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As the light brightened he gazed anxiously ahead. The ragged, thin-posted fence stretched unbroken to the northern horizon. He had hoped the light would reveal the swing to the east, and the dark shape of the construction-train.
"If they succeed in burning it, they will hold back our supplies two or three weeks, and reach the pass ahead of us, dead certain," added Jack through his teeth. "We've got to stop them, boys!" "Isn't there a hand-car or a velocipede here, Wilse?" Alex inquired. "No. Not even a push-car. And it'd take one of us an hour and a half to reach the construction-train."
Ten of the captured men were found to have been wounded, several seriously; but to the relief of the boys none had been killed outright. When rescued, rescuers and prisoners arrived at the construction-train they found an excited crowd of over three hundred men awaiting them.
The faces, hands and clothes of all bore mute witness to the desperate struggle they had put up during those last terrible minutes. Within a short time, however, all three boys had somewhat recovered, and were able to take their places in the engine cab; and a half hour later the party headed back for the construction-train, coupled behind them a box-car containing eighteen prisoners.
Like an inspiration had come the remembrance of Alex Ward's signalling feat two years before at Bixton, of which he had heard from Jack Orr. Could he not do the same? Try and signal Alex or Jack, at the construction-train? Say, from one of the box-cars at the farther corner of the yard?
The time had passed uneventfully with the three young telegraphers, the end of the second week finding Alex and Jack together with the construction-train at the rail-head, and Wilson Jennings back at the temporary station and material-sidings at the viaduct. Perhaps the last few days had passed least interestingly with Wilson, alone in his little box-car station, not far from the old river-bed.
One afternoon "Happy Tom" burst in upon his chief, having hastened out from Omar on a construction-train. Drawing a Seattle paper from his pocket, he began excitedly: "Well, the fat's in the fire, Murray! Somebody has belched up the whole North Pass story." O'Neil seized the newspaper and scanned it hurriedly. He looked up, scowling. "Who gave this out?" he inquired, in a harsh voice.
Alex decided on the latter course, and making his way along the bed of the stream, passed the hobbled ponies, and on to the new bridge fifty feet in rear of the construction-train. As he there halted, low voices reached Alex's ears. Peering cautiously out, and seeing no one, he crept forth, and made his way along the side of the embankment toward the train.
"We landed at Rangoon about May 1st, went by rail to Mandalay, and from there travelled slowly up-country by construction-train to the Mogung Gorge. During the whole journey I didn't speak a hundred words to Lancy. Still, I don't think he suspected I had any grudge against him. If he did, he never let on, but treated me just like the others.
Climbing the ladder, with his handkerchief Wilson tied the lantern to the topmost rung, the red light out, and using his hat just as Alex had done, began flashing the call of the construction-train,
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