The Pony Rider Boys in the Ozarks Part 42

"No," said Tad to himself, "it's something that we don't know anything about. But unless I am greatly mistaken we are going to find out pretty soon."

In this the boy was right. They were to find out what it was that Tom Phipps feared, and in a manner that they would not soon forget.

The narrow cut through which they were now rushing was little higher than their heads, and was very narrow, so that by raising their elbows they could barely touch the sides and keep themselves in the middle of the pa.s.sage way.

"Look out for a turn just ahead," warned Phipps. "After that it is straight away."

The turn which they made a few seconds later, Tad imagined, led back toward the place where the car had started from. But they came to the end of the pa.s.sage abruptly.

They caught a faint click, and instantly they were surrounded by dazzling light. As soon as they became used to the brightness they discovered that they were in a sort of chamber which looked as if it had been worn out by constant and long action of water.

Instantly upon switching on the light, the young engineer sprang to a telephone on the wall. Tad observed that the wires from it followed out into the pa.s.sage through which they had entered.

The a.s.sistant superintendent was telephoning now, and the lads listened intently.

"h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo!" called Phipps in an impatient voice. "Yes, who's this? Acomb? Say, Acomb, there's been a wreck on the number one track just west of here. Two cars smashed, one loaded the other carrying myself and some young men, guests of the company. Don't let any more through until the wreck is cleared away. Send an empty along with the wrecking crew so we can get out. What's that?"

Tom Phipps shuffled his feet about nervously on the stone floor.

"Hurry then, hurry! Yes, we're all here, but hurry!"

The boys instinctively drew near. They imagined that they could hear each other's hearts beat, so tense was the silence.

He turned halfway around to glance at the boys.

"Is it anything serious?" asked Ned in a strained voice.

"I hope not. I can't tell you just yet. We shall know in a minute...

Well, send some one for him," he snapped, answering something the man at the other end of the line had said to him. "h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo! That you, Bob? Did Acomb tell you of our predicament? Yes. What I wanted to say was don't for goodness' sake send out the red car while the line is blocked."

"The red car," repeated Ned and Tad in one voice. Neither knew what it meant, but impressed them just the same.

"What, gone? gone?" groaned Phipps. "Are you sure? How long ago?

Ten minutes? Shut off the current! Quick! I hope so."

The a.s.sistant superintendent hung up the telephone deliberately and turned toward them.

The boys observed that his face was white and drawn.

"What, what is it?" asked Tad.

"There's a car of dynamite coming through the tunnel on the number two track," announced the young engineer calmly, thrusting both hands deep into his trousers pockets.

CHAPTER XXI

IMPRISONED IN A MINE

"That--that's the track that the empty cars go back on, is it not?"

asked Tad, after an interval of tense silence.

"Yes."

"The wreck was on the other track."

Tom Phipps nodded.

"Then what harm can the red car, as you call it, do?" interrupted Ned Rector.

"That remains to be seen. The chances are that the number two track was blocked when the car of ore was spilled out."

"Which means?" questioned Tad.

"That there may be another collision," smiled the a.s.sistant superintendent. His was a wan smile, however, and failed to enliven the Pony Rider Boys.

"Will the dynamite explode?" asked Walter half fearfully.

"Probably not. I hope not. But you can't tell anything about these high explosives. They're very freaky. All we can do will be to remain here and wait for the car either to stop somewhere after the power has been turned off or to rip its way through the wreck we just left. At any rate we are safe in here."

The boys breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then, there is no danger to us?" asked Ned Rector.

"The danger is minimized."

"How far are we from where we started?"

"Probably a couple of miles."

"My! the Professor will be half scared to death when he hears what a fix we are in," half laughed Ned.

"The foreman, Mr. Acomb, said he would telephone to the other end of the drift telling them we were all right and not to worry about us,"

said Phipps. This relieved the boys' minds of one source of worry.

"Hark!" cautioned the young engineer.

The lads ceased their talking instantly and listened with straining ears.

"What is it?" breathed Tad.

"It's a car going through the tunnel."

"Is--is it the red car?"

"I don't know. It's a gravity car--traveling along down grade by its own weight, so it must be on track two."