ng road that led toward the faint,
greenish light glimmering above the desert station of Sanborn.

CHAPTER XXXI

FUGITIVE

Rodeo, Hachita, Monument--long hours between each town as the local did
its variable thirty-five miles an hour across the southern end of New
Mexico. It was Pete's first experience in traveling by rail, and true
to himself he made the most of it. He used his eyes, and came to the
conclusion that they were aboard a very fast train--a train that "would
sure give a thoroughbred the run of its life"--Pete's standard of speed
being altogether of the saddle--and that more people got on and off
that train than could possibly have homes in that vast and uninhabited
region. The conductor was an exceedingly popular individual. Every
one called him by his "front name," which he acknowledged pleasantly in
like manner. Pete wondered if the uniformed gentleman packed a gun;
and was somewhat disappointed when he discovered that that protuberance
beneath the conductor's brass-buttoned coat was nothing more deadly
than a leather wallet, pretty well filled with bills and loose
silver--for that isolated railroad did a good cash business and
discriminating conductors grew unobtrusively wealthy. And what was
still more strange to Pete was the fact that the conductor seemed to
know where each person was going, without having to refer to any
penciled notation or other evident data.

The conductor was surprisingly genial, even to strangers, for, having
announced that the next station was El Paso, he took the end seat of
the combination baggage and smoking car, spread out his report sheet,
and as he sorted and arranged the canceled tickets, he chatted with
Pete and Brevoort, who sat facing him. Had they heard the news?
Brevoort shook his head. Well, there had been a big fight down along
the line, between the northern cattlemen and Arguilla's soldiers. It
was rumored that several American cowboys had been killed. He had
heard this from the agent at Hermanas, who had "listened in" on the
wire to El Paso. Perhaps they had heard about it, though, as they had
come up from that way. No? Well, the El Paso papers already had the
news, by wire. How was the cattle business going, anyway?

Brevoort said that it was pretty fair.

The conductor knew of a nice little hotel near the station--in fact he
stopped there himself. El Paso was the end of his run. If the boys
were going to see the town, they couldn't