300 



rilK AMKRWAN BKE- KEEPER. 



October 



f&ned to the date of the murder, Feb. 

 6. There was the entry: "Ran up to 

 town in afternoon. Inquired concerniDj; 



material for chapter 7. Saw B for 



half hour. Returned by 6:42 train." 



The horror of the situation now 

 flashed upon me. A man's life — the 

 life of my old friend's son — depended 

 upon me. I looked at my watch. It 

 was just 1 ] o'clock. Hurriedly I dragged 

 on my boots, thinking the while what I 

 should do. M}'- first impulse was to rush 

 to the telegraph office. Then, with dis- 

 may, I remembered that it was shut for 

 the night after 8 o'clock and that the 

 postmaster took the 8:30 train to tho 



large town of F , about five mile:J 



off, where he lived, leaving the officn 

 for the night in the charge of a care- 

 taker and returning by au early traiu 

 the next morning. 



It was impossible to telegraph. Then 

 I thought of gomg to the police (thero 

 were just two constables and a sergeant 

 in our little town), but what couid they 

 do more than Ir Country police are pro- 

 verbial for the leisurely "routine" man- 

 ner in which tliey set about au inquiry, 

 and it would never do to trust to them. 

 I was in despair. 



Madly I tlirew on my hat and rushed 

 out. I ran in a mechanical way to the 

 postoffice. Of course it was shut, and 

 if I had aroused the caretaker lie could 

 not have wired. Besides, all our wires 



went first to F , and, as I have said, 



all communication was shut off after 8 

 o'clock. Theu I started for the railway 

 station. TJiis was about half a mile 

 from the postcffice and well outside the 

 town. As I hurried along I thought, 

 with fresh dismay, tlun . .>. ..id aJso 

 prove a fruitless errand, for the last 

 train to Silkminster was the 8:30 p. m., 

 by which, I have nientionod, the po:-;t- 

 master always traveled. Silkminster, I 

 must mention, was nearly 150 miles 

 down the line. 



Should I wait till the morning and 

 telegraph? I remembered that tlie ouico 

 did not open till 8 o'clock. I had by 

 this time reached the station. O.J 

 course it was all shut up, and all the 

 lights were out except those in t!ie sip;- 

 nal lamps for the' night expresses. It 

 was now past half past 11. Was there 

 no hope? 



At this moment my eye caught a 

 licht in the f~];^'ual box, about a quarter 



of a mile up the line, i coma see uue 

 signalman in his box, the outline of his 

 figure standing out against the light 

 within. I looked at my watch. The 

 down express from London was almost 

 due. I would make a rush for that sig- 

 nal box and compel the occupant to put 

 the signal against it and stop it It was 

 a desperate game, bat only get that train 

 to stop for an instant and all would be 

 right. By getting into it I could reach 

 Sflkminster iu the early morning, and 

 what cared I for any action the com- 

 pany might take if I saved my friend's 

 son? If the signalman refused to put 

 back the levers the strength born of 

 desperation would enable me to master 

 him and then relax them myself. All 

 this flashed across me in au instant, and 

 I clambered over the railings on the sidu 

 of the station and found myself on tha 

 line. 



Even as I reached the rails a sema- 

 phore signal that was near me let fail 

 its arm, and the red light was changed 

 into a brilliant green. The express wan 

 signaled! Would there be time! I dashed 

 along over the rough sleepers toward the 

 signal box. It was very dark, and I 

 stumbled over and over again. I had 

 cleared half the distance when I heard 

 the ominous roar ahead, and in a few 

 seconds craild distinguish the distant 

 glitter of the engine's head lamp bear- 

 ing toward me. The train was just over 

 a mile from me, rushing on at express 

 speed. With a groau I ejaculated, "Too 

 late!" 



At that instant my eye fell upon a 

 ghastly looking structure by the side of 

 the track, looming grimly' through the 

 darkness. It resembled a one armed 

 gallows' with a man hanging from it! 

 For a moment I thought it must have 

 been a fearful fancy conjured up by the 

 thought of Fenthurst's dreadful fate, 

 but immediately Irememebred tiiat this 

 strange looking apparition was none 

 other than a mailbag suspended from a 

 post — iu fact, part of the apparatus bjr 

 which a train going at full speed picks 

 up the nuiils. The express ti'ain that 

 was coming had a postal car attached to 

 it. From the side of the car a strong 

 rope' net would belaid out, catching the 

 bag I saw suspended before me. 



A mad and desperate idea took pos- 

 session of mf\ Fortunately I am a small 

 man. Tiie bug hung just over my head. 



