15 - Young Railroaders by Francis Lovell Coombs

Teen telegraphers battle bandits, derail disasters, and outsmart thieves in Young Railroaders, a thrilling ride through America’s emerging West. Grit, brains, and bravery light the tracks.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
The Young Railroaders by F. Lovell Coombs, chapter fourteen, The
Last of the Freight Thieves. No, I've not after you
this time, laughingly responded Detective Boil to Jack's half serious
inquiry on recognizing his visitor at the station one evening
a month later, as the road detective who on the

(00:23):
previous memorable occasion had called in company with the sheriff instead.
I want your assistance, do you know, he asked, seating himself,
that your friends, the freight thieves are operating again on
the division. No, said Jack, in surprise, they are. They
have evolved some scheme that is more baffling even than

(00:46):
the haunting trick you spoiled for them here last spring.
Every week they are getting away with valuable stuff from
one of the night freights between Claxton and Eastfield while
the train is actually en route. Apparently that sounds inc credible.
I know, but it is the only possible conclusion to
come to, since the train does not stop between those places,

(01:07):
and I made sure the goods each time were aboard
when it left Claxton. Jack whistled. That does look a problem,
doesn't it. But where do I come in, mister Boyle?
Last evening, while thinking the matter over, the trick the
thieves used here at the junction recurred to me. The
man shipped in a box, It came to me, why

(01:28):
couldn't that same dodge be played back against them in
this case? Oh, I see have yourself shipped in a
box and stolen by them? Clever idea, exclaimed Jack, Not
so bad, I think myself. Well, in the country between
Claxton and Eastfield, where it is my theory the gang
has its headquarters, there are no telephone or telegraph lines,

(01:52):
and it struck me it would be a good plan
to take along someone with me who, in case of
things going wrong, could make his way back to the
railroad and cut in on the wire and call for help.
And naturally you were the first one I thought of.
Do you want the job, asked the detective. I'd jump
at the chance. Jack agreed eagerly. It'd be more fun

(02:14):
than enough. But mister Boyle, how do you know that
the boxes are taken to the freight thieves headquarters unopened
and not broken into right at the railroad. I figure
that out of the number and size of the packages
they have taken each time, just a good load for
a light wagon and anyway you can see that that
would be their safest plan. If they broke up boxes

(02:37):
near the track, they would leave clues that would be
sure to be found sooner or later, and put us
on their trail. And through a friend in the wholesale
dry goods business at Claxton, who will see down there tonight,
the detective went on, I can make practically sure of
our being stolen together the thieves have shown a partiality
for his goods, and by having our boxes at track

(03:00):
actively labeled silk and placed just within the car door,
there will be little chance of the robbers passing us by.
My plan is to bring it off tomorrow night. Would
that suit you, concluded the detective. Yes, sir, that is
if I can get away, for it will take all night.
I suppose, yes, there will be no trouble about your

(03:23):
getting off, though I spoke to Alan before I came down,
said Boyle, rising, all right, it is arranged. You take
the five point thirty down tomorrow evening with the necessary instruments,
and I'll be at the station to meet you good night.
As Boyle had promised, Jack had no difficulty in arranging

(03:44):
to be off duty. The following night, and early that
evening he alighted from the train at Claxton to find
the Railroad detective awaiting him. The instruments, eh, queried Boyle,
indicating a parcel under Jack's arm as they left the station. Yes, sir,
and I have some wire and a file in my pocket.

(04:04):
That's the ticket, and everything here is arranged nicely. We
will head for the warehouse at once. Here's the other
bolt of silk, mister Brooke, the detective announced a few
minutes later, as they entered the office adjoining a large
brick building all ready for us. Hum, he's a pretty

(04:25):
small bolt, isn't he commented the merchant, eyeing Jack with
some surprise. A trifle, but he makes up for size
and quality, declared the detective, while Jack blushed. He is
the youngster who solved the ghost riddle and spoiled this
same gang's game at Midway Junction. The merchant warmly shook

(04:45):
Jack's hand. I'm glad to meet you, my boy, he said.
After that, I can readily believe what Boyle says. Yes,
I am all ready this way, please, he requested. Following
the speaker, Jack and the detective found themselves in a
large shipping room. As they entered, a workman with a

(05:07):
pot and ink brush in his hand, was surveying lettering
he had just completed on a good sized packing case.
Here are the goods, Judson announced the merchant already, sir.
The workmen responded, eyeing Jack and the detective curiously. Did
you substitute boards with knot holes? Mister Brooke asked, yes, sir.

(05:31):
This is the door, said the man, indicating two wide
boards at one end. I used both wooden buttons and
screw hooks on the inside as you suggested. Good. The
detective examined the box. You've made a good job of it,
he commented, I suppose this is the boys, he added,

(05:52):
turning to a smaller box, on which also were the
words silk valuable. With lively interest, Jack examined the case.
Get in and let us see how it fits, suggested
the merchant. Jack did so fine, he announced. I could
ride all night in it easily, either sitting or lying

(06:12):
down curled up on my side. Detective Boyle glanced at
his watch. You may as well stay right there, Jack,
he said, We will start just as soon as the
wagon is ready. It's ready now, Judson, go and bring
the dray around, the merchant directed. As the man left,

(06:32):
the detective produced and headed Jack a small pocket revolver. Here.
Take this, Jack said he. I hope you'll not have
to use it, but we must take all precautions now
to box you in. So saying, the detective fitted the
door of Jack's box into place, and Jack, on the inside,

(06:53):
secured it with the hooks and wooden buttons and announced okay.
The detective then entered his own box, and, with the
merchant's assistance, closed the opening. As he tested it, there
was a rattle of wheels without and the big door
rumbled open. A few minutes later, the two boxes of
valuable silk had been slid out onto the truck, and

(07:15):
the first stage of the strange journey had begun as planned.
It was dusk when the two boxes reached the freight depot.
The station agent himself met them. Everything okay, boil, he whispered, okay,
place us right before the door with a lettering out
the detective directed. The agent did as requested, and with

(07:38):
a final good luck, closed and sealed the car door.
Just as the clanging of a bell announced the approach
of an engine. A crash and a jar told the
two unsuspected travelers that their car had been coupled. There
was a whistle, a rumble, a clanking over switch points,
and they were on their way. The wheels had been

(07:59):
drumming over the rear joints for perhaps half an hour,
and the disappearance of the light, which had filtered through
the car door, had announced the fall of darkness. When
there came a screeching of brakes. Where do you suppose
we are now, mister Boyle asked Jack from his box.
It's the grade just north of Oxford Road. When we
hit the upgrade two miles beyond, we may begin to

(08:21):
expect something. It was long here I figured that the
what's that? Both listened one of the brakemen, isn't it,
suggested Jack? What is he doing down on the edge
of the car roof. The next sound was of something
slapping against the car door. Suddenly the detective gave vent

(08:42):
to a cry that was barely suppressed. Jack, I've got it,
I've got it at last, he whispered excitedly. The freight
thieves and brought up one of the brakemen. He lets
himself down to the car door by a rope, opens
it and throws the stuff out. Jack's exclamation of delight
at this final revelation of the heart of the mystery

(09:04):
was followed by one of consternation. But won't we get
an awful shaking up if we're pitched off going at
full speed? He said in alarm. We may. We'll have
to take it. It's all in the game, you know,
declared Boyle grimly, sit tight and brace hard, and it'll
not be so bad though sh here he is. There

(09:28):
was a sound of feat scraping against the car door,
a rattle as the seal was broken and the clasp freed.
Then a rumble and the sudden full roar of the
train told the two in the boxes that the door
had been opened. Swinging within, the intruder closed the door
behind him and lit a match. Peering from a knothole,
Jack saw that the detective's guess was right. It was

(09:50):
a brakeman. As Jack watched, the man produced and lit
a dark lantern and turned it on the cases before him.
Jack held his breath as the light streamed through the
cracks of his own box. Just to order, muttered the
brakeman audibly, and the bigger one too, I'll not have
to haul any out. Then, to Jack's momentary alarm then amusement,

(10:15):
the man seated himself on the box above him. Presently,
as Jack was wondering what the trayman was waiting for.
From the distant engine, came the two long and two
short toots for a crossing, and the man started to
his feet. With his eye to the knothole, Jack watched again.
Came a whistle and the creaking of brakes. Immediately, the

(10:37):
brakeman slid the door back a few inches, flashed his
lantern four times, muffled it, and ran the door open
its full width. The critical moment had come. Gathering himself together,
Jack braced with knees and elbows. The trayman seized the box,
swung it to the door, and tipped it forward. The

(10:58):
next instant, Jack felt himself hurtled out into the darkness.
For one terrible moment, he felt himself hurtling through space.
Then came a crackle of branches. The box whirled over
and over again, plunged downward, and brought up with a
crash a brief space. Jack lay dazed in a heap,

(11:18):
head down, but he had been only slightly stunned and recovering,
he righted himself and found with satisfaction that he had
suffered no more than a bruise of the scalp and
an elbow. He had not long to speculate on his whereabouts.
From near at hand came a sound of breaking twigs
and a voice. Here's one, it said. Only with difficulty

(11:42):
did Jack avoid betraying himself. It was the voice of
the man Watts. What is it? Inquired? A second voice,
throw a crack, A light appeared, silk announced Watts. A
good weight too, he added. Tipping the catch hold, the

(12:03):
packing case was caught up and rocked and jolted. Jack
felt himself carried for what he judged a full quarter mile.
As men slowed up, a gleam of moonlight showed through
the knothole, and peering forth he discovered a tree lined
road and a two horse wagon. Sliding the box into
the rear of the wagon and well to the front,

(12:23):
the men disappeared. The weight that followed was to Jack
the most trying experience of the evening. Had the detective
safely landed, was there not a possibility of the larger
box having been shattered or sufficiently broken to reveal its
true contents and disclosed the plot to the freight robbers
and what then would be his fate. These and many

(12:45):
other disquieting possibilities passed through Jack's mind, causing him several
times as the minutes went by, to finger the hooks
and buttons which would permit of his escape. Finally, snapping twigs,
then heavy stumbling footfalls allayed his anxiety, and the two
men reappeared, staggering under the box containing the officer. With difficulty,

(13:07):
the unsuspecting thieves raised the heavy packing case to the
tailboard of the wagon. It won't go in, said Watts's companion.
Push this way a little, Watts directed, I can't look out.
There was a scramble, and the box crashed to the ground.
At the same moment came a muffled exclamation, and Jack

(13:29):
caught his breath. Was it the detective? If so, had
the others overheard it? With relief, however, he heard Watts,
who apparently was the chief of the gang, call his
companion a mule and order him to catch hold again.
The box, this time was successfully slid aboard, and at
once the two men climbed to the seat and the

(13:51):
wagon rumbled off as they rattled along over a badly
kept road. Jack gave his close attention to the passing
scenery as his limited view permitted, in order that he
might be able to find his way back to the
railroad if it should prove necessary. This did not promise
to be difficult. On either side, the dim moonlight showed

(14:11):
an unbroken succession of trees, and also that the robbers
were continuing in one direction, apparently due south, for what
seemed at least two miles. They proceeded, then appeared a
small clearing, and with a quickening of the pulse, Jack
felt the wagon slow up and turn in. They were
at their destination, a forbiddingly suitable place for its purpose.

(14:36):
It was standing out darkly on the crest of a rise.
Two hundred yards back was a low shanty like house,
in which appeared a single gleam of light. Between to
the road stretched a desolate moonlit prospect of stumps, decaying logs,
and brush piles. On either side, the woods formed a

(14:56):
towering wall of blackness. Rocking and pitching, the wagon made
its way up a ruddy corkscrew lane. They reached the
house and the door opened, and a tall, unpleasant looking
woman appeared and greeted the men. Good luck, Eh, she
remarked briefly, sure, don't we always say good luck? Responded Watts,

(15:18):
is supper ready? Yes? You UN's better come in before
you opens them boxes, said the woman. All right. Passing on,
the wagon came at last to a halt before a
good sized barn. The two men leaped to the ground,
and while one of them opened the large side doors,
the other proceeded to back the wagon to it. As

(15:41):
the two freight thieves then unhooked and led their horses
to the stable, there came to Jack's ears a welcome tapping.
Are you all right, lad, whispered the detective. Yes, okay, sir.
Though a bit nervous, Jack acknowledged, keep cool, and we'll
soon have them where we want them. As they're going

(16:01):
in to supper first, we'll not leave the boxes till then.
That'll give us just the opportunity we want to look
around and arrange things nicely. Sh Here they come, catch hold,
said Watts. Jack heard the detective's box slide out and
up from Watts, the staggering steps of the men across

(16:22):
the barn floor, and a thud as the box was
dropped at what then immediately followed? Jack for a moment
doubted his senses. It was the voice of Watts, saying,
quietly and coldly, now, my clever friend in the box,
kindly come out. They had heard Boyles's exclamation when the
box had fallen. Scarcely breathing, Jack listened, Would the detective

(16:47):
give himself up? Without a There was a muffled report.
Instantly a second, louder than silence. Will you come out now,
demanded Watts, to Jack's horror, there was no response. Watts
repeated the order, then called on his companion for an axe,
and there followed the sound of blows and splintering wood.

(17:09):
Now haul him out. Terror stricken, Jack listened. Suddenly there
came the sound of a scramble, then of a terrific struggle.
The detective was all right. It had been only a ruse.
Uttering a suppressed hurrah, Jack began hurriedly undoing the unfastenings
of his door to get out to the detective's assistance.
Before he had opened it, however, there was the sound

(17:32):
of a heavy fall and a triumphant shout from Watts. Promptly,
Jack paused, debated a moment, and restored the fastenings. He
would wait, perhaps they would bind boil and leave him
in the barn. A moment later, Jack regretted his decision.
Through the knothole, he saw the detective, led by his

(17:52):
arms bound behind him, and one of the freight robbers
on either side. The voices and footsteps died away in
the direction of the house, and Jack fell to wondering
what he should do. Before he had decided, he heard
the voices of the men returning apprehensively. He waited, had
they any suspicion of his presence in the second packing case.

(18:16):
While he held his breath and grimly clutched his revolver,
they slid his box to the rear of the wagon,
lifted it out, and deposited it on the barn floor.
Going to have a look at it, make sure it
hasn't some live stock in it, too, inquired the second man.
Jack's heart stood still. No, it's all right, declared Watts, confidently.

(18:41):
We'll have supper first. And Jack's unspeakable relief, they passed
out and closed the barn door, listening until from the
house had come the slamming of a door. Jack once
more freed the fastenings within the box, slipped the board
aside again, listened a moment, and crawled forth. As he stood,
stretching his cramped limbs, he glanced about. A tear of

(19:04):
what looked like bolts of cloth in the moonlight beneath
one of the barn windows caught his eye. He stepped over.
It was silk, silk such as he had seen in
the warehouse at Claxton. Instantly there came to Jack a
startling suggestion. As quickly he decided to act upon it.
They may never catch on, he told himself delightedly, and

(19:27):
in any case, it will give me a good start
back for the railroad for help. Glancing from the barn
window to make sure all was quiet in the direction
of the house, he drew his box into the moonlight,
took out the parcel containing the telegraph instruments, and proceeded
to remove the hooks and buttons and all other signs
of the door. Then quickly he filled the box with

(19:48):
bolts of silk from the pile beneath the window. That done,
he found a hammer and nails, and, muffling the hammer
with his handkerchief as quietly as possible, nailed the boards
into place, triumphantly he slid the box to its former
position on the floor. I think that will fool you,
mister Watts, he said, with a smile, and catching up

(20:10):
the telegraph instruments, he turned to the door on the threshold.
He started back. The two men and two others were
returning from the house in alarm. Jack looked about for
a way of escape. Across the barn was a smaller door.
He ran forward on tiptoe, darted through and found himself
in the stable, passing quietly on to the outer door,

(20:34):
which the cracks and moonlight revealed. He waited until the
four men had entered the main barn, then slipped forth, and,
keeping in the shadows, ran toward the house. A beam
of light streamed from one of the rear windows. Jack
made for it, and, cautiously approaching, peered within. The woman
he had seen at the door was at a table

(20:56):
washing dishes, her back toward him, and just beyond faced him,
and bound hand and foot in a big arm chair,
was the detective. For some minutes, Jack tried in vain
to attract the officer's attention. Then the woman obligingly stepped
into the pantry with some dishes, and quickly Jack gave
a single tap on the windowpane. Boyle looked up instantly, started, smiled,

(21:21):
then nodded his head in the direction of the railroad.
Jack held up the parcel containing the telegraph instruments. The
detective nodded again, and in a moment, Jack was off.
It was an exhausting run over the rough little used road,
now darkened by the overhanging trees, but at length Jack
recognized the point at which he had been carried from

(21:43):
the woods, and turning in, he soon found himself at
the railroad. Hurrying to the nearest telegraph pole, He swarmed
up to the cross tree and quickly filed through the
wire on one side of the glass insulator. The broken
wire fell, jangling to the rails, connecting an end of
the wire he had brought with him to the wire

(22:03):
on the other side of the pin. Jack slid to
the ground, made the connections with the instrument, and the
relay clicked closed at once. Someone on the wire said,
who had it opened? What did you say? Alex? Exclaimed
Jack at once, recognizing the sending, and was about to
break in when the instrument clicked seventeen just coming c

(22:27):
X Claxton and seventeen, just what we want. Quickly interrupting,
Jack said c X, hold seventeen. Hold her. Then to X,
this is Jack AWL. I'm in the woods about four
miles from Claxton. We found the freight thieves, but they
have boiled. Prisoner asked the chief to have seventeen take

(22:50):
on a posse at c X and rush them here.
I'll wait here and lead them back. If they are quick,
they'll capture the whole gang. O cany Okay, good for you,
shot back Alex. The wire was silent a moment then
Jack heard the order go on to Claxton as desired.
Twenty five minutes later, waiting in the darkness on the track,

(23:13):
Jack saw the headlight of the fast coming freight. The
engineer on the lookout discovered him, pulled up, and a
moment after Jack was off through the woods, followed by
two officers and several of the train crew. When they
reached the farm, lights were still moving about in the barn. Stealthily.
The party made for it and surrounded it. How would

(23:35):
you like to lead the way in, Jack whispered the
sheriff as they paused before the door. That would be
only fair after the trick Watts played on you. Jack,
caught at the idea, delightedly, and all being ready, boldly
threw open the barn door and entered with drawn revolver,
followed by the sheriff. The four occupants were so completely

(23:57):
taken by surprise that for a moment they stood immovable
about a box of dry goods they had been repacking.
How do you do, mister Watts, said Jack, smiling, This
is my friend, the sheriff, and the barn is surrounded.
I think you would be foolish not to give up. Yes,
hands up, crisply ordered the sheriff, and slowly the four

(24:18):
pairs of hands went into the air, and the entire
balance of the long successful gang of freight thieves were prisoners.
It was Jack himself who rushed off to the house
and freed Detective Boil. A half hour later, with one
of the robber's own wagons filled with a great quantity
of recovered stolen goods. The sheriff escorted his prisoners back

(24:39):
to the railroad, and before daylight they were in the
jail at Eastfield. Jack received considerable attention because of his
part in the capture, and the affair still forms one
of the popular yarns among trainmen on that division of
the Middlewestern end of chapter