"All right, then," sighed Tom. "I can't tell you what I don't know."

From off in the distance came the shrill too-oo-oot! of a locomotive.
Tom Reade heard, and, despite his fears for his safety, an exclamation
of joy escaped him.

"Oh, you needn't build any false hopes," sneered Black. "That
whistle doesn't come from the through train. It's one of the
locomotives that the S.B. & L. had delivered over the D.V. & S.,
which makes a junction with your road at Lineville. A locomotive
or a train at the Lineville end won't help your crowd any. That
isn't the through train required by the charter. The S.B. & L.
loses the game, just the same."

"Oh, I don't know," Tom argued. "The S.B. & L. road was finished
within charter time. No railroad can get a train through if the
opposition sends out men to dynamite the tracks."

"Humph!" jeered Black maliciously. "That dynamited roadbed won't
save your crowd. The opposition can make it plain enough that
your crowd dynamited its own roadbed through a well-founded fear
that the tracks clear through weren't strong enough to stand the
passing of a train. Don't be afraid, Reader the enemies of your
road will know how to explain the dynamiting this side of Brewster's."

"That's a question for tomorrow, Black," rejoined Tom Reade.
"No man can ever tell, today, what tomorrow will bring forth."

Too-oo-oot! sounded a locomotive whistle again. One of the men
in the thicket threw himself to the ground, pressing his ear to
the earth.

"There's a train, or a locomotive, at least, coming this way from
Lineville, boss," reported the fellow.

"A train?" gasped Black. Then his face cleared. "Oh, well, even
if it's a fully equipped wrecking train, it can't get the road
mended in time to bring the through train in before midnight,
as the charter demands."

Now the train from Lineville came closer, and the whirr of its
approach was audible along the steel rails. The engine's bell
was clanging steadily, too, after the manner of the engines of
"specials."

'Gene Black crowded to the outer edge of the thicket, peering
through intently. The bright headlight of an approaching locomotive
soon penetrated this part of the forest. Then the train rolled
swiftly by.

"Humph!" muttered Black. "Only an engine, a baggage car and one
day coach. That kind of train can't carry much in the way of
relief."

As the train passed out of sight the engine sent back a screeching
whistle.