because I'm in love." + +Madge laughed at my confusion, and asked, "With money?" + +"No," I said. "With just the nicest, sweetest, prettiest girl in +the world." + +Madge took a look at me out of the corner of her eye, and +remarked, "It must be breakfast time." + +Considering that it was about six-thirty, I wanted to ask who was +telling a taradiddle now; but I resisted the temptation, and +replied,-- + +"No. And I promise not to bother you about my private affairs any +more." + +Madge laughed again merrily, saying, "You are the most obvious +man I ever met. Now why did you say that?" + +"I thought you were making breakfast an excuse," I said, "because +you didn't like the subject." + +"Yes, I was," said Madge, frankly. "Tell me about the girl you +are engaged to." + +I was so taken aback that I stopped in my walk, and merely looked +at her. + +"For instance," she asked coolly, when she saw that I was +speechless, "what does she look like?" + +"Like, like--" I stammered, still embarrassed by this bold +carrying of the war into my own camp,--"like an angel." + +"Oh," said Madge, eagerly, "I've always wanted to know what +angels were like. Describe her to me." + +"Well," I said, getting my second wind, so to speak, "she has the +bluest eyes I've ever seen. Why, Miss Cullen, you said you'd +never seen anything so blue as the sky yesterday; but even the +atmosphere of 'rainless Arizona' has to take a back seat when +her eyes are round. And they are just like the atmosphere out +here. You can look into them for a hundred miles, but you can't +get to the bottom." + +"The Arizona sky is wonderful," said Madge. "How do the +scientists account for it?" + +I wasn't going to have my description of Miss Cullen +side-tracked, for, since she had given me the chance, I wanted +her to know just what I thought of her. Therefore I didn't follow +lead on the Arizona skies, but went on,-- + +"And I really think her hair is just as beautiful as her eyes. +It's light brown, very curly, and--" + +"Her complexion!" exclaimed Madge. "Is she a mulatto? And, if so, +how can a complexion be curly?" + +"Her complexion," I said, not a bit rattled, "is another great +beauty of hers. She has one of those skins--" + +"Furs are out of fashion at present," she interjected, laughing +wickedly. + +"Now look here, Miss Cullen," I cried, indignantly, "I'm not +going to let even you make fun of her." + +"I can't help it," she laughed, "when you look so serious and +intense." + +"It's something I feel intense about, Miss Cullen," I said, not a +little pained, I confess, at the way she was joking. I don't mind +a bit being laughed at, but Miss Cullen knew, about as well as I, +whom I was talking about, and it seemed to me she was laughing at +my love for her. Under this impression I went on, "I suppose it +is funny to you; probably so many men have been in love with you +that a man's love for a woman has come to mean very little in +your eyes. But out here we don't make a joke of love, and when we +care for a woman we care--well, it's not to be put in words, Miss +Cullen." + +"I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Mr. Gordon," said +Madge, gently, and quite serious now. "I ought not to have tried +to tease you." + +"There!" I said, my irritation entirely gone. "I had no right to +lose my temper, and I'm sorry I spoke so unkindly. The truth is, +Miss Cullen, the girl I care for is in love with another man, and +so I'm bitter and ill-natured in these days." + +My companion stopped walking at the steps of 218, and asked, "Has +she told you so?" + +"No," I answered. "But it's as plain as she's pretty." + +Madge ran up the steps and opened the door of the car. As she +turned to close it, she looked down at me with the oddest of +expressions, and said,-- + +"How dreadfully ugly she must be!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +WAITING FOR HELP + + +If ever a fellow was bewildered by a single speech, it was +Richard Gordon. I walked up and down that platform till I was +called to breakfast, trying to decide what Miss Cullen had meant +to express, only to succeed in reading fifty different meanings +into her parting six words. I wanted to think that it was her way +of suggesting that I deceived myself in thinking that there was +anything between Lord Ralles and herself; but, though I wished to +believe this, I had seen too much to the contrary to take stock +in the idea. Yet I couldn't believe that Madge was a coquette; I +became angry and hot with myself for even thinking it for a +moment. + +Puzzle as I did over the words, I managed to eat a good +breakfast, and then went into the Cullens' car and electrified +the party by telling them of Camp's and Fred's despatches, and +how I had come to overhear the former. Mr. Cullen and Albert +couldn't say enough about my cleverness in what had really been +pure luck, and seemed to think I had sat up all night in order to +hear that telegram. The person for whose opinion I cared the +most--Miss Cullen--didn't say anything, but she gave me a look +that set my heart beating like a trip-hammer and made me put the +most hopeful construction on that speech of hers. It seemed +impossible that she didn't care for Lord Ralles, and that she +might care for me; but, after having had no hope whatsoever, the +smallest crumb of a chance nearly lifted me off my feet. + +We had a consultation over what was best to be done, but didn't +reach any definite conclusion till the station-agent brought me a +telegram from the Postmaster-General. Breaking it open, I read +aloud,-- + +"Do not allow service of writ, and retain possession of letters +according to prior instructions. At the request of this +department, the Secretary of War has directed the commanding +officer at Fort Whipple to furnish you with military protection, +and you will call upon him at once, if in your judgment it is +necessary. On no account surrender United States property to +Territorial authorities. Keep Department notified." + +"Oh, splendid!" cried Madge, clapping her hands. + +"Mr. Camp will find that other people can give surprise parties +as well as himself," I said cheerfully. + +"You'll telegraph at once?" asked Mr. Cullen. + +"Instantly," I said, rising, and added, "Don't you want to see +what I say, Miss Cullen?" + +"Of course I do," she cried, jumping up eagerly. + +Lord Ralles scowled as he said, "Yes; let's see what Mr. +Superintendent has to say." + +"You needn't trouble yourself," I remarked, but he followed us +into the station. I was disgusted, but at the same time it seemed +to me that he had come because he was jealous; and that wasn't an +unpleasant thought. Whatever his motive, he was a third party in +the writing of that telegram, and had to stand by while Miss +Cullen and I discussed and draughted it. I didn't try to make it +any too brief, not merely asking for a guard and when I might +expect it, but giving as well a pretty full history of the case, +which was hardly necessary. + +"You'll bankrupt yourself," laughed Madge. "You must let us pay." + +"I'll let you pay, Miss Cullen, if you want," I offered. "How +much is it, Welply?" I asked, shoving the blanks in to the +operator. + +"Nothin' for a lady," said Welply, grinning. + +"There, Miss Cullen," I asked, "does the East come up to that in +gallantry?" + +"Do you really mean that there is no charge?" demanded Madge, +incredulously, with her purse in her hand. + +"That's the size of it," said the operator. + +"I'm not going to believe that!" cried Madge. "I know you are +only deceiving me, and I really want to pay." + +I laughed as I said, "Sometimes railroad superintendents can send +messages free, Miss Cullen." + +"How silly of me!" exclaimed Madge. Then she remarked, "How nice +it is to be a railroad superintendent, Mr. Gordon! I should like +to be one myself." + +That speech really lifted me off my feet, but while I was +thinking what response to make, I came down to earth with a +bounce. + +"Since the telegram's done," said Lord Ralles to Miss Cullen, in +a cool, almost commanding tone, "suppose we take a walk." + +"I don't think I care to this morning," answered Madge. + +"I think you had better," insisted his lordship, with such a +manner that I felt inclined to knock him down. + +To my surprise, Madge seemed to hesitate, and finally said, +"I'll walk up and down the platform, if you wish." + +Lord Ralles nodded, and they went out, leaving me in a state of +mingled amazement and rage at the way he had cut me out. Try as I +would, I wasn't able to hit upon any theory that supplied a +solution to the conduct of either Lord Ralles or Miss Cullen, +unless they were engaged and Miss Cullen displeased him by her +behavior to me. But Madge seemed such an honest, frank girl that +I'd have believed anything sooner than that she was only playing +with me. + +If I was perplexed, I wasn't going to give Lord Ralles the right +of way, and as soon as I had made certain that the telegram was +safely started I joined the walkers. I don't think any of us +enjoyed the hour that followed, but I didn't care how miserable I +was myself, so long as I was certain that I was blocking Lord +Ralles; and his grumpiness showed very clearly that my presence +did that. As for Madge, I couldn't make her out. I had always +thought I understood women a little, but her conduct was beyond +understanding. + +Apparently Miss Cullen didn't altogether relish her position, for +presently she said she was going to the car. "I'm sure you and +Lord Ralles will be company enough for each other," she +predicted, giving me a flash of her eyes which showed them full +of suppressed merriment, even while her face was grave. + +In spite of her prediction, the moment she was gone Lord Ralles +and I pulled apart about as quickly as a yard-engine can split a +couple of cars. + +I moped around for an hour, too unsettled mentally to do anything +but smoke, and only waiting for an invitation or for some excuse +to go into 218. About eleven o'clock I obtained the latter in +another telegram, and went into the car at once. + +"Telegram received," I read triumphantly. "A detail of two +companies of the Twelfth Cavalry, under the command of Captain +Singer, is ordered to Ash Forks, and will start within an hour, +arriving at five o'clock. C. D. OLMSTEAD, Adjutant." + +"That won't do, Gordon," cried Mr. Cullen. "The mandamus will be +here before that." + +"Oh, don't say there is something more wrong!" sighed Madge. + +"Won't it be safer to run while there is still time?" suggested +Albert, anxiously. + +"I was born lazy about running away," I said. + +"Oh, but please, just for once," Madge begged. "We know already +how brave you are." + +I thought for a moment, not so much objecting, in truth, to the +running away as to the running away from Madge. + +"I'd do it for you," I said, looking at Miss Cullen so that she +understood this time what I meant, without my using any emphasis, +"but I don't see any need of making myself uncomfortable, when I +can make the other side so. Come along and see if my method isn't +quite as good." + +We went to the station, and I told the operator to call Rock +Butte; then I dictated: + +"Direct conductor of Phoenix No. 3 on its arrival at Rock +Butte to hold it there till further orders. RICHARD GORDON, +Superintendent." + +"That will save my running and their chasing," I laughed; "though +I'm afraid a long wait in Rock Butte won't improve their +tempers." + +The next few hours were pretty exciting ones to all of us, as +can well be imagined. Most of the time was spent, I have to +confess, in manoeuvres and struggles between Lord Ralles and +myself as to which should monopolize Madge, without either of us +succeeding. I was so engrossed with the contest that I forgot +all about the passage of time, and only when the sheriff +strolled up to the station did I realize that the climax was at +hand. As a joke I introduced him to the Cullens, and we all +stood chatting till far out on the hill to the south I saw a +cloud of dust and quietly called Miss Cullen's attention to it. +She and I went to 97 for my field-glasses, and the moment Madge +looked through them she cried,-- + +"Yes, I can see horses, and, oh, there are the stars and stripes! +I don't think I ever loved them so much before." + +"I suppose we civilians will have to take a back seat now, Miss +Cullen?" I said; and she answered me with a demure smile +worth--well, I'm not going to put a value on that smile. + +"They'll be here very quickly," she almost sang. + +"You forget the clearness of the air," I said, and then asked the +sheriff how far away the dust-cloud was. + +"Yer mean that cattle-drive?" he asked. "'Bout ten miles." + +"You seem to think of everything," exclaimed Miss Cullen, as if +my knowing that distances are deceptive in Arizona was wonderful. +I sometimes think one gets the most praise in this world for what +least deserves it. + +I waited half an hour to be safe, and then released No. 3, just +as we were called to luncheon; and this time I didn't refuse the +invitation to eat mine in 218. + +We didn't hurry over the meal, and towards the end I took to +looking at my watch, wondering what could keep the cavalry from +arriving. + +"I hope there is no danger of the train arriving first, is +there?" asked Madge. + +"Not the slightest," I assured her. "The train won't be here for +an hour, and the cavalry had only five miles to cover forty +minutes ago. I must say, they seem to be taking their time." + +"There they are now!" cried Albert. + +Listening, we heard the clatter of horses' feet, going at a good +pace, and we all rose and went to the windows, to see the +arrival. Our feelings can be judged when across the tracks came +only a mob of thirty or forty cowboys, riding in their usual +"show-off" style. + +"The deuce!" I couldn't help exclaiming, in my surprise. "Are +you sure you saw a flag, Miss Cullen?" + +"Why--I--thought--" she faltered. "I saw something red, and--I +supposed of course--" + +Not waiting to let her finish, I exclaimed, "There's been a fluke +somewhere, I'm afraid; but we are still in good shape, for the +train can't possibly be here under an hour. I'll get my +field-glasses and have another look before I decide what--" + +My speech was interrupted by the entrance of the sheriff and Mr. +Camp! + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE LETTERS CHANGE HANDS AGAIN + + +What seemed at the moment an incomprehensible puzzle had, as we +afterwards learned, a very simple explanation. One of the G. S. +directors, Mr. Baldwin, who had come in on Mr. Camp's car, was +the owner of a great cattle-ranch near Rock Butte. When the train +had been held at that station for a few minutes, Camp went to the +conductor, demanded the cause for the delay, and was shown my +telegram. Seeing through the device, the party had at once gone +to this ranch, where the owner, Baldwin, mounted them, and it was +their dust-cloud we had seen as they rode up to Ash Forks. To +make matters more serious, Baldwin had rounded up his cowboys and +brought them along with him, in order to make any resistance +impossible. + +I made no objection to the sheriff serving the paper, though it +nearly broke my heart to see Madge's face. To cheer her I said, +suggestively, "They've got me, but they haven't got the letters, +Miss Cullen. And, remember, it's always darkest before the dawn, +and the stars in their courses are against Sisera." + +With the sheriff and Mr. Camp I then walked over to the saloon, +where Judge Wilson was waiting to dispose of my case. Mr. Cullen +and Albert tried to come too, but all outsiders were excluded by +order of the "court." I was told to show cause why I should not +forthwith produce the letters, and answered that I asked an +adjournment of the case so that I might be heard by counsel. It +was denied, as was to have been expected; indeed, why they took +the trouble to go through the forms was beyond me. I told Wilson +I should not produce the letters, and he asked if I knew what +that meant. I couldn't help laughing and retorting,-- + +"It very appropriately means 'contempt of the court,' your +honor." + +"I'll give you a stiff term, young man," he said. + +"It will take just one day to have habeas corpus proceedings in a +United States court, and one more to get the papers here," I +rejoined pleasantly. + +Seeing that I understood the moves too well to be bluffed, the +judge, Mr. Camp, and the lawyer held a whispered consultation. My +surprise can be imagined when, at its conclusion, Mr. Camp +said,-- + +"Your honor, I charge Richard Gordon with being concerned in the +holding up of the Missouri Western Overland No. 3 on the night of +October 14, and ask that he be taken into custody on that +charge." + +I couldn't make out this new move, and puzzled over it, while +Judge Wilson ordered my commitment. But the next step revealed +the object, for the lawyer then asked for a search-warrant to +look for stolen property. The judge was equally obliging, and +began to fill one out on the instant. + +This made me feel pretty serious, for the letters were in my +breast-pocket, and I swore at my own stupidity in not having put +them in the station safe when I had first arrived at Ash Forks. +There weren't many moments in which to think while the judge +scribbled away at the warrant, but in what time there was I did a +lot of head-work, without, however, finding more than one way out +of the snarl. And when I saw the judge finish off his signature +with a flourish, I played a pretty desperate card. + +"You're just too late, gentlemen," I said, pointing out the side +window of the saloon. "There come the cavalry." + +The three conspirators jumped to their feet and bolted for the +window; even the sheriff turned to look. As he did so I gave him +a shove towards the three which sent them all sprawling on the +floor in a pretty badly mixed-up condition. I made a dash for the +door, and as I went through it I grabbed the key and locked them +in. When I turned to do so I saw the lot struggling up from the +floor, and, knowing that it wouldn't take them many seconds to +find their way out through the window, I didn't waste much time +in watching them. + +Camp, Baldwin, and the judge had left their horses just outside +the saloon, and there they were still patiently standing, with +their bridles thrown over their heads, as only Western horses +will stand. It didn't take me long to have those bridles back in +place, and as I tossed each over the peak of the Mexican saddle I +gave two of the ponies slaps which started them off at a lope +across the railroad tracks. I swung myself into the saddle of the +third, and flicked him with the loose ends of the bridle in a way +which made him understand that I meant business. + +Baldwin's cowboys had most of them scattered to the various +saloons of the place, but two of them were standing in the +door-way of a store. I acted so quickly, however, that they +didn't seem to take in what I was about till I was well mounted. +Then I heard a yell, and fearing that they might shoot,--for the +cowboy does love to use his gun,--I turned sharp at the saloon +corner and rode up the side street, just in time to see Camp +climbing through the window, with Baldwin's head in view behind +him. + +Before I had ridden a hundred feet I realized that I had a +done-up horse under me, and, considering that he had covered over +forty miles that afternoon in pretty quick time, it was not +surprising that there wasn't very much go left in him. I knew +that Baldwin's cowboys could get new mounts in plenty without +wasting many minutes, and that then they would overhaul me in +very short order. Clearly there was no use in my attempting to +escape by running. And, as I wasn't armed, my only hope was to +beat them by some finesse. + +Ash Forks, like all Western railroad towns, is one long line of +buildings running parallel with the railway tracks. Two hundred +feet, therefore, brought me to the edge of the town, and I +wheeled my pony and rode down behind the rear of the buildings. +In turning, I looked back, and saw half a dozen mounted men +already in pursuit, but I lost sight of them the next moment. As +soon as I reached a street leading back to the railroad I turned +again, and rode towards it, my one thought being to get back, if +possible, to the station, and put the letters into the railroad +agent's safe. + +When I reached the main street I saw that my hope was futile, for +another batch of cowboys were coming in full gallop towards me, +very thoroughly heading me off in that direction. To escape them, +I headed up the street away from the station, with the pack in +close pursuit. They yelled at me to hold up, and I expected every +moment to hear the crack of revolvers, for the poorest shot among +them would have found no difficulty in dropping my horse at that +distance if they had wanted to stop me. It isn't a very nice +sensation to keep your ears pricked up in expectation of hearing +the shooting begin, and to know that any moment may be your +last. I don't suppose I was on the ragged edge more than thirty +seconds, but they were enough to prove to me that to keep one's +back turned to an enemy as one runs away takes a deal more pluck +than to stand up and face his gun. Fortunately for me, my +pursuers felt so sure of my capture that not one of them drew a +bead on me. + +The moment I saw that there was no escape, I put my hand in my +breast-pocket and took out the letters, intending to tear them +into a hundred pieces. But as I did so I realized that to destroy +United States mail not merely entailed criminal liability, but +was off color morally. I faltered, balancing the outwitting of +Camp against State's prison, the doing my best for Madge against +the wrong of it. I think I'm as honest a fellow as the average, +but I have to confess that I couldn't decide to do right till I +thought that Madge wouldn't want me to be dishonest, even for +her. + +I turned across the railroad tracks, and cut in behind some +freight-cars that were standing on a siding. This put me out of +view of my pursuers for a moment, and in that instant I stood up +in my stirrups, lifted the broad leather flap of the saddle, and +tucked the letters underneath it, as far in as I could force +them. It was a desperate place in which to hide them, but the +game was a desperate one at best, and the very boldness of the +idea might be its best chance of success. + +I was now heading for the station over the ties, and was +surprised to see Fred Cullen with Lord Ralles on the tracks up +by the special, for my mind had been so busy in the last hour +that I had forgotten that Fred was due. The moment I saw him, I +rode towards him, pressing my pony for all he was worth. My hope +was that I might get time to give Fred the tip as to where the +letters were; but before I was within speaking distance Baldwin +came running out from behind the station, and, seeing me, +turned, called back and gesticulated, evidently to summon some +cowboys to head me off. Afraid to shout anything which should +convey the slightest clue as to the whereabouts of the letters, +as the next best thing I pulled a couple of old section reports +from my pocket, intending to ride up and run into my car, for I +knew that the papers in my hand would be taken to be the wanted +letters, and that if I could only get inside the car even for a +moment the suspicion would be that I had been able to hide them. +Unfortunately, the plan was no sooner thought of than I heard +the whistle of a lariat, and before I could guard myself the +noose settled over my head. I threw the papers towards Fred and +Lord Ralles, shouting, "Hide them!" Fred was quick as a flash, +and, grabbing them off the ground, sprang up the steps of my car +and ran inside, just escaping a bullet from my pursuers. I tried +to pull up my pony, for I did not want to be jerked off, but I +was too late, and the next moment I was lying on the ground in a +pretty well shaken and jarred condition, surrounded by a lot of +men. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +AN EVENING IN JAIL + + +Before my ideas had had time to straighten themselves out, I was +lifted to my feet, and half pushed, half lifted to the station +platform. Camp was already there, and as I took this fact in I +saw Frederic and his lordship pulled through the door-way of my +car by the cowboys and dragged out on the platform beside me. The +reports were now in Lord Ralles's hands. + +"That's what we want, boys," cried Camp. "Those letters." + +"Take your hands off me," said Lord Ralles, coolly, "and I'll +give them to you." + +The men who had hold of his arms let go of him, and quick as a +flash Ralles tore the papers in two. He tried to tear them once +more, but, before he could do so, half a dozen men were holding +him, and the papers were forced out of his hands. + +Albert Cullen--for all of them were on the platform of 218 by +this time--shouted, "Well done, Ralles!" quite forgetting in the +excitement of the moment his English accent and drawl. + +Apparently Camp didn't agree with him, for he ripped out a +string of oaths which he impartially divided among Ralles, the +cowboys, and myself. I was decidedly sorry that I hadn't given +the real letters, for his lordship clearly had no scruple about +destroying them, and I knew few men whom I would have seen +behind prison-bars with as little personal regret. However, no +one had, so far as I could see, paid the slightest attention to +the pony, and the probabilities were that he was already headed +for Baldwin's ranch, with no likelihood of his stopping till he +reached home. At least that was what I hoped; but there were a +lot of ponies standing about, and, not knowing the markings of +the one I had ridden, I wasn't able to tell whether he might not +be among them. + +Just as the fragments of the papers were passed over to Mr. Camp, +he was joined by Baldwin and the judge, and Camp held the torn +pieces up to them, saying,-- + +"They've torn the proxies in two." + +"Don't let that trouble you," said the judge. "Make an affidavit +before me, reciting the manner in which they were destroyed, and +I'll grant you a mandamus compelling the directors to accept them +as bona-fide proxies. Let me see how much injured they are." + +Camp unfolded the papers, and I chuckled to myself at the look of +surprise that overspread his face as he took in the fact that +they were nothing but section reports. And, though I don't like +cuss-words, I have to acknowledge that I enjoyed the two or three +that he promptly ejaculated. + +When the first surprise of the trio was over, they called on the +sheriff, who arrived opportunely, to take us into 97 and search +the three of us,--a proceeding that puzzled Fred and his lordship +not a little, for they weren't on to the fact that the letters +hadn't been recovered. I presume the latter will some day write a +book dwelling on the favorite theme of the foreigner, that there +is no personal privacy in America, and I don't know but his +experiences justify the view. The running remarks as the search +was made seemed to open Fred's eyes, for he looked at me with a +puzzled air, but I winked and frowned at him, and he put his face +in order. + +When the papers were not found on any of us, Camp and Baldwin +both nearly went demented. Baldwin suggested that I had never had +the papers, but Camp argued that Fred or Lord Ralles must have +hidden them in the car, in spite of the fact that the cowboys who +had caught them insisted that they couldn't have had time to hide +the papers. Anyway, they spent an hour in ferreting about in my +car, and even searched my two darkies, on the possibility that +the true letters had been passed on to them. + +While they were engaged in this, I was trying to think out some +way of letting Mr. Cullen and Albert know where the letters were. +The problem was to suggest the saddle to them, without letting +the cowboys understand, and by good luck I thought I had the +means. Albert had complained to me the day we had ridden out to +the Indian dwellings at Flagstaff that his saddle fretted some +galled spots which he had chafed on his trip to Moran's Point. +Hoping he would "catch on," I shouted to him,-- + +"How are your sore spots, Albert?" + +He looked at me in a puzzled way, and called, "Aw, I don't +understand you." + +"Those sore spots you complained about to me the day before +yesterday," I explained. + +He didn't seem any the less befogged as he replied, "I had +forgotten all about them." + +"I've got a touch of the same trouble," I went on; "and, if I +were you, I'd look into the cause." + +Albert only looked very much mystified, and I didn't dare say +more, for at this point the trio, with the sheriff, came out of +my car. If I hadn't known that the letters were safe, I could +have read the story in their faces, for more disgusted and +angry-looking men I have rarely seen. + +They had a talk with the sheriff, and then Fred, Lord Ralles, and +I were marched off by the official, his lordship loudly demanding +sight of a warrant, and protesting against the illegality of his +arrest, varied at moments by threats to appeal to the British +consul, minister plenipo., Her Majesty's Foreign Office, etc., +all of which had about as much influence on the sheriff and his +cowboy assistants as a Moqui Indian snake-dance would have in +stopping a runaway engine. I confess to feeling a certain grim +satisfaction in the fact that if I was to be shut off from seeing +Madge, the Britisher was in the same box with me. + +Ash Forks, though only six years old, had advanced far enough +towards civilization to have a small jail, and into that we were +shoved. Night was come by the time we were lodged there, and, +being in pretty good appetite, I struck the sheriff for some +grub. + +"I'll git yer somethin'," he said, good-naturedly; "but next time +yer shove people, Mr. Gordon, just quit shovin' yer friends. My +shoulder feels like--" perhaps it's just as well not to say what +his shoulder felt like. The Western vocabulary is expressive, but +at times not quite fit for publication. + +The moment the sheriff was gone, Fred wanted the mystery of the +letters explained, and I told him all there was to tell, +including as good a description of the pony as I could give him. +We tried to hit on some plan to get word to those outside, but it +wasn't to be done. At least it was a point gained that some one +of our party besides myself knew where the letters were. + +The sheriff returned presently with a loaf of canned bread and a +tin of beans. If I had been alone, I should have kicked at the +food and got permission for my darkies to send me up something +from 97; but I thought I'd see how Lord Ralles would like genuine +Western fare, so I said nothing. That, I have to state, is +more--or rather less--than the Britisher did, after he had +sampled the stuff; and really I don't blame him, much as I +enjoyed his rage and disgust. + +It didn't take long to finish our supper, and then Fred, who +hadn't slept much the night before, stretched out on the floor +and went to sleep. Lord Ralles and I sat on boxes--the only +furniture the room contained--about as far apart as we could get, +he in the sulks, and I whistling cheerfully. I should have liked +to be with Madge, but he wasn't; so there was some compensation, +and I knew that time was playing the cards in our favor: so long +as they hadn't found the letters we had only to sit still to +win. + +About an hour after supper, the sheriff came back and told me +Camp and Baldwin wanted to see me. I saw no reason to object, so +in they came, accompanied by the judge. Baldwin opened the ball +by saying genially,-- + +"Well, Mr. Gordon, you've played a pretty cute gamble, and I +suppose you think you stand to win the pot." + +"I'm not complaining," I said. + +"Still," snarled Camp, angrily, as if my contented manner fretted +him, "our time will come presently, and we can make it pretty +uncomfortable for you. Illegal proceedings put a man in jail in +the long run." + +"I hope you take your lesson to heart," I remarked cheerfully, +which made Camp scowl worse than ever. + +"Now," said Baldwin, who kept cool, "we know you are not risking +loss of position and the State's prison for nothing, and we want +to know what there is in it for you?" + +"I wouldn't stake my chance of State's prison against yours, +gentlemen. And, while I may lose my position, I'll be a long way +from starvation." + +"That doesn't tell us what Cullen gives you to take the risk." + +"Mr. Cullen hasn't given, or even hinted that he'll give, +anything." + +"And Mr. Gordon hasn't asked, and, if I know him, wouldn't take a +cent for what he has done," said Fred, rising from the floor. + +"You mean to say you are doing it for nothing?" exclaimed Camp, +incredulously. + +"That's about the truth of it," I said; though I thought of Madge +as I said it, and felt guilty in suggesting that she was nothing. + +"Then what is your motive?" cried Baldwin. + +If there had been any use, I should have replied, "The right;" +but I knew that they would only think I was posing if I said it. +Instead I replied: "Mr. Cullen's party has the stock majority in +their favor, and would have won a fair fight if you had played +fair. Since you didn't, I'm doing my best to put things to +rights." + +Camp cried, "All the more fool--" but Baldwin interrupted him by +saying,-- + +"That only shows what a mean cuss Cullen is. He ought to give you +ten thousand, if he gives you a cent." + +"Yes," cried Camp, "those letters are worth money, whether he's +offered it or not." + +"Mr. Cullen never so much as hinted paying me," said I. + +"Well, Mr. Gordon," said Baldwin, suavely, "we'll show you that +we can be more liberal. Though the letters rightfully belong to +Mr. Camp, if you'll deliver them to us we'll see that you don't +lose your place, and we'll give you five thousand dollars." + +I glanced at Fred, whom I found looking at me anxiously, and +asked him,-- + +"Can't you do better than that?" + +"We could with any one but you," said Fred. + +I should have liked to shake hands over this compliment, but I +only nodded, and turning to Mr. Camp, said,-- + +"You see how mean they are." + +"You'll find we are not built that way," said Baldwin. "Five +thousand isn't a bad day's work, eh?" + +"No," I said, laughing; "but you just told me I ought to get ten +thousand if I got a cent." + +"It's worth ten to Mr. Cullen, but--" + +I interrupted by saying, "If it's worth ten to him, it's worth a +hundred to me." + +That was too much for Camp. First he said something best omitted, +and then went on, "I told you it was waste time trying to win him +over." + +The three stood apart for a moment whispering, and then Judge +Wilson called the sheriff over, and they all went out together. +The moment we were alone, Frederic held out his hand, and +said,-- + +"Gordon, it's no use saying anything, but if we can ever do--" + +I merely shook hands, but I wanted the worst way to say,-- + +"Tell Madge what I've done, and the thing's square." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A LESSON IN POLITENESS + + +Within five minutes we had a big surprise, for the sheriff and +Mr. Baldwin came back, and the former announced that Fred and +Lord Ralles were free, having been released on bail. When we +found that Baldwin had gone on the bond, I knew that there was a +scheme of some sort in the move, and, taking Fred aside, I warned +him against trying to recover the proxies. + +"They probably think that one or the other of you knows where the +letters are hidden," I whispered, "and they'll keep a watch on +you; so go slow." + +He nodded, and followed the sheriff and Lord Ralles out. + +The moment they were gone, Mr. Camp said, "I came back to give +you a last chance." + +"That's very good of you," I said. + +"I warn you," he muttered threateningly, "we are not men to be +beaten. There are fifty cowboys of Baldwin's in this town, who +think you were concerned in the holding up. By merely tipping +them the wink, they'll have you out of this, and after they've +got you outside I wouldn't give the toss of a nickel for your +life. Now, then, will you hand over those letters, or will you go +to ---- inside of ten minutes?" + +I lost my temper in turn. "I'd much prefer going to some place +where I was less sure of meeting you," I retorted; "and as for +the cowboys, you'll have to be as tricky with them as you want to +be with me before you'll get them to back you up in your dirty +work." + +At this point the sheriff called back to ask Camp if he was +coming. + +"All right," cried Camp, and went to the door. "This is the last +call," he snarled, pausing for a moment on the threshold. + +"I hope so," said I, more calmly in manner than in feeling, I +have to acknowledge, for I didn't like the look of things. That +they were in earnest I felt pretty certain, for I understood now +why they had let my companions out of jail. They knew that angry +cowboys were a trifle undiscriminating, and didn't care to risk +hanging more than was necessary. + +A long time seemed to pass after they were gone, but in reality +it wasn't more than fifteen minutes before I heard some one steal +up and softly unlock the door. I confess the evident endeavor to +do it quietly gave me a scare, for it seemed to me it couldn't be +an above-board movement. Thinking this, I picked up the box on +which I had been sitting and prepared to make the best fight I +could. It was a good deal of relief, therefore, when the door +opened just wide enough for a man to put in his head, and I heard +the sheriff's voice say, softly,-- + +"Hi, Gordon!" + +I was at the door in an instant, and asked,-- + +"What's up?" + +"They're gettin' the fellers together, and sayin' that yer shot a +woman in the hold-up." + +"It's an infernal lie," I said. + +"Sounds that way to me," assented the sheriff; "but two-thirds of +the boys are drunk, and it's a long time since they've had any +fun." + +"Well," I said, as calmly as I could, "are you going to stand by +me?" + +"I would, Mr. Gordon," he replied, "if there was any good, but +there ain't time to get a posse, and what's one Winchester +against a mob of cowboys like them?" + +"If you'll lend me your gun," I said, "I'll show just what it is +worth, without troubling you." + +"I'll do better than that," offered the sheriff, "and that's what +I'm here for. Just sneak, while there's time." + +"You mean--?" I exclaimed. + +"That's it. I'm goin' away, and I'll leave the door unlocked. If +yer get clear let me know yer address, and later, if I want yer, +I'll send yer word." He took a grip on my fingers that numbed +them as if they had been caught in an air-brake, and disappeared. + +I slipped out after the sheriff without loss of time. That there +wasn't much to spare was shown by a crowd with some torches down +the street, collected in front of a saloon. They were making a +good deal of noise, even for the West; evidently the flame was +being fanned. Not wasting time, I struck for the railroad, +because I knew the geography of that best, but still more because +I wanted to get to the station. It was a big risk to go there, +but it was one I was willing to take for the object I had in +view, and, since I had to take it, it was safest to get through +with the job before the discovery was made that I was no longer +in jail. + +It didn't take me three minutes to reach the station. The whole +place was black as a coal-dumper, except for the slices of light +which shone through the cracks of the curtained windows in the +specials, the dim light of the lamp in the station, and the glow +of the row of saloons two hundred feet away. I was afraid, +however, that there might be a spy lurking somewhere, for it was +likely that Camp would hope to get some clue of the letters by +keeping a watch on the station and the cars. Thinking boldness the +safest course, I walked on to the platform without hesitation, and +went into the station. The "night man" was sitting in his chair, +nodding, but he waked up the moment I spoke. + +"Don't speak my name," I said, warningly, as he struggled to his +feet; and then in the fewest possible words I told him what I +wanted of him,--to find if the pony I had ridden (Camp's or +Baldwin's) was in town and, if so, to learn where it was, and to +get the letters on the quiet from under the saddle-flap. I chose +this man, first, because I could trust him, and next, because I +had only one of the Cullens as an alternative, and if any of them +went sneaking round, it would be sure to attract attention. "The +moment you have the letters, put them in the station safe," I +ended, "and then get word to me." + +"And where'll you be, Mr. Gordon?" asked the man. + +"Is there any place about here that's a safe hiding spot for a +few hours?" I asked. "I want to stay till I'm sure those letters +are safe, and after that I'll steal on board the first train that +comes along." + +"Then you'll want to be near here," said the man. "I'll tell you, +I've got just the place for you. The platform's boarded in all +round, but I noticed one plank that's loose at one end, right at +this nigh corner, and if you just pry it open enough to get in, +and then pull the board in place, they'll never find you." + +"That will do," I said; "and when the letters are safe, come out +on the platform, walk up and down once, bang the door twice, and +then say, 'That way freight is late.' And if you get a chance, +tell one of the Cullens where I'm hidden." + +I crossed the platform boldly, jumped down, and walked away. But +after going fifty feet I dropped down on my hands and knees and +crawled back. Inside of two minutes I was safely stowed away +under the platform, in about as neat a hiding-place as a man +could ask. In fact, if I had only had my wits enough about me to +borrow a revolver of the man, I could have made a pretty good +defence, even if discovered. + +Underneath the platform was loose gravel, and, as an additional +precaution, I scooped out, close to the side-boarding, a trough +long enough for me to lie in. Then I got into the hole, shovelled +the sand over my legs, and piled the rest up in a heap close to +me, so that by a few sweeps of my arm I could cover my whole +body, leaving only my mouth and nose exposed, and those below the +level. That made me feel pretty safe, for, even if the cowboys +found the loose plank and crawled in, it would take uncommon good +eyesight, in the darkness, to find me. I had hollowed out my +living grave to fit, and if I could have smoked, I should have +been decidedly comfortable. Sleep I dared not indulge in, and the +sequel showed that I was right in not allowing myself that +luxury. + +I hadn't much more than comfortably settled myself, and let +thoughts of a cigar and a nap flit through my mind, when a row up +the street showed that the jail-breaking had been discovered. +Then followed shouts and confusion for a few moments, while a +search was being organized. I heard some horsemen ride over the +tracks, and also down the street, followed by the hurried +footsteps of half a dozen men. Some banged at the doors of the +specials, while others knocked at the station door. + +One of the Cullens' servants opened the door of 218, and I heard +the sheriff's voice telling him he'd got to search the car. The +darky protested, saying that the "gentmun was all away, and only +de miss inside." The row brought Miss Cullen to the door, and I +heard her ask what was the matter. + +"Sorry to trouble yer, miss," said the sheriff, "but a prisoner +has broken jail, and we've got to look for him." + +"Escaped!" cried Madge, joyfully. "How?" + +"That's just what gits away with me," marvelled the sheriff. "My +idee is--" + +"Don't waste time on theories," said Camp's voice, angrily. +"Search the car." + +"Sorry to discommode a lady," apologized the sheriff, gallantly, +"but if we may just look around a little?" + +"My father and brothers went out a few minutes ago," said Madge, +hesitatingly, "and I don't know if they would be willing." + +Camp laughed angrily, and ordered, "Stand aside, there." + +"Don't yer worry," said the sheriff. "If he's on the car, he +can't git away. We'll send a feller up for Mr. Cullen, while we +search Mr. Gordon's car and the station." + +They set about it at once, and used up ten minutes in the task. +Then I heard Camp say,-- + +"Come, we can't wait all night for permission to search this car. +Go ahead." + +"I hope you'll wait till my father comes," begged Madge. + +"Now go slow, Mr. Camp," said the sheriff. "We mustn't discomfort +the lady if we can avoid it." + +"I believe you're wasting time in order to help him escape," +snapped Camp. + +"Nothin' of the kind," denied the sheriff. + +"If you won't do your duty, I'll take the law into my own hands, +and order the car searched," sputtered Camp, so angry as hardly +to be able to articulate. + +"Look a here," growled the sheriff, "who are yer sayin' all this +to anyway? If yer talkin' to me, say so right off." + +"All I mean," hastily said Camp, "is that it's your duty, in your +honorable position, to search this car." + +"I don't need no instructin' in my dooty as sheriff," retorted +the official. "But a bigger dooty is what is owin' to the +feminine sex. When a female is in question, a gentleman, Mr. +Camp,--yes, sir, a gentleman,--is in dooty bound to be perlite." + +"Politeness be ---- ----!" swore Camp. + +"Git as angry as yer ---- please," roared the sheriff, +wrathfully, "but ---- me if any ---- ---- cuss has a right to use +such ---- ---- talk in the presence of a lady!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +"LISTENERS NEVER HEAR ANYTHING GOOD" + + +Before I had ceased chuckling over the sheriff's indignant +declaration of the canons of etiquette, I heard Mr. Cullen's +voice demanding to know what the trouble was, and it was quickly +explained to him that I had escaped. He at once gave them +permission to search his car, and went in with the sheriff and +the cowboys. Apparently Madge went in too, for in a moment I +heard Camp say, in a low voice,-- + +"Two of you fellows get down below the car and crawl in under the +truck where you can't be seen. Evidently that cuss isn't here, +but he's likely to come by and by. If so, nab him if you can, and +if you can't, fire two shots. Mosely, are you heeled?" + +"Do I chaw terbaccy?" asked Mosely, ironically, clearly insulted +at the suggestion that he would travel without a gun. + +"Then keep a sharp lookout, and listen to everything you hear, +especially the whereabouts of some letters. If you can spot their +lay, crawl out and get word to me at once. Now, under you go +before they come out." + +I heard two men drop into the gravel close alongside of where I +lay, and then crawl under the truck of 218. They weren't a moment +too soon, for the next instant I heard two or three people jump +on to the platform, and Albert Cullen's voice drawl, "Aw, by +Jove, what's the row?" Camp not enlightening them, Lord Ralles +suggested that they get on the car to find out, and the three did +so. A moment later the sheriff came to the door and told Camp +that I was not to be found. + +"I told yer this was the last place to look for the cuss, Mr. +Camp," he said. "We've just discomforted the lady for nothin'." + +"Then we must search elsewhere," spoke up Camp. "Come on, boys." + +The sheriff turned and made another elaborate apology for having +had to trouble the lady. + +I heard Madge tell him that he hadn't troubled her at all, and +then, as the cowboys and Camp walked off, she added, "And, Mr. +Gunton, I want to thank you for reproving Mr. Camp's dreadful +swearing." + +"Thank yer, miss," said the sheriff. "We fellers are a little +rough at times, but ---- me if we don't know what's due to a +lady." + +"Papa," said Madge, as soon as he was out of hearing, "the +sheriff is the most beautiful swearer I ever heard." + +For a while there was silence round the station; I suppose the +party in 218 were comparing notes, while the two cowboys and I +had the best reasons for being quiet. Presently, however, the men +came out of the car and jumped down on the platform. Madge +evidently followed them to the door, for she called, "Please let +me know the moment something happens or you learn anything." + +"Better go to bed, Madgy," Albert called. "You'll only worry, and +it's after three." + +"I couldn't sleep if I tried," she answered. + +Their footsteps died away in a moment, and I heard her close the +door of 218. In a few moments she opened it again, and, stepping +down to the station platform, began to pace up and down it. If I +had only dared, I could have put my finger through the crack of +the planks and touched her foot as she walked over my head, but I +was afraid it might startle her into a shriek, and there was no +explaining to her what it meant without telling the cowboys how +close they were to their quarry. + +Madge hadn't walked from one end of the platform to the other +more than three or four times, when I heard some one coming. She +evidently heard it also, for she said,-- + +"I began to be afraid you hadn't understood me." + +"I thought you told me to see first if I were needed," responded +a voice that even the distance and the planks did not prevent me +from recognizing as that of Lord Ralles. + +"Yes," said she. "You are sure you can be spared?" + +"I couldn't be of the slightest use," asserted Ralles, getting on +to the platform and joining Madge. "It's as black as ink +everywhere, and I don't think there's anything to be done till +daylight." + +"Then I'm glad you came back, for I really want to say +something,--to ask the greatest favor of you." + +"You only have to tell me what it is," said his lordship. + +"Even that is very hard," murmured Madge. "If--if--Oh! I'm afraid +I haven't the courage, after all." + +"I'll be glad to do anything I can." + +"It's--well--Oh, dear, I can't. Let's walk a little, while I +think how to put it." + +They began to walk, which took a weight off my mind, as I had +been forced to hear every word thus far spoken, and was dreading +what might follow, since I was perfectly helpless to warn them. +The platform was built around the station, and in a moment they +were out of hearing. + +Before many seconds were over, however, they had walked round the +building, and I heard Lord Ralles say,-- + +"You really don't mean that he's insulted you?" + +"That is just what I do mean," cried Madge, indignantly. "It's +been almost past endurance. I haven't dared to tell any one, but +he had the cruelty, the meanness, on Hance's trail to threaten +that--" + +At that point the walkers turned the corner again, and I could +not hear the rest of the sentence. But I had heard more than +enough to make me grow hot with mortification, even while I could +hardly believe I had understood aright. Madge had been so kind to +me lately that I couldn't think she had been feeling as bitterly +as she spoke. That such an apparently frank girl was a consummate +actress wasn't to be thought, and yet--I remembered how well she +had played her part on Hance's trail; but even that wouldn't +convince me. Proof of her duplicity came quickly enough, for, +while I was still thinking, the walkers were round again, and +Lord Ralles was saying,-- + +"Why haven't you complained to your father or brothers?" + +"Because I knew they would resent his conduct to me, and--" + +"Of course they would," cried her companion, interrupting. "But +why should you object to that?" + +"Because of the letters," explained Madge. "Don't you see that if +we made him angry he would betray us to Mr. Camp, and--" + +Then they passed out of hearing, leaving me almost desperate, +both at being an eavesdropper to such a conversation, and that +Madge could think so meanly of me. To say it, too, to Lord Ralles +made it cut all the deeper, as any fellow who has been in love +will understand. + +Round they came again in a moment, and I braced myself for the +lash of the whip that I felt was coming. I didn't escape it, for +Madge was saying,-- + +"Can you conceive of a man pretending to care for a girl and yet +treating her so? I can't tell you the grief, the mortification, I +have endured." She spoke with a half-sob in her throat, as if she +was struggling not to cry, which made me wish I had never been +born. "It's been all I could do to control myself in his +presence, I have come so utterly to hate and despise him," she +added. + +"I don't wonder," growled Lord Ralles. "My only surprise is--" + +With that they passed out of hearing again, leaving me fairly +desperate with shame, grief, and, I'm afraid, with anger. I felt +at once guilty and yet wronged. I knew my conduct on the trail +must have seemed to her ungentlemanly because I had never dared +to explain that my action there had been a pure bluff, and that I +wouldn't have really searched her for--well, for anything; but +though she might think badly of me for that, yet I had done my +best to counterbalance it, and was running big risks, both +present and eventual, for Madge's sake. Yet here she was +acknowledging that thus far she had used me as a puppet, while +all the time disliking me. It was a terrible blow, made all the +harder by the fact that she was proving herself such a different +girl from the one I loved,--so different, in fact, that, despite +what I had heard, I couldn't quite believe it of her, and found +myself seeking to extenuate and even justify her conduct. While I +was doing this, they came within hearing, and Lord Ralles was +speaking. + +"--with you," he said. "But I still do not see what I can do, +however much I may wish to serve you." + +"Can't you go to him and insist that he--or tell him what I +really feel towards him--or anything, in fact, to shame him? I +really can't go on acting longer." + +That reached the limit of my endurance, and I crawled from my +burrow, intending to get out from under that platform, whether I +was caught or not. I know it was a foolish move; after having +heard what I had, a little more or less was quite immaterial. But +I entirely forgot my danger, in the sting of what Madge had said, +and my one thought was to stand face to face with her long enough +to--I'm sure I don't know what I intended to say. + +Just as I reached the plank, however, I heard Lord Ralles ask,-- + +"Who's that?" + +"It's me," said a voice,--"the station agent." Then I heard a +door close. Some one walked out to the centre of the platform and +remarked,-- + +"That 'ere way freight is late." + +At least the letters were recovered. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE SURRENDER OF THE LETTERS + + +If the letters were safe, that was a good deal more than I +was. The moment the station-master had made his agreed-upon +announcement, he said to the walkers,-- + +"Had any news of Mr. Gordon?" + +"No," replied Lord Ralles. "And, as the lights keep moving in the +town, they must still be hunting for him." + +"I reckon they'll do considerable more huntin' before they find +him up there," chuckled the man, with a self-important manner. +"He's hidden away under this ere platform." + +"Not right here?" I heard Madge cry, but I had too much to do to +take in what followed. I was lying close to the loose plank, and +even before the station-master had completed his sentence I was +squirming through the crack. As I freed my legs I heard two +shots, which I knew was the signal given by the cowboys, followed +by a shriek of fright from Madge, for which she was hardly to be +blamed. I was on my feet in an instant and ran down the tracks at +my best speed. It wasn't with much hope of escape, for once out +from under the planking I found, what I had not before realized, +that day was dawning, and already outlines at a distance could be +seen. However, I was bound to do my best, and I did it. + +Before I had run a hundred feet I could hear pursuers, and a +moment later a revolver cracked, ploughing up the dust in front +of me. Another bullet followed, and, seeing that affairs were +getting desperate, I dodged round the end of some cars, only to +plump into a man running at full speed. The collision was so +unexpected that we both fell, and before I could get on my feet +one of my pursuers plumped down on top of me and I felt something +cold on the back of my neck. + +"Lie still, yer sneakin' coyote of a road agent," said the man, +"or I'll blow yer so full of lead that yer couldn't float in Salt +Lake." + +I preferred to take his advice, and lay quiet while the cowboys +gathered. From all directions I heard them coming, calling to +each other that "the skunk that shot the woman is corralled," and +other forms of the same information. In a moment I was jerked to +my feet, only to be swept off them with equal celerity, and was +half carried, half dragged, along the tracks. It wasn't as rough +handling as I have taken on the football-field, but I didn't +enjoy it. + +In a space of time that seemed only seconds, I was close to a +telegraph-pole; but, brief as the moment had been, a fellow with +a lariat tied round his waist was half-way up the post. I knew +the mob had been told that I had killed a woman in the hold-up, +for the cowboy, bad as he is, has his own standards, beyond which +he won't go. But I might as well have tried to tell my innocence +to the moon as to get them to listen to denials, even if I could +have made my voice heard. + +The lariat was dropped over the crosspiece, and as a man adjusted +the noose a sudden silence fell. I thought it was a little sense +of what they were doing, but it was merely due to the command of +Baldwin, who, with Camp, stood just outside the mob. + +"Let me say a word before you pull," he called, and then to me he +said, "Now will you give up the property?" + +I was pretty pale and shaky, but I come of stiffish stock, and I +wouldn't have backed down then, it seemed to me, if they had been +going to boil me alive. I suppose it sounds foolish, and if I had +had plenty of time I have no doubt my common-sense would have +made me crawl. Not having time, I was on the point of saying +"No," when the door of 218, which lay about two hundred yards +away, flew open, and out came Mr. Cullen, Fred, Albert, Lord +Ralles, and Captain Ackland, all with rifles. Of course it was +perfect desperation for the five to tackle the cowboys, but they +were game to do it, all the same. + +How it would have ended I don't know, but as they sprang off the +car platform Miss Cullen came out on it, and stood there, one +hand holding on to the door-way, as if she needed support, and +the other covering her heart. It was too far for me to see her +face, but the whole attitude expressed such suffering that it was +terrible to see. What was more, her position put her in range of +every shot the cowboys might fire at the five as they charged. If +I could have stopped them I would have done so, but, since that +was impossible, I cried,-- + +"Mr. Camp, I'll surrender the letters." + +"Hold on, boys," shouted Baldwin; "wait till we get the property +he stole." And, coming through the crowd, he threw the noose off +my neck. + +"Don't shoot, Mr. Cullen," I yelled, as my friends halted and +raised their rifles, and, fortunately, the cowboys had opened up +enough to let them hear me and see that I was free of the rope. + +Escorted by Camp, Baldwin, and the cowboys, I walked towards +them. On the way Baldwin said, in a low voice, "Deliver the +letters, and we'll tell the boys there has been a mistake. +Otherwise--" + +When we came up to the five, I called to them that I had agreed +to surrender the letters. While I was saying it, Miss Cullen +joined them, and it was curious to see how respectfully the +cowboys took off their hats and fell back. + +"You are quite right," Mr. Cullen called. "Give them the letters +at once." + +"Oh, do, Mr. Gordon," said Madge, still white and breathless with +emotion. "The money is nothing. Don't think--" It was all she +could say. + +I felt pretty small, but with Camp and Baldwin, now reinforced by +Judge Wilson, I went to the station, ordered the agent to open +the safe, took out the three letters, and handed them to Mr. +Camp, realizing how poor Madge must have felt on Hance's trail. +It was a pretty big take down to my pride I tell you, and made +all the worse by the way the three gloated over the letters and +over our defeat. + +"We've taught you a lesson, young man," sneered Camp, as after +opening the envelopes, to assure himself that the proxies were +all right, he tucked them into his pocket. "And we'll teach you +another one after to-day's election." + +Just as he concluded, we heard outside the first note of a bugle, +and as it sounded "By fours, column left," my heart gave a big +jump, and the blood came rushing to my face. Camp, Baldwin, and +Wilson broke for the door, but I got there first, and prevented +their escape. They tried to force their way through, but I hadn't +blocked and interfered at football for nothing, and they might as +well have tried to break through the Sierras. Discovering this, +Camp whipped out his gun, and told me to let them out. Being used +to the West, I recognized the goodness of the argument and +stepped out on the platform, giving them free passage. But the +twenty seconds I had delayed them had cooked their goose, for +outside was a squadron of cavalry swinging a circle round the +station; and we had barely reached the platform when the bugle +sounded "Halt," quickly followed by "Forward left." As the ranks +wheeled, and closed up as a solid line about us, I could have +cheered with delight. There was a moment's dramatic hush, in +which we could all hear the breathing of the winded horses, and +then came the clatter of sword and spurs, as an officer sprang +from his saddle. + +"I want Richard Gordon," the officer called. + +I responded, "At your service, and badly in need of yours, +Captain Singer." + +"Hope the delay hasn't spoilt things," said the captain. "We had +a cursed fool of a guide, who took the wrong trail and ran us +into Limestone Caon, where we had to camp for the night." + +I explained the situation as quickly as I could, and the +captain's eyes gleamed. "I'd have given a bad quarter to have got +here ten minutes sooner and ridden my men over those scoundrels," +he muttered. "I saw them scatter as we rode up, and if I'd known +what they'd been doing we'd have given them a volley." Then he +walked over to Mr. Camp and said, "Give me those letters." + +"I hold those letters by virtue of an order--" Camp began. + +"Give me those letters," the captain interrupted. + +"Do you intend a high-handed interference with the civil +authorities?" Judge Wilson demanded. + +"Come, come," said the captain, sternly. "You have taken forcible +possession of United States property. Any talk about civil +authorities is rubbish, and you know it." + +"I will never--" cried Mr. Camp. + +"Corporal Jackson, dismount a guard of six men," rang the +captain's voice, interrupting him. + +Evidently something in the voice or order convinced Mr. Camp, for +the letters were hastily produced and given to Singer, who at +once handed them to me. I turned with them to the Cullens, and, +laughing, quoted, "'All's well that ends well.'" + +But they didn't seem to care a bit about the recovery of the +letters, and only wanted to have a hand-shake all round over my +escape. Even Lord Ralles said, "Glad we could be of a little +service," and didn't refuse my thanks, though the deuce knows +they were badly enough expressed, in my consciousness that I had +done an ungentlemanly trick over those trousers of his, and that +he had been above remembering it when I was in real danger. I'm +ashamed enough to confess that when Miss Cullen held out her hand +I made believe not to see it. I'm a bad hand at pretending, and I +saw Madge color up at my act. + +The captain finally called me off to consult about our +proceedings. I felt no very strong love for Camp, Baldwin, or +Wilson, but I didn't see that a military arrest would accomplish +anything, and after a little discussion it was decided to let +them alone, as we could well afford to do, having won. + +This matter decided, I said to the captain, "I'll be obliged if +you'll put a guard round my car. And then, if you and your +officers will come inside it, I have a--something in a bottle, +recommended for removing alkali dust from the tonsils." + +"Very happy to test your prescription," responded Singer, +genially. + +I started to go with him, but I couldn't resist turning to Mr. +Camp and his friends and saying,-- + +"Gentlemen, the G. S. is a big affair, but it isn't quite big +enough to fight the U. S." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A GLOOMY GOOD-BY + + +At that point my importance ceased. Apparently seeing that the +game was up, Mr. Camp later in the morning asked Mr. Cullen to +give him an interview, and when he was allowed to pass the sentry +he came to the steps and suggested,-- + +"Perhaps we can arrange a compromise between the Missouri Western +and the Great Southern?" + +"We can try," Mr. Cullen assented. "Come into my car." He made +way for Mr. Camp, and was about to follow him, when Madge took +hold of her father's arm, and, making him stoop, whispered +something to him. + +"What kind of a place?" asked Mr. Cullen, laughing. + +"A good one," his daughter replied. + +I thought I understood what was meant. She didn't want to rest +under an obligation, and so I was to be paid up for what I had +done by promotion. It made me grit my teeth, and if I hadn't +taught myself not to swear, because of my position, I could have +given Sheriff Gunton points on cursing. I wanted to speak up +right there and tell Miss Cullen what I thought of her. + +Of the interview which took place inside 218, I can speak only at +second-hand, and the world knows about as well as I how the +contest was compromised by the K. & A. being turned over to the +Missouri Western, the territory in Southern California being +divided between the California Central and the Great Southern, +and a traffic arrangement agreed upon that satisfied the G. S. +That afternoon a Missouri Western board for the K. & A. was +elected without opposition, and they in turn elected Mr. Cullen +president of the K. & A.; so when my report of the holding-up +went in, he had the pleasure of reading it. I closed it with a +request for instructions, but I never received any, and that +ended the matter. I turned over the letters to the special agent +at Flagstaff, and I suppose his report is slumbering in some +pigeon-hole in Washington, for I should have known of any attempt +to bring the culprits to punishment. Mr. Cullen had taken a big +risk, but came out of it with a great lot of money, for the +Missouri Western bought all his holdings in the K. & A. and C. C. +But the scare must have taught him a lesson, for ever since then +he's been conservative, and talks about the foolishness of +investors who try to get more than five per cent, or who think of +anything but good railroad bonds. + +As for myself, a month after these occurrences I was appointed +superintendent of the Missouri Western, which by this deal had +become one of the largest railroad systems in the world. It was a +big step up for so young a man, and was of course pure favoritism, +due to Mr. Cullen's influence. I didn't stay in the position long, +for within two years I was offered the presidency of the Chicago +& St. Paul, and I think that was won on merit. Whether or not, I +hold the position still, and have made my road earn and pay +dividends right through the panic. + +All this is getting away ahead of events, however. The election +delayed us so that we couldn't couple on to No. 4 that afternoon, +and consequently we had to lie that night at Ash Forks. I made +the officers my excuse for keeping away from the Cullens, as I +wished to avoid Madge. I did my best to be good company to the +bluecoats, and had a first-class dinner for them on my car, but I +was in a pretty glum mood, which even champagne couldn't modify. +Though all necessity of a guard ceased with the compromise, the +cavalry remained till the next morning, and, after giving them a +good breakfast, about six o'clock we shook hands, the bugle +sounded, and off they rode. For the first time I understood how a +fellow disappointed in love comes to enlist. + +When I turned about to go into my car, I found Madge standing on +the platform of 218 waving a handkerchief. I paid no attention to +her, and started up my steps. + +"Mr. Gordon," she said,--and when I looked at her I saw that she +was flushing,--"what is the matter?" + +I suppose most fellows would have found some excuse, but for the +life of me I couldn't. All I was able to say was,-- + +"I would rather not say, Miss Cullen." + +"How unfair you are!" she cried. "You--without the slightest +reason you suddenly go out of your way to ill-treat--insult me, +and yet will not tell me the cause." + +That made me angry. "Cause?" I cried. "As if you didn't know of a +cause! What you don't know is that I overheard your conversation +with Lord Ralles night before last." + +"My conversation with Lord Ralles?" exclaimed Madge, in a +bewildered way. + +"Yes," I said bitterly, "keep up the acting. The practice is +good, even if it deceives no one." + +"I don't understand a word you are saying," she retorted, getting +angry in turn. "You speak as if I had done wrong,--as if--I don't +know what; and I have a right to know to what you allude." + +"I don't see how I can be any clearer," I muttered. "I was under +the station platform, hiding from the cowboys, while you and Lord +Ralles were walking. I didn't want to be a listener, but I heard +a good deal of what you said." + +"But I didn't walk with Lord Ralles," she cried. "The only person +I walked with was Captain Ackland." + +That took me very much aback, for I had never questioned in my +mind that it wasn't Lord Ralles. Yet the moment she spoke, I +realized how much alike the two brothers' voices were, and how +easily the blurring of distance and planking might have misled +me. For a moment I was speechless. Then I replied coldly,-- + +"It makes no difference with whom you were. What you said was the +essential part." + +"But how could you for an instant suppose that I could say what I +did to Lord Ralles?" she demanded. + +"I naturally thought he would be the one to whom you would appeal +concerning my 'insulting' conduct." + +Madge looked at me for a moment as if transfixed. Then she +laughed, and cried,-- + +"Oh, you idiot!" + +While I still looked at her in equal amazement, she went on, "I +beg your pardon, but you are so ridiculous that I had to say it. +Why, I wasn't talking about you, but about Lord Ralles." + +"Lord Ralles!" I cried. + +"Yes." + +"I don't understand," I exclaimed. + +"Why, Lord Ralles has been--has been--oh, he's threatened that if +I wouldn't--that--" + +"You mean he--?" I began, and then stopped, for I couldn't +believe my ears. + +"Oh," she burst out, "of course you couldn't understand, and you +probably despise me already, but if you knew how I scorn myself, +Mr. Gordon, and what I have endured from that man, you would only +pity me." + +Light broke on me suddenly. "Do you mean, Miss Cullen," I cried +hotly, "that he's been cad enough to force his attentions upon +you by threats?" + +"Yes. First he made me endure him because he was going to help +us, and from the moment the robbery was done, he has been +threatening to tell. Oh, how I have suffered!" + +Then I said a very silly thing. "Miss Cullen," I groaned, "I'd +give anything if I were only your brother." For the moment I +really meant it. + +"I haven't dared to tell any of them," she explained, "because I +knew they would resent it and make Lord Ralles angry, and then he +would tell, and so ruin papa. It seemed such a little thing to +bear for his sake, but, oh, it's been--I suppose you despise +me!" + +"I never dreamed of despising you," I said. "I only thought, of +course--seeing what I did--and--that you were fond--No--that +is--I mean--well--The beast!" I couldn't help exclaiming. + +"Oh," said Madge, blushing, and stammering breathlessly, "you +mustn't think--there was really--you happened to--usually I +managed to keep with papa or my brothers, or else run away, as I +did when he interrupted my letter-writing,--when you thought we +had--but it was nothing of the--I kept away just--but the night +of the robbery I forgot, and on the trail his mule blocked the +path. He never--there really wasn't--you saved me the only times +he--he--that he was really rude; and I am so grateful for it, Mr. +Gordon." + +I wasn't in a mood to enjoy even Miss Cullen's gratitude. Without +stopping for words, I dashed into 218, and, going straight to +Albert Cullen, I shook him out of a sound sleep, and before he +could well understand me I was alternately swearing at him and +raging at Lord Ralles. Finally he got the truth through his head, +and it was nuts to me, even in my rage, to see how his English +drawl disappeared, and how quick he could be when he really +became excited. + +I left him hurrying into his clothes, and went to my car, for I +didn't dare to see the exodus of Lord Ralles, through fear that I +couldn't behave myself. Albert came into 97 in a few moments to +say that the Englishmen were going to the hotel as soon as +dressed, the captain having elected to stay by his brother. + +"I wouldn't have believed it of Ralles. I feel jolly cut up, you +know," he drawled. + +I had been so enraged over Lord Ralles that I hadn't stopped to +reckon in what position I stood myself towards Miss Cullen, but I +didn't have to do much thinking to know that I had behaved about +as badly as was possible for me. And the worst of it was that she +could not know that right through the whole I had never quite +been able to think badly of her. I went out on the platform of +the station, and was lucky enough to find her there alone. + +"Miss Cullen," I said, "I've been ungentlemanly and suspicious, and +I'm about as ashamed of myself as a man can be and not jump into +the Grand Caon. I've not come to you to ask your forgiveness, for +I can't forgive myself, much less expect it of you. But I want you +to know how I feel, and if there's any reparation, apology, +anything, that you'd like, I'll--" + +Madge interrupted my speech there by holding out her hand. + +"You don't suppose," she said, "that, after all you have done for +us, I could be angry over what was merely a mistake?" + +That's what I call a trump of a girl, worth loving for a +lifetime. + +Well, we coupled on to No. 2 that morning and started East, this +time Mr. Cullen's car being the "ender." All on 218 were wildly +jubilant, as was natural, but I kept growing bluer and bluer. I +took a farewell dinner on their car the night we were due in +Albuquerque, and afterwards Miss Cullen and I went out and sat on +the back platform. + +"I've had enough adventures to talk about for a year," Madge +said, as we chatted the whole thing over, "and you can no longer +brag that the K. & A. has never had a robbery, even if you didn't +lose anything." + +"I have lost something," I sighed sadly. + +Madge looked at me quickly, started to speak, hesitated, and then +said, "Oh, Mr. Gordon, if you only could know how badly I have +felt about that, and how I appreciate the sacrifice." + +I had only meant that I had lost my heart, and, for that matter, +probably my head, for it would have been ungenerous even to hint +to Miss Cullen that I had made any sacrifice of conscience for +her sake, and I would as soon have asked her to pay for it in +money as have told her. + +"You mustn't think--" I began. + +"I have felt," she continued, "that your wish to serve us made +you do something you never would have otherwise done, for--Well, +you--any one can see how truthful and honest--and it has made me +feel so badly that we--Oh, Mr. Gordon, no one has a right to do +wrong in this world, for it brings such sadness and danger to +innocent--And you have been so generous--" + +I couldn't let this go on. "What I did," I told her, "was to +fight fire with fire, and no one is responsible for it but +myself." + +"I should like to think that, but I can't," she said. "I know we +all tried to do something dishonest, and while you didn't do any +real wrong, yet I don't think you would have acted as you did +except for our sake. And I'm afraid you may some day regret--" + +"I sha'n't," I cried; "and, so far from meaning that I had lost +my self-respect, I was alluding to quite another thing." + +"Time?" she asked. + +"No." + +"What?" + +"Something else you have stolen." + +"I haven't," she denied. + +"You have," I affirmed. + +"You mean the novel?" she asked; "because I sent it in to 97 +to-night." + +"I don't mean the novel." + +"I can't think of anything more but those pieces of petrified +wood, and those you gave me," she said demurely. "I am sure that +whatever else I have of yours you have given me without even my +asking, and if you want it back you've only got to say so." + +"I suppose that would be my very best course," I groaned. + +"I hate people who force a present on one," she continued, "and +then, just as one begins to like it, want it back." + +Before I could speak, she asked hurriedly, "How often do you come +to Chicago?" + +I took that to be a sort of command that I was to wait, and +though longing to have it settled then and there, I braked myself +up and answered her question. Now I see what a duffer I +was--Madge told me afterwards that she asked only because she +was so frightened and confused that she felt she must stop my +speaking for a moment. + +I did my best till I heard the whistle the locomotive gives as it +runs into yard limits, and then rose. "Good-by, Miss Cullen," I +said, properly enough, though no death-bed farewell was ever more +gloomily spoken; and she responded, "Good-by, Mr. Gordon," with +equal propriety. + +I held her hand, hating to let her go, and the first thing I +knew, I blurted out, "I wish I had the brass of Lord Ralles!" + +"I don't," she laughed, "because, if you had, I shouldn't be +willing to let you--" + +And what she was going to say, and why she didn't say it, is +the concern of no one but Mr. and Mrs. Richard Gordon. + + +THE END + + + + + Transcriber's Note: + + The discrepancies of four or seven "years of Western life" on + Pages 7, 15 and 26 have been retained as in the original. + + The oe ligature in the Latin-1 and text versions of this book + have been changed to "oe". + + Page 49. Changed "good-bye" to "good-by" twice. (... the rest + of the party were there, and I bade good-by to the captain and + Albert.); ("I hope it isn't good-by, but only au revoir," ...) + + Page 59. Changed "coconino" to "Coconino". (... and, as all the + rest of the ride was through Coconino forest, ...) + + Page 104. Corrected American Morse Code (a.k.a. Railroad Morse + Code) to accurately reflect transmitted message. + + Page 105. Changed "rail road" to "railroad". ("Sheriff yavapai + county ash forks arizona be at railroad station ...") + + Page 140. Changed "doorway" to "door-way". (... pulled through + the door-way of my car by the cowboys ...) + + Page 145. Changed "her" to "Her". (... Her Majesty's ...) + + Page 181. Changed "Discoving" to "Discovering". (Discovering + this, Camp whipped out his gun, and told me to let them out.) + + Page 187. Changed "sheriff" to "Sheriff". (... I could have + given Sheriff Gunton points on cursing.) + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Great K. & A. Robbery, by Paul Liechester Ford + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT K. & A. 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Robbery, by Paul Liechester Ford + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Great K. & A. Robbery + +Author: Paul Liechester Ford + +Release Date: May 5, 2008 [EBook #25333] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT K. & A. ROBBERY *** + + + + +Produced by Cline St. Charleskindt, Nick Wall and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net +(This file was produced from images generously made +available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + +THE GREAT + +K. & A. TRAIN-ROBBERY + + + + +[Illustration: Frontispiece] + + + + +The +Great +K. & A. +Robbery + +[Illustration: Trains] + +By + +Paul Leicester Ford + +Author of The Honorable Peter Stirling + +New York +Dodd, Mead and Company +1897 + + + + +_Copyright, 1896,_ +BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. + +_Copyright, 1897,_ +BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY. + +University Press: +JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. + + + + +TO + +MY TRAVELLING COMPANIONS + +ON SPECIALS 218 AND 97 + +THIS ENDEAVOR TO WEAVE INTO A STORY SOME OF OUR +OVERLAND HAPPENINGS AND ADVENTURES + +IS GRATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. + + * * * * * + +_TO MISS GEORGE BARKER GIBBS._ + +_My dear George_: + +_At your request I originally inscribed this skit to our whole +party. In its republication, however, I can but feel that the +dedication should be more particular. Written because you asked +it, first read aloud to beguile our ride across the great +American desert, and finally printed because you wished a copy as +a souvenir of our journeyings, no one can so naturally be called +upon to stand sponsor to the little tale. Should the story but +give its readers a fraction of the pleasure I owe to your +kindness, its success is assured._ + +_Faithfully yours,_ + +_PAUL LEICESTER FORD._ + + + + +Contents + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I THE PARTY ON SPECIAL NO. 218 1 + + II THE HOLDING-UP OF OVERLAND NO. 3 17 + + III A NIGHT'S WORK ON THE ALKALI PLAINS 30 + + IV SOME RATHER QUEER ROAD AGENTS 43 + + V A TRIP TO THE GRAND CANYON 55 + + VI THE HAPPENINGS DOWN HANCE'S TRAIL 69 + + VII A CHANGE OF BASE 82 + + VIII HOW DID THE SECRET LEAK OUT? 93 + + IX A TALK BEFORE BREAKFAST 107 + + X WAITING FOR HELP 118 + + XI THE LETTERS CHANGE HANDS AGAIN 130 + + XII AN EVENING IN JAIL 140 + + XIII A LESSON IN POLITENESS 153 + + XIV "LISTENERS NEVER HEAR ANYTHING GOOD" 165 + + XV THE SURRENDER OF THE LETTERS 175 + + XVI A GLOOMY GOOD-BY 186 + + + + +THE + +Great K. & A. Train-Robbery + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE PARTY ON SPECIAL NO. 218 + + +Any one who hopes to find in what is here written a work of +literature had better lay it aside unread. At Yale I should have +got the sack in rhetoric and English composition, let alone other +studies, had it not been for the fact that I played half-back on +the team, and so the professors marked me away up above where I +ought to have ranked. That was twelve years ago, but my life +since I received my parchment has hardly been of a kind to +improve me in either style or grammar. It is true that one woman +tells me I write well, and my directors never find fault with my +compositions; but I know that she likes my letters because, +whatever else they may say to her, they always say in some form, +"I love you," while my board approve my annual reports because +thus far I have been able to end each with "I recommend the +declaration of a dividend of -- per cent from the earnings of the +current year." I should therefore prefer to reserve my writings +for such friendly critics, if it did not seem necessary to make +public a plain statement concerning an affair over which there +appears to be much confusion. I have heard in the last five years +not less than twenty renderings of what is commonly called "the +great K. & A. train-robbery,"--some so twisted and distorted that +but for the intermediate versions I should never have recognized +them as attempts to narrate the series of events in which I +played a somewhat prominent part. I have read or been told that, +unassisted, the pseudo-hero captured a dozen desperadoes; that he +was one of the road agents himself; that he was saved from +lynching only by the timely arrival of cavalry; that the action +of the United States government in rescuing him from the civil +authorities was a most high-handed interference with State +rights; that he received his reward from a grateful railroad by +being promoted; that a lovely woman as recompense for his +villany--but bother! it's my business to tell what really +occurred, and not what the world chooses to invent. And if any +man thinks he would have done otherwise in my position, I can +only say that he is a better or a worse man than Dick Gordon. + +Primarily, it was football which shaped my end. Owing to my skill +in the game, I took a post-graduate at the Sheffield Scientific +School, that the team might have my services for an extra two +years. That led to my knowing a little about mechanical +engineering, and when I left the "quad" for good I went into the +Alton Railroad shops. It wasn't long before I was foreman of a +section; next I became a division superintendent, and after I had +stuck to that for a time I was appointed superintendent of the +Kansas & Arizona Railroad, a line extending from Trinidad in +Kansas to The Needles in Arizona, tapping the Missouri Western +System at the first place, and the Great Southern at the other. +With both lines we had important traffic agreements, as well as +the closest relations, which sometimes were a little difficult, +as the two roads were anything but friendly, and we had directors +of each on the K. & A. board, in which they fought like cats. +Indeed, it could only be a question of time when one would oust +the other and then absorb my road. My head-quarters were at +Albuquerque, in New Mexico, and it was there, in October, 1890, +that I received the communication which was the beginning of all +that followed. + +This initial factor was a letter from the president of the +Missouri Western, telling me that their first vice-president, Mr. +Cullen (who was also a director of my road), was coming out to +attend the annual election of the K. & A., which under our +charter had to be held in Ash Forks, Arizona. A second paragraph +told me that Mr. Cullen's family accompanied him, and that they +all wished to visit the Grand Canyon of the Colorado on their way. +Finally the president wrote that the party travelled in his own +private car, and asked me to make myself generally useful to +them. Having become quite hardened to just such demands, at the +proper date I ordered my superintendent's car on to No. 2, and +the next morning it was dropped off at Trinidad. + +The moment No. 3 arrived, I climbed into the president's special, +that was the last car on the train, and introduced myself to Mr. +Cullen, whom, though an official of my road, I had never met. He +seemed surprised at my presence, but greeted me very pleasantly +as soon as I explained that the Missouri Western office had asked +me to do what I could for him, and that I was there for that +purpose. His party were about to sit down to breakfast, and he +asked me to join them: so we passed into the dining-room at the +forward end of the car, where I was introduced to "My son," "Lord +Ralles," and "Captain Ackland." The son was a junior copy of his +father, tall and fine-looking, but, in place of the frank and +easy manner of his sire, he was so very English that most people +would have sworn falsely as to his native land. Lord Ralles was a +little, well-built chap, not half so English as Albert Cullen, +quick in manner and thought, being in this the opposite of his +brother Captain Ackland, who was heavy enough to rock-ballast a +road-bed. Both brothers gave me the impression of being +gentlemen, and both were decidedly good-looking. + +After the introductions, Mr. Cullen said we would not wait, and +his remark called my attention to the fact that there was one +more place at the table than there were people assembled. I had +barely noted this, when my host said, "Here's the truant," and, +turning, I faced a lady who had just entered. Mr. Cullen said, +"Madge, let me introduce Mr. Gordon to you." My bow was made to a +girl of about twenty, with light brown hair, the bluest of eyes, +a fresh skin, and a fine figure, dressed so nattily as to be to +me, after my four years of Western life, a sight for tired eyes. +She greeted me pleasantly, made a neat little apology for having +kept us waiting, and then we all sat down. + +It was a very jolly breakfast-table, Mr. Cullen and his son being +capital talkers, and Lord Ralles a good third, while Miss Cullen +was quick and clever enough to match the three. Before the meal +was over I came to the conclusion that Lord Ralles was in love +with Miss Cullen, for he kept making low asides to her; and from +the fact that she allowed them, and indeed responded, I drew the +conclusion that he was a lucky beggar, feeling, I confess, a +little pang that a title was going to win such a nice American +girl. + +One of the first subjects spoken of was train-robbery, and Miss +Cullen, like most Easterners, seemed to take a great interest in +it, and had any quantity of questions to ask me. + +"I've left all my jewelry behind, except my watch," she said, +"and that I hide every night. So I really hope we'll be held up, +it would be such an adventure." + +"There isn't any chance of it, Miss Cullen," I told her; "and if +we were, you probably wouldn't even know that it was happening, +but would sleep right through it." + +"Wouldn't they try to get our money and our watches?" she +demanded. + +I told her no, and explained that the express- and mail-cars were +the only ones to which the road agents paid any attention. She +wanted to know the way it was done: so I described to her how +sometimes the train was flagged by a danger signal, and when it +had slowed down the runner found himself covered by armed men; or +how a gang would board the train, one by one, at way stations, +and then, when the time came, steal forward, secure the express +agent and postal clerk, climb over the tender, and compel the +runner to stop the train at some lonely spot on the road. She +made me tell her all the details of such robberies as I knew +about, and, though I had never been concerned in any, I was able +to describe several, which, as they were monotonously alike, I +confess I colored up a bit here and there, in an attempt to make +them interesting to her. I seemed to succeed, for she kept the +subject going even after we had left the table and were smoking +our cigars in the observation saloon. Lord Ralles had a lot to +say about the American lack of courage in letting trains +containing twenty and thirty men be held up by half a dozen +robbers. + +"Why," he ejaculated, "my brother and I each have a double +express with us, and do you think we'd sit still in our seats? +No. Hang me if we wouldn't pot something." + +"You might," I laughed, a little nettled, I confess, by his +speech, "but I'm afraid it would be yourselves." + +"Aw, you fancy resistance impossible?" drawled Albert Cullen. + +"It has been tried," I answered, "and without success. You can +see it's like all surprises. One side is prepared before the +other side knows there is danger. Without regard to relative +numbers, the odds are all in favor of the road agents." + +"But I wouldn't sit still, whatever the odds," asserted his +lordship. "And no Englishman would." + +"Well, Lord Ralles," I said, "I hope for your sake, then, that +you'll never be in a hold-up, for I should feel about you as the +runner of a locomotive did when the old lady asked him if it +wasn't very painful to him to run over people. 'Yes, madam,' he +sadly replied: 'there is nothing musses an engine up so.'" + +I don't think Miss Cullen liked Lord Ralles's comments on +American courage any better than I did, for she said,-- + +"Can't you take Lord Ralles and Captain Ackland into the service +of the K. & A., Mr. Gordon, as a special guard?" + +"The K. & A. has never had a robbery yet, Miss Cullen," I +replied, "and I don't think that it ever will have." + +"Why not?" she asked. + +I explained to her how the Canyon of the Colorado to the north, +and the distance of the Mexican border to the south, made escape +so almost desperate that the road agents preferred to devote +their attentions to other routes. "If we were boarded, Miss +Cullen," I said, "your jewelry would be as safe as it is in +Chicago, for the robbers would only clean out the express- and +mail-cars; but if they should so far forget their manners as to +take your trinkets, I'd agree to return them to you inside of one +week." + +"That makes it all the jollier," she cried, eagerly. "We could +have the fun of the adventure, and yet not lose anything. Can't +you arrange for it, Mr. Gordon?" + +"I'd like to please you, Miss Cullen," I said, "and I'd like to +give Lord Ralles a chance to show us how to handle those gentry; +but it's not to be done." I really should have been glad to have +the road agents pay us a call. + +We spent that day pulling up the Raton pass, and so on over the +Glorietta pass down to Lamy, where, as the party wanted to see +Santa Fe, I had our two cars dropped off the overland, and we ran +up the branch line to the old Mexican city. It was well-worn +ground to me, but I enjoyed showing the sights to Miss Cullen, +for by that time I had come to the conclusion that I had never +met a sweeter or jollier girl. Her beauty, too, was of a kind +that kept growing on one, and before I had known her twenty-four +hours, without quite being in love with her, I was beginning to +hate Lord Ralles, which was about the same thing, I suppose. +Every hour convinced me that the two understood each other, not +merely from the little asides and confidences they kept +exchanging, but even more so from the way Miss Cullen would take +his lordship down occasionally. Yet, like a fool, the more I saw +to confirm my first diagnosis, the more I found myself dwelling +on the dimples at the corners of Miss Cullen's mouth, the +bewitching uplift of her upper lip, the runaway curls about her +neck, and the curves and color of her cheeks. + +Half a day served to see everything in Santa Fe worth looking at, +but Mr. Cullen decided to spend there the time they had to wait +for his other son to join the party. To pass the hours, I hunted +up some ponies, and we spent three days in long rides up the old +Santa Fe trail and to the outlying mountains. Only one incident +was other than pleasant, and that was my fault. As we were riding +back to our cars on the second afternoon, we had to cross the +branch road-bed, where a gang happened to be at work tamping the +ties. + +"Since you're interested in road agents, Miss Cullen," I said, +"you may like to see one. That fellow standing in the ditch is +Jack Drute, who was concerned in the D. & R. G. hold-up three +years ago." + +Miss Cullen looked where I pointed, and seeing a man with a gun, +gave a startled jump, and pulled up her pony, evidently supposing +that we were about to be attacked. "Sha'n't we run?" she began, +but then checked herself, as she took in the facts of the drab +clothes of the gang and the two armed men in uniform. "They are +convicts?" she asked, and when I nodded, she said, "Poor things!" +After a pause, she asked, "How long is he in prison for?" + +"Twenty years," I told her. + +"How harsh that seems!" she said. "How cruel we are to people for +a few moments' wrong-doing, which the circumstances may almost +have justified!" She checked her pony as we came opposite Drute, +and said, "Can you use money?" + +"Can I, lyedy?" said the fellow, leering in an attempt to look +amiable. "Wish I had the chance to try." + +The guard interrupted by telling her it wasn't permitted to speak +to the convicts while out of bounds, and so we had to ride on. +All Miss Cullen was able to do was to throw him a little bunch of +flowers she had gathered in the mountains. It was literally +casting pearls before swine, for the fellow did not seem +particularly pleased, and when, late that night, I walked down +there with a lantern I found the flowers lying in the ditch. The +experience seemed to sadden and distress Miss Cullen very much +for the rest of the afternoon, and I kicked myself for having +called her attention to the brute, and could have knocked him +down for the way he had looked at her. It is curious that I felt +thankful at the time that Drute was not holding up a train Miss +Cullen was on. It is always the unexpected that happens. If I +could have looked into the future, what a strange variation on +this thought I should have seen! + +The three days went all too quickly, thanks to Miss Cullen, and +by the end of that time I began to understand what love really +meant to a chap, and how men could come to kill each other for +it. For a fairly sensible, hard-headed fellow it was pretty quick +work, I acknowledge; but let any man have seven years of Western +life without seeing a woman worth speaking of, and then meet +Miss Cullen, and if he didn't do as I did, I wouldn't trust him +on the tail-board of a locomotive, for I should put him down as +defective both in eyesight and in intellect. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE HOLDING-UP OF OVERLAND NO. 3 + + +On the third day a despatch came from Frederic Cullen telling his +father he would join us at Lamy on No. 3 that evening. I at once +ordered 97 and 218 coupled to the connecting train, and in an +hour we were back on the main line. While waiting for the +overland to arrive, Mr. Cullen asked me to do something which, as +it later proved to have considerable bearing on the events of +that night, is worth mentioning, trivial as it seems. When I had +first joined the party, I had given orders for 97 to be kicked in +between the main string and their special, so as not to deprive +the occupants of 218 of the view from their observation saloon +and balcony platform. Mr. Cullen came to me now and asked me to +reverse the arrangement and make my car the tail end. I was +giving orders for the splitting and kicking in when No. 3 +arrived, and thus did not see the greeting of Frederic Cullen and +his family. When I joined them, his father told me that the high +altitude had knocked his son up so, that he had to be helped from +the ordinary sleeper to the special and had gone to bed +immediately. Out West we have to know something of medicine, and +my car had its chest of drugs: so I took some tablets and went +into his state-room. Frederic was like his brother in appearance, +though not in manner, having a quick, alert way. He was breathing +with such difficulty that I was almost tempted to give him +nitroglycerin, instead of strychnine, but he said he would be all +right as soon as he became accustomed to the rarefied air, quite +pooh-poohing my suggestion that he take No. 2 back to Trinidad; +and while I was still urging, the train started. Leaving him the +vials of digitalis and strychnine, therefore, I went back, and +dined _solus_ on my own car, indulging at the end in a cigar, +the smoke of which would keep turning into pictures of Miss +Cullen. I have thought about those pictures since then, and have +concluded that when cigar-smoke behaves like that, a man might as +well read his destiny in it, for it can mean only one thing. + +After enjoying the combination, I went to No. 218 to have a look +at the son, and found that the heart tonics had benefited him +considerably. On leaving him, I went to the dining-room, where +the rest of the party were still at dinner, to ask that the +invalid have a strong cup of coffee, and after delivering my +request Mr. Cullen asked me to join them in a cigar. This I did +gladly, for a cigar and Miss Cullen's society were even +pleasanter than a cigar and Miss Cullen's pictures, because the +pictures never quite did her justice, and, besides, didn't talk. + +Our smoke finished, we went back to the saloon, where the +gentlemen sat down to poker, which Lord Ralles had just learned, +and liked. They did not ask me to take a hand, for which I was +grateful, as the salary of a railroad superintendent would hardly +stand the game they probably played; and I had my compensation +when Miss Cullen also was not asked to join them. She said she +was going to watch the moonlight on the mountains from the +platform, and opened the door to go out, finding for the first +time that No. 97 was the "ender." In her disappointment she +protested against this, and wanted to know the why and wherefore. + +"We shall have far less motion, Madge," Mr. Cullen explained, +"and then we sha'n't have the rear-end man in our car at night." + +"But I don't mind the motion," urged Miss Cullen, "and the +flagman is only there after we are all in our rooms. Please leave +us the view." + +"I prefer the present arrangement, Madge," insisted Mr. Cullen, +in a very positive voice. + +I was so sorry for Miss Cullen's disappointment that on impulse I +said, "The platform of 97 is entirely at your service, Miss +Cullen." The moment it was out I realized that I ought not to +have said it, and that I deserved a rebuke for supposing she +would use my car. + +Miss Cullen took it better than I hoped for, and was declining +the offer as kindly as my intention had been in making it, when, +much to my astonishment, her father interrupted by saying,-- + +"By all means, Madge. That relieves us of the discomfort of being +the last car, and yet lets you have the scenery and moonlight." + +Miss Cullen looked at her father for a moment as if not believing +what she had heard. Lord Ralles scowled and opened his mouth to +say something, but checked himself, and only flung his discard +down as if he hated the cards. + +"Thank you, papa," responded Miss Cullen, "but I think I will +watch you play." + +"Now, Madge, don't be foolish," said Mr. Cullen, irritably. "You +might just as well have the pleasure, and you'll only disturb the +game if you stay here." + +Miss Cullen leaned over and whispered something, and her father +answered her. Lord Ralles must have heard, for he muttered +something, which made Miss Cullen color up; but much good it did +him, for she turned to me and said, "Since my father doesn't +disapprove, I will gladly accept your hospitality, Mr. Gordon," +and after a glance at Lord Ralles that had a challenging "I'll do +as I please" in it, she went to get her hat and coat. The whole +incident had not taken ten seconds, yet it puzzled me beyond +measure, even while my heart beat with an unreasonable hope; for +my better sense told me that it simply meant that Lord Ralles +disapproved, and Miss Cullen, like any girl of spirit, was giving +him notice that he was not yet privileged to control her actions. +Whatever the scene meant, his lordship did not like it, for he +swore at his luck the moment Miss Cullen had left the room. + +When Miss Cullen returned we went back to the rear platform of +97. I let down the traps, closed the gates, got a camp-stool for +her to sit upon, with a cushion to lean back on, and a footstool, +and fixed her as comfortably as I could, even getting a +travelling-rug to cover her lap, for the plateau air was chilly. +Then I hesitated a moment, for I had the feeling that she had not +thoroughly approved of the thing and therefore she might not like +to have me stay. Yet she was so charming in the moonlight, and +the little balcony the platform made was such a tempting spot to +linger on, while she was there, that it wasn't easy to go. +Finally I asked,-- + +"You are quite comfortable, Miss Cullen?" + +"Sinfully so," she laughed. + +"Then perhaps you would like to be left to enjoy the moonlight +and your meditations by yourself?" I questioned. I knew I ought +to have just gone away, but I simply couldn't when she looked so +enticing. + +"Do you want to go?" she asked. + +"No!" I ejaculated, so forcibly that she gave a little startled +jump in her chair. "That is--I mean," I stuttered, embarrassed by +my own vehemence, "I rather thought you might not want me to +stay." + +"What made you think that?" she demanded. + +I never was a good hand at inventing explanations, and after a +moment's seeking for some reason, I plumped out, "Because I +feared you might not think it proper to use my car, and I suppose +it's my presence that made you think it." + +She took my stupid fumble very nicely; laughing merrily while +saying, "If you like mountains and moonlight, Mr. Gordon, and +don't mind the lack of a chaperon, get a stool for yourself, +too." What was more, she offered me half of the lap-robe when I +was seated beside her. + +I think she was pleased by my offer to go away, for she talked +very pleasantly, and far more intimately than she had ever done +before, telling me facts about her family, her Chicago life, her +travels, and even her thoughts. From this I learned that her +elder brother was an Oxford graduate, and that Lord Ralles and +his brother were classmates, who were visiting him for the first +time since he had graduated. She asked me some questions about +my work, which led me to tell her pretty much everything about +myself that I thought could be of the least interest; and it was +a very pleasant surprise to me to find that she knew one of the +old team, and had even heard of me from him. + +"Why," she exclaimed, "how absurd of me not to have thought of it +before! But, you see, Mr. Colston always speaks of you by your +first name. You ought to hear how he praises you." + +"Trust Harry to praise any one," I said. "There were some pretty +low fellows on the old team,--men who couldn't keep their word or +their tempers, and would slug every chance they got; but Harry +used to insist there wasn't a bad egg among the lot." + +"Don't you find it very lonely to live out here, away from all +your old friends?" she asked. + +I had to acknowledge that it was, and told her the worst part was +the absence of pleasant women. "Till you arrived, Miss Cullen," +I said, "I hadn't seen a well-gowned woman in four years." I've +always noticed that a woman would rather have a man notice and +praise her frock than her beauty, and Miss Cullen was apparently +no exception, for I could see the remark pleased her. + +"Don't Western women ever get Eastern gowns?" she asked. + +"Any quantity," I said, "but you know, Miss Cullen, that it isn't +the gown, but the way it's worn, that gives the artistic touch." +For a fellow who had devoted the last seven years of his life to +grades and fuel and rebates and pay-rolls, I don't think that was +bad. At least it made Miss Cullen's mouth dimple at the corners. + +The whole evening was so eminently satisfactory that I almost +believe I should be talking yet, if interruption had not come. +The first premonition of it was Miss Cullen's giving a little +shiver, which made me ask if she was cold. + +"Not at all," she replied. "I only--what place are we stopping +at?" + +I started to rise, but she checked the movement and said, "Don't +trouble yourself. I thought you would know without moving. I +really don't care to know." + +I took out my watch, and was startled to find it was twenty +minutes past twelve. I wasn't so green as to tell Miss Cullen so, +and merely said, "By the time, this must be Sanders." + +"Do we stop long?" she asked. + +"Only to take water," I told her, and then went on with what I +had been speaking about when she shivered. But as I talked it +slowly dawned on me that we had been standing still some time, +and presently I stopped speaking and glanced off, expecting to +recognize something, only to see alkali plain on both sides. A +little surprised, I looked down, to find no siding. Rising +hastily, I looked out forward. I could see moving figures on each +side of the train, but that meant nothing, as the train's crew, +and, for that matter, passengers, are very apt to alight at every +stop. What did mean something was that there was no water-tank, +no station, nor any other visible cause for a stop. + +"Is anything the matter?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"I think something's wrong with the engine or the road-bed, Miss +Cullen," I said, "and, if you'll excuse me a moment, I'll go +forward and see." + +I had barely spoken when "bang! bang!" went two shots. That they +were both fired from an English "express" my ears told me, for no +other people in this world make a mountain howitzer and call it a +rifle. + +Hardly were the two shots fired when "crack! crack! crack! +crack!" went some Winchesters. + +"Oh! what is it?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I think your wish has been granted," I answered hurriedly. "We +are being held up, and Lord Ralles is showing us how to--" + +My speech was interrupted. "Bang! bang!" challenged another "express," +the shots so close together as to be almost simultaneous. "Crack! +crack! crack!" retorted the Winchesters, and from the fact that +silence followed I drew a clear inference. I said to myself, "That +is an end of poor John Bull." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A NIGHT'S WORK ON THE ALKALI PLAINS + + +I hurried Miss Cullen into the car, and, after bolting the rear +door, took down my Winchester from its rack. + +"I'm going forward," I told her, "and will tell my darkies to +bolt the front door: so you'll be as safe in here as in Chicago." + +In another minute I was on my front platform. Dropping down +between the two cars, I crept along beside--indeed, half +under--Mr. Cullen's special. After my previous conclusion, my +surprise can be judged when at the farther end I found the two +Britishers and Albert Cullen, standing there in the most exposed +position possible. I joined them, muttering to myself something +about Providence and fools. + +"Aw," drawled Cullen, "here's Mr. Gordon, just too late for the +sport, by Jove." + +"Well," bragged Lord Ralles, "we've had a hand in this deal, Mr. +Superintendent, and haven't been potted. The scoundrels broke for +cover the moment we opened fire." + +By this time there were twenty passengers about our group, all of +them asking questions at once, making it difficult to learn just +what had happened; but, so far as I could piece the answers +together, the poker-players' curiosity had been aroused by the +long stop, and, looking out, they had seen a single man with a +rifle, standing by the engine. Instantly arming themselves, Lord +Ralles let fly both barrels at him, and in turn was the target +for the first four shots I had heard. The shooting had brought +the rest of the robbers tumbling off the cars, and the captain +and Cullen had fired the rest of the shots at them as they +scattered. I didn't stop to hear more, but went forward to see +what the road agents had got away with. + +I found the express agent tied hand and foot in the corner of +his car, and, telling a brakeman who had followed me to set him +at liberty, I turned my attention to the safe. That the diversion +had not come a moment too soon was shown by the dynamite +cartridge already in place, and by the fuse that lay on the +floor, as if dropped suddenly. But the safe was intact. + +Passing into the mail-car, I found the clerk tied to a post, with +a mail-sack pulled over his head, and the utmost confusion among +the pouches and sorting-compartments, while scattered over the +floor were a great many letters. Setting him at liberty, I asked +him if he could tell whether mail had been taken, and, after a +glance at the confusion, he said he could not know till he had +examined. + +Having taken stock of the harm done, I began asking questions. +Just after we had left Sanders, two masked men had entered the +mail-car, and while one covered the clerk with a revolver the +other had tied and "sacked" him. Two more had gone forward and +done the same to the express agent. Another had climbed over the +tender and ordered the runner to hold up. All this was regular +programme, as I had explained to Miss Cullen, but here had been a +variation which I had never heard of being done, and of which I +couldn't fathom the object. When the train had been stopped, the +man on the tender had ordered the fireman to dump his fire, and +now it was lying in the road-bed and threatening to burn through +the ties; so my first order was to extinguish it, and my second +was to start a new fire and get up steam as quickly as possible. +From all I could learn, there were eight men concerned in the +attempt; and I confess I shook my head in puzzlement why that +number should have allowed themselves to be scared off so easily. + +My wonderment grew when I called on the conductor for his +tickets. These showed nothing but two from Albuquerque, one from +Laguna, and four from Coolidge. This latter would have looked +hopeful but for the fact that it was a party of three women and +a man. Going back beyond Lamy didn't give anything, for the +conductor was able to account for every fare as either still in +the train or as having got off at some point. My only conclusion +was that the robbers had sneaked onto the platforms at Sanders; +and I gave the crew a good dressing down for their carelessness. +Of course they insisted it was impossible; but they were bound to +do that. + +Going back to 97, I got my telegraph instrument, though I thought +it a waste of time, the road agents being always careful to break +the lines. I told a brakeman to climb the pole and cut a wire. +While he was struggling up, Miss Cullen joined me. + +"Do you really expect to catch them?" she asked. + +"I shouldn't like to be one of them," I replied. + +"But how can you do it?" + +"You could understand better, Miss Cullen, if you knew this +country. You see every bit of water is in use by ranches, and +those fellows can't go more than fifty miles without watering. So +we shall have word of them, wherever they go." + +"Line cut, Mr. Gordon," came from overhead at this point, making +Miss Cullen jump with surprise. + +"What was that?" she asked. + +I explained to her, and, after making connections, I called +Sanders. Much to my surprise, the agent responded. I was so +astonished that for a moment I could not believe the fact. + +"This is the queerest hold-up of which I ever heard," I remarked +to Miss Cullen. + +"Aw, in what respect?" asked Albert Cullen's voice, and, looking +up, I found that he and quite a number of the passengers had +joined us. + +"The road agents make us dump our fire," I said, "and yet they +haven't cut the wires in either direction. I can't see how they +can escape us." + +"What fun!" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I don't see what difference either makes in their chance of +escaping," said Lord Ralles. + +While he was speaking, I ticked off the news of our being held +up, and asked the agent if there had been any men about Sanders, +or if he had seen any one board the train there. His answer was +positive that no one could have done so, and that settled it as +to Sanders. I asked the same questions of Allantown and Wingate, +which were the only places we had stopped at after leaving +Coolidge, getting the same answers. That eight men could have +remained concealed on any of the platforms from that point was +impossible, and I began to suspect magic. Then I called Coolidge, +and told of the holding up, after which I telegraphed the agent +at Navajo Springs to notify the commander at Fort Defiance, for I +suspected the road agents would make for the Navajo reservation. +Finally I called Flagstaff as I had Coolidge, directed that the +authorities be notified of the facts, and ordered an extra to +bring out the sheriff and posse. + +"I don't think," said Miss Cullen, "that I am a bit more curious +than most people, but it has nearly made me frantic to have you +tick away on that little machine and hear it tick back, and not +understand a word." + +After that I had to tell her what I had said and learned. + +"How clever of you to think of counting the tickets and finding +out where people got on and off! I never should have thought of +either," she said. + +"It hasn't helped me much," I laughed, rather grimly, "except to +eliminate every possible clue." + +"They probably did steal on at one of the stops," suggested a +passenger. + +I shook my head. "There isn't a stick of timber nor a place of +concealment on these alkali plains," I replied, "and it was +bright moonlight till an hour ago. It would be hard enough for +one man to get within a mile of the station without being seen, +and it would be impossible for seven or eight." + +"How do you know the number?" asked a passenger. + +"I don't," I said. "That's the number the crew think there were; +but I myself don't believe it." + +"Why don't you believe the men?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"First, because there is always a tendency to magnify, and next, +because the road agents ran away so quickly." + +"I counted at least seven," asserted Lord Ralles. + +"Well, Lord Ralles," I said, "I don't want to dispute your +eyesight, but if they had been that strong they would never have +bolted, and if you want to lay a bottle of wine, I'll wager that +when I catch those chaps we'll find there weren't more than three +or four of them." + +"Done!" he snapped. + +Leaving the group, I went forward to get the report of the mail +agent. He had put things to rights, and told me that, though the +mail had been pretty badly mixed up, only one pouch at worst had +been rifled. This--the one for registered mail--had been cut +open, but, as if to increase the mystery, the letters had been +scattered, unopened, about the car, only three out of the whole +being missing, and those very probably had fallen into the +pigeon-holes and would be found on a more careful search. + +I confess I breathed easier to think that the road agents had got +away with nothing, and was so pleased that I went back to the +wire to send the news of it, that the fact might be included in +the press despatches. The moon had set, and it was so dark that I +had some difficulty in finding the pole. When I found it, Miss +Cullen was still standing there. What was more, a man was close +beside her, and as I came up I heard her say, indignantly,-- + +"I will not allow it. It is unfair to take such advantage of me. +Take your arm away, or I shall call for help!" + +That was enough for me. One step carried my hundred and sixty +pounds over the intervening ground, and, using the momentum of +the stride to help, I put the flat of my hand against the +shoulder of the man and gave him a shove. There are three or four +Harvard men who can tell what that means, and they were braced +for it, which this fellow wasn't. He went staggering back as if +struck by a cow-catcher, and lay down on the ground a good +fifteen feet away. His having his arm around Miss Cullen's waist +unsteadied her so that she would have fallen too if I hadn't put +my hand against her shoulder. I longed to put it about her, but +by this time I didn't want to please myself, but to do only what +I thought she would wish, and so restrained myself. + +Before I had time to finish an apology to Miss Cullen, the fellow +was up on his feet, and came at me with an exclamation of anger. +In my surprise at recognizing the voice as that of Lord Ralles, I +almost neglected to take care of myself; but, though he was quick +with his fists, I caught him by the wrists as he closed, and he +had no chance after that against a fellow of my weight. + +"Oh, don't quarrel!" cried Miss Cullen. + +Holding him, I said, "Lord Ralles, I overheard what Miss Cullen +was saying, and, supposing some man was insulting her, I acted as +I did." Then I let go of him, and, turning, I continued, "I am +very sorry, Miss Cullen, if I did anything the circumstances did +not warrant," while cursing myself for my precipitancy and for +not thinking that Miss Cullen would never have been caught in +such a plight with a man unless she had been half willing; for a +girl does not merely threaten to call for help if she really +wants aid. + +Lord Ralles wasn't much mollified by my explanation. "You're too +much in a hurry, my man," he growled, speaking to me as if I were +a servant. "Be a bit more careful in the future." + +I think I should have retorted--for his manner was enough to make +a saint mad--if Miss Cullen hadn't spoken. + +"You tried to help me, Mr. Gordon, and I am deeply grateful for +that," she said. The words look simple enough set down here. But +the tone in which she said them, and the extended hand and the +grateful little squeeze she gave my fingers, all seemed to +express so much that I was more puzzled over them than I was over +the robbery. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +SOME RATHER QUEER ROAD AGENTS + + +"You had better come back to the car, Miss Cullen," remarked Lord +Ralles, after a pause. + +But she declined to do so, saying she wanted to know what I was +going to telegraph; and he left us, for which I wasn't sorry. I +told her of the good news I had to send, and she wanted to know +if now we would try to catch the road agents. I set her mind at +rest on that score. + +"I think they'll give us very little trouble to bag," I added, +"for they are so green that it's almost pitiful." + +"In not cutting the wires?" she asked. + +"In everything," I replied. "But the worst botch is their waiting +till we had just passed the Arizona line. If they had held us up +an hour earlier, it would only have been State's prison." + +"And what will it be now?" + +"Hanging." + +"What?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"In New Mexico train-robbing is not capital, but in Arizona it +is," I told her. + +"And if you catch them they'll be hung?" she asked. + +"Yes." + +"That seems very hard." + +The first signs of dawn were beginning to show by this time, and +as the sky brightened I told Miss Cullen that I was going to look +for the trail of the fugitives. She said she would walk with me, +if not in the way, and my assurance was very positive on that +point. And here I want to remark that it's saying a good deal if +a girl can be up all night in such excitement and still look +fresh and pretty, and that she did. + +I ordered the crew to look about, and then began a big circle +around the train. Finding nothing, I swung a bigger one. That +being equally unavailing, I did a larger third. Not a trace of +foot or hoof within a half-mile of the cars! I had heard of +blankets laid down to conceal a trail, of swathed feet, even of +leathern horse-boots with cattle-hoofs on the bottom, but none of +these could have been used for such a distance, let alone the +entire absence of any signs of a place where the horses had been +hobbled. Returning to the train, the report of the men was the +same. + +"We've ghost road agents to deal with, Miss Cullen," I laughed. +"They come from nowhere, bullets touch them not, their lead hurts +nobody, they take nothing, and they disappear without touching +the ground." + +"How curious it is!" she exclaimed. "One would almost suppose it +a dream." + +"Hold on," I said. "We do have something tangible, for if they +disappeared they left their shells behind them." And I pointed to +some cartridge-shells that lay on the ground beside the mail-car. +"My theory of aerial bullets won't do." + +"The shells are as hollow as I feel," laughed Miss Cullen. + +"Your suggestion reminds me that I am desperately hungry," I +said. "Suppose we go back and end the famine." + +Most of the passengers had long since returned to their seats or +berths, and Mr. Cullen's party had apparently done the same, for +218 showed no signs of life. One of my darkies was awake, and he +broiled a steak and made us some coffee in no time, and just as +they were ready Albert Cullen appeared, so we made a very jolly +little breakfast. He told me at length the part he and the +Britishers had borne, and only made me marvel the more that any +one of them was alive, for apparently they had jumped off the car +without the slightest precaution, and had stood grouped together, +even after they had called attention to themselves by Lord +Ralles's shots. Cullen had to confess that he heard the whistle +of the four bullets unpleasantly close. + +"You have a right to be proud, Mr. Cullen," I said. "You fellows +did a tremendously plucky thing, and, thanks to you, we didn't +lose anything." + +"But you went to help too, Mr. Gordon," added Miss Cullen. + +That made me color up, and, after a moment's hesitation, I +said,-- + +"I'm not going to sail under false colors, Miss Cullen. When I +went forward I didn't think I could do anything. I supposed +whoever had pitched into the robbers was dead, and I expected to +be the same inside of ten minutes." + +"Then why did you risk your life," she asked, "if you thought it +was useless?" + +I laughed, and, though ashamed to tell it, replied, "I didn't +want you to think that the Britishers had more pluck than I had." + +She took my confession better than I hoped she would, laughing +with me, and then said, "Well, that was courageous, after all." + +"Yes," I confessed, "I was frightened into bravery." + +"Perhaps if they had known the danger as well as you, they would +have been less courageous," she continued; and I could have +blessed her for the speech. + +While we were still eating, the mail clerk came to my car and +reported that the most careful search had failed to discover the +three registered letters, and they had evidently been taken. This +made me feel sober, slight as the probable loss was. He told me +that his list showed they were all addressed to Ash Forks, +Arizona, making it improbable that their contents could be of any +real value. If possible, I was more puzzled than ever. + +At six-ten the runner whistled to show he had steam up. I told +one of the brakemen to stay behind, and then went into 218. Mr. +Cullen was still dressing, but I expressed my regrets through the +door that I could not go with his party to the Grand Canyon, told +him that all the stage arrangements had been completed, and +promised to join him there in case my luck was good. Then I saw +Frederic for a moment, to see how he was (for I had nearly +forgotten him in the excitement), to find that he was gaining all +the time, and preparing even to get up. When I returned to the +saloon, the rest of the party were there, and I bade good-by to +the captain and Albert. Then I turned to Lord Ralles, and, +holding out my hand, said,-- + +"Lord Ralles, I joked a little the other morning about the way +you thought road agents ought to be treated. You have turned the +joke very neatly and pluckily, and I want to apologize for myself +and thank you for the railroad." + +"Neither is necessary," he retorted airily, pretending not to see +my hand. + +I never claimed to have a good temper, and it was all I could do +to hold myself in. I turned to Miss Cullen to wish her a pleasant +trip, and the thought that this might be our last meeting made me +forget even Lord Ralles. + +"I hope it isn't good-by, but only _au revoir_," she said. +"Whether or no, you must let us see you some time in Chicago, so +that I may show you how grateful I am for all the pleasure you +have added to our trip." Then, as I stepped down off my platform, +she leaned over the rail of 218, and added, in a low voice, "I +thought you were just as brave as the rest, Mr. Gordon, and now I +think you are braver." + +I turned impulsively, and said, "You would think so, Miss Cullen, +if you knew the sacrifice I am making." Then, without looking at +her, I gave the signal, the bell rang, and No. 3 pulled off. The +last thing I saw was a handkerchief waving off the platform of +218. + +When the train dropped out of sight over a grade, I swallowed the +lump in my throat and went to the telegraph instrument. I wired +Coolidge to give the alarm to Fort Wingate, Fort Apache, Fort +Thomas, Fort Grant, Fort Bayard, and Fort Whipple, though I +thought the precaution a mere waste of energy. Then I sent the +brakeman up to connect the cut wire. + +"Two of the bullets struck up here, Mr. Gordon," the man called +from the top of the pole. + +"Surely not!" I exclaimed. + +"Yes, sir," he responded. "The bullet-holes are brand-new." + +I took in the lay of the land, the embers of the fire showing me +how the train had lain. "I don't wonder nobody was hit," I +exclaimed, "if that's a sample of their shooting. Some one was a +worse rattled man than I ever expect to be. Dig the bullets out, +Douglas, so that we can have a look at them." + +He brought them down in a minute. They proved to be Winchesters, +as I had expected, for they were on the side from which the +robbers must have fired. + +"That chap must have been full of Arizona tangle-foot, to have +fired as wild as he did," I ejaculated, and walked over to +where the mail-car had stood, to see just how bad the shooting +was. When I got there and faced about, it was really impossible +to believe any man could have done so badly, for raising my +own Winchester to the pole put it twenty degrees out of range +and nearly forty degrees in the air. Yet there were the +cartridge-shells on the ground, to show that I was in the place +from which the shots had been fired. + +While I was still cogitating over this, the special train I had +ordered out from Flagstaff came in sight, and in a few moments +was stopped where I was. It consisted of a string of three flats +and a box car, and brought the sheriff, a dozen cowboys whom he +had sworn in as deputies, and their horses. I was hopeful that +with these fellows' greater skill in such matters they could find +what I had not, but after a thorough examination of the ground +within a mile of the robbery they were as much at fault as I had +been. + +"Them cusses must have a dugout nigh abouts, for they couldn't +'a' got away without wings," the sheriff surmised. + +I didn't put much stock in that idea, and told the sheriff so. + +"Waal, round up a better one," was his retort. + +Not being able to do that, I told him of the bullets in the +telegraph pole, and took him over to where the mail car had +stood. + +"Jerusalem crickets!" was his comment as he measured the aim. "If +that's where they put two of their pills, they must have pumped +the other four inter the moon." + +"What other four?" I asked. + +"Shots," he replied sententiously. + +"The road agents only fired four times," I told him. + +"Them and your pards must have been pretty nigh together for a +minute, then," he said, pointing to the ground. + +I glanced down, and sure enough, there were six empty +cartridge-shells. I stood looking blankly at them, hardly able to +believe what I saw; for Albert Cullen had said distinctly that +the train-robbers had fired only four times, and that the last +three Winchester shots I had heard had been fired by himself. +Then, without speaking, I walked slowly back, searching along +the edge of the road-bed for more shells; but, though I went +beyond the point where the last car had stood, not one did I +find. Any man who has fired a Winchester knows that it drops its +empty shell in loading, and I could therefore draw only one +conclusion,--namely, that all seven discharges of the Winchesters +had occurred up by the mail-car. I had heard of men supposing +they had fired their guns through hearing another go off; but +with a repeating rifle one has to fire before one can reload. The +fact was evident that Albert Cullen either had fired his +Winchester up by the mail-car, or else had not fired it at all. +In either case he had lied, and Lord Ralles and Captain Ackland +had backed him up in it. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +A TRIP TO THE GRAND CANON + + +I stood pondering, for no explanation that would fit the facts +seemed possible. I should have considered the young fellow's +story only an attempt to gain a little reputation for pluck, if +in any way I could have accounted for the appearance and +disappearance of the robbers. Yet to suppose--which seemed the +only other horn to the dilemma--that the son and guests of the +vice-president of the Missouri Western, and one of our own +directors, would be concerned in train-robbery was to believe +something equally improbable. Indeed, I should have put the whole +thing down as a practical joke of Mr. Cullen's party, if it had +not been for the loss of the registered letters. Even a practical +joker would hardly care to go to the length of cutting open +government mail-pouches; for Uncle Sam doesn't approve of such +conduct. + +Whatever the explanation, I had enough facts to prevent me from +wasting more time on that alkali plain. Getting the men and +horses back onto the cars, I jumped up on the tail-board and +ordered the runner to pull out for Flagstaff. It was a run of +seven hours, getting us in a little after eight, and in those +hours I had done a lot of thinking which had all come to one +result,--that Mr. Cullen's party was concerned in the hold-up. + +The two private cars were on a siding, but the Cullens had left +for the Grand Canyon the moment they had arrived, and were about +reaching there by this time. I went to 218 and questioned the +cook and waiter, but they had either seen nothing or else had +been primed, for not a fact did I get from them. Going to my own +car, I ordered a quick supper, and while I was eating it I +questioned my boy. He told me that he had heard the shots, and +had bolted the front door of my car, as I had ordered when I went +out; that as he turned to go to a safer place, he had seen a man, +revolver in hand, climb over the off-side gate of Mr. Cullen's +car, and for a moment he had supposed it a road agent, till he +saw that it was Albert Cullen. + +"That was just after I had got off?" I asked. + +"Yis, sah." + +"Then it couldn't have been Mr. Cullen, Jim," I declared, "for I +found him up at the other end of the car." + +"Tell you it wuz, Mr. Gordon," Jim insisted. "I done seen his +face clar in de light, and he done go into Mr. Cullen's car whar +de old gentleman wuz sittin'." + +That set me whistling to myself, and I laughed to think how near +I had come to giving nitroglycerin to a fellow who was only +shamming heart-failure; for that it was Frederic Cullen who had +climbed on the car I hadn't the slightest doubt, the resemblance +between the two brothers being quite strong enough to deceive any +one who had never seen them together. I smiled a little, and +remarked to myself, "I think I can make good my boast that I +would catch the robbers; but whether the Cullens will like my +doing it, I question. What is more, Lord Ralles will owe me a +bottle." Then I thought of Madge, and didn't feel as pleased over +my success as I had felt a moment before. + +By nine o'clock the posse and I were in the saddle and skirting +the San Francisco peaks. There was no use of pressing the ponies, +for our game wasn't trying to escape, and, for that matter, +couldn't, as the Colorado River wasn't passable within fifty +miles. It was a lovely moonlight night, and the ride through the +pines was as pretty a one as I remember ever to have made. It set +me thinking of Madge and of our talk the evening before, and of +what a change twenty-four hours had brought. It was lucky I was +riding an Indian pony, or I should probably have landed in a +heap. I don't know that I should have cared particularly if a +prairie-dog burrow had made me dash my brains out, for I wasn't +happy over the job that lay before me. + +We watered at Silver Spring at quarter-past twelve. From that +point we were clear of the pines and out on the plain, so we +could go a better pace. This brought us to the half-way ranch by +two, where we gave the ponies a feed and an hour's rest. We +reached the last relay station just as the moon set, about +three-forty; and, as all the rest of the ride was through +Coconino forest, we held up there for daylight, getting a little +sleep meanwhile. + +We rode into the camp at the Grand Canyon a little after eight, +and the deserted look of the tents gave me a moment's fright, for +I feared that the party had gone. Tolfree explained, however, +that some had ridden out to Moran Point, and the rest had gone +down Hance's trail. So I breakfasted and then took a look at +Albert Cullen's Winchester. That it had been recently fired was +as plain as the Grand Canyon itself; throwing back the bar, I +found an empty cartridge shell, still oily from the discharge. +That completed the tale of seven shots. I didn't feel absolutely +safe till I had asked Tolfree if there had been any shooting of +echoes by the party, but his denial rounded out my chain of +evidence. + +Telling the sheriff to guard the bags of the party carefully, I +took two of the posse and rode over to Moran's Point. Sure +enough, there were Mr. Cullen, Albert, and Captain Ackland. They +gave a shout at seeing me, and even before I had reached them +they called to know how I could come so soon, and if I had caught +the robbers. Mr. Cullen started to tell his pleasure at my +rejoining the party, but my expression made him pause, and it +seemed to dawn on all three that the Winchester across my saddle, +and the cowboys' hands resting nonchalantly on the revolvers in +their belts, had a meaning. + +"Mr. Cullen," I explained, "I've got a very unpleasant job on +hand, which I don't want to make any worse than need be. Every +fact points to your party as guilty of holding up the train last +night and stealing those letters. Probably you weren't all +concerned, but I've got to go on the assumption that you are all +guilty, till you prove otherwise." + +"Aw, you're joking," drawled Albert. + +"I hope so," I said, "but for the present I've got to be English +and treat the joke seriously." + +"What do you want to do?" asked Mr. Cullen. + +"I don't wish to arrest you gentlemen unless you force me to," I +said, "for I don't see that it will do any good. But I want you +to return to camp with us." + +They assented to that, and, single file, we rode back. When there +I told each that he must be searched, to which they submitted at +once. After that we went through their baggage. I wasn't going to +have the sheriff or cowboys tumbling over Miss Cullen's clothes, +so I looked over her bag myself. The prettiness and daintiness of +the various contents were a revelation to me, and I tried to put +them back as neatly as I had found them, but I didn't know much +about the articles, and it was a terrible job trying to fold up +some of the things. Why, there was a big pink affair, lined with +silk, with bits of ribbon and lace all over it, which nearly +drove me out of my head, for I would have defied mortal man to +pack it so that it shouldn't muss. I had a funny little feeling +of tenderness for everything, which made fussing over it all a +pleasure, even while I felt all the time that I was doing a sneak +act and had really no right to touch her belongings. I didn't +find anything incriminating, and the posse reported the same +result with the other baggage. If the letters were still in +existence, they were either concealed somewhere or were in the +possession of the party in the Canyon. Telling the sheriff to keep +those in the camp under absolute surveillance, I took a single +man, and saddling a couple of mules, started down the trail. + +We found Frederic and "Captain" Hance just dismounting at the +Rock Cabin, and I told the former he was in custody for the +present, and asked him where Miss Cullen and Lord Ralles were. He +told me they were just behind; but I wasn't going to take any +risks, and, ordering the deputy to look after Cullen, I went on +down the trail. I couldn't resist calling back,-- + +"How's your respiration, Mr. Cullen?" + +He laughed, and called, "Digitalis put me on my feet like a +flash." + +"He's got the most brains of any man in this party," I remarked +to myself. + +The trail at this point is very winding, so that one can rarely +see fifty feet in advance, and sometimes not ten. Owing to this, +the first thing I knew I plumped round a curve on to a mule, +which was patiently standing there. Just back of him was another, +on which sat Miss Cullen, and standing close beside her was Lord +Ralles. One of his hands held the mule's bridle; the other held +Madge's arm, and he was saying, "You owe it to me, and I will +have one. Or if--" + +I swore to myself, and coughed aloud, which made Miss Cullen +look up. The moment she saw me she cried, "Mr. Gordon! How +delightful!" even while she grew as red as she had been pale the +moment before. Lord Ralles grew red too, but in a different way. + +"Have you caught the robbers?" cried Miss Cullen. + +"I'm afraid I have," I answered. + +"What do you mean?" she asked. + +I smiled at the absolute innocence and wonder with which she +spoke, and replied, "I know now, Miss Cullen, why you said I was +braver than the Britishers." + +"How do you know?" + +I couldn't resist getting in a side-shot at Lord Ralles, who had +mounted his mule and sat scowling. "The train-robbers were such +thoroughgoing duffers at the trade," I said, "that if they had +left their names and addresses they wouldn't have made it much +easier. We Americans may not know enough to deal with real road +agents, but we can do something with amateurs." + +"What are we stopping here for?" snapped Lord Ralles. + +"I'm sure I don't know," I responded. "Miss Cullen, if you will +kindly pass us, and then if Lord Ralles will follow you, we will +go on to the cabin. I must ask you to keep close together." + +"I stay or go as I please, and not by your orders," asserted Lord +Ralles, snappishly. + +"Out in this part of the country," I said calmly, "it is +considered shocking bad form for an unarmed man to argue with one +who carries a repeating rifle. Kindly follow Miss Cullen." And, +leaning over, I struck his mule with the loose ends of my bridle, +starting it up the trail. + +When we reached the cabin the deputy told me that he had made +Frederic strip and had searched his clothing, finding nothing. I +ordered Lord Ralles to dismount and go into the cabin. + +"For what?" he demanded. + +"We want to search you," I answered. + +"I don't choose to be searched," he protested. "You have shown no +warrant, nor--" + +I wasn't in a mood towards him to listen to his talk. I swung my +Winchester into line and announced, "I was sworn in last night as +a deputy-sheriff, and am privileged to shoot a train-robber on +sight. Either dead or alive, I'm going to search your clothing +inside of ten minutes; and if you have no preference as to +whether the examination is an ante- or post-mortem affair, I +certainly haven't." + +That brought him down off his high horse,--that is, mule,--and I +sent the deputy in with him with directions to toss his clothes +out to me, for I wanted to keep my eye on Miss Cullen and her +brother, so as to prevent any legerdemain on their part. + +One by one the garments came flying through the door to me. +As fast as I finished examining them I pitched them back, +except--Well, as I have thought it over since then, I have +decided that I did a mean thing, and have regretted it. But +just put yourself in my place, and think of how Lord Ralles +had talked to me as if I was his servant, had refused my +apology and thanks, and been as generally "nasty" as he could, +and perhaps you won't blame me that, after looking through his +trousers, I gave them a toss which, instead of sending them +back into the hut, sent them over the edge of the trail. They +went down six hundred feet before they lodged in a poplar, and +if his lordship followed the trail he could get round to them, +but there would then be a hundred feet of sheer rock between +the trail and the trousers. "I hope it will teach him to study +his Lord Chesterfield to better purpose, for if politeness +doesn't cost anything, rudeness can cost considerable," I +chuckled to myself. + +My amusement did not last long, for my next thought was, "If +those letters are concealed on any one, they are on Miss Cullen." +The thought made me lean up against my mule, and turn hot and +cold by turns. + +A nice situation for a lover! + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE HAPPENINGS DOWN HANCE'S TRAIL + + +Miss Cullen was sitting on a rock apart from her brother and +Hance, as I had asked her to do when I helped her dismount. I +went over to where she sat, and said, boldly,-- + +"Miss Cullen, I want those letters." + +"What letters?" she asked, looking me in the eyes with the most +innocent of expressions. She made a mistake to do that, for I +knew her innocence must be feigned, and so didn't put much faith +in her face for the rest of the interview. + +"And what is more," I continued, with a firmness of manner about +as genuine as her innocence, "unless you will produce them at +once, I shall have to search you." + +"Mr. Gordon!" she exclaimed, but she put such surprise and grief +and disbelief into the four syllables that I wanted the earth to +swallow me then and there. + +"Why, Miss Cullen," I cried, "look at my position. I'm being paid +to do certain things, and--" + +"But that needn't prevent your being a gentleman," she +interrupted. + +That made me almost desperate. "Miss Cullen," I groaned, +hurriedly, "I'd rather be burned alive than do what I've got to, +but if you won't give me those letters, search you I must." + +"But how can I give you what I haven't?" she cried, indignantly, +assuming again her innocent expression. + +"Will you give me your word of honor that those letters are not +concealed in your clothes?" + +"I will," she answered. + +I was very much taken aback, for it would have been so easy for +Miss Cullen to have said so before that I had become convinced +she must have them. + +"And do you give me your word?" + +"I do," she affirmed, but she didn't look me in the face as she +said it. + +I ought to have been satisfied, but I wasn't, for, in spite of +her denial, something forced me still to believe she had them, +and looking back now, I think it was her manner. I stood +reflecting for a minute, and then requested, "Please stay where +you are for a moment." Leaving her, I went over to Fred. + +"Mr. Cullen," I said, "Miss Cullen, rather than be searched, has +acknowledged that she has the letters, and says that if we men +will go into the hut she'll get them for me." + +He rose at once. "I told my father not to drag her in," he +muttered, sadly. "I don't care about myself, Mr. Gordon, but +can't you keep her out of it? She's as innocent of any real wrong +as the day she was born." + +"I'll do everything in my power," I promised. Then he and Hance +went into the cabin, and I walked back to the culprit. + +"Miss Cullen," I said, gravely, "you have those letters, and must +give them to me." + +"But I told you--" she began. + +To spare her a second untruth, I interrupted her by saying, "I +trapped your brother into acknowledging that you have them." + +"You must have misunderstood him," she replied, calmly, "or else +he didn't know that the arrangement was changed." + +Her steadiness rather shook my conviction, but I said, "You must +give me those letters, or I must search you." + +"You never would!" she cried, rising and looking me in the face. + +On impulse I tried a big bluff. I took hold of the lapel of her +waist, intending to undo just one button. I let go in fright when +I found there was no button,--only an awful complication of hooks +or some other feminine method for keeping things together,--and I +grew red and trembled, thinking what might have happened had I, +by bad luck, made anything come undone. If Miss Cullen had been +noticing me, she would have seen a terribly scared man. + +But she wasn't, luckily, for the moment my hand touched her +dress, and before she could realize that I snatched it away, she +collapsed on the rock, and burst into tears. "Oh! oh!" she +sobbed, "I begged papa not to, but he insisted they were safest +with me. I'll give them to you, if you'll only go away and not--" +Her tears made her inarticulate, and without waiting for more I +ran into the hut, feeling as near like a murderer as a guiltless +man could. + +Lord Ralles by this time was making almost as much noise as an +engine pulling a heavy freight up grade under forced draft, +swearing over his trousers, and was offering the cowboy and Hance +money to recover them. When they told him this was impossible he +tried to get them to sell or hire a pair, but they didn't like +the idea of riding into camp minus those essentials any better +than he did. While I waited they settled the difficulty by +strapping a blanket round him, and by splitting it up the middle +and using plenty of cord they rigged him out after a fashion; but +I think if he could have seen himself and been given an option he +would have preferred to wait till it was dark enough to creep +into camp unnoticed. + +Before long Miss Cullen called, and when I went to her she handed +me, without a word, three letters. As she did so she crimsoned +violently, and looked down in her mortification. I was so sorry +for her that, though a moment before I had been judging her +harshly, I now couldn't help saying,-- + +"Our positions have been so difficult, Miss Cullen, that I don't +think we either of us are quite responsible for our actions." + +She said nothing, and, after a pause, I continued,-- + +"I hope you'll think as leniently of my conduct as you can, for I +can't tell you how grieved I am to have pained you." + +Cullen joined us at this point, and, knowing that every moment we +remained would be distressing to his sister, I announced that we +would start up the trail. I hadn't the heart to offer to help her +mount, and after Frederic had put her up we fell into single file +behind Hance, Lord Ralles coming last. + +As soon as we started I took a look at the three letters. They +were all addressed to Theodore E. Camp, Esq., Ash Forks, +Arizona,--one of the directors of the K. & A. and also of the +Great Southern. With this clue, for the first time things began +to clear up to me, and when the trail broadened enough to permit +it, I pushed my mule up alongside of Cullen and asked,-- + +"The letters contain proxies for the K. & A. election next +Friday?" + +He nodded his head. "The Missouri Western and the Great Southern +are fighting for control," he explained, "and we should have won +but for three blocks of Eastern stock that had promised their +proxies to the G. S. Rather than lose the fight, we arranged to +learn when those proxies were mailed,--that was what kept me +behind,--and then to hold up the train that carried them." + +"Was it worth the risk?" I ejaculated. + +"If we had succeeded, yes. My father had put more than was safe +into Missouri Western and into California Central. The G. S. +wants control to end the traffic agreements, and that means +bankruptcy to my father." + +I nodded, seeing it all as clear as day, and hardly blaming the +Cullens for what they had done; for any one who has had dealings +with the G. S. is driven to pretty desperate methods to keep +from being crushed, and when one is fighting an antagonist that +won't regard the law, or rather one that, through control of +legislatures and judges, makes the law to suit its needs, the +temptation is strong to use the same weapons one's self. + +"The toughest part of it is," Fred went on, "that we thought we +had the whole thing 'hands down,' and that was what made my +father go in so deep. Only the death of one of the M. W. +directors, who held eight thousand shares of K. & A., got us in +this hole, for the G. S. put up a relation to contest the will, +and so delayed the obtaining of letters of administration, +blocking his executors from giving a proxy. It was as mean a +trick as ever was played." + +"The G. S. is a tough customer to fight," I remarked, and asked, +"Why didn't you burn the letters?" really wishing they had done +so. + +"We feared duplicate proxies might get through in time, and +thought that by keeping these we might cook up a question as to +which were legal, and then by injunction prevent the use of +either." + +"And those Englishmen," I inquired, "are they real?" + +"Oh, certainly," he rejoined. "They were visiting my brother, and +thought the whole thing great larks." Then he told me how the +thing had been done. They had sent Miss Cullen to my car, so as +to get me out of the way, though she hadn't known it. He and his +brother got off the train at the last stop, with the guns and +masks, and concealed themselves on the platform of the mail-car. +Here they had been joined by the Britishers at the right moment, +the disguises assumed, and the train held up as already told. Of +course the dynamite cartridge was only a blind, and the letters +had been thrown about the car merely to confuse the clerk. Then +while Frederic Cullen, with the letters, had stolen back to the +car, the two Englishmen had crept back to where they had stood. +Here, as had been arranged, they opened fire, which Albert Cullen +duly returned, and then joined them. "I don't see now how you +spotted us," Frederic ended. + +I told him, and his disgust was amusing to see. "Going to Oxford +may be all right for the classics," he growled, "but it's +destructive to gumption." + +We rode into camp a pretty gloomy crowd, and those of the party +waiting for us there were not much better; but when Lord Ralles +dismounted and showed up in his substitute for trousers there was +a general shout of laughter. Even Miss Cullen had to laugh for a +moment. And as his lordship bolted for his tent, I said to +myself, "Honors are easy." + +I told the sheriff that I had recovered the lost property, but +did not think any arrests necessary as yet; and, as he was the +agent of the K. & A. at Flagstaff, he didn't question my opinion. +I ordered the stage out, and told Tolfree to give us a feed +before we started, but a more silent meal I never sat down to, +and I noticed that Miss Cullen didn't eat anything, while the +tragic look on her face was so pathetic as nearly to drive me +frantic. + +We started a little after five, and were clear of the timber +before it was too dark to see. At the relay station we waited an +hour for the moon, after which it was a clear track. We reached +the half-way ranch about eleven, and while changing the stage +horses I roused Mrs. Klostermeyer, and succeeded in getting +enough cold mutton and bread to make two rather decent-looking +sandwiches. With these and a glass of whiskey and water I went +to the stage, to find Miss Cullen curled up on the seat asleep, +her head resting in her brother's arms. + +"She has nearly worried herself to death ever since you told her +that road agents were hung," Frederic whispered; "and she's been +crying to-night over that lie she told you, and altogether she's +worn out with travel and excitement." + +I screwed the cover on the travelling-glass, and put it with the +sandwiches in the bottom of the stage. "It's a long and a rough +ride," I said, "and if she wakes up they may give her a little +strength. I only wish I could have spared her the fatigue and +anxiety." + +"She thought she had to lie for father's sake, but she's nearly +broken-hearted over it," he continued. + +I looked Frederic in the face as I said, "I honor her for it," +and in that moment he and I became friends. + +"Just see how pretty she is!" he whispered, with evident +affection and pride, turning back the flap of the rug in which +she was wrapped. + +She was breathing gently, and there was just that touch of +weariness and sadness in her face that would appeal to any man. +It made me gulp, I'm proud to say; and when I was back on my +pony, I said to myself, "For her sake, I'll pull the Cullens out +of this scrape, if it costs me my position." + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +A CHANGE OF BASE + + +We did not reach Flagstaff till seven, and I told the stage-load +to take possession of their car, while I went to my own. It took +me some time to get freshened up, and then I ate my breakfast; +for after riding seventy-two miles in one night even the most +heroic purposes have to take the side-track. I think, as it was, +I proved my devotion pretty well by not going to sleep, since I +had been up three nights, with only such naps as I could steal in +the saddle, and had ridden over a hundred and fifty miles to +boot. But I couldn't bear to think of Miss Cullen's anxiety, and +the moment I had made myself decent, and finished eating, I went +into 218. + +The party were all in the dining-room, but it was a very +different-looking crowd from the one with which that first +breakfast had been eaten, and they all looked at me as I entered +as if I were the executioner come for victims. + +"Mr. Cullen," I began, "I've been forced to do a lot of things +that weren't pleasant, but I don't want to do more than I need. +You're not the ordinary kind of road agents, and, as I presume +your address is known, I don't see any need of arresting one of +our own directors as yet. All I ask is that you give me your +word, for the party, that none of you will try to leave the +country." + +"Certainly, Mr. Gordon," he responded. "And I thank you for your +great consideration." + +"I shall have to report the case to our president, and, I +suppose, to the Postmaster-General, but I sha'n't hurry about +either. What they will do, I can't say. Probably you know how far +you can keep them quiet." + +"I think the local authorities are all I have to fear, provided +time is given me." + +"I have dismissed the sheriff and his posse, and I gave them a +hundred dollars for their work, and three bottles of pretty good +whiskey I had on my car. Unless they get orders from elsewhere, +you will not hear any further from them." + +"You must let me reimburse what expense we have put you to, Mr. +Gordon. I only wish I could as easily repay your kindness." + +Nodding my head in assent, as well as in recognition of his +thanks, I continued, "It was my duty, as an official of the K. & +A., to recover the stolen mail, and I had to do it." + +"We understand that," said Mr. Cullen, "and do not for a moment +blame you." + +"But," I went on, for the first time looking at Madge, "it is not +my duty to take part in a contest for control of the K. & A., and +I shall therefore act in this case as I should in any other loss +of mail." + +"And that is--?" asked Frederic. + +"I am about to telegraph for instructions from Washington," I +replied. "As the G. S. by trickery has dishonestly tied up some +of your proxies, they ought not to object if we do the same by +honest means; and I think I can manage so that Uncle Sam will +prevent those proxies from being voted at Ash Forks on Friday." + +If a galvanic battery had been applied to the group about the +breakfast table, it wouldn't have made a bigger change. Madge +clapped her hands in joy; Mr. Cullen said "God bless you!" with +real feeling; Frederic jumped up and slapped me on the shoulder, +crying, "Gordon, you're the biggest old trump breathing;" while +Albert and the captain shook hands with each other, in evident +jubilation. Only Lord Ralles remained passive. + +"Have you breakfasted?" asked Mr. Cullen, when the first joy was +over. + +"Yes," I said. "I only stopped in on my way to the station to +telegraph the Postmaster-General." + +"May I come with you and see what you say?" cried Fred, jumping +up. + +I nodded, and Miss Cullen said, questioningly, "Me too?" making +me very happy by the question, for it showed that she would speak +to me. I gave an assent quite as eagerly and in a moment we were +all walking towards the platform. Despite Lord Ralles, I felt +happy, and especially as I had not dreamed that she would ever +forgive me. + +I took a telegraph blank, and, putting it so that Miss Cullen +could see what I said, wrote,-- + +"Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C. I hold, awaiting your +instructions, the three registered letters stolen from No. 3 +Overland Missouri Western Express on Monday, October fourteenth, +loss of which has already been notified you." + +Then I paused and said, "So far, that's routine, Miss Cullen. Now +comes the help for you," and I continued:-- + +"The letters may have been tampered with, and I recommend a +special agent. Reply Flagstaff, Arizona. RICHARD GORDON, +Superintendent K. & A. R. R." + +"What will that do?" she asked. + +"I'm not much at prophecy, and we'll wait for the reply," I said. + +All that day we lay at Flagstaff, and after a good sleep, as +there was no use keeping the party cooped up in their car, I +drummed up some ponies and took the Cullens and Ackland over to +the Indian cliff-dwellings. I don't think Lord Ralles gained +anything by staying behind in a sulk, for it was a very jolly +ride, or at least that was what it was to me. I had of course to +tell them all how I had settled on them as the criminals, and a +general history of my doings. To hear Miss Cullen talk, one would +have inferred I was the greatest of living detectives. + +"The mistake we made," she asserted, "was not securing Mr. +Gordon's help to begin with, for then we should never have needed +to hold the train up, or if we had we should never have been +discovered." + +What was more to me than this ill-deserved admiration were two +things she said on the way back, when we two had paired off and +were a bit behind the rest. + +"The sandwiches and the whiskey were very good," she told me, +"and I'm so grateful for the trouble you took." + +"It was a pleasure," I said. + +"And, Mr. Gordon," she continued, and then hesitated for a +moment,--"my--Frederic told me that you--you said you honored me +for--?" + +"I do," I exclaimed energetically, as she paused and colored. + +"Do you really?" she cried. "I thought Fred was only trying to +make me less unhappy by saying that you did." + +"I said it, and I meant it," I told her. + +"I have been so miserable over that lie," she went on; "but I +thought if I let you have the letters it would ruin papa. I +really wouldn't mind poverty myself, Mr. Gordon, but he takes +such pride in success that I couldn't be the one to do it. And +then, after you told me that train-robbers were hung, I had to +lie to save them. I ought to have known you would help us." + +I thought this a pretty good time to make a real apology for my +conduct on the trail, as well as to tell her how sorry I was at +not having been able to repack her bag better. She accepted my +apology very sweetly, and assured me her belongings had been put +away so neatly that she had wondered who did it. I knew she only +said this out of kindness, and told her so, telling also of my +struggles over that pink-beribboned and belaced affair, in a way +which made her laugh. I had thought it was a ball gown, and +wondered at her taking it to the Canyon; but she explained that it +was what she called a "throw"--which I told her accounted for the +throes I had gone through over it. It made me open my eyes, +thinking that anything so pretty could be used for the same +purposes for which I use my crash bath-gown, and while my eyes +were open I saw the folly of thinking that a girl who wore such +things would, or in fact could, ever get along on my salary. In +that way the incident was a good lesson for me, for it made me +feel that, even if there had been no Lord Ralles, I still should +have had no chance. + +On our return to the cars there was a telegram from the +Postmaster-General awaiting me. After a glance at it, as the rest +of the party looked anxiously on, I passed it over to Miss +Cullen, for I wanted her to have the triumph of reading it aloud +to them. It read,-- + +"Hold letters pending arrival of special agent Jackson, due in +Flagstaff October twentieth." + +"The election is the eighteenth," Frederic laughed, executing a +war dance on the platform. "The G. S.'s dough is cooked." + +"I must waltz with some one," cried Madge, and before I could +offer she took hold of Albert and the two went whirling about, +much to my envy. The Cullens were about the most jubilant road +agents I had ever seen. + +After consultation with Mr. Cullen, we had 218 and 97 attached to +No. 1 when it arrived, and started for Ash Forks. He wanted to be +on the ground a day in advance, and I could easily be back in +Flagstaff before the arrival of the special agent. + +I took dinner in 218, and they toasted me, as if I had done +something heroic instead of merely having sent a telegram. Later +four sat down to poker, while Miss Cullen, Fred, and I went out +and sat on the platform of the car while Madge played on her +guitar and sang to us. She had a very sweet voice, and before she +had been singing long we had the crew of a "dust express"--as we +jokingly call a gravel train--standing about, and they were +speedily reinforced by many cowboys, who deserted the medley of +cracked pianos or accordions of the Western saloons to listen to +her, and who, not being over-careful in the terms with which they +expressed their approval, finally by their riotous admiration +drove us inside. At Miss Cullen's suggestion we three had a +second game of poker, but with chips and not money. She was an +awfully reckless player, and the luck was dead in my favor, so +Madge kept borrowing my chips, till she was so deep in that we +both lost account. Finally, when we parted for the night she held +out her hand, and, in the prettiest of ways, said,-- + +"I am so deeply in your debt, Mr. Gordon, that I don't see how I +can ever repay you." + +I tried to think of something worth saying, but the words +wouldn't come, and I could only shake her hand. But, duffer as I +was, the way she had said those words, and the double meaning she +had given them, would have made me the happiest fellow alive if I +could only have forgotten the existence of Lord Ralles. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +HOW DID THE SECRET LEAK OUT? + + +I made up for my three nights' lack of sleep by not waking the +next morning till after ten. When I went to 218, I found only the +_chef_, and he told me the party had gone for a ride. Since I +couldn't talk to Madge, I went to work at my desk, for I had been +rather neglecting my routine work. While I still wrote, I heard +horses' hoofs, and, looking up, saw the Cullens returning. I went +out on the platform to wish them good-morning, arriving just in +time to see Lord Ralles help Miss Cullen out of her saddle; and +the way he did it, and the way he continued to hold her hand +after she was down, while he said something to her, made me grit +my teeth and look the other way. None of the riders had seen me, +so I slipped into my car and went back to work. Fred came in +presently to see if I was up yet, and to ask me to lunch, but I +felt so miserable and down-hearted that I made an excuse of my +late breakfast for not joining them. + +After luncheon the party in the other special all came out and +walked up and down the platform, the sound of their voices and +laughter only making me feel the bluer. Before long I heard a rap +on one of my windows, and there was Miss Cullen peering in at me. +The moment I looked up, she called,-- + +"Won't you make one of us, Mr. Misanthrope?" + +I called myself all sorts of a fool, but out I went as eagerly as +if there had been some hope. Miss Cullen began to tease me over +my sudden access of energy, declaring that she was sure it was a +pose for their benefit, or else due to a guilty conscience over +having slept so late. + +"I hoped you would ride with us, though perhaps it wouldn't have +paid you. Apparently there is nothing to see in Ash Forks." + +"There is something that may interest you all," I suggested, +pointing to a special that had been dropped off No. 2 that +morning. + +"What is it?" asked Madge. + +"It's a G. S. special," I said, "and Mr. Camp and Mr. Baldwin and +two G. S. officials came in on it." + +"What do you think he'd give for those letters?" laughed Fred. + +"If they were worth so much to you, I suppose they can't be worth +any less to the G. S.," I replied. + +"Fortunately, there is no way that he can learn where they are," +said Mr. Cullen. + +"Don't let's stand still," cried Miss Cullen. "Mr. Gordon, I'll +run you a race to the end of the platform." She said this only +after getting a big lead, and she got there about eight inches +ahead of me, which pleased her mightily. "It takes men so long +to get started," was the way she explained her victory. Then she +walked me beyond the end of the boarding to explain the workings +of a switch to her. That it was only a pretext she proved to me +the moment I had relocked the bar, by saying,-- + +"Mr. Gordon, may I ask you a question?" + +"Certainly," I assented. + +"It is one I should ask papa or Fred, but I am afraid they might +not tell me the truth. You will, won't you?" she begged, very +earnestly. + +"I will," I promised. + +"Supposing," she continued, "that it became known that you have +those letters? Would it do our side any harm?" + +I thought for a moment, and then shook my head. "No new proxies +could arrive here in time for the election," I said, "and the +ones I have will not be voted." + +She still looked doubtful, and asked, "Then why did papa say just +now, 'Fortunately'?" + +"He merely meant that it was safer they shouldn't know." + +"Then it is better to keep it a secret?" she asked, anxiously. + +"I suppose so," I said, and then added, "Why should you be afraid +of asking your father?" + +"Because he might--well, if he knew, I'm sure he would sacrifice +himself; and I couldn't run the risk." + +"I am afraid I don't understand?" I questioned. + +"I would rather not explain," she said, and of course that ended +the subject. + +Our exercise taken, we went back to the Cullens' car, and Madge +left us to write some letters. A moment later Lord Ralles +remembered he had not written home recently, and he too went +forward to the dining-room. That made me call myself--something, +for not having offered Miss Cullen the use of my desk in 97. +Owing to this the two missed part of the big game we were +playing; for barely were they gone when one of the servants +brought a card to Mr. Cullen, who looked at it and exclaimed, +"Mr. Camp!" Then, after a speaking pause, in which we all +exchanged glances, he said, "Bring him in." + +On Mr. Camp's entrance he looked as much surprised as we had all +done a moment before. "I beg your pardon for intruding, Mr. +Cullen," he said. "I was told that this was Mr. Gordon's car, and +I wish to see him." + +"I am Mr. Gordon." + +"You are travelling with Mr. Cullen?" he inquired, with a touch +of suspicion in his manner. + +"No," I answered. "My special is the next car, and I was merely +enjoying a cigar here." + +"Ah!" said Mr. Camp. "Then I won't interrupt your smoke, and will +only relieve you of those letters of mine." + +I took a good pull at my cigar, and blew the smoke out in a cloud +slowly to gain time. "I don't think I follow you," I said. + +"I understand that you have in your possession three letters +addressed to me." + +"I have," I assented. + +"Then I will ask you to deliver them to me." + +"I can't do that." + +"Why not?" he challenged. "They're my property." + +I produced the Postmaster-General's telegram and read it to him. + +"Why, this is infamous!" Mr. Camp cried. "What use will those +letters be after the eighteenth? It's a conspiracy." + +"I can only obey instructions," I said. + +"It shall cost you your position if you do," Mr. Camp threatened. + +As I've already said, I haven't a good temper, and when he told +me that I couldn't help retorting,-- + +"That's quite on a par with most G. S. methods." + +"I'm not speaking for the G. S., young man," roared Mr. Camp. "I +speak as a director of the Kansas & Arizona. What is more, I +will have those letters inside of twenty-four hours." + +He made an angry exit, and I said to Fred, "I wish you would +stroll about and spy out the proceedings of the enemy's camp. He +may telegraph to Washington, and if there's any chance of the +Postmaster-General revoking his order I must go back to Flagstaff +on No. 4 this afternoon." + +"He sha'n't do anything that I don't know about till he goes to +bed," Fred promised. "But how the deuce did he know that you had +those letters?" + +That was just what we were all puzzling over, for only the +occupants of No. 218 and myself, so far as I knew, were in a +position to let Mr. Camp hear of that fact. + +As Fred made his exit he said, "Don't tell Madge that there is a +new complication, for the dear girl has had worries enough +already." + +Miss Cullen not rejoining us, and Lord Ralles presently doing so, +I went to my own car, for he and I were not good furniture for +the same room. Before I had been there long, Fred came rushing +in. + +"Camp and Baldwin have been in consultation with a lawyer," he +said, "and now the three have just boarded those cars," pointing +out the window at the branch-line train that was to leave for +Phoenix in two minutes. + +"You must go with them," I urged, "and keep us informed as to +what they do, for they evidently are going to set the law on us, +and the G. S. has always owned the Territorial judges, so they'll +stretch a point to oblige them." + +"Have I time to fill a bag?" + +"Plenty," I assured him, and, going out, I ordered the train held +till I should give the word. + +"What does it all mean?" asked Miss Cullen, joining me. + +I laughed, and replied, "I'm doing a braver thing even than your +party did; I'm holding up a train all by my lonesome." + +"But my brother came dashing in just now and said he was starting +for Phoenix." + +"Let her go," I called to the conductor, as Fred jumped aboard; +and the train pulled out. + +"I hope there's nothing wrong?" Madge questioned, anxiously. + +"Nothing to worry over," I laughed. "Only a little more fun for +our money. By the way, Miss Cullen," I went on, to avoid her +questions, "if you have your letters ready, and will let me have +them at once, I can get them on No. 4, so that they'll go East +to-night." + +Miss Cullen blushed as if I had said something I ought not to +have, and stammered, "I--I changed my mind, and--that is--I +didn't write them, after all." + +"I beg your pardon,--I ought to have known; I mean, it's very +natural," I faltered and stuttered, thinking what a dunce I had +been not to understand that both hers and Lord Ralles's letters +had been only a pretext to get away from the rest of us. + +My blundering apology and evident embarrassment deepened Miss +Cullen's blush fivefold, and she explained, hurriedly, "I found +I was tired, and so, instead of writing, I went to my room and +rested." + +I suppose any girl would have invented the same yarn, yet it hurt +me more than the bigger one she had told on Hance's trail. Small +as the incident was, it made me very blue, and led me to shut +myself up in my own car for the rest of that afternoon and +evening. Indeed, I couldn't sleep, but sat up working, quite +forgetful of the passing hours, till a glance at my watch +startled me with the fact that it was a quarter of two. Feeling +like anything more than sleep, I went out on the platform, and, +lighting a cigar, paced up and down, thinking of--well, thinking. + +The night agent was sitting in the station, nodding, and after I +had walked for an hour I went in to ask him if the train to +Phoenix had arrived on time. Just as I opened the door, the +telegraph instrument began clicking, and called Ash Forks. The +man, with the curious ability that operators get of recognizing +their own call, even in sleep, waked up instantly and responded, +and, not wishing to interrupt him, I delayed asking my question +till he should be free. I stood there thinking of Madge, and +listening heedlessly as the instrument ticked off the cipher +signature of the sending operator, and the "twenty-four paid." +But as I heard the clicks ..... .... which meant ph, I suddenly +became attentive, and when it completed "Phoenix" I concluded +Fred was wiring me, and listened for what followed the date. This +is what the instrument ticked:-- + + ... .... . . .. .. .-. .-. .. .. .- ...- .- ..... .- .. + .. . . . ..- -. - .. .. .- ... .... .-. . . . .. -.- ... + .- . .. .. ... . . . -. .- -... . .- - . .. .- .. -- + . .. . . .- -.. ... - .- - .. . . -. - .... . .. . . + .-. . . . .. - .. .. .-. .. ...- . - . . -.. .- .. .. - . . + - - . . - - . .. .- .. -. .- . .. . .. .. ...- .. -. --. + .-. . .. . . - - ..... .... . . . -. .. .-.. ..... . .. . + ..... .- . .. . -.. - . . .. - - - - . -.. .. .- - . -- .. .. + ... . . .. ...- . ..... . . .. . - - ..... - . . . .. .. .. + - - .- -. -.. .- - - ..- ... .. ... ... ..- . -.. - . . + -. .. --. .... - -... .. .. -.-. ..- -.. --. . .-- .. -- + ... . . -. ... .. --. - .... . . . -.. . . . .. . . + .. . .- - - ..... + +That may not look particularly intelligible, but if the Phoenix +operator had been talking over the 'phone to me he couldn't have +said any plainer,-- + +"Sheriff yavapai county ash forks arizona be at railroad station +three forty five today to meet train arriving from phoenix +prepared to immediately serve peremptory mandamus issued tonight +by judge wilson sig theodore e camp." + +My question being pretty thoroughly answered, I went back and +continued my walk; but before five minutes had passed, the +operator came out, and handed me a message. It was from Fred, and +read thus:-- + +"Camp, Baldwin, and lawyer went at once to house of Judge Wilson, +where they stayed an hour. They then returned with judge to +station, and after despatching a telegram have taken seats in +train for Ash Forks, leaving here at three twenty-five. I shall +return with them." + +A bigger idiot than I could have understood the move. I was to be +hauled before Judge Wilson by means of mandamus proceedings, +and, as he was notoriously a G. S. judge, and was coming to Ash +Forks solely to oblige Mr. Camp, he would unquestionably declare +the letters the property of Mr. Camp and order their delivery. + +Apparently I had my choice of being a traitor to Madge, of going +to prison for contempt of court, or of running away, which was +not far off from acknowledging that I had done something wrong. I +didn't like any one of the options. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +A TALK BEFORE BREAKFAST + + +Looking at my watch, I found it was a little after three, which +meant six in Washington: allowing for transmission, a telegram +would reach there in time to be on hand with the opening of the +Departments. I therefore wired at once to the following effect:-- + +"Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C. A peremptory mandamus has +been issued by Territorial judge to compel me to deliver to +addressee the three registered letters which by your directions, +issued October sixteenth, I was to hold pending arrival of +special agent Jackson. Service of writ will be made at three +forty-five to-day unless prevented. Telegraph me instructions how +to act." + +That done I had a good tub, took a brisk walk down the track, and +felt so freshened up as to be none the worse for my sleepless +night. I returned to the station a little after six, and, to my +surprise, found Miss Cullen walking up and down the platform. + +"You are up early!" we both said together. + +"Yes," she sighed. "I couldn't sleep last night." + +"You're not unwell, I hope?" + +"No,--except mentally." + +I looked a question, and she went on: "I have some worries, and +then last night I saw you were all keeping some bad news from me, +and so I couldn't sleep." + +"Then we did wrong to make a mystery of it, Miss Cullen," I said, +"for it really isn't anything to trouble about. Mr. Camp is +simply taking legal steps to try to force me to deliver those +letters to him." + +"And can he succeed?" + +"No." + +"How will you stop him?" + +"I don't know yet just what we shall do, but if worse comes to +worse I will allow myself to be committed for contempt of +court." + +"What would they do with you?" + +"Give me free board for a time." + +"Not send you to prison?" + +"Yes." + +"Oh!" she cried, "that mustn't be. You must not make such a +sacrifice for us." + +"I'd do more than that for _you_," I said, and I couldn't help +putting a little emphasis on the last word, though I knew I had +no right to do it. + +She understood me, and blushed rosily, even while she protested, +"It is too much--" + +"There's really no likelihood," I interrupted, "of my being able +to assume a martyr's crown, Miss Cullen; so don't begin to pity +me till I'm behind the bars." + +"But I can't bear to think--" + +"Don't," I interrupted again, rejoicing all the time at her +evident anxiety, and blessing my stars for the luck they had +brought me. "Why, Miss Cullen," I went on, "I've become so +interested in your success and the licking of those fellows that +I really think I'd stand about anything rather than that they +should win. Yesterday, when Mr. Camp threatened to--" Then I +stopped, as it suddenly occurred to me that it was best not to +tell Madge that I might lose my position, for it would look like +a kind of bid for her favor, and, besides, would only add to her +worries. + +"Threatened what?" asked Miss Cullen. + +"Threatened to lose his temper," I answered. + +"You know that wasn't what you were going to say," Madge said +reproachfully. + +"No, it wasn't," I laughed. + +"Then what was it?" + +"Nothing worth speaking about." + +"But I want to know what he threatened." + +"Really, Miss Cullen," I began; but she interrupted me by saying +anxiously,-- + +"He can't hurt papa, can he?" + +"No," I replied. + +"Or my brothers?" + +"He can't touch any of them without my help. And he'll have work +to get that, I suspect." + +"Then why can't you tell me?" demanded Miss Cullen. "Your refusal +makes me think you are keeping back some danger to them." + +"Why, Miss Cullen," I said, "I didn't like to tell his threat, +because it seemed--well, I may be wrong, but I thought it might +look like an attempt--an appeal--Oh, pshaw!" I faltered, like a +donkey,--"I can't say it as I want to put it." + +"Then tell me right out what he threatened," begged Madge. + +"He threatened to get me discharged." + +That made Madge look very sober, and for a moment there was +silence. Then she said,-- + +"I never thought of what you were risking to help us, Mr. Gordon. +And I'm afraid it's too late to--" + +"Don't worry about me," I hastened to interject. "I'm a long way +from being discharged, and, even if I should be, Miss Cullen, I +know my business, and it won't be long before I have another +place." + +"But it's terrible to think of the injury we may have caused +you," sighed Madge, sadly. "It makes me hate the thought of +money." + +"That's a very poor thing to hate," I said, "except the lack of +it." + +"Are you so anxious to get rich?" asked Madge, looking up at me +quickly, as we walked,--for we had been pacing up and down the +platform during our chat. + +"I haven't been till lately." + +"And what made you change?" she questioned. + +"Well," I said, fishing round for some reason other than the true +one, "perhaps I want to take a rest." + +"You are the worst man for fibs I ever knew," she laughed. + +I felt myself getting red, while I exclaimed, "Why, Miss Cullen, +I never set up for a George Washington, but I don't think I'm a +bit worse liar than nine men in--" + +"Oh," she cried, interrupting me, "I didn't mean that way. I +meant that when you try to fib you always do it so badly that one +sees right through you. Now, acknowledge that you wouldn't stop +work if you could?" + +"Well, no, I wouldn't," I owned up. "The truth is, Miss Cullen, +that I'd like to be rich, because--well, hang it, I don't care if +I do say it--because I'm in love." + +Madge laughed at my confusion, and asked, "With money?" + +"No," I said. "With just the nicest, sweetest, prettiest girl in +the world." + +Madge took a look at me out of the corner of her eye, and +remarked, "It must be breakfast time." + +Considering that it was about six-thirty, I wanted to ask who was +telling a taradiddle now; but I resisted the temptation, and +replied,-- + +"No. And I promise not to bother you about my private affairs any +more." + +Madge laughed again merrily, saying, "You are the most obvious +man I ever met. Now why did you say that?" + +"I thought you were making breakfast an excuse," I said, "because +you didn't like the subject." + +"Yes, I was," said Madge, frankly. "Tell me about the girl you +are engaged to." + +I was so taken aback that I stopped in my walk, and merely looked +at her. + +"For instance," she asked coolly, when she saw that I was +speechless, "what does she look like?" + +"Like, like--" I stammered, still embarrassed by this bold +carrying of the war into my own camp,--"like an angel." + +"Oh," said Madge, eagerly, "I've always wanted to know what +angels were like. Describe her to me." + +"Well," I said, getting my second wind, so to speak, "she has the +bluest eyes I've ever seen. Why, Miss Cullen, you said you'd +never seen anything so blue as the sky yesterday; but even the +atmosphere of 'rainless Arizona' has to take a back seat when +her eyes are round. And they are just like the atmosphere out +here. You can look into them for a hundred miles, but you can't +get to the bottom." + +"The Arizona sky is wonderful," said Madge. "How do the +scientists account for it?" + +I wasn't going to have my description of Miss Cullen +side-tracked, for, since she had given me the chance, I wanted +her to know just what I thought of her. Therefore I didn't follow +lead on the Arizona skies, but went on,-- + +"And I really think her hair is just as beautiful as her eyes. +It's light brown, very curly, and--" + +"Her complexion!" exclaimed Madge. "Is she a mulatto? And, if so, +how can a complexion be curly?" + +"Her complexion," I said, not a bit rattled, "is another great +beauty of hers. She has one of those skins--" + +"Furs are out of fashion at present," she interjected, laughing +wickedly. + +"Now look here, Miss Cullen," I cried, indignantly, "I'm not +going to let even you make fun of her." + +"I can't help it," she laughed, "when you look so serious and +intense." + +"It's something I feel intense about, Miss Cullen," I said, not a +little pained, I confess, at the way she was joking. I don't mind +a bit being laughed at, but Miss Cullen knew, about as well as I, +whom I was talking about, and it seemed to me she was laughing at +my love for her. Under this impression I went on, "I suppose it +is funny to you; probably so many men have been in love with you +that a man's love for a woman has come to mean very little in +your eyes. But out here we don't make a joke of love, and when we +care for a woman we care--well, it's not to be put in words, Miss +Cullen." + +"I really didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Mr. Gordon," said +Madge, gently, and quite serious now. "I ought not to have tried +to tease you." + +"There!" I said, my irritation entirely gone. "I had no right to +lose my temper, and I'm sorry I spoke so unkindly. The truth is, +Miss Cullen, the girl I care for is in love with another man, and +so I'm bitter and ill-natured in these days." + +My companion stopped walking at the steps of 218, and asked, "Has +she told you so?" + +"No," I answered. "But it's as plain as she's pretty." + +Madge ran up the steps and opened the door of the car. As she +turned to close it, she looked down at me with the oddest of +expressions, and said,-- + +"How dreadfully ugly she must be!" + + + + +CHAPTER X + +WAITING FOR HELP + + +If ever a fellow was bewildered by a single speech, it was +Richard Gordon. I walked up and down that platform till I was +called to breakfast, trying to decide what Miss Cullen had meant +to express, only to succeed in reading fifty different meanings +into her parting six words. I wanted to think that it was her way +of suggesting that I deceived myself in thinking that there was +anything between Lord Ralles and herself; but, though I wished to +believe this, I had seen too much to the contrary to take stock +in the idea. Yet I couldn't believe that Madge was a coquette; I +became angry and hot with myself for even thinking it for a +moment. + +Puzzle as I did over the words, I managed to eat a good +breakfast, and then went into the Cullens' car and electrified +the party by telling them of Camp's and Fred's despatches, and +how I had come to overhear the former. Mr. Cullen and Albert +couldn't say enough about my cleverness in what had really been +pure luck, and seemed to think I had sat up all night in order to +hear that telegram. The person for whose opinion I cared the +most--Miss Cullen--didn't say anything, but she gave me a look +that set my heart beating like a trip-hammer and made me put the +most hopeful construction on that speech of hers. It seemed +impossible that she didn't care for Lord Ralles, and that she +might care for me; but, after having had no hope whatsoever, the +smallest crumb of a chance nearly lifted me off my feet. + +We had a consultation over what was best to be done, but didn't +reach any definite conclusion till the station-agent brought me a +telegram from the Postmaster-General. Breaking it open, I read +aloud,-- + +"Do not allow service of writ, and retain possession of letters +according to prior instructions. At the request of this +department, the Secretary of War has directed the commanding +officer at Fort Whipple to furnish you with military protection, +and you will call upon him at once, if in your judgment it is +necessary. On no account surrender United States property to +Territorial authorities. Keep Department notified." + +"Oh, splendid!" cried Madge, clapping her hands. + +"Mr. Camp will find that other people can give surprise parties +as well as himself," I said cheerfully. + +"You'll telegraph at once?" asked Mr. Cullen. + +"Instantly," I said, rising, and added, "Don't you want to see +what I say, Miss Cullen?" + +"Of course I do," she cried, jumping up eagerly. + +Lord Ralles scowled as he said, "Yes; let's see what Mr. +Superintendent has to say." + +"You needn't trouble yourself," I remarked, but he followed us +into the station. I was disgusted, but at the same time it seemed +to me that he had come because he was jealous; and that wasn't an +unpleasant thought. Whatever his motive, he was a third party in +the writing of that telegram, and had to stand by while Miss +Cullen and I discussed and draughted it. I didn't try to make it +any too brief, not merely asking for a guard and when I might +expect it, but giving as well a pretty full history of the case, +which was hardly necessary. + +"You'll bankrupt yourself," laughed Madge. "You must let us pay." + +"I'll let you pay, Miss Cullen, if you want," I offered. "How +much is it, Welply?" I asked, shoving the blanks in to the +operator. + +"Nothin' for a lady," said Welply, grinning. + +"There, Miss Cullen," I asked, "does the East come up to that in +gallantry?" + +"Do you really mean that there is no charge?" demanded Madge, +incredulously, with her purse in her hand. + +"That's the size of it," said the operator. + +"I'm not going to believe that!" cried Madge. "I know you are +only deceiving me, and I really want to pay." + +I laughed as I said, "Sometimes railroad superintendents can send +messages free, Miss Cullen." + +"How silly of me!" exclaimed Madge. Then she remarked, "How nice +it is to be a railroad superintendent, Mr. Gordon! I should like +to be one myself." + +That speech really lifted me off my feet, but while I was +thinking what response to make, I came down to earth with a +bounce. + +"Since the telegram's done," said Lord Ralles to Miss Cullen, in +a cool, almost commanding tone, "suppose we take a walk." + +"I don't think I care to this morning," answered Madge. + +"I think you had better," insisted his lordship, with such a +manner that I felt inclined to knock him down. + +To my surprise, Madge seemed to hesitate, and finally said, +"I'll walk up and down the platform, if you wish." + +Lord Ralles nodded, and they went out, leaving me in a state of +mingled amazement and rage at the way he had cut me out. Try as I +would, I wasn't able to hit upon any theory that supplied a +solution to the conduct of either Lord Ralles or Miss Cullen, +unless they were engaged and Miss Cullen displeased him by her +behavior to me. But Madge seemed such an honest, frank girl that +I'd have believed anything sooner than that she was only playing +with me. + +If I was perplexed, I wasn't going to give Lord Ralles the right +of way, and as soon as I had made certain that the telegram was +safely started I joined the walkers. I don't think any of us +enjoyed the hour that followed, but I didn't care how miserable I +was myself, so long as I was certain that I was blocking Lord +Ralles; and his grumpiness showed very clearly that my presence +did that. As for Madge, I couldn't make her out. I had always +thought I understood women a little, but her conduct was beyond +understanding. + +Apparently Miss Cullen didn't altogether relish her position, for +presently she said she was going to the car. "I'm sure you and +Lord Ralles will be company enough for each other," she +predicted, giving me a flash of her eyes which showed them full +of suppressed merriment, even while her face was grave. + +In spite of her prediction, the moment she was gone Lord Ralles +and I pulled apart about as quickly as a yard-engine can split a +couple of cars. + +I moped around for an hour, too unsettled mentally to do anything +but smoke, and only waiting for an invitation or for some excuse +to go into 218. About eleven o'clock I obtained the latter in +another telegram, and went into the car at once. + +"Telegram received," I read triumphantly. "A detail of two +companies of the Twelfth Cavalry, under the command of Captain +Singer, is ordered to Ash Forks, and will start within an hour, +arriving at five o'clock. C. D. OLMSTEAD, Adjutant." + +"That won't do, Gordon," cried Mr. Cullen. "The mandamus will be +here before that." + +"Oh, don't say there is something more wrong!" sighed Madge. + +"Won't it be safer to run while there is still time?" suggested +Albert, anxiously. + +"I was born lazy about running away," I said. + +"Oh, but please, just for once," Madge begged. "We know already +how brave you are." + +I thought for a moment, not so much objecting, in truth, to the +running away as to the running away from Madge. + +"I'd do it for you," I said, looking at Miss Cullen so that she +understood this time what I meant, without my using any emphasis, +"but I don't see any need of making myself uncomfortable, when I +can make the other side so. Come along and see if my method isn't +quite as good." + +We went to the station, and I told the operator to call Rock +Butte; then I dictated: + +"Direct conductor of Phoenix No. 3 on its arrival at Rock +Butte to hold it there till further orders. RICHARD GORDON, +Superintendent." + +"That will save my running and their chasing," I laughed; "though +I'm afraid a long wait in Rock Butte won't improve their +tempers." + +The next few hours were pretty exciting ones to all of us, as +can well be imagined. Most of the time was spent, I have to +confess, in manoeuvres and struggles between Lord Ralles and +myself as to which should monopolize Madge, without either of us +succeeding. I was so engrossed with the contest that I forgot +all about the passage of time, and only when the sheriff +strolled up to the station did I realize that the climax was at +hand. As a joke I introduced him to the Cullens, and we all +stood chatting till far out on the hill to the south I saw a +cloud of dust and quietly called Miss Cullen's attention to it. +She and I went to 97 for my field-glasses, and the moment Madge +looked through them she cried,-- + +"Yes, I can see horses, and, oh, there are the stars and stripes! +I don't think I ever loved them so much before." + +"I suppose we civilians will have to take a back seat now, Miss +Cullen?" I said; and she answered me with a demure smile +worth--well, I'm not going to put a value on that smile. + +"They'll be here very quickly," she almost sang. + +"You forget the clearness of the air," I said, and then asked the +sheriff how far away the dust-cloud was. + +"Yer mean that cattle-drive?" he asked. "'Bout ten miles." + +"You seem to think of everything," exclaimed Miss Cullen, as if +my knowing that distances are deceptive in Arizona was wonderful. +I sometimes think one gets the most praise in this world for what +least deserves it. + +I waited half an hour to be safe, and then released No. 3, just +as we were called to luncheon; and this time I didn't refuse the +invitation to eat mine in 218. + +We didn't hurry over the meal, and towards the end I took to +looking at my watch, wondering what could keep the cavalry from +arriving. + +"I hope there is no danger of the train arriving first, is +there?" asked Madge. + +"Not the slightest," I assured her. "The train won't be here for +an hour, and the cavalry had only five miles to cover forty +minutes ago. I must say, they seem to be taking their time." + +"There they are now!" cried Albert. + +Listening, we heard the clatter of horses' feet, going at a good +pace, and we all rose and went to the windows, to see the +arrival. Our feelings can be judged when across the tracks came +only a mob of thirty or forty cowboys, riding in their usual +"show-off" style. + +"The deuce!" I couldn't help exclaiming, in my surprise. "Are +you sure you saw a flag, Miss Cullen?" + +"Why--I--thought--" she faltered. "I saw something red, and--I +supposed of course--" + +Not waiting to let her finish, I exclaimed, "There's been a fluke +somewhere, I'm afraid; but we are still in good shape, for the +train can't possibly be here under an hour. I'll get my +field-glasses and have another look before I decide what--" + +My speech was interrupted by the entrance of the sheriff and Mr. +Camp! + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE LETTERS CHANGE HANDS AGAIN + + +What seemed at the moment an incomprehensible puzzle had, as we +afterwards learned, a very simple explanation. One of the G. S. +directors, Mr. Baldwin, who had come in on Mr. Camp's car, was +the owner of a great cattle-ranch near Rock Butte. When the train +had been held at that station for a few minutes, Camp went to the +conductor, demanded the cause for the delay, and was shown my +telegram. Seeing through the device, the party had at once gone +to this ranch, where the owner, Baldwin, mounted them, and it was +their dust-cloud we had seen as they rode up to Ash Forks. To +make matters more serious, Baldwin had rounded up his cowboys and +brought them along with him, in order to make any resistance +impossible. + +I made no objection to the sheriff serving the paper, though it +nearly broke my heart to see Madge's face. To cheer her I said, +suggestively, "They've got me, but they haven't got the letters, +Miss Cullen. And, remember, it's always darkest before the dawn, +and the stars in their courses are against Sisera." + +With the sheriff and Mr. Camp I then walked over to the saloon, +where Judge Wilson was waiting to dispose of my case. Mr. Cullen +and Albert tried to come too, but all outsiders were excluded by +order of the "court." I was told to show cause why I should not +forthwith produce the letters, and answered that I asked an +adjournment of the case so that I might be heard by counsel. It +was denied, as was to have been expected; indeed, why they took +the trouble to go through the forms was beyond me. I told Wilson +I should not produce the letters, and he asked if I knew what +that meant. I couldn't help laughing and retorting,-- + +"It very appropriately means 'contempt of the court,' your +honor." + +"I'll give you a stiff term, young man," he said. + +"It will take just one day to have habeas corpus proceedings in a +United States court, and one more to get the papers here," I +rejoined pleasantly. + +Seeing that I understood the moves too well to be bluffed, the +judge, Mr. Camp, and the lawyer held a whispered consultation. My +surprise can be imagined when, at its conclusion, Mr. Camp +said,-- + +"Your honor, I charge Richard Gordon with being concerned in the +holding up of the Missouri Western Overland No. 3 on the night of +October 14, and ask that he be taken into custody on that +charge." + +I couldn't make out this new move, and puzzled over it, while +Judge Wilson ordered my commitment. But the next step revealed +the object, for the lawyer then asked for a search-warrant to +look for stolen property. The judge was equally obliging, and +began to fill one out on the instant. + +This made me feel pretty serious, for the letters were in my +breast-pocket, and I swore at my own stupidity in not having put +them in the station safe when I had first arrived at Ash Forks. +There weren't many moments in which to think while the judge +scribbled away at the warrant, but in what time there was I did a +lot of head-work, without, however, finding more than one way out +of the snarl. And when I saw the judge finish off his signature +with a flourish, I played a pretty desperate card. + +"You're just too late, gentlemen," I said, pointing out the side +window of the saloon. "There come the cavalry." + +The three conspirators jumped to their feet and bolted for the +window; even the sheriff turned to look. As he did so I gave him +a shove towards the three which sent them all sprawling on the +floor in a pretty badly mixed-up condition. I made a dash for the +door, and as I went through it I grabbed the key and locked them +in. When I turned to do so I saw the lot struggling up from the +floor, and, knowing that it wouldn't take them many seconds to +find their way out through the window, I didn't waste much time +in watching them. + +Camp, Baldwin, and the judge had left their horses just outside +the saloon, and there they were still patiently standing, with +their bridles thrown over their heads, as only Western horses +will stand. It didn't take me long to have those bridles back in +place, and as I tossed each over the peak of the Mexican saddle I +gave two of the ponies slaps which started them off at a lope +across the railroad tracks. I swung myself into the saddle of the +third, and flicked him with the loose ends of the bridle in a way +which made him understand that I meant business. + +Baldwin's cowboys had most of them scattered to the various +saloons of the place, but two of them were standing in the +door-way of a store. I acted so quickly, however, that they +didn't seem to take in what I was about till I was well mounted. +Then I heard a yell, and fearing that they might shoot,--for the +cowboy does love to use his gun,--I turned sharp at the saloon +corner and rode up the side street, just in time to see Camp +climbing through the window, with Baldwin's head in view behind +him. + +Before I had ridden a hundred feet I realized that I had a +done-up horse under me, and, considering that he had covered over +forty miles that afternoon in pretty quick time, it was not +surprising that there wasn't very much go left in him. I knew +that Baldwin's cowboys could get new mounts in plenty without +wasting many minutes, and that then they would overhaul me in +very short order. Clearly there was no use in my attempting to +escape by running. And, as I wasn't armed, my only hope was to +beat them by some finesse. + +Ash Forks, like all Western railroad towns, is one long line of +buildings running parallel with the railway tracks. Two hundred +feet, therefore, brought me to the edge of the town, and I +wheeled my pony and rode down behind the rear of the buildings. +In turning, I looked back, and saw half a dozen mounted men +already in pursuit, but I lost sight of them the next moment. As +soon as I reached a street leading back to the railroad I turned +again, and rode towards it, my one thought being to get back, if +possible, to the station, and put the letters into the railroad +agent's safe. + +When I reached the main street I saw that my hope was futile, for +another batch of cowboys were coming in full gallop towards me, +very thoroughly heading me off in that direction. To escape them, +I headed up the street away from the station, with the pack in +close pursuit. They yelled at me to hold up, and I expected every +moment to hear the crack of revolvers, for the poorest shot among +them would have found no difficulty in dropping my horse at that +distance if they had wanted to stop me. It isn't a very nice +sensation to keep your ears pricked up in expectation of hearing +the shooting begin, and to know that any moment may be your +last. I don't suppose I was on the ragged edge more than thirty +seconds, but they were enough to prove to me that to keep one's +back turned to an enemy as one runs away takes a deal more pluck +than to stand up and face his gun. Fortunately for me, my +pursuers felt so sure of my capture that not one of them drew a +bead on me. + +The moment I saw that there was no escape, I put my hand in my +breast-pocket and took out the letters, intending to tear them +into a hundred pieces. But as I did so I realized that to destroy +United States mail not merely entailed criminal liability, but +was off color morally. I faltered, balancing the outwitting of +Camp against State's prison, the doing my best for Madge against +the wrong of it. I think I'm as honest a fellow as the average, +but I have to confess that I couldn't decide to do right till I +thought that Madge wouldn't want me to be dishonest, even for +her. + +I turned across the railroad tracks, and cut in behind some +freight-cars that were standing on a siding. This put me out of +view of my pursuers for a moment, and in that instant I stood up +in my stirrups, lifted the broad leather flap of the saddle, and +tucked the letters underneath it, as far in as I could force +them. It was a desperate place in which to hide them, but the +game was a desperate one at best, and the very boldness of the +idea might be its best chance of success. + +I was now heading for the station over the ties, and was +surprised to see Fred Cullen with Lord Ralles on the tracks up +by the special, for my mind had been so busy in the last hour +that I had forgotten that Fred was due. The moment I saw him, I +rode towards him, pressing my pony for all he was worth. My hope +was that I might get time to give Fred the tip as to where the +letters were; but before I was within speaking distance Baldwin +came running out from behind the station, and, seeing me, +turned, called back and gesticulated, evidently to summon some +cowboys to head me off. Afraid to shout anything which should +convey the slightest clue as to the whereabouts of the letters, +as the next best thing I pulled a couple of old section reports +from my pocket, intending to ride up and run into my car, for I +knew that the papers in my hand would be taken to be the wanted +letters, and that if I could only get inside the car even for a +moment the suspicion would be that I had been able to hide them. +Unfortunately, the plan was no sooner thought of than I heard +the whistle of a lariat, and before I could guard myself the +noose settled over my head. I threw the papers towards Fred and +Lord Ralles, shouting, "Hide them!" Fred was quick as a flash, +and, grabbing them off the ground, sprang up the steps of my car +and ran inside, just escaping a bullet from my pursuers. I tried +to pull up my pony, for I did not want to be jerked off, but I +was too late, and the next moment I was lying on the ground in a +pretty well shaken and jarred condition, surrounded by a lot of +men. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +AN EVENING IN JAIL + + +Before my ideas had had time to straighten themselves out, I was +lifted to my feet, and half pushed, half lifted to the station +platform. Camp was already there, and as I took this fact in I +saw Frederic and his lordship pulled through the door-way of my +car by the cowboys and dragged out on the platform beside me. The +reports were now in Lord Ralles's hands. + +"That's what we want, boys," cried Camp. "Those letters." + +"Take your hands off me," said Lord Ralles, coolly, "and I'll +give them to you." + +The men who had hold of his arms let go of him, and quick as a +flash Ralles tore the papers in two. He tried to tear them once +more, but, before he could do so, half a dozen men were holding +him, and the papers were forced out of his hands. + +Albert Cullen--for all of them were on the platform of 218 by +this time--shouted, "Well done, Ralles!" quite forgetting in the +excitement of the moment his English accent and drawl. + +Apparently Camp didn't agree with him, for he ripped out a +string of oaths which he impartially divided among Ralles, the +cowboys, and myself. I was decidedly sorry that I hadn't given +the real letters, for his lordship clearly had no scruple about +destroying them, and I knew few men whom I would have seen +behind prison-bars with as little personal regret. However, no +one had, so far as I could see, paid the slightest attention to +the pony, and the probabilities were that he was already headed +for Baldwin's ranch, with no likelihood of his stopping till he +reached home. At least that was what I hoped; but there were a +lot of ponies standing about, and, not knowing the markings of +the one I had ridden, I wasn't able to tell whether he might not +be among them. + +Just as the fragments of the papers were passed over to Mr. Camp, +he was joined by Baldwin and the judge, and Camp held the torn +pieces up to them, saying,-- + +"They've torn the proxies in two." + +"Don't let that trouble you," said the judge. "Make an affidavit +before me, reciting the manner in which they were destroyed, and +I'll grant you a mandamus compelling the directors to accept them +as bona-fide proxies. Let me see how much injured they are." + +Camp unfolded the papers, and I chuckled to myself at the look of +surprise that overspread his face as he took in the fact that +they were nothing but section reports. And, though I don't like +cuss-words, I have to acknowledge that I enjoyed the two or three +that he promptly ejaculated. + +When the first surprise of the trio was over, they called on the +sheriff, who arrived opportunely, to take us into 97 and search +the three of us,--a proceeding that puzzled Fred and his lordship +not a little, for they weren't on to the fact that the letters +hadn't been recovered. I presume the latter will some day write a +book dwelling on the favorite theme of the foreigner, that there +is no personal privacy in America, and I don't know but his +experiences justify the view. The running remarks as the search +was made seemed to open Fred's eyes, for he looked at me with a +puzzled air, but I winked and frowned at him, and he put his face +in order. + +When the papers were not found on any of us, Camp and Baldwin +both nearly went demented. Baldwin suggested that I had never had +the papers, but Camp argued that Fred or Lord Ralles must have +hidden them in the car, in spite of the fact that the cowboys who +had caught them insisted that they couldn't have had time to hide +the papers. Anyway, they spent an hour in ferreting about in my +car, and even searched my two darkies, on the possibility that +the true letters had been passed on to them. + +While they were engaged in this, I was trying to think out some +way of letting Mr. Cullen and Albert know where the letters were. +The problem was to suggest the saddle to them, without letting +the cowboys understand, and by good luck I thought I had the +means. Albert had complained to me the day we had ridden out to +the Indian dwellings at Flagstaff that his saddle fretted some +galled spots which he had chafed on his trip to Moran's Point. +Hoping he would "catch on," I shouted to him,-- + +"How are your sore spots, Albert?" + +He looked at me in a puzzled way, and called, "Aw, I don't +understand you." + +"Those sore spots you complained about to me the day before +yesterday," I explained. + +He didn't seem any the less befogged as he replied, "I had +forgotten all about them." + +"I've got a touch of the same trouble," I went on; "and, if I +were you, I'd look into the cause." + +Albert only looked very much mystified, and I didn't dare say +more, for at this point the trio, with the sheriff, came out of +my car. If I hadn't known that the letters were safe, I could +have read the story in their faces, for more disgusted and +angry-looking men I have rarely seen. + +They had a talk with the sheriff, and then Fred, Lord Ralles, and +I were marched off by the official, his lordship loudly demanding +sight of a warrant, and protesting against the illegality of his +arrest, varied at moments by threats to appeal to the British +consul, minister plenipo., Her Majesty's Foreign Office, etc., +all of which had about as much influence on the sheriff and his +cowboy assistants as a Moqui Indian snake-dance would have in +stopping a runaway engine. I confess to feeling a certain grim +satisfaction in the fact that if I was to be shut off from seeing +Madge, the Britisher was in the same box with me. + +Ash Forks, though only six years old, had advanced far enough +towards civilization to have a small jail, and into that we were +shoved. Night was come by the time we were lodged there, and, +being in pretty good appetite, I struck the sheriff for some +grub. + +"I'll git yer somethin'," he said, good-naturedly; "but next time +yer shove people, Mr. Gordon, just quit shovin' yer friends. My +shoulder feels like--" perhaps it's just as well not to say what +his shoulder felt like. The Western vocabulary is expressive, but +at times not quite fit for publication. + +The moment the sheriff was gone, Fred wanted the mystery of the +letters explained, and I told him all there was to tell, +including as good a description of the pony as I could give him. +We tried to hit on some plan to get word to those outside, but it +wasn't to be done. At least it was a point gained that some one +of our party besides myself knew where the letters were. + +The sheriff returned presently with a loaf of canned bread and a +tin of beans. If I had been alone, I should have kicked at the +food and got permission for my darkies to send me up something +from 97; but I thought I'd see how Lord Ralles would like genuine +Western fare, so I said nothing. That, I have to state, is +more--or rather less--than the Britisher did, after he had +sampled the stuff; and really I don't blame him, much as I +enjoyed his rage and disgust. + +It didn't take long to finish our supper, and then Fred, who +hadn't slept much the night before, stretched out on the floor +and went to sleep. Lord Ralles and I sat on boxes--the only +furniture the room contained--about as far apart as we could get, +he in the sulks, and I whistling cheerfully. I should have liked +to be with Madge, but he wasn't; so there was some compensation, +and I knew that time was playing the cards in our favor: so long +as they hadn't found the letters we had only to sit still to +win. + +About an hour after supper, the sheriff came back and told me +Camp and Baldwin wanted to see me. I saw no reason to object, so +in they came, accompanied by the judge. Baldwin opened the ball +by saying genially,-- + +"Well, Mr. Gordon, you've played a pretty cute gamble, and I +suppose you think you stand to win the pot." + +"I'm not complaining," I said. + +"Still," snarled Camp, angrily, as if my contented manner fretted +him, "our time will come presently, and we can make it pretty +uncomfortable for you. Illegal proceedings put a man in jail in +the long run." + +"I hope you take your lesson to heart," I remarked cheerfully, +which made Camp scowl worse than ever. + +"Now," said Baldwin, who kept cool, "we know you are not risking +loss of position and the State's prison for nothing, and we want +to know what there is in it for you?" + +"I wouldn't stake my chance of State's prison against yours, +gentlemen. And, while I may lose my position, I'll be a long way +from starvation." + +"That doesn't tell us what Cullen gives you to take the risk." + +"Mr. Cullen hasn't given, or even hinted that he'll give, +anything." + +"And Mr. Gordon hasn't asked, and, if I know him, wouldn't take a +cent for what he has done," said Fred, rising from the floor. + +"You mean to say you are doing it for nothing?" exclaimed Camp, +incredulously. + +"That's about the truth of it," I said; though I thought of Madge +as I said it, and felt guilty in suggesting that she was nothing. + +"Then what is your motive?" cried Baldwin. + +If there had been any use, I should have replied, "The right;" +but I knew that they would only think I was posing if I said it. +Instead I replied: "Mr. Cullen's party has the stock majority in +their favor, and would have won a fair fight if you had played +fair. Since you didn't, I'm doing my best to put things to +rights." + +Camp cried, "All the more fool--" but Baldwin interrupted him by +saying,-- + +"That only shows what a mean cuss Cullen is. He ought to give you +ten thousand, if he gives you a cent." + +"Yes," cried Camp, "those letters are worth money, whether he's +offered it or not." + +"Mr. Cullen never so much as hinted paying me," said I. + +"Well, Mr. Gordon," said Baldwin, suavely, "we'll show you that +we can be more liberal. Though the letters rightfully belong to +Mr. Camp, if you'll deliver them to us we'll see that you don't +lose your place, and we'll give you five thousand dollars." + +I glanced at Fred, whom I found looking at me anxiously, and +asked him,-- + +"Can't you do better than that?" + +"We could with any one but you," said Fred. + +I should have liked to shake hands over this compliment, but I +only nodded, and turning to Mr. Camp, said,-- + +"You see how mean they are." + +"You'll find we are not built that way," said Baldwin. "Five +thousand isn't a bad day's work, eh?" + +"No," I said, laughing; "but you just told me I ought to get ten +thousand if I got a cent." + +"It's worth ten to Mr. Cullen, but--" + +I interrupted by saying, "If it's worth ten to him, it's worth a +hundred to me." + +That was too much for Camp. First he said something best omitted, +and then went on, "I told you it was waste time trying to win him +over." + +The three stood apart for a moment whispering, and then Judge +Wilson called the sheriff over, and they all went out together. +The moment we were alone, Frederic held out his hand, and +said,-- + +"Gordon, it's no use saying anything, but if we can ever do--" + +I merely shook hands, but I wanted the worst way to say,-- + +"Tell Madge what I've done, and the thing's square." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +A LESSON IN POLITENESS + + +Within five minutes we had a big surprise, for the sheriff and +Mr. Baldwin came back, and the former announced that Fred and +Lord Ralles were free, having been released on bail. When we +found that Baldwin had gone on the bond, I knew that there was a +scheme of some sort in the move, and, taking Fred aside, I warned +him against trying to recover the proxies. + +"They probably think that one or the other of you knows where the +letters are hidden," I whispered, "and they'll keep a watch on +you; so go slow." + +He nodded, and followed the sheriff and Lord Ralles out. + +The moment they were gone, Mr. Camp said, "I came back to give +you a last chance." + +"That's very good of you," I said. + +"I warn you," he muttered threateningly, "we are not men to be +beaten. There are fifty cowboys of Baldwin's in this town, who +think you were concerned in the holding up. By merely tipping +them the wink, they'll have you out of this, and after they've +got you outside I wouldn't give the toss of a nickel for your +life. Now, then, will you hand over those letters, or will you go +to ---- inside of ten minutes?" + +I lost my temper in turn. "I'd much prefer going to some place +where I was less sure of meeting you," I retorted; "and as for +the cowboys, you'll have to be as tricky with them as you want to +be with me before you'll get them to back you up in your dirty +work." + +At this point the sheriff called back to ask Camp if he was +coming. + +"All right," cried Camp, and went to the door. "This is the last +call," he snarled, pausing for a moment on the threshold. + +"I hope so," said I, more calmly in manner than in feeling, I +have to acknowledge, for I didn't like the look of things. That +they were in earnest I felt pretty certain, for I understood now +why they had let my companions out of jail. They knew that angry +cowboys were a trifle undiscriminating, and didn't care to risk +hanging more than was necessary. + +A long time seemed to pass after they were gone, but in reality +it wasn't more than fifteen minutes before I heard some one steal +up and softly unlock the door. I confess the evident endeavor to +do it quietly gave me a scare, for it seemed to me it couldn't be +an above-board movement. Thinking this, I picked up the box on +which I had been sitting and prepared to make the best fight I +could. It was a good deal of relief, therefore, when the door +opened just wide enough for a man to put in his head, and I heard +the sheriff's voice say, softly,-- + +"Hi, Gordon!" + +I was at the door in an instant, and asked,-- + +"What's up?" + +"They're gettin' the fellers together, and sayin' that yer shot a +woman in the hold-up." + +"It's an infernal lie," I said. + +"Sounds that way to me," assented the sheriff; "but two-thirds of +the boys are drunk, and it's a long time since they've had any +fun." + +"Well," I said, as calmly as I could, "are you going to stand by +me?" + +"I would, Mr. Gordon," he replied, "if there was any good, but +there ain't time to get a posse, and what's one Winchester +against a mob of cowboys like them?" + +"If you'll lend me your gun," I said, "I'll show just what it is +worth, without troubling you." + +"I'll do better than that," offered the sheriff, "and that's what +I'm here for. Just sneak, while there's time." + +"You mean--?" I exclaimed. + +"That's it. I'm goin' away, and I'll leave the door unlocked. If +yer get clear let me know yer address, and later, if I want yer, +I'll send yer word." He took a grip on my fingers that numbed +them as if they had been caught in an air-brake, and disappeared. + +I slipped out after the sheriff without loss of time. That there +wasn't much to spare was shown by a crowd with some torches down +the street, collected in front of a saloon. They were making a +good deal of noise, even for the West; evidently the flame was +being fanned. Not wasting time, I struck for the railroad, +because I knew the geography of that best, but still more because +I wanted to get to the station. It was a big risk to go there, +but it was one I was willing to take for the object I had in +view, and, since I had to take it, it was safest to get through +with the job before the discovery was made that I was no longer +in jail. + +It didn't take me three minutes to reach the station. The whole +place was black as a coal-dumper, except for the slices of light +which shone through the cracks of the curtained windows in the +specials, the dim light of the lamp in the station, and the glow +of the row of saloons two hundred feet away. I was afraid, +however, that there might be a spy lurking somewhere, for it was +likely that Camp would hope to get some clue of the letters by +keeping a watch on the station and the cars. Thinking boldness the +safest course, I walked on to the platform without hesitation, and +went into the station. The "night man" was sitting in his chair, +nodding, but he waked up the moment I spoke. + +"Don't speak my name," I said, warningly, as he struggled to his +feet; and then in the fewest possible words I told him what I +wanted of him,--to find if the pony I had ridden (Camp's or +Baldwin's) was in town and, if so, to learn where it was, and to +get the letters on the quiet from under the saddle-flap. I chose +this man, first, because I could trust him, and next, because I +had only one of the Cullens as an alternative, and if any of them +went sneaking round, it would be sure to attract attention. "The +moment you have the letters, put them in the station safe," I +ended, "and then get word to me." + +"And where'll you be, Mr. Gordon?" asked the man. + +"Is there any place about here that's a safe hiding spot for a +few hours?" I asked. "I want to stay till I'm sure those letters +are safe, and after that I'll steal on board the first train that +comes along." + +"Then you'll want to be near here," said the man. "I'll tell you, +I've got just the place for you. The platform's boarded in all +round, but I noticed one plank that's loose at one end, right at +this nigh corner, and if you just pry it open enough to get in, +and then pull the board in place, they'll never find you." + +"That will do," I said; "and when the letters are safe, come out +on the platform, walk up and down once, bang the door twice, and +then say, 'That way freight is late.' And if you get a chance, +tell one of the Cullens where I'm hidden." + +I crossed the platform boldly, jumped down, and walked away. But +after going fifty feet I dropped down on my hands and knees and +crawled back. Inside of two minutes I was safely stowed away +under the platform, in about as neat a hiding-place as a man +could ask. In fact, if I had only had my wits enough about me to +borrow a revolver of the man, I could have made a pretty good +defence, even if discovered. + +Underneath the platform was loose gravel, and, as an additional +precaution, I scooped out, close to the side-boarding, a trough +long enough for me to lie in. Then I got into the hole, shovelled +the sand over my legs, and piled the rest up in a heap close to +me, so that by a few sweeps of my arm I could cover my whole +body, leaving only my mouth and nose exposed, and those below the +level. That made me feel pretty safe, for, even if the cowboys +found the loose plank and crawled in, it would take uncommon good +eyesight, in the darkness, to find me. I had hollowed out my +living grave to fit, and if I could have smoked, I should have +been decidedly comfortable. Sleep I dared not indulge in, and the +sequel showed that I was right in not allowing myself that +luxury. + +I hadn't much more than comfortably settled myself, and let +thoughts of a cigar and a nap flit through my mind, when a row up +the street showed that the jail-breaking had been discovered. +Then followed shouts and confusion for a few moments, while a +search was being organized. I heard some horsemen ride over the +tracks, and also down the street, followed by the hurried +footsteps of half a dozen men. Some banged at the doors of the +specials, while others knocked at the station door. + +One of the Cullens' servants opened the door of 218, and I heard +the sheriff's voice telling him he'd got to search the car. The +darky protested, saying that the "gentmun was all away, and only +de miss inside." The row brought Miss Cullen to the door, and I +heard her ask what was the matter. + +"Sorry to trouble yer, miss," said the sheriff, "but a prisoner +has broken jail, and we've got to look for him." + +"Escaped!" cried Madge, joyfully. "How?" + +"That's just what gits away with me," marvelled the sheriff. "My +idee is--" + +"Don't waste time on theories," said Camp's voice, angrily. +"Search the car." + +"Sorry to discommode a lady," apologized the sheriff, gallantly, +"but if we may just look around a little?" + +"My father and brothers went out a few minutes ago," said Madge, +hesitatingly, "and I don't know if they would be willing." + +Camp laughed angrily, and ordered, "Stand aside, there." + +"Don't yer worry," said the sheriff. "If he's on the car, he +can't git away. We'll send a feller up for Mr. Cullen, while we +search Mr. Gordon's car and the station." + +They set about it at once, and used up ten minutes in the task. +Then I heard Camp say,-- + +"Come, we can't wait all night for permission to search this car. +Go ahead." + +"I hope you'll wait till my father comes," begged Madge. + +"Now go slow, Mr. Camp," said the sheriff. "We mustn't discomfort +the lady if we can avoid it." + +"I believe you're wasting time in order to help him escape," +snapped Camp. + +"Nothin' of the kind," denied the sheriff. + +"If you won't do your duty, I'll take the law into my own hands, +and order the car searched," sputtered Camp, so angry as hardly +to be able to articulate. + +"Look a here," growled the sheriff, "who are yer sayin' all this +to anyway? If yer talkin' to me, say so right off." + +"All I mean," hastily said Camp, "is that it's your duty, in your +honorable position, to search this car." + +"I don't need no instructin' in my dooty as sheriff," retorted +the official. "But a bigger dooty is what is owin' to the +feminine sex. When a female is in question, a gentleman, Mr. +Camp,--yes, sir, a gentleman,--is in dooty bound to be perlite." + +"Politeness be ---- ----!" swore Camp. + +"Git as angry as yer ---- please," roared the sheriff, +wrathfully, "but ---- me if any ---- ---- cuss has a right to use +such ---- ---- talk in the presence of a lady!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +"LISTENERS NEVER HEAR ANYTHING GOOD" + + +Before I had ceased chuckling over the sheriff's indignant +declaration of the canons of etiquette, I heard Mr. Cullen's +voice demanding to know what the trouble was, and it was quickly +explained to him that I had escaped. He at once gave them +permission to search his car, and went in with the sheriff and +the cowboys. Apparently Madge went in too, for in a moment I +heard Camp say, in a low voice,-- + +"Two of you fellows get down below the car and crawl in under the +truck where you can't be seen. Evidently that cuss isn't here, +but he's likely to come by and by. If so, nab him if you can, and +if you can't, fire two shots. Mosely, are you heeled?" + +"Do I chaw terbaccy?" asked Mosely, ironically, clearly insulted +at the suggestion that he would travel without a gun. + +"Then keep a sharp lookout, and listen to everything you hear, +especially the whereabouts of some letters. If you can spot their +lay, crawl out and get word to me at once. Now, under you go +before they come out." + +I heard two men drop into the gravel close alongside of where I +lay, and then crawl under the truck of 218. They weren't a moment +too soon, for the next instant I heard two or three people jump +on to the platform, and Albert Cullen's voice drawl, "Aw, by +Jove, what's the row?" Camp not enlightening them, Lord Ralles +suggested that they get on the car to find out, and the three did +so. A moment later the sheriff came to the door and told Camp +that I was not to be found. + +"I told yer this was the last place to look for the cuss, Mr. +Camp," he said. "We've just discomforted the lady for nothin'." + +"Then we must search elsewhere," spoke up Camp. "Come on, boys." + +The sheriff turned and made another elaborate apology for having +had to trouble the lady. + +I heard Madge tell him that he hadn't troubled her at all, and +then, as the cowboys and Camp walked off, she added, "And, Mr. +Gunton, I want to thank you for reproving Mr. Camp's dreadful +swearing." + +"Thank yer, miss," said the sheriff. "We fellers are a little +rough at times, but ---- me if we don't know what's due to a +lady." + +"Papa," said Madge, as soon as he was out of hearing, "the +sheriff is the most beautiful swearer I ever heard." + +For a while there was silence round the station; I suppose the +party in 218 were comparing notes, while the two cowboys and I +had the best reasons for being quiet. Presently, however, the men +came out of the car and jumped down on the platform. Madge +evidently followed them to the door, for she called, "Please let +me know the moment something happens or you learn anything." + +"Better go to bed, Madgy," Albert called. "You'll only worry, and +it's after three." + +"I couldn't sleep if I tried," she answered. + +Their footsteps died away in a moment, and I heard her close the +door of 218. In a few moments she opened it again, and, stepping +down to the station platform, began to pace up and down it. If I +had only dared, I could have put my finger through the crack of +the planks and touched her foot as she walked over my head, but I +was afraid it might startle her into a shriek, and there was no +explaining to her what it meant without telling the cowboys how +close they were to their quarry. + +Madge hadn't walked from one end of the platform to the other +more than three or four times, when I heard some one coming. She +evidently heard it also, for she said,-- + +"I began to be afraid you hadn't understood me." + +"I thought you told me to see first if I were needed," responded +a voice that even the distance and the planks did not prevent me +from recognizing as that of Lord Ralles. + +"Yes," said she. "You are sure you can be spared?" + +"I couldn't be of the slightest use," asserted Ralles, getting on +to the platform and joining Madge. "It's as black as ink +everywhere, and I don't think there's anything to be done till +daylight." + +"Then I'm glad you came back, for I really want to say +something,--to ask the greatest favor of you." + +"You only have to tell me what it is," said his lordship. + +"Even that is very hard," murmured Madge. "If--if--Oh! I'm afraid +I haven't the courage, after all." + +"I'll be glad to do anything I can." + +"It's--well--Oh, dear, I can't. Let's walk a little, while I +think how to put it." + +They began to walk, which took a weight off my mind, as I had +been forced to hear every word thus far spoken, and was dreading +what might follow, since I was perfectly helpless to warn them. +The platform was built around the station, and in a moment they +were out of hearing. + +Before many seconds were over, however, they had walked round the +building, and I heard Lord Ralles say,-- + +"You really don't mean that he's insulted you?" + +"That is just what I do mean," cried Madge, indignantly. "It's +been almost past endurance. I haven't dared to tell any one, but +he had the cruelty, the meanness, on Hance's trail to threaten +that--" + +At that point the walkers turned the corner again, and I could +not hear the rest of the sentence. But I had heard more than +enough to make me grow hot with mortification, even while I could +hardly believe I had understood aright. Madge had been so kind to +me lately that I couldn't think she had been feeling as bitterly +as she spoke. That such an apparently frank girl was a consummate +actress wasn't to be thought, and yet--I remembered how well she +had played her part on Hance's trail; but even that wouldn't +convince me. Proof of her duplicity came quickly enough, for, +while I was still thinking, the walkers were round again, and +Lord Ralles was saying,-- + +"Why haven't you complained to your father or brothers?" + +"Because I knew they would resent his conduct to me, and--" + +"Of course they would," cried her companion, interrupting. "But +why should you object to that?" + +"Because of the letters," explained Madge. "Don't you see that if +we made him angry he would betray us to Mr. Camp, and--" + +Then they passed out of hearing, leaving me almost desperate, +both at being an eavesdropper to such a conversation, and that +Madge could think so meanly of me. To say it, too, to Lord Ralles +made it cut all the deeper, as any fellow who has been in love +will understand. + +Round they came again in a moment, and I braced myself for the +lash of the whip that I felt was coming. I didn't escape it, for +Madge was saying,-- + +"Can you conceive of a man pretending to care for a girl and yet +treating her so? I can't tell you the grief, the mortification, I +have endured." She spoke with a half-sob in her throat, as if she +was struggling not to cry, which made me wish I had never been +born. "It's been all I could do to control myself in his +presence, I have come so utterly to hate and despise him," she +added. + +"I don't wonder," growled Lord Ralles. "My only surprise is--" + +With that they passed out of hearing again, leaving me fairly +desperate with shame, grief, and, I'm afraid, with anger. I felt +at once guilty and yet wronged. I knew my conduct on the trail +must have seemed to her ungentlemanly because I had never dared +to explain that my action there had been a pure bluff, and that I +wouldn't have really searched her for--well, for anything; but +though she might think badly of me for that, yet I had done my +best to counterbalance it, and was running big risks, both +present and eventual, for Madge's sake. Yet here she was +acknowledging that thus far she had used me as a puppet, while +all the time disliking me. It was a terrible blow, made all the +harder by the fact that she was proving herself such a different +girl from the one I loved,--so different, in fact, that, despite +what I had heard, I couldn't quite believe it of her, and found +myself seeking to extenuate and even justify her conduct. While I +was doing this, they came within hearing, and Lord Ralles was +speaking. + +"--with you," he said. "But I still do not see what I can do, +however much I may wish to serve you." + +"Can't you go to him and insist that he--or tell him what I +really feel towards him--or anything, in fact, to shame him? I +really can't go on acting longer." + +That reached the limit of my endurance, and I crawled from my +burrow, intending to get out from under that platform, whether I +was caught or not. I know it was a foolish move; after having +heard what I had, a little more or less was quite immaterial. But +I entirely forgot my danger, in the sting of what Madge had said, +and my one thought was to stand face to face with her long enough +to--I'm sure I don't know what I intended to say. + +Just as I reached the plank, however, I heard Lord Ralles ask,-- + +"Who's that?" + +"It's me," said a voice,--"the station agent." Then I heard a +door close. Some one walked out to the centre of the platform and +remarked,-- + +"That 'ere way freight is late." + +At least the letters were recovered. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE SURRENDER OF THE LETTERS + + +If the letters were safe, that was a good deal more than I +was. The moment the station-master had made his agreed-upon +announcement, he said to the walkers,-- + +"Had any news of Mr. Gordon?" + +"No," replied Lord Ralles. "And, as the lights keep moving in the +town, they must still be hunting for him." + +"I reckon they'll do considerable more huntin' before they find +him up there," chuckled the man, with a self-important manner. +"He's hidden away under this ere platform." + +"Not right here?" I heard Madge cry, but I had too much to do to +take in what followed. I was lying close to the loose plank, and +even before the station-master had completed his sentence I was +squirming through the crack. As I freed my legs I heard two +shots, which I knew was the signal given by the cowboys, followed +by a shriek of fright from Madge, for which she was hardly to be +blamed. I was on my feet in an instant and ran down the tracks at +my best speed. It wasn't with much hope of escape, for once out +from under the planking I found, what I had not before realized, +that day was dawning, and already outlines at a distance could be +seen. However, I was bound to do my best, and I did it. + +Before I had run a hundred feet I could hear pursuers, and a +moment later a revolver cracked, ploughing up the dust in front +of me. Another bullet followed, and, seeing that affairs were +getting desperate, I dodged round the end of some cars, only to +plump into a man running at full speed. The collision was so +unexpected that we both fell, and before I could get on my feet +one of my pursuers plumped down on top of me and I felt something +cold on the back of my neck. + +"Lie still, yer sneakin' coyote of a road agent," said the man, +"or I'll blow yer so full of lead that yer couldn't float in Salt +Lake." + +I preferred to take his advice, and lay quiet while the cowboys +gathered. From all directions I heard them coming, calling to +each other that "the skunk that shot the woman is corralled," and +other forms of the same information. In a moment I was jerked to +my feet, only to be swept off them with equal celerity, and was +half carried, half dragged, along the tracks. It wasn't as rough +handling as I have taken on the football-field, but I didn't +enjoy it. + +In a space of time that seemed only seconds, I was close to a +telegraph-pole; but, brief as the moment had been, a fellow with +a lariat tied round his waist was half-way up the post. I knew +the mob had been told that I had killed a woman in the hold-up, +for the cowboy, bad as he is, has his own standards, beyond which +he won't go. But I might as well have tried to tell my innocence +to the moon as to get them to listen to denials, even if I could +have made my voice heard. + +The lariat was dropped over the crosspiece, and as a man adjusted +the noose a sudden silence fell. I thought it was a little sense +of what they were doing, but it was merely due to the command of +Baldwin, who, with Camp, stood just outside the mob. + +"Let me say a word before you pull," he called, and then to me he +said, "Now will you give up the property?" + +I was pretty pale and shaky, but I come of stiffish stock, and I +wouldn't have backed down then, it seemed to me, if they had been +going to boil me alive. I suppose it sounds foolish, and if I had +had plenty of time I have no doubt my common-sense would have +made me crawl. Not having time, I was on the point of saying +"No," when the door of 218, which lay about two hundred yards +away, flew open, and out came Mr. Cullen, Fred, Albert, Lord +Ralles, and Captain Ackland, all with rifles. Of course it was +perfect desperation for the five to tackle the cowboys, but they +were game to do it, all the same. + +How it would have ended I don't know, but as they sprang off the +car platform Miss Cullen came out on it, and stood there, one +hand holding on to the door-way, as if she needed support, and +the other covering her heart. It was too far for me to see her +face, but the whole attitude expressed such suffering that it was +terrible to see. What was more, her position put her in range of +every shot the cowboys might fire at the five as they charged. If +I could have stopped them I would have done so, but, since that +was impossible, I cried,-- + +"Mr. Camp, I'll surrender the letters." + +"Hold on, boys," shouted Baldwin; "wait till we get the property +he stole." And, coming through the crowd, he threw the noose off +my neck. + +"Don't shoot, Mr. Cullen," I yelled, as my friends halted and +raised their rifles, and, fortunately, the cowboys had opened up +enough to let them hear me and see that I was free of the rope. + +Escorted by Camp, Baldwin, and the cowboys, I walked towards +them. On the way Baldwin said, in a low voice, "Deliver the +letters, and we'll tell the boys there has been a mistake. +Otherwise--" + +When we came up to the five, I called to them that I had agreed +to surrender the letters. While I was saying it, Miss Cullen +joined them, and it was curious to see how respectfully the +cowboys took off their hats and fell back. + +"You are quite right," Mr. Cullen called. "Give them the letters +at once." + +"Oh, do, Mr. Gordon," said Madge, still white and breathless with +emotion. "The money is nothing. Don't think--" It was all she +could say. + +I felt pretty small, but with Camp and Baldwin, now reinforced by +Judge Wilson, I went to the station, ordered the agent to open +the safe, took out the three letters, and handed them to Mr. +Camp, realizing how poor Madge must have felt on Hance's trail. +It was a pretty big take down to my pride I tell you, and made +all the worse by the way the three gloated over the letters and +over our defeat. + +"We've taught you a lesson, young man," sneered Camp, as after +opening the envelopes, to assure himself that the proxies were +all right, he tucked them into his pocket. "And we'll teach you +another one after to-day's election." + +Just as he concluded, we heard outside the first note of a bugle, +and as it sounded "By fours, column left," my heart gave a big +jump, and the blood came rushing to my face. Camp, Baldwin, and +Wilson broke for the door, but I got there first, and prevented +their escape. They tried to force their way through, but I hadn't +blocked and interfered at football for nothing, and they might as +well have tried to break through the Sierras. Discovering this, +Camp whipped out his gun, and told me to let them out. Being used +to the West, I recognized the goodness of the argument and +stepped out on the platform, giving them free passage. But the +twenty seconds I had delayed them had cooked their goose, for +outside was a squadron of cavalry swinging a circle round the +station; and we had barely reached the platform when the bugle +sounded "Halt," quickly followed by "Forward left." As the ranks +wheeled, and closed up as a solid line about us, I could have +cheered with delight. There was a moment's dramatic hush, in +which we could all hear the breathing of the winded horses, and +then came the clatter of sword and spurs, as an officer sprang +from his saddle. + +"I want Richard Gordon," the officer called. + +I responded, "At your service, and badly in need of yours, +Captain Singer." + +"Hope the delay hasn't spoilt things," said the captain. "We had +a cursed fool of a guide, who took the wrong trail and ran us +into Limestone Canyon, where we had to camp for the night." + +I explained the situation as quickly as I could, and the +captain's eyes gleamed. "I'd have given a bad quarter to have got +here ten minutes sooner and ridden my men over those scoundrels," +he muttered. "I saw them scatter as we rode up, and if I'd known +what they'd been doing we'd have given them a volley." Then he +walked over to Mr. Camp and said, "Give me those letters." + +"I hold those letters by virtue of an order--" Camp began. + +"Give me those letters," the captain interrupted. + +"Do you intend a high-handed interference with the civil +authorities?" Judge Wilson demanded. + +"Come, come," said the captain, sternly. "You have taken forcible +possession of United States property. Any talk about civil +authorities is rubbish, and you know it." + +"I will never--" cried Mr. Camp. + +"Corporal Jackson, dismount a guard of six men," rang the +captain's voice, interrupting him. + +Evidently something in the voice or order convinced Mr. Camp, for +the letters were hastily produced and given to Singer, who at +once handed them to me. I turned with them to the Cullens, and, +laughing, quoted, "'All's well that ends well.'" + +But they didn't seem to care a bit about the recovery of the +letters, and only wanted to have a hand-shake all round over my +escape. Even Lord Ralles said, "Glad we could be of a little +service," and didn't refuse my thanks, though the deuce knows +they were badly enough expressed, in my consciousness that I had +done an ungentlemanly trick over those trousers of his, and that +he had been above remembering it when I was in real danger. I'm +ashamed enough to confess that when Miss Cullen held out her hand +I made believe not to see it. I'm a bad hand at pretending, and I +saw Madge color up at my act. + +The captain finally called me off to consult about our +proceedings. I felt no very strong love for Camp, Baldwin, or +Wilson, but I didn't see that a military arrest would accomplish +anything, and after a little discussion it was decided to let +them alone, as we could well afford to do, having won. + +This matter decided, I said to the captain, "I'll be obliged if +you'll put a guard round my car. And then, if you and your +officers will come inside it, I have a--something in a bottle, +recommended for removing alkali dust from the tonsils." + +"Very happy to test your prescription," responded Singer, +genially. + +I started to go with him, but I couldn't resist turning to Mr. +Camp and his friends and saying,-- + +"Gentlemen, the G. S. is a big affair, but it isn't quite big +enough to fight the U. S." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A GLOOMY GOOD-BY + + +At that point my importance ceased. Apparently seeing that the +game was up, Mr. Camp later in the morning asked Mr. Cullen to +give him an interview, and when he was allowed to pass the sentry +he came to the steps and suggested,-- + +"Perhaps we can arrange a compromise between the Missouri Western +and the Great Southern?" + +"We can try," Mr. Cullen assented. "Come into my car." He made +way for Mr. Camp, and was about to follow him, when Madge took +hold of her father's arm, and, making him stoop, whispered +something to him. + +"What kind of a place?" asked Mr. Cullen, laughing. + +"A good one," his daughter replied. + +I thought I understood what was meant. She didn't want to rest +under an obligation, and so I was to be paid up for what I had +done by promotion. It made me grit my teeth, and if I hadn't +taught myself not to swear, because of my position, I could have +given Sheriff Gunton points on cursing. I wanted to speak up +right there and tell Miss Cullen what I thought of her. + +Of the interview which took place inside 218, I can speak only at +second-hand, and the world knows about as well as I how the +contest was compromised by the K. & A. being turned over to the +Missouri Western, the territory in Southern California being +divided between the California Central and the Great Southern, +and a traffic arrangement agreed upon that satisfied the G. S. +That afternoon a Missouri Western board for the K. & A. was +elected without opposition, and they in turn elected Mr. Cullen +president of the K. & A.; so when my report of the holding-up +went in, he had the pleasure of reading it. I closed it with a +request for instructions, but I never received any, and that +ended the matter. I turned over the letters to the special agent +at Flagstaff, and I suppose his report is slumbering in some +pigeon-hole in Washington, for I should have known of any attempt +to bring the culprits to punishment. Mr. Cullen had taken a big +risk, but came out of it with a great lot of money, for the +Missouri Western bought all his holdings in the K. & A. and C. C. +But the scare must have taught him a lesson, for ever since then +he's been conservative, and talks about the foolishness of +investors who try to get more than five per cent, or who think of +anything but good railroad bonds. + +As for myself, a month after these occurrences I was appointed +superintendent of the Missouri Western, which by this deal had +become one of the largest railroad systems in the world. It was a +big step up for so young a man, and was of course pure favoritism, +due to Mr. Cullen's influence. I didn't stay in the position long, +for within two years I was offered the presidency of the Chicago +& St. Paul, and I think that was won on merit. Whether or not, I +hold the position still, and have made my road earn and pay +dividends right through the panic. + +All this is getting away ahead of events, however. The election +delayed us so that we couldn't couple on to No. 4 that afternoon, +and consequently we had to lie that night at Ash Forks. I made +the officers my excuse for keeping away from the Cullens, as I +wished to avoid Madge. I did my best to be good company to the +bluecoats, and had a first-class dinner for them on my car, but I +was in a pretty glum mood, which even champagne couldn't modify. +Though all necessity of a guard ceased with the compromise, the +cavalry remained till the next morning, and, after giving them a +good breakfast, about six o'clock we shook hands, the bugle +sounded, and off they rode. For the first time I understood how a +fellow disappointed in love comes to enlist. + +When I turned about to go into my car, I found Madge standing on +the platform of 218 waving a handkerchief. I paid no attention to +her, and started up my steps. + +"Mr. Gordon," she said,--and when I looked at her I saw that she +was flushing,--"what is the matter?" + +I suppose most fellows would have found some excuse, but for the +life of me I couldn't. All I was able to say was,-- + +"I would rather not say, Miss Cullen." + +"How unfair you are!" she cried. "You--without the slightest +reason you suddenly go out of your way to ill-treat--insult me, +and yet will not tell me the cause." + +That made me angry. "Cause?" I cried. "As if you didn't know of a +cause! What you don't know is that I overheard your conversation +with Lord Ralles night before last." + +"My conversation with Lord Ralles?" exclaimed Madge, in a +bewildered way. + +"Yes," I said bitterly, "keep up the acting. The practice is +good, even if it deceives no one." + +"I don't understand a word you are saying," she retorted, getting +angry in turn. "You speak as if I had done wrong,--as if--I don't +know what; and I have a right to know to what you allude." + +"I don't see how I can be any clearer," I muttered. "I was under +the station platform, hiding from the cowboys, while you and Lord +Ralles were walking. I didn't want to be a listener, but I heard +a good deal of what you said." + +"But I didn't walk with Lord Ralles," she cried. "The only person +I walked with was Captain Ackland." + +That took me very much aback, for I had never questioned in my +mind that it wasn't Lord Ralles. Yet the moment she spoke, I +realized how much alike the two brothers' voices were, and how +easily the blurring of distance and planking might have misled +me. For a moment I was speechless. Then I replied coldly,-- + +"It makes no difference with whom you were. What you said was the +essential part." + +"But how could you for an instant suppose that I could say what I +did to Lord Ralles?" she demanded. + +"I naturally thought he would be the one to whom you would appeal +concerning my 'insulting' conduct." + +Madge looked at me for a moment as if transfixed. Then she +laughed, and cried,-- + +"Oh, you idiot!" + +While I still looked at her in equal amazement, she went on, "I +beg your pardon, but you are so ridiculous that I had to say it. +Why, I wasn't talking about you, but about Lord Ralles." + +"Lord Ralles!" I cried. + +"Yes." + +"I don't understand," I exclaimed. + +"Why, Lord Ralles has been--has been--oh, he's threatened that if +I wouldn't--that--" + +"You mean he--?" I began, and then stopped, for I couldn't +believe my ears. + +"Oh," she burst out, "of course you couldn't understand, and you +probably despise me already, but if you knew how I scorn myself, +Mr. Gordon, and what I have endured from that man, you would only +pity me." + +Light broke on me suddenly. "Do you mean, Miss Cullen," I cried +hotly, "that he's been cad enough to force his attentions upon +you by threats?" + +"Yes. First he made me endure him because he was going to help +us, and from the moment the robbery was done, he has been +threatening to tell. Oh, how I have suffered!" + +Then I said a very silly thing. "Miss Cullen," I groaned, "I'd +give anything if I were only your brother." For the moment I +really meant it. + +"I haven't dared to tell any of them," she explained, "because I +knew they would resent it and make Lord Ralles angry, and then he +would tell, and so ruin papa. It seemed such a little thing to +bear for his sake, but, oh, it's been--I suppose you despise +me!" + +"I never dreamed of despising you," I said. "I only thought, of +course--seeing what I did--and--that you were fond--No--that +is--I mean--well--The beast!" I couldn't help exclaiming. + +"Oh," said Madge, blushing, and stammering breathlessly, "you +mustn't think--there was really--you happened to--usually I +managed to keep with papa or my brothers, or else run away, as I +did when he interrupted my letter-writing,--when you thought we +had--but it was nothing of the--I kept away just--but the night +of the robbery I forgot, and on the trail his mule blocked the +path. He never--there really wasn't--you saved me the only times +he--he--that he was really rude; and I am so grateful for it, Mr. +Gordon." + +I wasn't in a mood to enjoy even Miss Cullen's gratitude. Without +stopping for words, I dashed into 218, and, going straight to +Albert Cullen, I shook him out of a sound sleep, and before he +could well understand me I was alternately swearing at him and +raging at Lord Ralles. Finally he got the truth through his head, +and it was nuts to me, even in my rage, to see how his English +drawl disappeared, and how quick he could be when he really +became excited. + +I left him hurrying into his clothes, and went to my car, for I +didn't dare to see the exodus of Lord Ralles, through fear that I +couldn't behave myself. Albert came into 97 in a few moments to +say that the Englishmen were going to the hotel as soon as +dressed, the captain having elected to stay by his brother. + +"I wouldn't have believed it of Ralles. I feel jolly cut up, you +know," he drawled. + +I had been so enraged over Lord Ralles that I hadn't stopped to +reckon in what position I stood myself towards Miss Cullen, but I +didn't have to do much thinking to know that I had behaved about +as badly as was possible for me. And the worst of it was that she +could not know that right through the whole I had never quite +been able to think badly of her. I went out on the platform of +the station, and was lucky enough to find her there alone. + +"Miss Cullen," I said, "I've been ungentlemanly and suspicious, and +I'm about as ashamed of myself as a man can be and not jump into +the Grand Canyon. I've not come to you to ask your forgiveness, for +I can't forgive myself, much less expect it of you. But I want you +to know how I feel, and if there's any reparation, apology, +anything, that you'd like, I'll--" + +Madge interrupted my speech there by holding out her hand. + +"You don't suppose," she said, "that, after all you have done for +us, I could be angry over what was merely a mistake?" + +That's what I call a trump of a girl, worth loving for a +lifetime. + +Well, we coupled on to No. 2 that morning and started East, this +time Mr. Cullen's car being the "ender." All on 218 were wildly +jubilant, as was natural, but I kept growing bluer and bluer. I +took a farewell dinner on their car the night we were due in +Albuquerque, and afterwards Miss Cullen and I went out and sat on +the back platform. + +"I've had enough adventures to talk about for a year," Madge +said, as we chatted the whole thing over, "and you can no longer +brag that the K. & A. has never had a robbery, even if you didn't +lose anything." + +"I have lost something," I sighed sadly. + +Madge looked at me quickly, started to speak, hesitated, and then +said, "Oh, Mr. Gordon, if you only could know how badly I have +felt about that, and how I appreciate the sacrifice." + +I had only meant that I had lost my heart, and, for that matter, +probably my head, for it would have been ungenerous even to hint +to Miss Cullen that I had made any sacrifice of conscience for +her sake, and I would as soon have asked her to pay for it in +money as have told her. + +"You mustn't think--" I began. + +"I have felt," she continued, "that your wish to serve us made +you do something you never would have otherwise done, for--Well, +you--any one can see how truthful and honest--and it has made me +feel so badly that we--Oh, Mr. Gordon, no one has a right to do +wrong in this world, for it brings such sadness and danger to +innocent--And you have been so generous--" + +I couldn't let this go on. "What I did," I told her, "was to +fight fire with fire, and no one is responsible for it but +myself." + +"I should like to think that, but I can't," she said. "I know we +all tried to do something dishonest, and while you didn't do any +real wrong, yet I don't think you would have acted as you did +except for our sake. And I'm afraid you may some day regret--" + +"I sha'n't," I cried; "and, so far from meaning that I had lost +my self-respect, I was alluding to quite another thing." + +"Time?" she asked. + +"No." + +"What?" + +"Something else you have stolen." + +"I haven't," she denied. + +"You have," I affirmed. + +"You mean the novel?" she asked; "because I sent it in to 97 +to-night." + +"I don't mean the novel." + +"I can't think of anything more but those pieces of petrified +wood, and those you gave me," she said demurely. "I am sure that +whatever else I have of yours you have given me without even my +asking, and if you want it back you've only got to say so." + +"I suppose that would be my very best course," I groaned. + +"I hate people who force a present on one," she continued, "and +then, just as one begins to like it, want it back." + +Before I could speak, she asked hurriedly, "How often do you come +to Chicago?" + +I took that to be a sort of command that I was to wait, and +though longing to have it settled then and there, I braked myself +up and answered her question. Now I see what a duffer I +was--Madge told me afterwards that she asked only because she +was so frightened and confused that she felt she must stop my +speaking for a moment. + +I did my best till I heard the whistle the locomotive gives as it +runs into yard limits, and then rose. "Good-by, Miss Cullen," I +said, properly enough, though no death-bed farewell was ever more +gloomily spoken; and she responded, "Good-by, Mr. Gordon," with +equal propriety. + +I held her hand, hating to let her go, and the first thing I +knew, I blurted out, "I wish I had the brass of Lord Ralles!" + +"I don't," she laughed, "because, if you had, I shouldn't be +willing to let you--" + +And what she was going to say, and why she didn't say it, is +the concern of no one but Mr. and Mrs. Richard Gordon. + + +THE END + + + + + Transcriber's Note: + + The discrepancies of four or seven "years of Western life" on + Pages 7, 15 and 26 have been retained as in the original. + + The oe ligature in the Latin-1 and text versions of this book + have been changed to "oe". + + Page 49. Changed "good-bye" to "good-by" twice. (... the rest + of the party were there, and I bade good-by to the captain and + Albert.); ("I hope it isn't good-by, but only au revoir," ...) + + Page 59. Changed "coconino" to "Coconino". (... and, as all the + rest of the ride was through Coconino forest, ...) + + Page 104. Corrected American Morse Code (a.k.a. Railroad Morse + Code) to accurately reflect transmitted message. + + Page 105. Changed "rail road" to "railroad". ("Sheriff yavapai + county ash forks arizona be at railroad station ...") + + Page 140. Changed "doorway" to "door-way". (... pulled through + the door-way of my car by the cowboys ...) + + Page 145. Changed "her" to "Her". (... Her Majesty's ...) + + Page 181. Changed "Discoving" to "Discovering". (Discovering + this, Camp whipped out his gun, and told me to let them out.) + + Page 187. Changed "sheriff" to "Sheriff". (... I could have + given Sheriff Gunton points on cursing.) + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Great K. & A. Robbery, by Paul Liechester Ford + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT K. & A. 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