Part 14 (1/2)

”It may be the boy we're looking for!” urged Tommy.

Sandy sat down on the end of a tie and rubbed his bruised s.h.i.+n vigorously, muttering and protesting, against railroad yards in general and this one in particular as he did so.

Tommy made his way under the empty and sat listening, his ear almost against the bottom of the car. Presently he heard a movement above and then it seemed to him that something of considerable weight was being dragged across the floor. This was followed in a moment by a slight groan, and then a shadowy figure leaped from the open side door and started away in the darkness.

Now Sandy had been warned to hang onto the third boy like grim death if he caught sight of him. He saw this figure bounce out of the car and start, away. Therefore, he promptly reached out a foot and tripped the unknown to the ground.

He fell with a grunt of anger and pain and lay rolling on the cinders which lined the roadbed for a moment without speaking. In the meantime, Tommy had crawled out from under the car and stood ready to seize any second person who might make his appearance.

Almost immediately a second body came bouncing out of the empty.

Instead of starting away on a run, however, the second person stopped where Sandy stood beside the wiggling figure and looked down upon it.

”Hand him one!” he said in a boy's voice.

”Who is it?” asked Sandy.

”Don't know!” was the reply.

”What was he doing to you?”

”He was trying to rob me!”

”I don't think a man would get rich, robbing people who ride in empties!” laughed Sandy. ”I shouldn't think their bank rolls would make much of a hit with a bold, bad highwayman!”

”There's men riding the rods,” was the reply, ”who would kill a boy for a dime! If I wasn't opposed to cruelty to animals, I'd give this fellow a beating up right now. He tried to drag me from the car by the leg and nearly broke my ankle!”

”I heard him dragging you across the floor!” Tommy said, coming up to where the two stood. ”Can you see who it is?” he added.

”He's just a tramp!” the other replied. ”I saw him sneaking around the empties just before dark.”

”Why were you sleeping in an empty?” asked Sandy.

”Because I like plenty of fresh air!” replied the boy with a chuckle.

While the boys talked the tramp arose and sneaked away, limping over the ties as if tickled to death to get out of the way of the three youngsters.

As he disappeared in the darkness Tommy turned to the boy who had dropped out of the car to ask him a question.

The boy was nowhere to be seen.

”Now we've gone and done it!” cried Sandy.

”I guess we have!” agreed Tommy. ”We've let the third boy get away from us! And we couldn't have done a worse thing!” he went on, ”because the boys in the mine will know that we are still in this vicinity!”

While the boys stood blaming themselves the sharp call of the Wolf pack came to them.

CHAPTER XI