The train rolled on, and Fothergill, leaning against the boards, tried to get his breath. The effort he had used had shaken him, and he imagined he had come near to falling under the wheels. The brakesman hung up his lantern and smiled.
“You have surely got some gall! I reckon you were lucky because I knew your uniform.”
“Did you see two men jump up?” Fothergill inquired.
“I did not. I was watching you and meant to fire you off. Maybe Tom knows; he’s on top of the cars.”
Fothergill went to the door. He heard thunder, and rain beat his face. In the distance a flickering beam indicated that the passenger train had started, but where he thought the tank was, all was dark. If somebody had got run over, Fothergill imagined he would have seen lanterns by the track. It looked as if the men we
