,
sort of, and they had one end of it fixed in a sort of coupling just
above the cow-catcher. It was pretty hard keeping us off the platform,
so we saw everything they did. The other end of that bar they held up so
it stuck out like a shaft, and then the engine moved about an inch, then
stopped, then moved about another inch, then stopped. Gee whiz, I was
glad I wasn't down there with those men. _Yum_, _yum_, I like
sandwiches, but I don't like being the middle part of one. Then all of a
sudden, _bunk_.

The men climbed up on our car and in a minute, chu chu, along we went
ever so slow, the engine pushing us.

When we were off the bridge, the train stopped and the men on the other
end of our car went away along the tracks, swinging their lanterns. Gee,
it's all right to say a bridge is strong, and I guess that one was, all
right, but me for the good solid earth. It feels good underneath you.

Pretty soon the conductor and a lot of passengers came along to take a
look at us. What did _we_ care? Everybody said we were _wonders_ to
think about using the movie apparatus and they were laughing. I guess it
was at the word _pots_, hey? One man said we were prenominal,[B] or
something or other like that--I should worry.

Pretty soon we noticed a little crowd of people outside the second car,
so we went up that way to see what was the matter. A couple of men were
just coming down off the platform and each of them was holding a man by
the collar. The men they were holding had on scout hats. I took one look
and _g--o--o--d_ night! Those two fellows were the automobile thieves.

"_What--do--you--know--about--that?_" Connie whispered to me.

"And the train people never knew they were up there until we told them,"
Westy said.

I guess the two men were detectives. Anyway, just as they stepped off,
they let go the one man and one of them said, "Now you two hoboes beat
it, and the next time either of you is caught riding on this road,
you'll do time for it There's the road----"

_Jiminetty!_ I didn't wait for him to say any more. I just went right up
to that detective and I said, "Mister, those men are worse than tramps;
they're not tramps at all; they're thieves; they stole an automobile;
hurry up, you'd better catch him."

Oh, boy, didn't he grab hold of that fellow again! The fellow must have
seen some of us, because he was just starting to run when, zippo, that
detective had him by the collar again. The other one hadn't be