s. Ah! upon its rear floated that fatal red flag,
the crimson emblem of death, as it seemed to them.

The next train came. Still the red flag! Still hope
deferred, danger coming near! An hour of frightful anxiety
passed. It was torture to those upon the engine. It was
agony to those in the box-car, who knew nothing of the cause
of this frightful delay, and to whom life itself must have
seemed to have stopped.

Andrews had to cast off every appearance of anxiety and to
feign easy indifference, for the station people were showing
somewhat too much curiosity about this train, whose crew
were strangers, and concerning which the telegraph had sent
them no advices. The practised spy was full of resources,
but their searching questions taxed him for satisfying
answers.

At length, after more than an hour's delay, the blockade was
broken. A train passed destitute of the red flag. The relief
was great. They had waited at that station like men with the
hangman's rope upon their necks. Now the track to
Chattanooga was clear and success seemed assured. The train
began to move. It slowly gathered speed. Up went hope in the
hearts of those upon the engine. New life flowed in the
veins of those within the car as they heard the grinding
sound on the rails beneath them, and felt the motion of
their prison upon wheels.

Yet perilous possibilities were in their rear. Their delay
at Kingston had been threateningly long. They must guard
against pursuit. Stopping the train, and seizing their
tools, they sprang out to tear up a rail. Suddenly, as they
worked at this, a sound met their ears that almost caused
them to drop their tools in dismay. It was the far-off bugle
blast of a locomotive whistle sounding from the direction
from which they had come.

The Confederates, then, were on their track! They had failed
to distance pursuit! The delay at Kingston had given their
enemies the needed time! Nervous with alarm, they worked
like giants. The rail yielded slightly. It bent. A few
minutes more and it would be torn from its fastenings. A few
minutes! Not a minute could be spared for this vital work.
For just then the whistle shrieked again, now close at hand,
the rattle of wheels could be heard in the distance, and
round a curve behind them came a locomotive speeding up the
road with what seemed frantic haste, and filled with armed
men, who shouted in triumph at sight of the dismayed
fugitives. It was too late to finish their work. N