d
overalls--the blacker the better."

CHAPTER V

FIRST NIGHT ON THE RANGE

Away up among the Rockies, with towering, pine-fringed, snow-sprinkled
crests looming dimly about them in the moonlight, two young men stood
waiting by a switch-target of the Transcontinental. Facing westward,
they could see the huge bulk of the mountain range rolling up between
them and the starry sky-line, black and forbidding in the middle
distance, yet fading away northward and southward into faint and tender
outlines--soft grays and violets--and with the earliest signals in the
East of the speedy coming of the long summer's day. Facing eastward,
there confronted them close at hand the huge black bulk of the mammoth
Mogul engine, its dazzling head-light shining afar up the westward
right of way, and throwing into heavier shade, by force of contrast,
every object outside its beams. In the solemn stillness of nature in
those high levels, almost the only sound was the soft hiss of escaping
steam from the cylinder-cocks or an occasional rumble from the boiler.
Even murmured words seemed audible and intelligible sixty feet away,
and twice big Ben Tillson, the engineer of 705, had pricked up his ears
as he circled about his giant steed, oiling the grimy joints, elbows,
and bearings, and pondering in his heavy, methodical way over certain
parting instructions that had come to him from the lips of the division
superintendent. "A young feller learning firing" would board him at
Chimney Switch, forty miles out from the Springs, and the Boss desired
Ben Tillson to understand that "The Road" had its reasons, and the
"young feller" was to be spared the customary quizzing. Furthermore,
Ben Tillson was to understand that nothing was to be said about it. If
anybody at Argenta or among the mines had any questions to ask, Ben was
to know next to nothing.

But what set Ben's wits to work was the odd behavior of his fireman,
Jim Toomey. Toomey was a silent sort of chap as a rule, and surely,
too, with a grudge against the gang over in Hatch's Cove and up the
Run. Toomey had taken to firing because he had got cleaned out at the
mines. Toomey ordinarily wasn't over-civil to anybody. Toomey, too, had
been favored with a word from Mr. Anthony, and never had Big Ben seen
his fireman more cheery over his work than he was that night as they
panted and strained up the foot-hills to Chimney Switch. Ben could have
sworn Toomey was "excited like" when they sid