Miss Dividends Part 40

For some of the men have turned pale at the thought of making a raid on Wells, Fargo & Co., an inst.i.tution that has gained a reputation for being implacable in its pursuit of train robbers, highwaymen, and others that raid the precious things the business community intrust to it.

Then whispering to her: "I'll come back for ye! We'll take ye an' the stock together, back to Utah!" he leaves the girl, followed by all but the two men, whom Lawrence sees watching her, as he peers into the gloom.

Harry is thinking of how to get these two guardians of Miss Travenion away, and has half made up his mind to kill them, when Buck Powers comes sneaking to him, and whispers: "Cap, the engine's ready!"

"Where are Kruger and the rest of his gang?"

"They're making a raid on Wells, Fargo. They're demandin' some stock, or somethin' or other, an' the agent is standin' them off. He thinks they're road agents."

With these words comes an idea to Harry Lawrence.

He whispers quickly to Buck, then says: "You understand?"

"All right, Cap, I'm on to you!" and Mr. Powers disappears.

Thirty seconds after Buck bangs at the door of the sleeper with great noise, though he is careful not to enter, and from its end nearest to the express car, yells: "Come on! you're needed. Wells, Fargo's agent is standin' the bishop off. The bishop says the gal's safe and he wants you!"

"All right!" answers one of the men, and handling their guns, the two disappear to take part in the trouble with the express agent, which is now creating a great commotion on the train, the pa.s.sengers in Lawrence's Pullman crying out: "Road agents!" and the young lady in Miss Travenion's car, who has been awakened by the noise, screaming for help.

This excitement aids Lawrence. He steps into the car, and touching his sweetheart on the shoulder, whispers: "Come!"

And she following him to the platform, he springs into the snow-drift, and says: "I must carry you!"

"Certainly!" Her arms clasp themselves trustingly round his neck, as he trudges through the snow, bearing his happiness with him.

The locomotive on the Y is just moving as he reaches it, for he crosses directly to it, not daring to carry her past Kruger and his men, who are still about Wells, Fargo & Co.'s car.

"Ah, you're going to carry me away on the locomotive!" whispers Erma, as Lawrence puts her on board.

"Yes, we'll take care of you!" mutters the engineer, giving Harry a helping hand.

In another moment they are in the cab of the locomotive, which is slowly running over the Y towards the main track, which leads to the East, and safety.

This has been kept open as far as the snow-shed, and they will probably not meet a great deal of drift until they get beyond it, but the steam is light in the engine, and it cannot move very fast.

The other locomotive stands behind them, on the Y. Lawrence notices, as they leave it, that its fires are banked, and some one is on board it, though apparently asleep.

A second after, they pa.s.s Mr. Buck Powers, who switches them to the main track, they running so slowly that he easily follows them, and jumps on board.

All this time Harry has both ears and eyes fixed on the forward end of the train, to see if their absence is discovered.

But the Wells, Fargo & Co.'s man is still standing the Mormons and their bishop off, and threatening to shoot; and his movements interest them so much they do not notice the great ma.s.s of iron that has come on to the main track, and is now plunging away from them down the incline towards the long snow-shed.

"Now," Harry says to the engineer, giving a sigh of relief, "you can light your headlight."

Just then a cry comes out from behind them. It is that of the conductor of the train, who is screaming: "Great Scott! who's run away with the locomotive?" and some of Kruger's men run shouting through the snow.

Then Lawrence cries, "Give her steam!"

The locomotive dashes through little drifts, and drowns sound, but he knows that in a very few moments Lot Kruger will have discovered that what he values more than the stock of the Utah Central Railway is pa.s.sing away from him.

The engine is already flying through the snow-shed--one of the two long ones that line the steep decline leading towards Piedmont and the East.

In it they find little snow to impede them, but at the end of the shed their trouble begins, for on this track, which has not been pa.s.sed by trains for twenty-four hours, they encounter deep drifts, and once or twice the locomotive nearly stops, and the engineer tells Lawrence that if it were not for the steep down grade, they would never be able to make it.

Several times they have to back, and push on again, though the sheet-iron covered cow-catcher, which acts as a snow-plow, helps them tremendously. Still it is a long time before they reach the second big snow-shed, and looking at his watch, Lawrence finds that they have been half an hour doing what ought only to have taken them ten minutes.

But just as they are entering the second snow-shed, where the track makes an enormous bend, almost running back upon itself, in the form of a U, something comes out of the snow-shed--not much over a mile away--that they have left behind them. Something that makes Lawrence's heart jump, and then grow cold, as with hoa.r.s.e voice he cries, pointing back: "My G.o.d! what is that?"

And the engineer sets his teeth, and says: "They're after us! It's the headlight of the other locomotive! They have got up steam, and they have the advantage of us, because we have to bore the way through drifts and clear the track for them. They're bound to catch us!"

"Not if steam'll beat them," mutters Harry, and a.s.sisted by Buck, he piles the engine fire with coal, and helped by the rapid descent, they forge through drift after drift, none of these being very deep in the second long snow-shed.

Then they come out of it, into the open country once more, and meet deeper drifts, into which the engine plunges with a slow thud, throwing the snow higher than its smoke-stack, as it struggles through. Here the other engine must have the best of it, for they clear its track for it, and they haven't left the second snow-shed half a mile behind when, like the eye of a demon, the glow of the yellow headlight of their pursuer comes gliding after them.

The engineer mutters: "They're goin' to catch us!"

"Never!" cries Lawrence, and piles on more coal--though his heart is cold as the snow-drifts through which the engine plunges.

"We'll be up to the Piedmont switch in a minute. I might as well stop there!" mutters the engineer. "We can't clear the track for 'em and beat 'em too!"

"Put your hand on the reversing lever and you're dead!" cries Lawrence, his pistol at the man's ear.

"Not for my sake!" screams Erma, for she has the man's child in her arms.

"For all our sakes!" answers Harry. "Keep her going--till we can move no more! Then----"

"What?" asks his sweetheart.

"Then Kruger'll trouble you no more; of that be certain!"

"But YOU?"

"Oh, that doesn't matter."

They are moving quite slowly now, and the girl suddenly cries, "Buck, where are you going?" for the boy has just said, "Good-bye! G.o.d bless you, Miss Beauty!"

"What are you going to do?"

"_Show you how a Chicago railroad man treats chumps!_"

And though Erma cries: "Don't! You risk your life!" and Lawrence puts out a detaining hand, even as they come to the Piedmont side-track, the boy jumps from the cab, unlocks the switch, and hides himself in the snow-drift.

"My G.o.d! He's going to run 'em off the track! My pard's the boss of that locomotive!" screams the engineer. "He'll be smashed to pieces!"

"Go on!" answers Lawrence, and his pistol again threatens.

The locomotive dashes forward, for there is a roar two hundred yards behind them, and over the noise they hear Kruger's yell of triumph, which, even as he utters it, is turned into a howl of rage.