engine's whistle. In a few moments it was tearing away through
the dawn at a wonderful speed, rocking around curves, roaring across
culverts, making up time.

And all the rest of that strange night the passengers, sitting up in
their unmade beds, in the swaying car, lighted by a strange mingling of
pallid dawn and trembling Pintsch lights, rushing at break-neck speed
through the misty rain, were oppressed by a vision of figures of terror,
far behind them in the night they had left, masked, armed, galloping
toward the mountains pistol in hand, the booty bound to the saddle
bow, galloping, galloping on, sending a thrill of fear through all the
country side.

The young doctor returned. He sat down in the smoking-room, lighting a
cigarette, and Annixter and the drummers pressed around him to know the
story of the whole affair.

"The man is dead," he declared, "the brakeman. He was shot through the
lungs twice. They think the fellow got away with about five thousand in
gold coin."

"The fellow? Wasn't there four of them?"

"No; only one. And say, let me tell you, he had his nerve with him. It
seems he was on the roof of the express car all the time, and going as
fast as we were, he jumped from the roof of the car down on to the coal
on the engine's tender, and crawled over that and held up the men in the
cab with his gun, took their guns from 'em and made 'em stop the train.
Even ordered 'em to use the emergency gear, seems he knew all about it.
Then he went back and uncoupled the express car himself.

"While he was doing this, a brakeman--you remember that brakeman that
came through here once or twice--had a red mustache."

"THAT chap?" "Sure. Well, as soon as the train stopped, this brakeman
guessed something was wrong and ran up, saw the fellow cutting off the
express car and took a couple of shots at him, and the fireman says
the fellow didn't even take his hand off the coupling-pin; just turned
around as cool as how-do-you-do and NAILED the brakeman right there.
They weren't five feet apart when they began shooting. The brakeman had
come on him unexpected, had no idea he was so close."

"And the express messenger, all this time?"

"Well, he did his best. Jumped out with his repeating shot-gun, but the
fellow had him covered before he could turn round. Held him up and took
his gun away from him. Say, you know I call that nerve, just the same.
One man standing up a whole train-load, like that. Then, as soon as h