“I want you men to understand,” he said, “that you are in no sense confined here. You’re free to go at any time. But if you do go, you can’t come back. And I think all of you will understand the necessity for that rule. We are keeping you here, at considerable expense to ourselves, in order to protect you from interference by the strikers. We are trying to see that you are well fed and comfortably lodged3, and we are giving you this board and lodging4 without charge. Of course, this isn’t all pure philanthropy on our part. We are doing it because we believe that it is only in this way we can keep you together. If we permitted you to board and lodge2 out in the town, we would never know when you were going to show up for your run. There would always be the danger that you would be prevented from coming, either by force or persuasion5. It would be impossible for us to run the road in that way. The only way we can run it is to know certainly that you will be on hand when needed, and the only way we can be certain of that is to keep you together. When the strike is ended, there will be no further need of doing that, and a permanent place will be offered every one of you who makes good. If there are any of you who aren’t willing to work for the present under those conditions, now is the time to say so. If you want to quit, you are free to do so.”
He looked around over the circle of faces, and waited a moment to see if there was any response.
“That’s fair enough,” said one of the men at last. “I ain’t got no kick comin’,” and he walked over toward his cot, and began to make preparations to turn in. Two or three others followed his example, and finally the whole group broke up quietly.
“And that’s all right,” said Stanley, with a sigh of relief. “I’m glad we got rid of that other duck. He meant trouble—an’ he means it yet. You look out for him, Mr. West.”
“All right,” answered Allan, with a laugh. “I guess I can look out for myself.”
“You’ll need an eye in the back of your head t’ do it,” commented Stanley. “He’s the style that hits from behind.”
“Well, I’ll keep my eyes open—and you keep yours open, too.”
“Trust me for that,” said the detective. “Good night, sir.”
“Good-night,” said Allan and stepped out into the darkness.
As his feet touched the platform outside the door he felt that it was covered with sleet6, and by the glint of a distant street lamp, he could see that the sleet was still falling. He hesitated an instant, looking up and down the street.
“Bad night for railroading,” he said to himself. “I guess I’d better see how things are going,” and instead of descending7 the steps to the street, he followed the platform around the building and started across the tracks toward his office.
Jack8 Welsh, sitting under the platform where Reddy had left him, smoked his pipe placidly9 and stared out across the maze10 of tracks which separated him from the depot11 building across the yards. A sputtering12 arc light hung before the station, revealing the groups of figures picking their way carefully along the icy station platform. The rails gleamed white with their coating of ice, and the storm of sleet fell incessantly13. Overhead Jack could hear the burdened wires creaking under their load of ice. Occasionally the yard engine came slipping along, vomiting14 sand on both rails in its effort to grip them, but freight was light, and after awhile, its work ended for a time, it retired15 to the lower yards, where it stood puffing16 on a siding. The east-bound flyer, Number Two, was past due, but its failure to arrive caused Jack no uneasiness, for he knew that it was impossible for any train to keep to its schedule on such a night. Occasionally he heard overhead the tramp of the guard going his rounds; far down the yards gleamed the red and yellow lamps guarding the switches; a switchman’s lantern waved from time to time. Jack, sitting cosily17 in his shelter, watched and understood and revelled18 in all this; for your old railroad man—born and bred amid these surroundings—finds his work grow more interesting, more fascinating, from year to year, until any other employment seems pale and savourless by comparison.
As Welsh sat there musing19, a quick step sounded on the platform over his head, and a lithe20 figure jumped to the ground and started across the tracks toward the offices.
“O’ course he’d be goin’ back there instead o’ goin’ home,” Jack muttered to himself. “Now, what’d I better do? Hello, what’s that?”
He had caught the sound of a stealthy step overhead, and an instant later, a slim form leaped to the ground and sprang after Allan as swift and noiseless as a panther.
There was a menace in that crouched21 figure which brought Jack out from under the platform with a jerk. Staring with startled eyes, he fancied he caught a gleam as of a knife-blade in the air and a warning cry leaped involuntarily to his lips.
“Hey, Allan. Look out!” he shouted.
And Allan, starting sharp around at the cry, found himself face to face with Hummel.
The latter, stopping short in his swift career by a mighty22 effort, stood for an instant, his face convulsed, one hand behind him.
“Well, what is it?” Allan asked, sharply, surveying him with astonishment23.
“I—I wanted t’ see you,” answered Hummel, thickly. “I—I—”
“Well, go on,” said Allan, impatiently, as the latter stopped.
“You can’t have it. Now get out of these yards. If I catch you here again, I’ll have you run in.”
Hummel’s face flushed, and he made a convulsive movement forward, but stopped, as he heard rapid steps drawing near.
“Why, was it you who shouted, Jack?” asked Allan, in surprise, as the latter came running up. “What was the matter?”
“I seen this feller sneakin’ acrost the yards after you,” Jack explained, apologetically, “an’ I thought he meant trouble. I didn’t know he was a friend o’ yours.”
“I jest wanted t’ speak t’ him,” said Hummel, gruffly, and started to turn away.
But Jack caught him by the arm.
“Wait a minute,” he said. “Let’s look into this. Is he a friend o’ yours?”
“No,” Allan answered. “Quite the contrary. He’s a fellow I fired a while ago.”
“Oh,” said Jack, and looked at Hummel more closely. “What’re ye holdin’ one hand behind your back for?” he demanded. “Let’s see it!”
He grabbed at the hidden hand, but at the same instant Hummel, supple25 as an eel26, slipped from his grasp, ducked, and sped down the yards like a shadow.
Jack and Allan stood for an instant staring after him. Then the former, with a sudden exclamation27, raised his hand and looked at it. It was covered with blood.
“I thought so!” he cried. “He had a knife! I saw it when he was runnin’ after you.”
“Are you hurt?” and Allan, snatching out his handkerchief, wiped away the blood.
“Only a scratch. The knife got me when I grabbed at him. It’s nothin’. You go ahead, an’ I’ll see if I can find him.”
Allan, examining the wound, saw that it was not a deep one.
“All right,” he said, wrapping his handkerchief about it. “I’ll wait for you at the office.”
Jack nodded and hastened away down the yards in the direction Hummel had taken. But search as he might, he found no trace of that worthy28, who had dived in among a lot of box cars stored on the sidings, and made good his escape.
Allan, meanwhile, continued on to his office, and sat thoughtfully down before his desk. The incident of the evening, his own narrow escape, enlightened him as to the danger of the situation. Calm as it appeared on the surface, it was perilous29 enough underneath30, like a vast bed of lava31, apparently32 cool and firm, but ready, at any pin-prick, to burst forth33 into white-hot flame. He shivered a little at thought of the days to follow and the problems they would present.
But after a moment he shook such thoughts impatiently away. Time enough to cross a bridge when he came to it. Now there were other matters demanding his attention. For, as the night progressed, the load of sleet burdened the wires more and more heavily, until some gave way and the others sputtered34 and stuttered and sent operators and dispatchers alike to the verge35 of frenzy36.
Nothing disorganizes a railroad more quickly than impeded37 or inefficient38 wires, for the reason that its operation depends wholly upon its telegraph system. To interfere1 with that means inevitably39 to interfere with traffic, to obstruct40 it is to obstruct traffic, and to stop it is to stop traffic, or to compel it, at best, to creep painfully along from station to station with one flagman walking in front of every train and another following it a hundred yards in the rear. It may be added that it was the telegraph which made modern railroading possible; and that it becomes impossible at the moment when the dispatcher at headquarters cannot, in some way, keep informed of the position of every train.
So to-night with the wires chattering41 unintelligible42 nonsense instead of the usual crisp orders and reports, operators and dispatchers were at their wits’ ends, traffic was delayed, the schedule abandoned and the only hope was that some way, somehow, they would get through the night without accident.
Allan stood for a moment at the door of the dispatchers’ office listening to the crazy instruments.
“I’ve only got one wire left,” announced the dispatcher in charge of the Parkersburg division, “and I might as well try to send a message over a piece of clothes line as over it. I haven’t any idea where that extra west is. It left Vigo half an hour ago, and hasn’t been seen since.”
“Where’s Number Two?” asked Allan.
“Number Two will be here in four or five minutes,” answered the other dispatcher.
“And that freight ought to have been here ten minutes ago!” wailed43 the first speaker. “Oh, its enough to drive a man crazy,” and he went on calling Schooley’s.
The east bound flyer could not, of course, be permitted to leave Wadsworth until the west-bound freight had pulled in, or had been definitely located. It was lost as completely as though it had wandered away to the farthest corner of the globe.
Allan stood for a moment with a line of perplexity between his eyebrows44. Then he looked up with a sudden interest as he heard the faint click-click, click-click which told that the operator at Schooley’s had answered at last.
“How about extra west?” clicked the dispatcher.
“Passed here at 9.22,” came the answer.
Allan glanced at the clock. It was 9.47; in other words, the train had passed Schooley’s twenty-five minutes previously45, and Schooley’s was only seven miles out. That seven miles should have been covered in fifteen minutes at the outside. What, then, had happened to delay the train?
A long whistle in the distance told of the approach of the flyer, and a minute later, it rumbled46 into the station and came wheezing47 to a stop. The train would stop for five minutes to change engines. That it should be held up longer than that by a freight train was heartrending. It was over half an hour late already, and Allan had hoped that some of this lost time might be made up on the run east to Parkersburg.
“There’s only one thing to be done,” he said, “and that’s to flag out till we find that freight train,” and he hurried down the stairs to give the necessary orders.
Already the new engine had been backed up and coupled onto the train. Engineer and fireman were in their places, having been convoyed safely across the yards by two of Stanley’s men, who remained in the cab to see that they were not interfered48 with until the train should pull out.
“HE EXPLAINED THE DIFFICULTY TO THE ENGINEER.”
At the foot of the stairs, Allan met the conductor, Andy Leaveland, one of the oldest on the road. He was on his way up to register and get his orders, when Allan stopped him.
“I’ve got the orders, Mr. Leaveland,” he said. “We’ll have to flag out.”
“Flag out!” cried the veteran. “What’s the matter? Wires down?”
“There’s a freight lost somewhere between here and Schooley’s. We’ve got to find it. You’d better start your brakeman out right away.”
“All right,” said Leaveland, and hurried away, while Allan walked forward to the engine.
He explained the difficulty to the engineer, and a minute later, the brakeman, armed with lantern, torpedoes49 and fusee, hurried past. Leaveland gave him time to get two or three hundred yards ahead, and then gave the signal to start.
The train crawled slowly out through the yards, past the shops and the great coal chute, and finally emerged upon the main track. Far ahead, Allan could see the brakeman’s lantern bobbing along. The ice on the track rendered rapid walking impossible and more than once, the train was brought to a stop to give the brakeman a chance to maintain his distance. Back in the coaches, the passengers were fuming50 and fretting51, while the conductor was doing his best to pacify52 them.
“We’re going mighty slow,” he said. “Most roads would go faster. But this road don’t take any chances. We won’t get you through on time, but we’ll get you through safe and sound, without the slightest chance of accident. I guess if we put it to a vote, most of you would vote for safety rather than speed,” and he looked around at the passengers with a smile.
And yet there are few things more trying to the nerves than to ride in a train which may proceed no faster than a man can walk. An hour was consumed in covering five miles, and not a trace of the missing freight had been discovered. Another mile—and then Allan, staring forward through the night, saw the brakeman’s lantern waving violently.
“He’s found something,” he said, and the engineer nodded.
The next moment, a fusee flared55 redly through the darkness, lighting56 up the brakeman—and something on the track back of him—a dim shape—
“Why, it’s the train!” cried Allan. “And with its headlight out! And with no brakeman out to protect it! I don’t understand it!” And he sat with his brows knitted in thought as the train rolled slowly forward.
It stopped within thirty feet of the other train, and Allan swung himself to the ground and ran forward.
“What’s happened?” he asked the brakeman, who came to meet him. “Where’s the crew?”
“Blamed if I know,” answered the brakeman, in an awed57 voice. “There’s the train, but nary a trace of her crew could I find. She’s deserted58!”
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1
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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sleet
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| n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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depot
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| n.仓库，储藏处；公共汽车站；火车站 | |
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12
sputtering
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| n.反应溅射法；飞溅；阴极真空喷镀；喷射v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的现在分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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vomiting
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| 吐 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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cosily
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| adv.舒适地，惬意地 | |
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revelled
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| v.作乐( revel的过去式和过去分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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musing
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| n. 沉思，冥想 adj. 沉思的, 冥想的 动词muse的现在分词形式 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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eel
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| n.鳗鲡 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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lava
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| n.熔岩，火山岩 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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sputtered
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| v.唾沫飞溅( sputter的过去式和过去分词 )；发劈啪声；喷出；飞溅出 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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impeded
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| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inefficient
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| adj.效率低的，无效的 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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40
obstruct
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| v.阻隔，阻塞(道路、通道等)；n.阻碍物，障碍物 | |
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41
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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42
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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43
wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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45
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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46
rumbled
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| 发出隆隆声，发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 轰鸣着缓慢行进； 发现…的真相； 看穿（阴谋） | |
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47
wheezing
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| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的现在分词 )；哮鸣 | |
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48
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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49
torpedoes
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| 鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 )； 油井爆破筒； 刺客； 掼炮 | |
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50
fuming
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| 愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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51
fretting
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| n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的 | |
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52
pacify
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| vt.使(某人)平静(或息怒)；抚慰 | |
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53
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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55
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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56
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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57
awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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