his lantern. Panting, he held the
light aloft as a great fan-shaped blaze of radiance came flaming like a
comet down the track.

Soon he could dimly discern the shape of two huge mountain engines,
while the rails trembled beside him, and a wall of rock flung back the
din of whirring wheels. The fast freight had started from the head of
Atlantic navigation at Montreal, and would not stop until the huge cars
rolled alongside the Empress liner at Vancouver, for part of their
burden was being hurried West from England around half the world to
China and the East again. The track led down-grade, and the engineers,
who had nursed the great machines up the long climb to the summit, were
now racing them down hill.

Waving the lantern Geoffrey stood with a foot on one of the rails and
every sense intent, until the first engine's cow-catcher was almost
upon him. Then he leaped for his life and stood half-blinded amid
whirling ballast and a rushing wind, as, veiled in thick dust, the
great box cars clanged by. He was savage with dismay, for it seemed
that the engineer had not seen his signal; then his heart bounded, a
shrill hoot from two whistles was followed by the screaming of brakes.
When he came up with the standing train at the end of the trestle, one
engineer, leaning down from the rail of the cab, said:

"I saw your light away back, but was too busy trying to stop without
smashing something to answer. Say, has the trestle caved in, or what
in the name of thunder is holding us up?"

"The trestle is all right," answered Geoffrey, climbing into the cab.
"I held you up, and I'm going on with you to bring out a doctor to my
partner, who is dangerously ill."

The engineer's comments were indignant and sulphurous, while the big
fireman turned back his shirt sleeves as if preparing to chastise the
man rash enough to interfere with express freight traffic. Geoffrey,
reaching for a shovel, said:

"When we get there, I'll go with you to your superintendent at
Vancouver; but, if either of you try to put me off or to call
assistance, I'll make good use of this. I tell you it's a question of
life and death, and two at least of your directors are good friends of
the man I want to help. They wouldn't thank you for destroying his
last chance. Meantime you're wasting precious moments. Start the
train."

"Hold fast!" commanded the grizzled engineer, opening the throttle.
"When she's under way, I'll talk to you, and unless