with an exclamation brought up before a mound of earth
six feet high over the siding rails.

As he gazed Alex felt his heart tighten. The westbound Sunset Express was
due to take the siding in less than half an hour, to await the Eastern
Mail, and at once he saw that if the engineer misjudged the distance in
the fog, and ran onto the siding at full speed, there would be a terrible
calamity.

And suppose the cars were thrown onto the main line track, and the Mail
crashed into them! And, apparently, he could not reach the despatcher, to
give warning of her danger!

What could he do to stop them? Helplessly Alex looked at the lantern in
his hand. Its light was smothered by the fog within ten feet of him.

Running back to the operating room he seized the key and once more sought
to attract the attention of the despatcher. It was useless. The
despatcher did not hear him. He sank back in his chair, sick with dread.

But he must attempt something! Determinedly he sprang to his feet. A
lantern was useless. Then why not a fire? A big fire on the track?
Hurrah! That was it! But--he gazed at the coal box, and thought of the
rain soaked wood outside, and his heart sank. Then came remembrance of
the big woodshed at the farm-house where he boarded, three hundred yards
away, and in a moment he had recovered the lantern, and was out, and off
through the darkness, running desperately.

On arriving at the house Alex found all in silence, and the family
retired, but without a moment's hesitation he threw himself at the front
door, pounding upon it with his fists.

It seemed an age before a window was raised. "Mr. Moore," he cried,
"there has been a landslide in the cut at the station, and there is
danger of the Sunset running into it. May I have wood from the shed to
make a fire on the track to stop her?"

"Gracious! Certainly, certainly!" exclaimed the voice from the window.
"And the boys and I will be down in a minute to help you. You run around
and be pulling out some kindling."

[Illustration: THREW HIMSELF AT THE FRONT DOOR, POUNDING UPON IT
WITH HIS FISTS.]

Alex darted about to the woodshed, there the farmer and his two sons soon
joined him, and each catching up an armful of wood, they were quickly off
for the railroad, Alex leading with the lantern.

Reaching the tracks, they hurried east, and a quarter mile distant
halted, and began hastily building a huge bonfire between the rails.

"There," said Alex, as the flame