Chasing an Iron Horse

ping and rattle of brakes at the station called Adairsville. Hardly had the wheels of th

they supposed it must be, he told them the customary story about the powder designed for General Beauregard. They believed the leader, who spoke with his o

General" Andrews shouted to the men in the cab: "W

right behind us,

et us pass that passenger, and we'll have

and switched on to the siding, directly behind the "spe

permission of Andrews, he jumped from the cab, and walked over to the platform, Waggie followi

er who was home on furlough (to judge by his gray uniform and right a

hey talk about sending powder through to General Be

"The thing looks fishy. If thes

ell, you're beginning railroading pretty young," he added aloud, sc

g to begin," answere

?" asked the soldier, in a wheedling voice

ow, he thought, they would try to entrap him into some damaging admission. He must be on his guard. He put on as stupid a look as he could assume (which was

oing?" demanded the soldier,

un

with the beard who has

un

der have you

un

little idiot!" cried the soldier. "The boy hasn'

his friend. "He's only playing a game. I know someth

ut taking any notice of this compliment to his sagacity. Under the circumstances he should have prefer

water-cooler for furniture, and a little ticket office at one end. The ticket office was occupied by the sta

yet?" asked George, as he walked un

I'm telegraphing up the line to Calhoun to find out where she is. The wire

his friend: "If these fellows try to get away from here, just let 'em go. I'll send a telegram up the road giving warning that they are coming, and sh

elegram up the road would be but the work of a minute; it could go over th

is behind time," he said, and he ran quickly across the tracks to speak

ary. Taking the barrel of the revolver, he tried to pry up the telegraphic keyboard from the table to which it was attached. But he found this impossible to accomplish; he could secure no leverage on the instrument. He was not to be thw

It would never do to leave this battery behind in the office; but how could he take it away without being caught in the act? His eyes wandered here and there, until they rested upon the stove. There was no fire in it. An inspiration came to him. He opened the iron door, which was large, and threw the battery into the stove. Then he closed the door, an

ch behind time that if I make fast time I can get to Calhoun be

know how desirable it was to get away, but dared not drop

may strike the train before you reach Calhoun." He wa

iking his fist against the window-ledge of the cab, "why then she

ed at his engineer

asked. They quickly nodded ass

government special must not be deta

to explain to Andrews what he had heard at the

ou have saved us from another scrape. But 'tis better to provide against any repairing

ly when he was called upon to feed the engine fire with wood from the tender. Once Waggie, who showed a sudden disposition to see what was going on around him, and tried to crawl out from his master's pocket, came very near being hurled out of the engine. Curves and up grades seemed all alike to "The General"; the noble steed never slackened its pace for an instant. The engineer was keepi

Down went the brakes and "The General" slid into the station to find d

ed Andrews; "and no

n-horse to a standstill there was only the distance of a foot between the cowcatchers of the two engines. The engineer of the passenger train leaned from his cab and began to

. "This powder train must go through to General

rain was backed to a siding, and "The General"

tle bridge burning. There's a bridge a short distance up the road, across the Oostenaula River, where we can begi

o far," said the engineer. "He must

ellow is beginning to wheeze a little

eral" to a halt. As the men came running from the bagg

he laughed, "even if it ma

nning a little low. It received a quick oiling, while George climbed up a telegraph pole and severed a wire in the manner heretofore de

startling. The workers at the rail tore it away from the track, in their wild excitement, and, losing their balance, fell headlong down the si

in pursuit? Andrews

" he

so that the tender came first, was running rapidly up the line, each instant approaching ne

about it." He was very calm now; he spoke as if he we

ons crowded

and fight them

rgotten all about his sore bac

We have taken out this rail, and that will delay them. In th

o the orders of their chief. They quickly scrambled back into the trai

e must make the bridge before the enemy are on us." Th

g the line," muttered the leader. "Can the enemy have telegraphed from

peed?" he asked the en

st," answered the man, "but th

me engine oil in

ed of "The General" increased; the engine seemed to sprin

per as he uttered the last word. With a strange, indescribable sensation, George suddenly realized how near they all were to disaster, even to death. He thought of his father, a

orge could not hear, so great was the rattle of the train; then he made his way, with the ease of a sure-footed chamois, back to "The General." He had ordered the men in the car to split up part of its sides for kindling-wood. By the use of the cross-ties, which they had picked up along the road, they battered down some of the pla

who was now in the tender, glanced back to his right

gotten past the broken rail somehow," he said. "Th

together like a man who dete

the cab. "Will we have time

left the engine and finally reached the despoiled baggage c

d hear the shrill whistle of the pursuing locomotive. "Com-i

shouted a command to the engineer: "Reverse y

aused by the roughness of the motion, to uncouple it from the third. This last car was now entirely loose from the train, and would h

lunged forward once more. Now George could see the meaning of this man?uvre. The third car, bei

g backwards. When the baggage car struck the tender no harm was done; the shock must have been very slight. In another minute the

ll," said Andrews, placid

h no better result than the first: the enemy pursued the same tactics as before; reversing the locomotive, and avoiding a serious collision. It now started anew on the pursuit, pushing the two unattached cars ahead of it, apparently little hampered as to speed by the in

new that the wood was almost exhausted, and that it would soon be impossible to hold the present rate of progress. Oh, if t

ridge?" asked the engin

answered Andrews.

ngine, with the pursuers o

to the men in the baggage car. The men began to pitch wood from the door o

engineer. "We need wood m

men dropped a tie here and there on the track, so that a tempo

long the line. "Those ties will make them stop a while, any way." In fact the enemy had already

e enthusiasm had suddenly returned. "If we can burn ano

ler is almost gone!"

thout a good supply of water? But Andrews was equal to the e

, and no more,"

s, in his capacity as a spy within the Southern lines, knew Georgia well, and had frequently traveled over this particul

ightened rustics from the platform. Then the engine bega

my is not in sight now," he cried. "Those ties are giving them trouble. Put some more

ided with water, and some more ties had been placed upon the track in the rear. What a cu

or. Scarcely had the words left his lips bef

ted the leader.

and the one baggage car, which was now literally torn to

roceeded a couple of miles. Some wood was thrown into the tender fro

after this," e

ell them to throw out a few more ties on the track

obstruction for the enemy; but George wondered how Andrews, full of resources though

the ties had been last thrown out. "The General" was soon motionless, breathing an

the fields on both sides of the track. The men needed no further prompting. In less than three minutes a large number of rails

ater now," he said, as "The

positively refused to think of failure at this late stage of the ga

rves with the men in the car sitting on the floor and clinging to one another for fear they would be knocked out by the roughness of the motion. As G

was a good-sized town twenty-two miles above Calhoun, and fo

t via the coast up to Richmond, and then down to Dalton, our real character may be known. Brown, be ready to revers

uld not fall into the hands of their pursu

d the station at a rate of not more than fifteen miles an hour. Andrews sa

d stop at the platform.

the general appearance of the party were such as to invite suspicion upon too close a scrutiny. Then, worse still, the enemy might arrive at any moment. Andrews was again equal to the occasion. As the forlorn train drew up at the station he assumed the air and bearing of a major-general, told some plausible story about being on his way with dispatches for Beauregard,

t a wire?" a

wo-perhaps they are there now-and they can telegraph on to Chattanooga by way of the wires o

tured a triumphant run through Chattanooga, and an ultimate meeting with the forces of Mitchell some

bridge or two, and then take to the woods. It wou

efore now; his failure to do this, and the complication caused by the telegraph line to Cleveland, told him that he mus

rdly had they begun their work when there came the hated whistling from the pursuing engine. The adventurers abandoned their attempt, leaped to their places in cab and car, and "The General" again sped

o see that the situatio

laborate in his mind an ingenious plan by which the structure might be burned without making delay nec

set fire to this car, and then a

was left of the splintered walls and roof of the car. But it was hard work. The rain, combined with the wind produce

om pitching out upon the roadside by the quick efforts of one of his companions, who had sei

e of burning wood over h

d to hand it to the leader from the rear of the tender. Andrews seized it, and applied the firebrand to several p

lt, and then, when the artificial wind had ceased, the rail flar

, to make their surroundings anything but comfortable. They scrambled into the tender. The engineer put his hand to the lever, pulled th

ender. The engine again sped on, leaving the burning car in the middle of the bridge. The scheme of the leader was apparent; he hoped tha

at least-and he would put an impassable barrier between the enemy and himself. His j

rough the bridge, pushing the burning car in front of it. When it reached the other side of the stream the car was switched off on a siding, and the ene

car, so that there seemed a reasonable chance of executing this piece of strategy. When the men had again alighted on firm ground several of them felt actually seasick from the jolting of the e

ome way, and quickly hide ourselves in the bushes. The engineer will stay in 'The General,' and, as soon as the enemy comes in sight, can continue up the road, just as if we were all on

ugh," observed Andrews;

no chance to argue about anything now. The men leaped to t

, next to whom he was

up?" he asked. "I'd far rather get out and

in from his grimy fa

nnounced Macgreggor. "We would be just an hour ahead

ultant whistle. "Vic-to-ry! V