did not know what to do.

"To go back and look for them at Snapwood may be a mere waste of time,"
said he. "On the other hand, I don't feel much like going on while the
shares are out of my possession."

"If you wish it, Mr. Vane, I'll go back," said Joe. "You can go ahead,
and if anything turns up I will telegraph to you."

This pleased the gentleman, and he said Joe could go back on the very
next train. The conductor was again consulted, and our hero left the
train bound West a quarter of an hour later.

"Here is some money," said Maurice Vane on parting. "You'll need it."
And he handed over two hundred dollars.

"Oh, Mr. Vane! will I need as much as this?"

"Perhaps. If you see those rascals you may have a long chase to capture
them. Do not hesitate to spend the money if it appears necessary to do
so."

Long before noon our hero was on the way East on a train scheduled to
stop at Snapwood. He went without his dress-suit case and carried his
money in four different pockets.

The train was almost empty and the riding proved decidedly lonely. In a
seat he found an Omaha paper, but he was in no humor for reading. When
noon came he took his time eating his dinner, so that the afternoon's
ride might not appear so lasting.

About half-past two o'clock the train came to an unexpected halt.

Looking out of the window Joe saw that they were in something of a cut,
close to the edge of a woods.

The delay continued, and presently one passenger after another alighted,
to learn the meaning of the hold-up. Joe did likewise, and walked
through the cut toward the locomotive.

The mystery was easily explained. On one side of the cut the bank had
toppled over the tracks, carrying with it two trees of good size.
A number of train hands were already at work, sawing the trees into
pieces, so that they might be shifted clear of the tracks.

Joe watched the men laboring for a few minutes and then walked up the
bank, to get a look at the surroundings. Then he heard a whistle and saw
a train approaching from the opposite direction. It came to a halt a few
hundred feet away.

As the delay continued our hero walked along the bank of the cut and up
to the newly-arrived train. The latter was crowded with passengers, some
of whom also got out.

"Did that train stop at Snapwood?" he asked of one of the passengers.

"It did," was the answer.

"Did you see anybody get on?"

"No, but somebody might have gotten on. I wasn't look