were several cars.

"Why," exclaimed Ralph suddenly, "if I only have the time to do it in,
I have got the whole affair right in my own hands."

A plan to deprive the railroad thieves of their booty had come into
the mind of the young fireman. Ralph filled his arms with the
packages of silk, advanced to the edge of the cliff, threw them over,
and continued his operation until he had removed the last parcel from
its hiding place.

"Something more to do yet," he told himself, when this task was
completed. "When the thieves discover that their plunder is gone, they
may surmise that it disappeared this way. Can I make a safe descent?"

Ralph had a hard time getting down into the railroad cut. Once there,
he hastily threw the silk packages into a half-filled gravel car, with
a shovel covered them all over with sand and gravel, and then started
on a run for Brocton.

CHAPTER IX

A SUSPICIOUS PROCEEDING

"Mr. Griscom, this is life!"

Ralph Fairbanks spoke with all the ardor of a lively, ambitious boy in
love with the work in hand. He sat in the cab of the locomotive that
drew the Limited Mail, and he almost felt as if he owned the splendid
engine, the finest in the service of the Great Northern.

Two weeks had passed by since the young fireman had baffled the
railroad thieves. Ralph had made brief work of his special duty for
Adair, the road detective, and there had come to him a reward for
doing his duty that was beyond his fondest expectations. This was a
promotion that most beginners in his line would not have earned in any
such brief space of time. The recovery of the stolen silk, however,
had made Bob Adair a better friend than ever. The road detective had
influence, and Ralph was promoted to the proud position of fireman of
the Limited Mail.

This was his first trip in the passenger service, and naturally Ralph
was anxious and excited. Griscom had been made engineer, his eyes
having mended, and Ralph was very glad that the veteran railroader
would continue as his partner.

Regarding the silk robbery, that was now ancient history, but for
several days the occurrence had been one of interest all along the
line. Adair had made public the circumstances of the case, and Ralph
became quite a hero.

The night he had managed to get the plunder into the gravel car he had
instantly secured assistance at Brocton. The valuable goods were
guarded all night, and a party of men made a search for the thieves,
but