CHAPTER XIII
THE RELIEF TRAIN
"Look out!" yelled Frank.
"The boiler has blown up!" added Andy. "Run for cover!"
But there was no need, even had there been time to do so—to race against the awful speed and power of steam—for the one explosion was followed by no others.
For a moment the air was filled with flying debris, pieces of the locomotive boiler, and bits of the wrecked cars. But, fortunately, the mass scattered, and fell to one side, so that none of it hit the unfortunate survivors of the wreck.
The man whom Billy had called Shackmiller—the man he so feared—had been hurled forward, rather than up, as though blown along, slightly above the surface of the ground by some mighty wind.
"That's the end of him!" cried Frank. "He'll be killed sure!"
"How did he happen to be near the boiler?" asked Andy, but there was no chance to answer him, had anyone been so inclined. For at that instant the crumpled-up body of the man fell on a pile of the car seat cushions that had been carried out to make beds for the wounded ones.
"Let's see how badly he is hurt," suggested Billy. "Poor fellow. I hate to see him suffer, even if he is a plotter."
They rushed toward where the man had landed. So did a number of others—nearly all save those who were looking after the injured passengers.
"He's done for," murmured Billy. But even as he spoke the man moved.
"Quick! Get the doctor here!" called the conductor of the train, and the much over-worked physician began to work on the man.
"Say, that was a close call for us," remarked Andy, when the excitement had somewhat calmed down.
"I should say yes," agreed his brother.
"And on our first day out," added Billy. "I'm afraid you fellows will think I got you in bad, having a railroad smash to start off with."
"That part's all right," said Andy. "We like the excitement, but——"
"Well, if he hasn't nerve!" exclaimed Frank. "Is that all the sympathy you have for the ones who were hurt?"
"Of course not!" snapped Andy. "I'm as sorry as you are that any one was injured, but as long as we're in for excitement we might as well have a railroad wreck as anything else."
"You're the limit," said Frank. "Well, now that the boiler has gone up, and there's no danger from that, let's finish looking at what we started to see when the steam went off."
But it was not easy to approach very close, as the splintered box cars, into which the locomotive had plowed, were now blazing fiercely. There was no means of extinguishing the fire, and it simply had to be allowed to burn itself out. The wounded had been carried to places of safety, and were now resting on the car seats. The man who had followed our heroes was the worst hurt of any, and the doctor did not have much hope for him.
The trainmen were getting out the baggage of the passengers, and helping the express and mail clerks to save the contents of their cars before the fire should spread to them.
In a great measure, however, the excitement caused by the wreck had calmed down, when it was found there was no loss of life.
The accident had occurred while the train was passing through a farming section, and soon the countrymen, for miles around, flocked to the scene, coming in wagons and on foot. They offered to care for any who did not want to continue their journey, and some women, whose nerves were shattered, took advantage of the kind offers.
Not so the little old lady on whom Andy had been playing the innocent trick when the smash came. She was as calm and collected as she had been at first. And the man whose wig had come off had somewhat regained his composure.
"I should think you could get a relief train here before this!" the man snapped to the conductor.
"It's coming—it's coming," said that much-harassed official. "They're coming as fast as they can get here."
"Well, I'm going to sue your road for damages, whether I'm hurt or not," the man went on. "I'll be delayed, anyhow, and I'm going to have satisfaction."
"I hope you get it," murmured the conductor, as he hurried off to see that the others of the train crew were getting the baggage and other stuff out of the way of the advancing flames.
The three boys walked about, lending a hand whenever they could, and talking about the accident. They had a glimpse of the locomotive, almost turned over, where it had crashed into the cars, and had reared up.
"That's what made the boiler explode," was Frank's opinion. "The water level was changed, and some part of the boiler had none in. The fire kept getting hotter and hotter and the steam got to such a pressure that it blew the steel apart."
"If it had happened a minute later we'd have been in it," said Andy. "I wonder what Shackmiller was doing so near the engine—that is, if it was he?"
"Oh, it was he, all right," was Billy's comment. "I'm sure I wasn't mistaken, even though he had shaved off his black beard. He was following me. Probably he was in some other car all the while, and when the crash came, fearing I might see him, he ran up ahead to hide. Then he got near the boiler just as the explosion came. Well, I don't wish him any bad luck, but I hope this ends his following me."
"Have you the paper safe?" asked Andy.
"Yes, it's all right—pinned to the inside of my vest pocket," was the answer.
There was a shrill whistling down the track, and the sound of a fast-puffing locomotive that could be heard above the roar and crackle of the flames. A flagman came running up to the group of trainmen and others who surrounded the place where the injured ones lay.
"The relief train!" he shouted, waving his red flag. "Here is the relief train!"
"That's good," said the doctor with a sigh of satisfaction. "I need medicines and bandages for these injured. It didn't come any too soon for him," he added, and nodded toward Shackmiller.