208 The King of the Thundering Herd 



into the tender, and more into the fire-box ; 

 more water into the boilers and a new engi- 

 neer into the cab. Again the wheels began 

 to turn slowly as they crept out through 

 the congested city into the plains, where 

 there was room for even such a great 

 monster as this to move. 



Now the furious red eye of the monster 

 pierced the gloom ahead, for it was getting 

 dark. For hundreds of feet this bright 

 shaft lit the glittering rails. Like a great 

 gleaming auger it bored its way just so far 

 ahead of the thundering drive-wheels into 

 the darkness. 



No matter how hard the locomotive 

 raced, yet this bright shaft always kept 

 just so far ahead. It showed trestle work 

 and deep cut, river and creek, straggling 

 village and dreary waste, all the endless 

 panorama of the plains, a moment seen and 

 then swallowed up in the darkness. 



The man at the throttle sat with tense 



