Chasing an Iron Horse

of tempestuous waves, of a boat buffeted here and there, and of Ned Jackson muttering all manner of unkind things at his passengers and the

lever ruse of yours, George. That Jackson was a brave man at heart, and you put him on

ad put the idea into his own head, and then he wondered where that same f

he sun had nearly set as the engine pulled slowly out of the depot. The car in which they sat was filled with men on their way down South, some of them being soldiers in uniform and the rest c

if Andrews and the rest of the party will be on hand to-night at Marietta." Then, as he realized that he was in a car filled with men who would treat him as a spy, if they knew the nature of his erra

ie, who was lying on his master's lap. He had shrewd gray eyes, had thi

g Waggie a pat with one of his skeleton-like hands. It

ome-Cin

o detect what a blunder he was making. The next second he could have bitten out his tongue in very

prised fashion. "From Cincinnati? Cincinnati, Ohio?" he ask

was only conscious that the Confederate officer continued to regard him in t

hought, "I had better put a frank face on this stupidity of mine;

y son?" observed the Captain. "I thought

ome plausible story to tell the officer. But how to invent one while he was being subjected to that close scrutiny. One thing, a

there was an inflection in his voice which seemed to say: "Give a good account of

rned the piercing look of the officer with steadfast eyes. His mind was clear as to one thing. There was no need of his trying to invent a story, on the spur of the moment, w

he said, pretending to be virtuously of

air. "Heigh ho!" he muttered; "my young in

being called an "infant." But he kept his temper; he foresaw that everything d

e was thinking hard. Not a word was spoken between the two for ten minutes. Most of the other passengers were talking excitedly among themselves. Occasionally a

dier, "the battle was a g

ries we Southerners will have a lost cause on our hands, and Abe Linco

were doing, or hear what they were saying, at the other end of the car. But he was not supposed to know them. He could only surmise (correctly enough, as it happened) that they were

saying, in a low tone: "When a Northerner travels down South these times he must give an acco

ng up, and in another minute it

nto his pocket, and said to the Captain: "If you want to f

ey touched the platform than the train moved on its way, leaving the Captain in a state of angry surprise, as he wondered whether he should not have made s

n, "and what's to become of him?" He was already devotedly attached to George, so that he felt sick at heart when he pictured him alone and unprotected at a little wayside village in the heart of an enemy's country. Nor were the other two men less solicitous. Had George suddenly put on wings, and flown up through the roof of the car, they could not have been more horrified than they were at this moment. Meanwhile the train went rumbling on, as it got farther and farther aw

possible consequences of such a proceeding he unwillingly admitted to himself that to attempt it would be the part of madness. He would only bring the notice o

the same question. Steadily the train went on, while the sky grew darker and darker. In time most of the passengers fell

nstant. The latter passed on into the station, and left the platform deserted, except for George. Hardly had she disappeared before the conductor pulled the check-rope, and the train began to move. As it slowly passed by him the boy quickly jumped upon the track, caught hold of the coupling of the last car, and hung there, with his knees lifted up almost to his chin. In another second he had grasped the iron railing above him; within a minute he had raised himself and clambered upon the platform. The train was now speeding along at the customary rate. As George sat down on the platf

oat pocket to give a reassuring pat to Waggie (who had been sadly shaken up by his master'

?" asked the man. George recognized

producing his railroad ticket and showing it in the dusk. The conductor flashe

in one of the forward cars, weren't you? Where's your dog? In your pocket, eh?" He t

u and I are having an exciting time of it, aren't we?" he laughed. "Well, there's o

outhward. The conductor did not appear again; he had evidently forgotten all about the boy. At last, when Waggie and his maste

to be the rendezvous for Andrews and his party. As they entered the office of the hostelry all their enthusiasm for the coming escapade seemed to hav

ging eight or nine men. The pulses of the three newcomers beat the quicker as they recog

lerk, who stood behind a desk; "we Kentuckians must push on early t

ave both found out by this time that this war won't be any child's pl

ssee," and "Major Thomas Brown, Chattanooga." The latter, it will be remembered, wore a Confederate uniform. Watson wrote his real name, in a bold, round hand, and added: "F

e to cultivate a new acquaintance. Andrews rose, of course, to the occasion, by an

atson. "That's my county, too!

corner and sat down. "We are all here now except two of our men," said Andrews, in a low voice. "

hink where he is," whi

he Marietta Station, after leaving the platform of the car, until he was safe from meeting the Captain, in

at did you lag behind at the station for, George?" he asked. Then, turning to Andrews, he said

if they had never met each other before, could n

d the latter, "you have give

to my room-number 10, on the second floor, and get your instructions for to-morrow. Everything has gone very smoothly so far, and we are a

concoction consisting of about seven-eights of chickory, and the other eighth,-but what the remaining eighth was only the cook could have told. The meal tasted like a Delmonico feast to the famished wanderers, nor was it the less acceptable because they saw it nearly consumed before their hungry eyes; for Waggie, who had a power of observation that would have done credit to a det

eepy bell-boy, and shown into a large room containing two double beds. The servant lig

e beds, fellows," he said, with a grim chuckle; "it may be a long time before you

ly, but in subdued tones. "Don't bor

ered, "but I can't shut my eyes to the risks we are running. Did you notice on your way down that the railroad sidings between Chattanooga

red, "the less likely are we to get stranded on the beach. But we really can't judge anyt

next moment Andrews had cautiously entered the room. He

was listening when the boy showed you up to this room." He proceeded to sit upon one of the beds, while his companions gathered silently aro

stance of eight miles. Here passengers and railroad employees get off for breakfast, and this is why I have selected the place for the seizure of the train. Furthermore, there is no telegraph station there from which our robbery could be reported. When we board the train at Marietta we must get in by dif

, at least, from a modern version of the "Nights," where Federal soldiers and steam engines would not be out of place. He thrilled with admiration at the nicety with which Andrews had made all his arrangements. It was like a general entering into elaborate preparations for a battle. The two soldiers who were to a

itchell advancing towards Chattanooga on his way from Huntsville. I have obtained a copy of the time-table showing the movement of trains on the Georgia State Railroad, and I find we have only two to meet on our race. These two won't trouble us, for I know just where to look for them. There is also a local freight-train which can be pas

ride in his lowered v

e thing, and the man who invented the scheme has

he very heart of the enemy's country, he could hardly restrain his enthusias

grit, my lad," he said, in a kindly fashion, "and God grant you may come out of this business in s

s any one of our party, and I am ready to follow wherever he leads. Whatever my faults may be, I'm not a coward. But we should look carefully on each side of

circumstances?

amp will stand idly by when we seize cars and locomotive and attempt to steam away to the northward? In the second place-and this is no less important-the railroad seems to be obstructed by numerous freight trains, probably not on the schedule, and flying along th

Shanty, but what of it? No one dreams for one second that there is any plot to capture a train, and no one, therefore, will be on the lookout. The thing will be done so suddenly that there will be no chance for an alarm until we are steaming off

ght," answered Wats

h in 'Dixieland.' But I don't want to persuade any one against his own judgment. If any one of you thinks the scheme too dangerous-if you are convinced beforehand of its failure-you are at perfect liberty to take the train in any dir

his purpose of inducing his followers to remain with him. It was as if

r, but he liked to have the privilege of grumbling at times. In his heart, too, was a convicti

gratefully. "I never could doubt your b

ks and the boy were very sanguine; Macgreggor was rather skeptical as to f

gh this railroad ride in safety you will have something interesting to remember al