ked Ralph.

"In a wreck. It was at the river just below Big Rock. I was a
brakeman. The train struck a broken switch and three cars went into
the creek. I went with them and was crippled for life. One of them was
a car of another road and not so high as the others, or I would have
been crushed to death."

"A car of another road?" repeated Ralph with a slight start.

"Yes."

"You don't know what road it belonged to?"

"No. They recovered the other two cars. I never heard what became of
the foreign car. I guess it was all smashed up."

"Gondola?"

"No, box car."

Ralph was more and more interested.

"When did this occur, Mr. Greenleaf?" he asked.

"Five years ago."

"Is it possible," said Ralph to himself, "that I have at last found a
clew to the missing car Zeph Dallas and that car finder are so anxious
to locate?"

CHAPTER XXV

TOO LATE

Two days later Ralph went down the line of the little railroad to
where it met the tracks of the Great Northern. Mr. Gibson had sent him
with some instructions to the men at work there, and at the request of
the young fireman had assigned him to work at that point.

This consisted in checking up the construction supplies delivered by
rail. Ralph had a motive in coming to this terminus of the Short Line
Route. The information he had gained from the old, crippled
railroader, Amos Greenleaf, had set him to thinking. He found Zeph
Dallas working industriously, but said nothing about his plans until
the next day.

At the noon hour he secured temporary leave of absence from work for
Zeph and himself, and went to find his friend.

Zeph was a good deal surprised when Ralph told him that they were to
have the afternoon for a ramble, but readily joined his comrade.

"Saw some friends of yours hanging around here yesterday," said the
farmer boy.

"That so?" inquired Ralph.

"Yes, Slump and Bemis. Guess they were after work or food, and they
sloped the minute they set eyes on me. Say, where are you bound for
anyway, Ralph?"

"For Wilmer."

"What for?"

"I want to look around the river near there. The truth is, Zeph, I
fancy I have discovered a clew to that missing freight car."

"What!" cried Zeph excitedly. "You don't mean car No. 9176?"

"I mean just that," assented Ralph. "Here, let us find a comfortable
place to sit down, and I'll tell you the whole story."

Ralph selected a spot by a fence lining the railroad right of way.
Then he narrated the deta