n the track.

A few minutes later the locomotive came back, sounding four long blasts
and one short one on its whistle, as a recall signal for the rear flagman.
It was coupled on, and some one waved a lantern, with an up-and-down
motion, from the rear of the train, as a signal to go ahead. The engineman
opened the throttle, and the great driving wheels spun round furiously;
but the train refused to move. He sounded two long whistle blasts as a
signal to throw off brakes. Then a lantern was seen moving over the tops
of the cars, the brakes that had been holding them, were loosened, and the
signal to go ahead was again waved. After this the lantern disappeared as
though it had been taken into the caboose, and the train moved on.

Its severed parts were re-united at the top of the grade, and it passed
on out of the block in which all these events had taken place, before
Conductor Tobin, who had wondered somewhat at not seeing Brakeman Joe,
discovered that the faithful fellow was missing. He was not on top of any
of the cars, nor in the caboose, and must have been left behind. Well, it
was too late to stop for him now. Freight Number 73 must side-track at the
next station, to allow the night express to pass, and it had already been
so delayed, that there was no time to lose.

When the station was reached, and Conductor Tobin had seen his train
safely side-tracked, he went to look for Rod Blake. He meant to ask the
boy to take Brakeman Joe's place for the rest of the run, or until that
individual should rejoin them by coming ahead on some faster train. To his
surprise the young stockman was not in car number 1160, nor could a trace
of him be found. He, too, had disappeared and the conductor began to feel
somewhat alarmed, as well as puzzled, by such a curious and unaccountable
state of affairs.

CHAPTER XII.

BOUND, GAGGED, AND A PRISONER.

When Rod Blake was left standing alone beside the train, after the short
but sharp encounter with tramps described in the preceding chapter, he was
as bewildered by its sudden termination as he had been, on awaking from a
sound sleep, to find himself engaged in it. He knew what had become of two
of the tramps, for one of them he had sent staggering backward down the
embankment, and Brakeman Joe was at that moment pursuing the second; but
the disappearance of the others was a mystery. What could have become of
them? They must have slipped away unnoticed, and taken advantage of