tretching himself.

"Why!" exclaimed Ralph, giving the intruder a quick stare, "what have
you ever been doing to yourself?"

"Me?" grinned Zeph--"you mean that black eye and that battered
cheek?"

"Yes--accident?"

"No--incident," corrected Zeph, with a chuckle. "A lively one, too, I
can tell you."

"Fell off the engine?"

"No, fell against a couple of good hard human fists. We had been
sorting stray freights all the afternoon on old dinky 97, and had
sided to let a passenger go by, when I noticed a man with a bag and a
stick picking up coal along the tracks. Just then, a poor, ragged
little fellow with a basket came around the end of the freight doing
the same. The man thought he had a monopoly in his line, because he
was big. He jumped on the little fellow, kicked him, hit him with his
stick, and--I was in the mix-up in just two seconds."

"You should keep out of trouble, Zeph," advised Mrs. Fairbanks,
gently.

"How could I, ma'am, when that little midget was getting the worst of
it?" demurred Zeph. "Well, I pitched into the big, overgrown bully,
tooth and nail. I'm a sight, maybe. You ought to see him! He cut for
it after a good sound drubbing, leaving his bag of coal behind him. I
gave the little fellow all the loose change I had, filled his basket
from the bag, and sent him home happy. When I got back to the engine,
Griggs, the assistant master mechanic, was in the cab. He said a few
sharp words about discipline and the rules of the road, and told me to
get off the engine."

"Discharged, eh?"

"And to stay off. I'm slated, sure. Don't worry about it, Fairbanks;
I'd got sick to death of the job, anyway."

"But what are you going to do?" inquired Ralph gravely.

"Get another one, of course. I'm going to try to get Bob Adair, the
road detective, to give me a show. That's the line of work I like. If
he won't, I'll try some other town. I'm sorry, Fairbanks, for my
wages will only settle what board I owe you, and there's that last
suit of clothes you got for me, not paid for yet----"

"Don't trouble yourself about that, Zeph," interrupted Ralph kindly.
"You're honest, and you'll pay when you can. You may keep what money
you have for a new start until you get to work again."

Zeph looked grateful. Then Ralph gave some details of the record run
to Bridgeport, there was some general conversation, and he went to
bed.

Ralph had asked his mother to call him at nine o'clock in the morning,
but an hour bef