The Road Builders

the east, his eyes saw far beyond the cars and wagons and clustering tents. Off there, in each mile of the many they had travelled, lay a witness of som

thing the reserved, magnetic Paul Carhart stood for, an

tocky figure of his brother approaching through the dusk. He stiffened up and paused, but Old Van marched by without the twitch

turned toward the headquarters tent. He knew that his brother had g

ng alone, sewing a button o

runks?" Carhart asked,

it, had observed signs of unusua

sert rather spoils one for the advantages of civilization. I never had an easier time with laborers. Bu

it. By the way, there's a rumor about th

o," said he, "that's the t

towns were pushing up along the line behind them. With settlers would come well-boring, irrigation, farming, and ranching. Timber, bricks, stone would be rushed into these new lands, to be converted into hotels, shops, banks, dwellings. The marvellously intricate interrelations of civilization would suddenly be found existing and at work. There would be rude, hard struggles, much drinking and gambling, and some shooting. The license of the plains would b

"that letter was from Peet.

I have arranged with Mr. Tiffany to buy up all we can find here in Sherman and hurry them on to you. Please keep me informed by wire of any delays and inconveniences.

" said the assistant, looki

at he says; that he woul

t is all this, Mr. Carhart? What h

But instead of continuing his needlework, Carhart, when he received the spool, laid it do

ruptly, "where did

ered quietly: "To bed, I think. I heard him

mind stirri

ainly

d on hand to keep the engines going si

was slight

m to meet me at his ins

ng the sleepy operator, he observed that the chief was still d

is mending, then lowered his needle. "And all fo

ed up from a heap of papers which had dra

ember?"

of a nail the

f the shoe the

the horse the

the rider the

al

figure was hurrying by toward the shelt

It would be a humorous sort of a joke on me if

n't cut up ties?" s

we shan't be able to pick up enough there. And if we don

rawn out a recent message from Peet. "Here," he said, "Mr. Peet promised to ha

d. "Yes," he replied, "

mething to hap

who is in charge of the H. D. & W. construction, was in Sherman the other day. And Commodore Durfee was exp

xt division," said Carhart. "Ask hi

ed up prepared to see surprise equal to his own on Carhart's face. But what he did see there mystified him. The chief was slow

sion-'" The operator was repea

ndred miles

s fifty men trying to seize station-has notified Sherman-assistance prom

himself," mut

s were shining. "Here's some more, Mr. Carh

ly. "Quick-say this: 'Has supp

perator repeated after a mo

t does h

s!-'Not-not-' Hold on th

he st

hort. That

t of the young man's excitement was hardly lessened by the shock of rumpled hair about his f

mea

lent, the operator leaning his elbows on the table, Carh

nse. Carhart drew up an empty cracker b

message as it came in: "'P. Carhart, chief west'n ext. S. & W.: On receipt of this you will stop

ny!" said t

n. He was frowning slightly, and his lips w

O'F.

Hills S

p. You haven't quite caugh

Carh

rvously as his deft fingers transm

through?" as

r; all t

n, go back to b

ght, Mr.

st before supper time of the following day-a party of plainsmen came galloping into camp. One of these, a wizened little man w

replied Young Van, rising f

roduced a letter, and dropped into the chair which Young Van

ng Van. It was well

the Old Commodore. He's hired a bad man named Flagg-Jack Flagg-and sent him out with a hundred or so men to seize your bridge at La Paz. Sorry I couldn't stay there to see the excitement, b

s about to reply, when he h

o the stranger, and picked up the envel

Flint as

the table. "You must have supper with us," he said. "If you stopped with John Flint you perhaps know how

" replied t

man, I presume?"

Red Hills. I go to

hought of taking one o

to you, sir, if you could take a train through," he

n expression about his eyes. "Having

in behind us with a small army." He gave a little shrug. "I can't get through

ride down to Pier

s the best that I

s legs and thrust his hands into his pockets. The action caused his coat to fall back, and disclosed a small gold pendant hangi

k like defeat. We have been dependent on the Sherman people for

e plenty of material

t it takes mor

y have a large

th Bourke, clearing the track, and getting trains through from Sherman, will take time.

wizened one. "You're go

a man two hundred miles through the desert. The most importan

on't know much about

one announced that he mus

with us to-night

. I've got to move fast. I'll lose a good deal

course. Well,

od-

d. Carhart turned to Young Van and slowly winked. "Come up t

u have, if we're g

rt smiled. "You didn'

ourse, I s

aw his

es

lot of men about him

ly think

But I've been going on the assumption

efore it. They entered the tent, and the first thing the chief did was to get out two long blue-nosed revolvers and slip them into

morrow morning. I'll tell Scribner, as I pass him, to have fifty more for you. Every man must have a rifle and plenty of ball cartridges. Se

Bou

ructions to strengthen his night guard. Some men wi

arily passed his h

s situation very well. It's rather a new phase of engineering for m

as he moved. There was a sparkle in his eye and a new sort of military alertness about his figure. He paused at the tent ent

l start the men rig

hours later, at five in the morning, a line of armed horsemen-a long-nosed young man with the light of a pirate soul in his

e La Paz Valley on the west, had pitched camp, erected rude intrenchments of loose stone, and stopped for the moment all work on the mile-long trestle. So much John Flint had set down in the note which the wi

ded a rest for his back. To be sure, there was the possibility of rolling off into the water and sand if he should really fall asleep; but elsewhere he would be exposed to the searching eyes of the engineer

trestle where it was continued on the farther side. These Americanos, what driving devils they were! And when they had built their railroad, what were they going to do with it? To go fast-Antonio shrugged his

those other foolish Americanos had learned to their cost when they built the wagon bridge at La Paz. He smiled lazily. But suddenly he sat up straight. A long thin figure of a man was moving about among the piles of timber. It was the se?or Flint-and such a prowler as he was, day and night, night and day. He lived this bridge, did the se?or; he thought it, he ate it, he drank it, he t

slowly crawling, like some monster cen

guid, dimpling river. He was getting out on the farther bank; he was walking up the long slope, keeping out of the moonlig

y into his throat and made him cough. Then trembling a little, he got slowly to his feet and stood staring out there over the serene surface of the river. He rubbed his eyes and stared again. A sh

uld lose his pay and those Sundays at La Paz. He waited a while. Perhaps he was dreaming and would make himse

nd two big-shouldered bridgemen. There was a ball somewhere in Flint, and there were certain complications along the line of his chronic ailment, so that h

ier to the streams of color; and through this glowing scene extended the square-jointed trestle, unmistakably the work of man where all else was from another hand. Never in the progress of this undertaking which we have been following across the plains had the contrast been so marked between the patient beauty of the old land and the uncompromising ugliness of the structure which Paul Carhart was carrying into and t

ion of sitting back to await developments. Of several sets of plans which he had been considering, one was so plainly the simplest and best that he was determined to try it. It involved a single daring act, a sort of raid, which it would be necessary to carry through without a vestige of lega

pped from Antonio'

and after conferring with Haddon and going thor

are you good

r everything that's

D. & W. is building down, a doze

an find it,"

orth shortly after nightfall of that same day. At eight in the morning he was back, hollow-eye