tive, nor whether
they were armed or not. He only knew that within another minute they would
overtake him. He formed a desperate resolve, and a moment later Rod Blake
thought he saw a dark form scrambling from a ditch beside the track as
they flew past. When they reached the "dying" locomotive of which they
were in pursuit and found it abandoned, he knew what had taken place. The
train robber had leaped from its cab and was now making his way across
country on foot.

"We must follow him!" exclaimed Rod.

"You may if you are such a fool; but I'll be blowed if I will," answered
the fireman.

There was no time to be lost in argument, neither was Rod sure that those
locomotives ought to be left unguarded. So, without another word, he
dropped to the ground and started on a run across the fields in the
direction he was almost certain the fugitive had taken.

The young brakeman soon came to a wagon road running parallel to the
railway. Here he was brought to a halt. Which way should he go? To attempt
to continue the pursuit in either direction without some definite
knowledge to act upon seemed foolish. If he could only discover a house at
which to make inquiries, or if some belated traveller would only come that
way.

"'Belated traveller' is good," mused Rod as his eye caught a faint glow in
the eastern sky. "Here it is almost to-morrow while I thought it was still
to-day. What a wild-goose chase I have come on anyway, and what should I
do if I overtook the robber? I'm sure I don't know. I won't give it up
though now that I have started in on it. Hello! Here comes some one now.
Perhaps I can learn something from him. Hi, there!"

The sound that had attracted the lad's attention was that of a rapidly
galloping horse, though it was so deadened by the sandy road that he did
not hear it until the animal was close upon him. The light was very dim,
and as Rod stood in a shadow neither the horse nor its rider perceived him
until he started forward and shouted to attract the latter's attention.

In an instant the startled animal had sprung to one side so suddenly as to
fling its rider violently to the ground, where he lay motionless. The
horse ran a short distance, then stopped and stood trembling.

Horrified at the result of his hasty action, Rod kneeled beside the
motionless man. His head had struck the root of a tree and though the boy
could not discover that he was seriously injured, he was unconscious. In
vain did the di