"Jim," he called abruptly to his fireman. There was something in his
tone that made Jim fling himself to the window. Then both men exclaimed
simultaneously, "It's a hold-up."
"There's six of them, and one's got a gun," gasped the engineer. "We'll
have to crowd on steam and rush them, unless they've wrecked the track."
Then, as the huge iron monster lifted itself to greater speed, Mr. Ellis
saw something like a white flag wave in the air then fall. Once more it
circled, one, two, three, four, five times above someone's head, fell
again, then was tossed from one hand high in the air and caught in the
other.
"Jim, I've seen that signal somewhere. It means something." Then, like a
photograph, he seemed to see a lake, two boys swimming, and a black bear
and cubs on a far shore, while Benny's voice rang in his ears: "Five
circles means 'Great danger,' and a toss from one hand to the other up
through the air means 'Don't move; stay where you are.'"
"It's the boys, Jim," gasped the engineer. "There's something wrong."
Before the words had left his lips the shrill whistle was shrieking for
"brakes"--"double brakes" at that--and the gigantic engine almost leaped
from the rails as the halter was thrown about her neck.
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