Page:Ralph on the Railroad.djvu/682

114, and they sprang into the car. Ralph, trying to reach the doorway to leap out, was tripped up, and he fell quite heavily.

"Toss him out!" growled his first assailant, but Ralph recovered himself, managed to gain his feet, and leaped to the ground outside.

The three men followed. Ralph ran behind a pile of railroad ties. His pursuers gained upon him. He stumbled, fell flat, and they pounced upon him.

"Hold on there," suddenly spoke a new voice. "Get back and stay back, or I'll know the reason why."

Something whizzed through the air. It was a heavy cudgel. Whack! whack whack! the three fellows retreated as their shoulders were assailed good and hard.

Ralph in some surprise regarded his new friend. He was a queer-looking old man, carrying a formidable cudgel, and this he now brandished recklessly in the faces of his adversaries, beating them back step by step.

"Now, you mind your own business," he warned the men. "Pitching onto a boy—three big loafers that you are!"

The men were cowards and sneaked sullenly away. Ralph's rescuer went back to the pile of