ston with the outer world was down, and that the orders for the
return journey could not be obtained until the telegraph connection was
restored. At that point Blount took matters into his own hands.

There was a mining company having its headquarters in the isolated town,
and Blount had met the manager once in the capital--met him in a social
way, and had been able to show him some little attention. Hiring a
buckboard at the one livery stable in the place, he drove out to the
"Little Mary," and found Blatchford, the friendly manager, smoking a
black clay cutty pipe in his shack office. It did not take Blount over a
minute to renew the pleasant acquaintance, and to state his dilemma.

"I'm hung up here with my special train, the wires are down and I can't
get out," was his statement of the crude fact. "Didn't you tell me that
you owned a motor-car?"

"I did," was the prompt reply. "Want to borrow it?"

"You beat me to it," said Blount, laughing. "That was precisely what I
was going to beg for--the loan of your car. I believe you told me that
you had driven it from here to the capital."

"Oh, yes; several times, and the road is fairly good by way of Arequipa
and Lost River Canyon. It's only about half as far across country as it
is around by the railroad. You ought to make it in six hours and a half,
or seven at the longest. Drive me down to the burg, and I'll put you in
possession."

Blount began to be audibly thankful, but the mine manager good-naturedly
cut him short.

"It's all in the day's work, Mr. Blount, and I'm glad to be of
service--not because you are the Transcontinental's lawyer, nor
altogether because you are the Honorable David's son. I haven't
forgotten your kindness to me when I was in town three weeks ago. Let's
go and get out the chug-wagon."

A little later Blount found himself handling the wheel of a very
serviceable knockabout car equipped for hard work on country roads. When
he was ready to go, he drove down to the railroad yard and hunted up his
conductor.

"After you have had your vacation, you may get orders from Mr.
Kittredge and take his car back to the capital," he told the man. "When
you do, you may give him my compliments, and tell him I preferred to run
my own special train."

The conductor grinned and made no reply, and he was still grinning when
he sauntered into the railroad telegraph office and spoke to the
operator.

"I dunno what's up," he said, "but whatever it was, th