'em look out for themselves," chuckled Lyle. "Whoop! pile in the
black diamonds."

"Stop!" almost shrieked Ralph.

Of a sudden he made a fearful discovery. A signal had called for a
danger stop where the Great Northern crossed the tracks of the Midland
Central. Unheeding the signal, Lyle had run directly onto a siding of
the latter railroad and was traversing it at full speed.

"Stop, stop, I say--there's a car ahead," cried Ralph.

Lyle gave the young fireman a violent push backwards and forged
ahead.

Chug! bang! A frightful sound filled the air. The locomotive had
struck a light gondola car squarely, lifting it from the track and
throwing it to one side a mass of wreckage. Then on, on sped the
engine. It struck the main of the Midland Central.

Ralph grabbed up a shovel.

"Lower speed," he cried, "or I will strike you."

"Get back," yelled Lyle, pulling a revolver from his pocket. "Back, I
say, or I'll shoot. Whoop! this is going."

Ralph climbed to the top of the tender. He was powerless alone to
combat the engineer in his mad fury. A plan came into his mind. The
first car attached to the tender was a blind baggage. Ralph sprang to
its roof. Then he ran back fast as he could.

The young fireman lost no time, dropping from the roof between
platforms. As he reached the first passenger coach he ran inside the
car.

Passengers were on their feet, amazed and alarmed at the reckless
flight of the train. The conductor and train hands were pale and
frightened.

"What's the trouble?" demanded the conductor, as Ralph rushed up to
him.

"A maniac is in charge of the train. He is crazed with drink, and
armed. Who of you will join me in trying to overpower him?"

None of the train hands shrank from duty. They followed Ralph to the
platform and thence to the top of the forward coach. At that moment
new warnings came.

CHAPTER XXVII

A NEW MYSTERY

"Danger," shouted Ralph. "Quick, men. Do you see ahead there?"

Down the rails a red signal fuse was spluttering. It was quite a
distance away, but they would reach it in less than sixty seconds if
the present fearful speed of the train was kept up.

"Hear that?" roared the conductor in a hoarse, frightened tone.

Under the wheels there rang out a sharp crack, audible even above the
roar of the rushing train--a track torpedo.

Ralph ran across the top of the forward car. As he reached its front
end, Lyle turning discovered him.

He set up a wild y