About This Book
" ...]but apparently carelessly, approached the head brakeman who had helped bring the train from Chicago. It was Tom Smithers-also a friend of Bob's, who made a point of knowing every employee running into the station. "I see you've got the Placida with you?" began Bob indifferently. "Yep," answered Tom, "and loaded to the axles. All except passengers. She's running light on them. Two boys and a coon." "I just had a talk with them," remarked Bob, carelessly offering the brakeman a cigar. "Pretty dusty, eh?" After a moment's casual talk Bob returned to the subject. "I guess those kids must be next-running a car with locked doors." "Locked doors " snorted Tom, putting his cigar away for a surreptitious smoke. "Not on your life. Not against me. You bet she was open whenever I rang." "But it might just as well have been locked," said Bob. "The place is so jammed full of stuff. I couldn't make out what it was, but there was a wad of it." The unsuspecting brakeman then gave Bob what he was hoping to get. "Well, I stopped and saw it," he confessed. "I roused up the coon after midnight to have a look at the ropes and when I came back I took my time. They got a case of powder or dynamite in there marked 'Explosive.' I didn't bother that but the rest was plain. Half the boxes in the car were labeled 'balloon works' or 'motor works.' It's a balloon show-nothing else." "Where is the car going?" "They ain't consulted me," laughed Tom. A few moments later Bob was in the office of the division superintendent. When he left he knew that the Placida would be dropped on the only siding at the ...]."
