itches. The
train bearing down upon him was on a rounding bend of rails, the
locomotive not in view, and there was no possible chance of signalling
the engineer.

As Ralph started forward the engine of the outbound train passed him.
He waited for one car only to pass him. How he skimmed its rear
platform he never knew. It was a daring, reckless spring, and he
landed on the planking beyond the rails on a dizzying slide. The next
instant he was at the side of the imperilled railroad official.

"I'm caught!" gasped the master mechanic, with a white but set face,
as he recognized Ralph.

"Swing down!" cried the young railroader. "It's your only chance."

The master mechanic barely suppressed a groan as he toppled sideways.
The twist to his ankle made him wince. Ralph saw that his foot was
held as in a vise. No amount of pulling could get him free. The train
backing down was less than thirty feet away.

"Hold steady," breathed Ralph in a shaking tone, and his hand dove for
his pocket. He recalled it all afterwards as a remarkable thing that,
standing there, a great peril hovering, there seemed to flash through
his mind a vivid photograph of Torchy.

The call boy at the roundhouse was a great friend of the young
engineer. Ralph had been his model, as was he his friend. He had
loaned the little fellow a book on railroading that had delighted
Torchy, and observing Ralph sharpening a peg for his bumper with a
decidedly blunt-edged knife, he had begged the privilege of getting it
sharpened for him.

When he had returned the knife to Ralph the day previous, Torchy
declared that it was sharp as a razor and would cut a hair in two.
Ralph found this to be no exaggeration. In addition Torchy had oiled
the blade hinges. Now the young engineer thought of Torchy and of the
knife as he drew it from his pocket, whipped open its big blade and
made a dive rather than a swoop beside the body of the master
mechanic.

"Pull back your foot!" cried Ralph, and made a swoop. The flanges of
the near truck wheels were grinding on the edge of the rails not five
feet away. Ralph's arm described a deft oval movement. In one swift
stroke he slit the shoe from vamp to sole. He was conscious that the
foot of the master mechanic came free. Then something struck Ralph,
and he felt himself tossed aside inert and unconscious by some
stunning force.

When he again opened his eyes Ralph caught the vague hum of a lingo of
switch pidgin, smut-faced, b