Page:Ralph on the Railroad.djvu/1010

186 "Don't know—never saw the boy before. He's a stranger in Riverton. Came up to me and gave me a half-a-dollar to come here and deliver a message to you."

"Let me know it," directed Ralph.

"Come out here on the tracks, and I'll show you where he said you was to come to see him. See that old shed over beyond those freights? Well, the boy said you was to come there."

"Oh, he did?" commented Ralph musingly.

"Yes, he said to come alone, as it was particular. He said you'd know when I said Martin—Martin, oh, yes, Clark, that's it."

"Marvin Clark," decided the young railroader at once, and as the messenger went his way Ralph ran to the engine cab, threw off his jacket and then walked down the tracks. He of course thought of Fred Porter at once. It looked as though that individual had turned up again and had sent for him, and Ralph was glad to hear from him at last.

The building that had been pointed out to him by the boy messenger was a storage shed for repair tools and supplies. Ralph passed a line of damaged freights, and reaching the shed, found its door open. He stepped across the threshold and peered around among the heaps of iron and steel.