ne with
one hand on the throttle-lever.

"All right," he said. "I stop for him. Son of a gun! If he bust
my train I kill the sucker!"

I never posed as much of a diplomatist, but it seemed wise to me
in the circumstances not to offer any further information or ask
questions. But I was curious. It was possible that Ali Higg's
brother had been given the task of running that train for the
reason that no lesser luminary would have one chance in a
thousand of reaching the destination.

I never found out whether my guess was right or not, and never
left off rating that engine-driver in any case as one of the
world's heroes. I've a notion there is a book that might be
written about him and his train.

A polished black dot in the distance soon increased into the
flattened egg-shaped rock, and then we saw Grim standing on the
track with all his men.

That is the safest place to stop a train from, because you avoid
a broadside from the car-windows. True to his word the driver
came to a standstill, and Grim came up to speak with him just as
I jumped off. I waited, expecting to see a contretemps.

"Ya Ali Higg! You fool!" said the driver. "You would kill your
own brother? You let me go!"

"Hah! You recognize me, then?" said Grim, coolly enough on
the surface.

But his poker mask was off. In that land of polygamy and
deportations it is frequent enough that one brother does not know
the other by sight; but it must be disconcerting, all the same,
to have a supposititious brother sprung on you. He gave a
perceptible start, as he had not done when first addressed as Ali
Higg that day.

_"Mashallah!"_ swore the driver. "I would know thine evil face
with the meat stripped off it! Nevertheless, thou and I are
brothers and this is my train. So let me go!"

Grim watched Ayisha jump out of the caboose with my rifle in her
hand, and turn to take aim at the open door, through which the
conductor's voice came croaking blasphemy.

"All right," he said. "Since thou and I are brothers, go thy way!
_Allah ysallmak!"_

The driver did not wait for a second hint, but shoved the lever
over so hard that the wheels spun and the whole train came within
an ace of bucking off the track. And before the caboose had
passed us Ayisha was alongside Grim abusing him for not having
broken the locks off the steel freight-cars.

"I am a robber's wife!" she said, stamping her foot indignantly.
"What sort of robber are you that let such loot pass f