Part 53 (1/2)

A profound ”Ah!” of relief soughed through the car, and Mallory, still keeping his eye on Bill, got down cautiously from the seat. The moment he released Jake's left hand, it darted to the holster where his second gun was waiting. But before he could clutch the b.u.t.t of it, Mallory jabbed the muzzle of his own revolver in the man's back, and growled: ”Put 'em up!” And the robber's left hand joined the right in air, while Mallory's left hand lifted the revolver, and took possession of it.

Mallory stood for a moment, breathing hard and a little incredulous at his own swift, sweet triumph. Then he made an effort to speak as if this sort of thing were quite common with him, as if he overpowered a pair of outlaws every morning before breakfast, but his voice cracked as he said, in a drawing-room tone:

”Dr. Temple, would you mind relieving that man of those guns?”

Dr. Temple was so set up by this distinction that he answered: ”Not by a----”

”Walter!” Mrs. Temple checked him, before he could utter the beautiful word, and Dr. Temple looked at her almost reproachfully, as he sighed: ”Golly, I should like to swear just once more.”

Then he reached up and disarmed the man who had taken his wallet and his wife's keepsakes. But the doctor was not half so happy over the recovery of his property as over the unbelievable luxury of finding himself taking two revolvers away from a masked train-robber.

American children breathe in this desperado romance with their earliest traditions, and Dr. Temple felt all his boyhood zest surge back with a boy's tremendous rapture in a deed of derring-do. And now nothing could check his swagger, as he said to Mallory:

”What shall we do with these dam-ned sinners?”

He felt like apologizing for the clerical relapse into a pulpitism, but Mallory answered briskly: ”We'd better take them into the smoking room. They scare the ladies. But first, will the conductor take those bags and distribute the contents to their rightful owners?”

The conductor was proud to act as lieutenant to this Lieutenant, and he quickly relieved the robbers of their loot-kits.

Mallory smiled. ”Don't give anybody my things,” and then he jabbed his robber with one of the revolvers, and commanded: ”Forward, march!”

The little triumphal procession moved off, with Bill in the lead, followed by Dr. Temple, looking like a whole field battery, followed by Jake, followed by Mallory, followed by the porter and as many of the other pa.s.sengers as could crowd into the smoking room.

The rest went after those opulent feed-bags.

CHAPTER XLI

CLICKETY-CLICKETY-CLICKETY

Marjorie, as the supposed wife of the rescuing angel, was permitted first search, and the first thing she hunted for was a certain gold bracelet that was none of hers. She found it and seized it with a prayer of thanks, and concealed it among her own things.

Mrs. Temple gave her a guilty start, by speaking across a barrier:

”Mrs. Mallory, your husband is the bravest man on earth.”

”Oh, I know he is,” Marjorie beamed, and added with a spasm of conscience: ”but he isn't my husband!”

Mrs. Temple gasped in horror, but Marjorie dragged her close, and poured out the whole story, while the other pa.s.sengers recovered their properties with as much joy as if they were all new gifts found on a bush.

Meanwhile, under Mallory's guidance, the porter fastened the outlaws together back to back with the straps of their own feed-bags. The porter was rejoicing that his harvest of tips was not blighted after all.

Mallory completed his bliss, by giving him Dr. Temple's brace of guns, and establis.h.i.+ng him as jailer, with a warning: ”Now, porter, don't take your eye off 'em.”

”Lordy, I won't bat an eyelid.”

”If either of these lads coughs, put a hole through both of 'em.”

The porter chuckled: ”My fingers is just a-itchin' fer them lovin'

triggers.”