Ralph, the Train Dispatcher; Or, The Mystery of the Pay Car

  CHAPTER VI

  IN THE TUNNEL

  Ralph pressed close to the window pane of Mr. Little's library room buthe did not succeed in seeing much. The last match struck revealed to hissight the two men who had acted so suspiciously the day he had seen themhanging around the Overland Express train with Glen Palmer'sgrandfather.

  If all that he had surmised and discovered was true, it was quitenatural that he should come upon them again. Ralph was less startledthan surprised. He wondered what their motive could be in visiting thepaymaster's house.

  "They are not up to burglary," the idea ran through his mind. "It mustbe they are searching among the paymaster's papers to find out what theycan about his system and methods. Yes, that is it."

  Ralph saw the man who had struck the matches draw from his pocket atallow candle, evidently intending to light it. His companion had pulledup the sliding top of a desk and was reaching out toward some pigeonholes to inspect their contents. Just then an unexpected climax came.

  The foot of the young railroader slipped on a patch of frozen grass ashe pressed too close to the window. Ralph fell up against this with aslight clatter. The man with the match turned very sharply and suddenly.He glared hard at the source of the commotion. He must have caught sightof Ralph's face before the latter had time to draw back, for he uttereda startled ejaculation.

  With a bang the desk top fell back in place, the match went out, and theman with the candle fired it wildly at the form at the window withsufficient force to penetrate the pane with a slight crash.

  Ralph drew back, some fine splinters of glass striking his face. It wastotally dark now in the room into which he had peered. He could catchthe heavy tramping of feet in flight and a door slammed somewhere in thehouse.

  "Hey, there--what are you up to," challenged Ralph, sharply, as he stoodin a puzzled way debating what was best to do. He turned about, to facea powerfully-built man, cane in hand, storming down upon him from thefront of the house.

  "It is you, Mr. Little?" inquired Ralph quickly.

  "Yes, it's me. Who are you? Oh, young Fairbanks," spoke the paymaster,peering closely at Ralph.

  "Yes, sir."

  "I thought I heard a pane of glass smash--"

  "You did. Hurry to the rear, Mr. Little."

  "What for?"

  "I'll cover the front."

  "Why--"

  "Two men are in your house. They were just at your desk when Idiscovered them."

  "Two men in the house!"

  "I can't explain now, but it is very important that we prevent theirescape."

  "Burglars! We were all over to supper at wife's folks--"

  "Spies, fits the case better, sir--some rival road spite work, maybe.It's serious, as I shall explain to you later."

  "There they are. Hey, stop!"

  Two figures had cut across the lawn from the rear of the house.

  "They are the same men," declared Ralph, and both he and the paymasterput after them.

  The fugitives paid no attention to the repeated demands of the paymasterto halt. They crossed a vacant field and suddenly went clear out ofsight.

  "They've dropped over the wall guarding the north tracks," said Ralph.

  "And we'll follow!" declared Mr. Little dauntlessly.

  At this point the north branch of the road ran down a steep grade andwas walled in for over a thousand feet. Ralph dropped onto the cinderedroadbed. Mr. Little more clumsily followed him.

  "Where now?" he puffed, as he scrambled to his feet.

  "There they go," said Ralph, pointing towards two forms quite plainlyrevealed in the night light.

  "I see them," spoke the paymaster. "They're caged in."

  "Unless they take to the tunnel."

  "Then we'll take to it, too," insisted Mr. Little. "I'm bound to getthose men."

  Ralph admired the pluck and persistency of his companion. The paymasterwas a big man and a brave one. He had the reputation of generallyputting through any job he started on. The young railroader did notentirely share the hopes of his companion, as he saw the two fugitivesreach the mouth of the tunnel, and its gloom and darkness swallowed themup like a cloud.

  "The mischief!" roared the paymaster, going headlong, his cane hurtlingthrough space as he stumbled over a tie brace. "I've sprained my ankle,I guess, Fairbanks. Don't stop for me. Run those fellows down. There'sbound to be a guard at the other end of the tunnel. Call in his help."

  Ralph grabbed up the cane where it had fallen and put sturdily after thefugitives. The tunnel slanted quite steeply at its start. It was aboutan eighth of a mile in length, and single tracked only. Ralph was notentirely familiar with running details on this branch of the GreatNorthern, but he felt pretty sure that there were no regular trains forseveral hours after six o'clock.

  The men he was pursuing had quite some start of him, and unless he couldovertake them before they reached the other end of the tunnel they wereas good as lost for the time being. Ralph's thought was that when he hadpassed the dip of the tunnel, he would be able to make out the forms ofthe fugitives against the glare of the numerous lights in theswitchyards beyond the other entrance.

  The young railroader retained possession of the paymaster's cane as aweapon that might come in handy for attack or defense, as the occasionmight arise.

  It was as black as night in the tunnel, once he got beyond the entrance,and he had to make a blind run of it. The roadbed was none too smooth,and he had to be careful how he picked his steps. The air was close andsmoky, and he paused as he went down the sharp grade with no indicationwhatever through sight or sound of the proximity of the men he wasafter.

  It had occurred to him more than once that the men in advance, if theyshould happen to glance back, would be able to catch the outlines of hisfigure against the tunnel outlet. As they did not wish at all to beoverhauled, however, Ralph believed they would plan less to attack himthan to strain every effort to get into hiding as speedily as possible.

  Headed forward at quite a brisk pace, the young railroader came suddenlyup against an obstruction. It was human, he felt that. In fact, as heran into a yielding object he knew the same to be a barrier composed ofjoined hands of the two fugitives. They had noted or guessed his sharppursuit of them, had joined each a hand, and spreading out the otherspractically barricaded the narrow tunnel roadbed so he could in nomanner get past them.

  "Got him!" spoke a harsh voice in the darkness. Ralph receded and struckout with the cane. He felt that it landed with tremendous force on someone, for a sharp cry ensued. The next instant one of the fugitivespinioned one wrist and the other his remaining wrist.

  Ralph swayed and swung to and fro, struggling actively to break awayfrom his captors.

  "What now?" rang out at his ear.

  "Run him forward."

  "He won't run."

  "Then give him his quietus."

  Ralph felt that a cowardly blow in the dark was pending. He had retainedhold of the cane. He tried to use this as a weapon, but the clasp oneither wrist was like that of steel. He could only sway the walkingstick aimlessly.

  A hard fist blow grazed one ear, bringing the blood. Ralph gave an oldtraining ground twist to his supple body, at the same time deftlythrowing out one foot. He had succeeded in tripping up his captor on theleft, but though the fellow fell he preserved a tenacious grip on thewrist of the plucky young railroader.

  "Keep your clutch!" panted the other man. "I'll have him fixed in ajiffy. Thunder! what's coming?"

  "A train!"

  "Break loose--we're lost!"

  Ralph was released suddenly. The man on the right, however, haddelivered the blow he had started to deal. It took Ralph across thetemple and for a moment dazed and stunned him. He fell directly betweenthe rails.

  The two men had darted ahead. He heard one of them call out to hug thewall closely. Then a sharp grinding roar assailed Ralph's ears and hetried to trace out its cause.

  "Something is coming," he murmured. His skilled hearing soon determined
that it was no locomotive or train, but he was certain that some railvehicle of light construction was bearing down upon him.

  Ralph was so dazed that he could barely collect wit and strength in anendeavor to crawl out of the roadbed. With a swishing grind theapproaching car, or whatever it was, tore down the sharp incline.

  His sheer helplessness of the instant appalled and amazed Ralph. Itseemed minutes instead of seconds before he rolled, crept, crawled overthe outside rail. As he did so, with a whang stinging his nerves likeneedles of fire, one end of the descending object met his suspended footfull force, bending it up under him like a hinge.

  Ralph was driven, lifted against the tunnel wall with harsh force. Hishead struck the wet slimy masonry, causing his brain to whirl anew.

  Something swept by him on seeming wings of fleetness. There was a rushof wind that almost took his breath away. Then there sounded out uponthe clammy blackness of the tunnel an appalling, unearthly scream.