ments.

"There--wires cut, ain't they?" said his captor.

"Yes, I suppose," said Alex, bitterly.

"They sure are," said the voice from behind the mask. "And when we get
through, them wires'll be cut so you won't be able to fix 'em up in a
hurry."

Fifteen minutes later a second masked and heavily armed figure appeared.
"Every wire cut five poles back on either side of the station," he
announced briefly. "It'll take a lineman half a day to fix 'em up again,
and we'll be twenty miles away by that time. Now we'll put the hobbles on
the youngster, and git."

Often Alex had longed for just such an adventure as this. The final
disenchantment was anything but glorious. Roughly seizing him, the two
men forced him stiffly upright in the chair, drew his arms about the back
of it, and there secured them, wrist to wrist, drawing the knot until
Alex almost cried out in pain. Then, as tightly, they bound his ankles to
the lower rungs, one on either side.

"Now one of us is going to watch from the woods for a spell--we'll leave
the back door open, so we can see right in--and if you make a move, you
get this quick! See?" said one of the desperadoes, tapping his pistol
significantly.

Therewith they passed out, leaving the rear door wide open, and in utter
misery of mind Alex watched them stride toward the trees.

Before the two bandits had crossed the open space, however, Alex's mind
had cleared. For plainly they were hurrying! Then their promise to watch
him must have been only a threat, to keep him quiet! Good! At once he
began straining at his wrists, paused as the two men reached the edge of
the clearing and momentarily turned, and as they disappeared amid the
trees, began struggling with grim determination.

It seemed a hopeless task at first, and the rawhide thongs cut cruelly
into Alex's wrists and ankles. But bravely he struggled on, wriggled and
twisted, paused for breath, and struggled again. And finally one hand
came suddenly free.

It required but a few seconds to get into his pocket, reach his knife,
and open it with his teeth. A moment later Alex was on his feet, and
staggered out onto the platform.

Yes, the wires were cut, five poles in either direction! Alex clenched
his hands. After all, what could he do? To restore the line was entirely
out of the question. Had there been but one break he could not have
climbed the pole and carried aloft that heavy stretch of wire.

And there was less than twenty minut