time, it seems--that it
may gather new strength and fury for an even fiercer attack. And the
features of the agent, as he stared up from the rattling telegraph key,
were not conducive to relief.

"Your stuff's on the way, if that's any news to you," came with a
worried laugh. "It left Denver on Number 312 at five o'clock this
morning behind Number Eight. That's no sign that it's going to get
here. Eight isn't past Tollifer yet."

"Not past Tollifer?" Houston stared anxiously. "Why, it should be at
the top of the range by now. It hasn't even begun to climb."

"Good reason. They're getting this over there too."

"The snow?"

"Worse than here, if anything. Denver reported ten inches at eleven
o'clock--and it's fifteen miles from the range. There was three inches
when the train started. Lord knows where that freight is--I can't get
any word from it."

"But--"

"Gone out again!" The telegrapher hammered disgustedly on the key.
"The darned line grounds on me about every five minutes. I--"

"Do you hear anything from Crestline--about conditions up there?"

"Bad. It's even drifting in the snowsheds. They've got two plows
working in 'em keeping 'em open, and another down at Crystal Lake. If
things let up, they're all right. If not--they'll run out of coal by
to-morrow morning and be worse than useless. There's only about a
hundred tons at Crestline--and it takes fuel to feed them babies. But
so far--"

"Yes?"

"They're keeping things halfway open. Wait a minute--" he bent over
the key again--"it's opened up. Number Eight's left Tollifer. The
freight's behind it, and three more following that. I guess they're
going to try to run them through in a bunch. They'll be all right--if
they can only get past Crestline. But if they don't--"

He rattled and banged at the key for a long moment, cursing softly.
Only the dead "cluck" of a grounded line answered him. Houston turned
to Ba'tiste.

"It looks bad."

"_Oui_! But eet depen'--on the storm. Eet come this way, near' ev'
spring. Las' year the road tie up--and the year before. Oh," he
shrugged his shoulders, "that is what one get for living in a country
where the railroad eet chase eetself all over the mountain before eet
get here."

"There wouldn't be any chance at the tunnel either, would there? They
haven't cut through yet."

"No--and they won' finish until June. That is when they figure--"

"That's a long way off."

"Too long,"