Page:Ralph on the Railroad.djvu/648

80 "You won't. There's no one there but the towerman, and he can't leave duty, and you won't stop because you're on a fast run. Take it easy, sonny. I don't weigh much, and I won't hurt your old locomotive."

Ralph could do nothing better than submit to the imposition for the time being. He returned to the cab. His face was quite anxious. He called again to Griscom.

"I can't understand it," he said. "What can have befallen him? Keep a close watch here for a few minutes, will you?" he asked of his passenger.

Ralph took a lantern and ran down the tracks, flashed the light across the empty freights lining the tracks, and returned to the locomotive more anxious than ever.

"I can't think what to do, Mr. Trevor," he said.

The young man consulted his watch nervously. "Tell you, Fairbanks, we mustn't lose time. You can't find your partner. Run to the tower and have the man there telegraph the circumstances and get someone to look for Griscom We will have to run on without him."

"Without Griscom!" cried Ralph. "Why, we cannot possibly secure a substitute this side of Dover."