re nearly all sold, and
they expect to begin to lay the rails in earnest next week."

"I noticed a good deal of activity at our end of the line," said
Ralph. "I think the scheme is going to be a success. I almost wish I
was going to work with you fellows."

It was now drawing on towards late fall. For several weeks the young
fireman had not been disturbed by his enemies. Work had gone on
smoothly. He was learning more and more every day, and his savings
amounted to quite a pretentious sum.

The only outside issue that troubled Ralph was the fact that they had
not yet recovered the twenty thousand dollars due his mother from old
Gasper Farrington. That individual had disappeared. Ralph kept a sharp
lookout, for upon finding the magnate and bringing him to terms
depended the last chance of getting the money.

There was the last picnic of the season one day, and Ralph had been
assigned to duty to look after things generally. He was surprised when
Forgan took him off the run of the Limited Mail.

"It will be a sort of vacation holiday for you, lad," said the
roundhouse foreman. "We want somebody reliable to look after the
train, with so many women and children aboard. You will be boss over
the engineer, fireman and the whole train crew for the day."

"Quite an important commission," said Ralph, "but what will the train
crew say about it?"

"Oh, they will be glad to work with the responsibility on somebody
else. Here is the schedule. Be careful of your running time,
Fairbanks. I wouldn't have anything happen to the picnic train for
worlds."

Ralph studied out the situation. When the train left Stanley Junction
he took a position in the locomotive, attended to reports at all
stations they passed, and the train reached the picnic grounds in
safety and was run on the siding.

Ralph gave himself up to the enjoyment of a real holiday. He knew
nearly everybody on the picnic grounds and nearly everybody there knew
him. About the middle of the afternoon a boy living at the Junction
came up to him.

"Say, Ralph," he remarked, tendering the young fireman a note. "A
fellow out in the woods gave me this for you."

Ralph took the missive, and, opening it, read its contents with
mingled surprise and suspicion. The note ran:

"If R. F. wants to hear of something to his advantage, come to the old
railroad bridge right away."

There was no signature to the scrawl, but Ralph quite naturally
thought of Ike Slump and his crowd