fell silent, apparently lost in his intricate problem. Johnny yawned.

A quarter of an hour later Johnny was just dropping off into a doze, when Pant gripped his arm and whispered:

“C’mon. Let’s go!”

Having climbed over two gondolas and the top of a one-time express car, they dropped cat-like from the roof of the express car to the platform of a second express car.

Here they stood silent, listening for fully two minutes. At first everything appeared dark, but presently Johnny caught a faint gleam of light that apparently came through a crack in a lower panel of the express car door.

“What’ll we do if they come out at us. It’s a rotten place,” he whispered. Just then the car gave a lurch which almost threw him from the narrow platform.

“Duck and jump.”

“Mighty risky.”

“Only chance. Too many of ’em. Probably guns and everything.”

“All right. Get busy.”

Pant dropped on his knee and, bracing himself to avoid being thrown against the door by a sudden lurch, peered through the crack.

What he saw drew forth a whispered exclamation:

“It’s the real gang!”

For some time all was silent. Johnny’s heart was doing time and a half. What if they were forced to stand and fight or jump? He shivered as he tried to make out the embankment through the darkness. They were racing down grade.

“We’ve got ’em! It’s the gang!” Pant whispered again. “Look!”

He rose and stepped aside. With muscles set for action, Johnny dropped on his knees, and, shutting one eye, peered through the narrow opening.

What he saw astonished him. In a brilliantly lighted room, the width of the car, and some ten feet deep, four men were working rapidly, and apparently with great skill. What surprised him most of all was that all four men wore heavily smoked glasses, such as Pant himself wore. He saw at a glance that neither the steam kettle cook nor the midget clown was with them. He was glad the cook was not 

 Prev. P 86/98 next