hat he dropped, quivering and clucking,
on a hay-bale.

"Eleven, seven, ninety-seven, L. Y. S.; fourteen ought ought three;
nineteen thirteen; one one four; seventeen ought twenty-one M. B.; and
the ten westbound. All straight except the two last. Cut 'em off at the
junction. An' that's all right. Pull that string." The yard-master, with
mild blue eyes, looked out over the howling truckmen at the waters in
the moonlight beyond, and hummed:

"All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lawd Gawd He made all!"

.007 moved out the cars and delivered them to the regular road-engine.
He had never felt quite so limp in his life before.

"Curious, ain't it?" said Poney, puffing, on the next track. "You an'
me, if we got that man under our bumpers, we'd work him into red waste
an' not know what we'd done; but-up there--with the steam hummin' in his
boiler that awful quiet way..."

"I know," said.007. "Makes me feel as if I'd dropped my Fire an' was
getting cold. He is the greatest man on earth."

They were at the far north end of the yard now, under a switchtower,
looking down on the four-track way of the main traffic. The Boston
Compound was to haul .007's string to some far-away northern junction
over an indifferent road-bed, and she mourned aloud for the ninety-six
pound rails of the B. & A.

"You're young; you're young," she coughed. "You don't realise your
responsibilities."

"Yes, he does," said Poney, sharply; "but he don't lie down under 'em."
Then, with aside-spurt of steam, exactly like a tough spitting: "There
ain't more than fifteen thousand dollars' worth o' freight behind her
anyway, and she goes on as if 't were a hundred thousand--same as the
Mogul's. Excuse me, madam, but you've the track.... She's stuck on a
dead-centre again--bein' specially designed not to."

The Compound crawled across the tracks on a long slant, groaning
horribly at each switch, and moving like a cow in a snow-drift. There
was a little pause along the yard after her tail-lights had disappeared;
switches locked crisply, and every one seemed to be waiting.

"Now I'll show you something worth," said Poney. "When the Purple
Emperor ain't on time, it's about time to amend the Constitution. The
first stroke of twelve is--"

"Boom!" went the clock in the big yard-tower, and far away.007 heard
a full, vibrati