CHAPTER VI
THE ATTACK ON THE STATION
"What time does the Thunderbolt go through?" asked Jack.
"Eight thirty-four she's due, but she's sometimes a few minutes late.Then, at eight forty-two there's the second section of the Thunderbolt,when there's one running--and there is to-night, and your train fortown gets in here at eight fifty-seven."
"What's the next station below this?"
"Conway. That's about eleven miles down the line, and away from thecity. 'Tisn't much more of a station than this. Just an operator whodoubles up on all the other jobs same way I do."
"I've got to go wash dishes and make up our packs," said Jack. "It'seight o'clock now, and that doesn't leave so very much more time thanwe need. I've got to put out the fire, too."
He went off with the dishes on which they had eaten their simple butdelicious supper, and left Hank Hudson to talk to Tom Binns and watchhis key, which might at any moment click out some important order thatwould make the difference between safety and disaster for a train ladenwith passengers.
The fire on which he had cooked their supper was still glowing in thewoods about a hundred yards from the railway tracks, and he hurriedtoward it to extinguish it, in accordance with the strictest of allScout rules for camping. Fires left carelessly burning after a picnichave caused many a terrible and disastrous forest fire, and it is theduty of every Scout to make sure that he gives no chance for such aresult to follow any encampment in which he has had a part.
As he made his way toward the fire he thought once or twice that heheard the sounds of a man or an animal moving through the woods, andonce, too, he thought he heard a hoarse and raucous laugh. But hedecided, after stopping to listen once or twice, that he had beenmistaken, and he laughed at himself when he was startled as he got nearthe dancing shadows east by the dying fire, by what looked like theshadows of three men.
There was no danger in the fire he had built as long as the wind heldsteady, and he might have left it to burn itself out with little fearof any adverse happening as a result. But that was not thorough, norwas it the way of a Scout. A wind may shift at any moment, and a firethat is perfectly safe with a northwest wind may be the means ofstarting a conflagration no one can hope to check if the wind shiftseven a point or two.
So Jack put his fire out thoroughly, and made certain that no liveembers remained to start it up anew. Then he washed his dishes, andmade his way back toward Hank Hudson's cabin.
Inside the cabin, as he approached, he could hear slight sounds, andthen, insistent, compelling, the clatter of the telegraph key.
He stopped to listen a moment to its clicking, and then found, to hissurprise, that it was "H-K," the call for Haskell Crossing, that wassounding.
"Why doesn't Hudson answer?" he asked himself.
Still the call sounded. There was a continued noise within thestation--someone was there, and it must, surely, be Hudson. He couldnot fail to hear the chatter of his sounder, and yet he was ignoringthe steady call from his instrument--a call more than likely to be ofthe last importance.
Jack, sure now that something must be wrong, did not rush hastily andimpulsively for the door of the cabin. Instead, he crept up quietlytoward the side, where there was a window, that would give him a chanceto look in without being seen himself.
And, when he got there, he saw what was wrong. Hudson, his face livid,a red handkerchief stuffed into his mouth, was tied in a chair, hisarms, legs and body being securely tied up, so that there was no chancefor him to work himself free. He could hear what went on, but he coulddo nothing, and there was no chance for him to reach that key andanswer the insistent urging of the wire, though Jack could see, fromthe look in his eyes, that he knew an attempt was being made to raisehis office.
"They'll think he's deserted his key," said Jack to himself. "That'swhat's worrying him."
Apparently Hudson was alone in the station, and Jack was just on thepoint of rushing in to free the operator when the door into the freightstation opened, and three burly men, dressed like tramps, appeared,dragging poor little Tom Binns with them, despite his twisted ankle.
Tom was trying to cry out and give the alarm, as Jack could see, but invain, for one of the ruffians had his hand over his mouth, and therewas no chance for Tom's cries to be heard.
Jack, horror struck, but, knowing that aid was far away, watched thescene that followed with distended eyes. He was powerless againstthree such men as the tramps that had attacked Hudson and Tom Binns,and the nearest station, as he knew, was eleven miles distant. But hefelt that he must try to find out, at least, what the attack meant.Hudson, as the assailants must know, had no money to make such anattack worth while, and, even if they could blow or otherwise open thelittle safe it was unlikely that more than a few dollars would bethere--a poor reward for such a desperate business.
Suddenly, however, a thought came to him that terrified him a thousandtimes more than what he had already seen.
"The key!" he thought, almost shouting the words aloud and betrayinghimself in his excitement. That was it! These men were trainrobbers--or, worse, possibly, train wreckers. They would endangerevery life on the onrushing Thunderbolt to gain their ends. That waswhy they had put Hank Hudson out of business, why they were guardingTom Binns with such care, crippled as he seemed to be. Men in theirdesperate business could take no chances. It was all or nothing forthem--success, and the chance to rifle the registered mail and thevaluable express pouches, or failure and death on the gallows or a lifein prison.
For a moment Jack had the impulse to seek safety in flight. If theycaught him spying on them they were likely to have little mercy forhim, and well he knew it. But the impulse lasted scarcely a second.
"I guess if I'm ever to make good as a Scout, this is one of mychances," he said to himself, grimly. "I'm going to stay right by thiswindow and try to hear what they say to one another. They may giveaway their plans and give me some sort of a chance to foil them."
Jack was frightened, and he was brave enough to admit that to himself.Even the river pirates that he and Pete Stubbs had helped to thwartwhen they tried to steal the fittings from Mr. Simms' yacht were mildmannered criminals compared to these. Each of them wore a black maskthat hid his eyes and the upper part of his face, but Jack, tryingdesperately to discover something that would enable him to identifythem should he ever have the chance, picked out lines about the lowerparts of their faces that would, he thought, make it impossible for himto mistake them should he ever have the chance to see them again. Onehad a prominent, undershot jaw. Another bore a furrow across his chin,the mark of a bullet, as Jack guessed, that was white against thestubble of his beard. And another had lost part of his right ear,which was not hidden by his mask.
"I'm really more certain of knowing them again now than if they hadn'tworn those masks," said Jack, to himself. "The masks made me look moreattentively at the part of each one's face that I could see."
"Hey, Tom," said one of the men, gruffly, looking at his watch, "gotthem tied? I thought there was another one of the young rips."
"If there was, he ain't a comin' back here, or he'd have been here longago," said Tom, scowling fiercely at his two captives. "What's thetime, Bo?"
"Time enough. She ain't due for ten or twelve minutes yet, even ifshe's on time. Wish't I could tell what that key was saying."
"Don't make no difference. It'll be saying a lot more when we getthrough tonight," said the other.
All the time the monotonous calling of the key had kept up--"H-K--H-K."Now suddenly there was a change. "B-D--B-D--" clicked the instrument,and Jack knew that the sender had given up Haskell Crossing and wastrying now to raise Beaver Dam, the next station up toward the city.
Beaver Dam answered at once, and Jack listened intently to the wireconversation that followed and was sounded by Hudson's open key.
"Hello, B-D," it called. "What's the matter with Hudson? I've beentrying to raise him for half an hour."
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"I heard you. He must be asleep or sick--sick most likely."
"That's what I thought. There's a hand car with another operatorordered down. But it'll have to run behind the Thunderbolt. She's anhour late and trying to make up time."
"That's bad! It'll tie up the whole line."
"So long!"
"So long! I'll pass on word."
Jack's heart leaped within him. The train the robbers were waiting forwas an hour late. All sorts of things might happen in an hour. Hecould only wait. But there was more chance now, at least.
The robbers waited patiently until the limited was twenty minutesoverdue. Then they began to get nervous.
"Sure the tie will throw her off the rails?" asked one.
"Go out and see for yourself if you're nervous."
And the first speaker followed the suggestion. The others fidgetedabout for a few minutes.
"Let's get out, then," said one of those who remained. "Those kids aretied up safe enough. No need to stay here. Let's get some fresh airand look to see if she's coming."
And in a moment the station was empty, save for the two prisoners.
Jack acted on the instant. In a second he was at the key, poundingaway, and calling B-D, B-D, in frantic efforts to get an answer andhave the limited stopped and help rushed.
"O-K--" came the answer at last, and in a frenzied rush, but with thehand of an inexperienced operator, Jack sent the story over the wire.He had won!
He was in time, he was sure. The train had not yet passed the lasttelegraph station before Haskell Crossing, and it would be stoppedbefore it could rush on to destruction. Then, swiftly, he rushed overto the chair in which Hudson was strapped, and quickly cut the ropesthat held the operator. As quickly he snatched the gag from his mouth.
"Gee, that was great!" cried Hudson. "I didn't know you knew how tohandle a key. You did fine!"
"I guess they got the message in time to stop the train. Don't youthink so?"
"Listen to it now."
The key was clicking away furiously. The sounds were so fast thatJack, who was only an amateur and a beginner as a telegrapher, afterall, could not understand.
"Beaver Dam's sending the word along the line," said Hudson. "Thewarning's been acknowledged and the train will be held up. They'regoing to send help, too. I hope those fellows don't come back here toosoon. If they'll hold off a few minutes we'll be all right, thanks toyou."
"Haven't you got a gun, Hank?" asked Jack.
"Gee, what a fool I am! Of course I have! A peach, too. They gave usnew automatic revolvers--only they don't revolve--a few weeks ago.I'll get it."
He was not a moment too soon. The steps of the train wreckers, as theyreturned, were heard outside, and in a moment Jack disappeared again.
"I'll be outside," he called to Hudson, from the window.
"Pretend to be tied up still, and get them covered. Then try to holdthem in there with your pistol. Don't shoot unless you have to, butremember that they're bad men, and don't hesitate to shoot if that'sthe only thing you can do."
In another minute the three tramps were inside the little stationagain. Hudson had thrown the ropes about his body again, and hadstuffed the handkerchief in his mouth. They gave him a hasty glance.
"There's something wrong, Tom," said one of them, anxiously. "Thattrain ought to have been here a good hour ago. Wonder if that clickingkey means that there's anything loose that we ought to know about. Weought to have had someone along that knows how to read that thing."
"Throw up your hands!"
Jack exulted as he heard Hudson, in a firm, ringing voice, give theorder. The operator had nerve--they would catch the robbers in theneatest sort of a trap.
He slipped around to the door.
There was a snarl of rage from one of the men, while the others stoodin helpless surprise. The one who had cried out rushed at Hudson, anda bullet whizzed by his ear.
"Stop!" cried Hudson, savagely. "I'll shoot to hit you next time."
"He's got us--better keep quiet," exclaimed another of the men, with asavage curse. "That's what we got for leaving them alone here."
Jack stepped into the station.
"Keep them covered, Hank," he said. "You forgot me, too, you see," hesaid to the men. "Now, keep your hands up and you won't get hurt. Youwon't need your pistols where you're going, so I'll just take them awayfrom you now."
He was as good as his word, searching them for their concealed weapons,and putting all three of the pistols that he found in a heap besideHudson. Then he released Tom Binns, and in the same moment there wasthe sound of a distant whistle. A few minutes later an engineer drewup outside, drawing a single car, and from it a dozen armed menstreamed into the station, sent post haste from Beaver Dam.
"Good work, indeed!" said one man, who was the chief of the railroaddetective bureau, Captain Haskins, famed in a dozen states. "This is afine haul. Omaha Pete, Tom Galway, and 'Frisco Sammy. Glad to seeyou, boys! There are rewards of about eleven thousand dollars for thethree of you. You'll be as welcome as the flowers that bloom in thespring when the police get hold of you."
He was curious to know how the three boys, for Hank Hudson himself waslittle more than a boy, had effected such a capture, and he wasunstinting in his praise when he heard the story. Hudson insisted ongiving Jack Danby most of the credit, but Jack wouldn't have it thatway.
"You did the trick with your gun," he said. "I may have given you thechance and helped to save the train, but you were the one that caughtthem."
"There's credit enough for both of you," said Haskins, kindly. "AndI'm here to see that you get what's coming to you, too, rewards andall. The road can afford to be grateful to a boy who saved theThunderbolt from being wrecked."