Show copyright ml by U K fly oo 00 26 SYNOPSIS aleut harry mallora 1 ordered to the he and marjoree Marj orle newton decide to elope but wreck of taxicab presents their seeing minister on the way to ane train transcontinental train Is taking on passengers porter has a allely time with an englishman and ira lathrop a yankee business man the elopers have an exciting time retting to the train little jim ale wellington bound for heno to get 1 il vorce boards train in maudlin condition later mrs appears she la also bound for reno with ime sime s object 1 mrs sammy whitco ib latter blames mrs lor hert r ital troubles classmates of mallory decorate bridal berth rev and mrs temple start on a vacation they decide to cut loose and temple removes evidence of his calling marjoree Marj orle decides to let mallory proceed alone but train starts while they are lost in farewell passengers join malory s classmates in giving couple wedding hazing marjoree Marj orle Is distracted ira lathrop woman hating bachelor discovers an old sweetheart annie gattle a fellow I 1 as mallory vainly hunts for a br among the passengers mrs wellington hears little jimmies voice t ater she meets mrs mallory reports to marjoree Marj orle hla failure to find a preacher they decide to pretend a quarrel and mallory finds a vacant berth mrs discovers wellington an the train mallory again makes n unsuccessful hunt for a preacher dr temple poses aa a physician mrs temple Is induced by mrs wellington to smoke a cigar sight of preacher on 3 station platform raises mallory s hopes but he takes another train missing hand baggage compels the couple to borrow from passengers gets a cinder in his eye and mrs alm ale gives farst aid coolness Is then resumed still no clergyman more borrowing dr temple puzzled by be havlir of different couples marjories jealousy aroused by mallory s baseball jargon marjoree Marj orle suggests wrecking the train in hopes that accident will produce a preacher alio tries to induce conductor to hold the train so he can bhoj marjoree Marj orle s dog Is missing she suits the cord stopping the train con actor restores dog and lovers quarrel lathrop wires for a preacher to marry aim and alsa battle mallory tells lathrop of hla predicament and arranges to borrow the preacher atty 1 ewel lin former sweetheart of mallory s and arouses marjories jealousy preacher boards train after marrying lathrop and miss gattle the preacher escamea mallory by leaping from moving train mallory a dejection moves marjoree Marj orle to reconciliation the last day on the train brings mallory the ear of missing his transport mallory gets a leada marriage license marjoree Marj orle refuses to be married by a divorce drummer CHAPTER continued dr temple and airs temple looked at each other in dismay then at the flask and the cigars then at the well then they stammered thank you so much and sank back wellington stared at his wife lu credla are you sincere I 1 promise you never smoke another cigar my love he cried and seized her hand you know I 1 always said you were a queen among women lu credla she beamed back at him and you always were the prince ot good fel lows then she almost blushed as she murmured almost ehy ly may I 1 pour your coffee for you again this morning for life he whispered and they moved up the aisle arm in arm bumping from seat to seat and not knowing it when mrs whitcomb seated in the dining car saw mrs little pour mr little jimmies bosee she choked on hers she vowed that she would not permit those odious well to make fools of her and sammy she resolved to telegraph that she had changed mind about divorcing him and him to take the farst train west meet her halfway on her home CHAPTER I 1 A duel for a bracelet all this while marjoree Marj orle and mal lory haa eat watching as kingfishers king fishers shadow a pool the door where through the girl with the bracelet must pass on her way to breakfast she s taking forever with her toilet sniffed marjoree Marj orle probably trying to make a special impression on you she s wasting her time said mat lory but what it bhe brings her mother along no I 1 guess her moth er Is too fat to get there and back if her mother comes marjoree Marj orle decided III hold her while you take the bracelet away from teethe from that creature quick here she canies conies now de brave mallory wore an aspect of arrant cow ardace er ahi 1 you just grab berl marjoree Marj orle ex then they relapsed into at of impatient attention kathleen floated in and seeing mallory bho greeted him with radiant warmth good morning and then catching ight of marjoree Marj orle gave her a good morning coated with ice ahe flounced past and mallory at inert till marjoree Mar jorte gae him a ferocious his leaped to pinch whereupon be kathleen Kit hleen oh whirled round eltta most hospitable smile may I 1 bave a word with you of course you cap you dear boy marjoree Marj orle winced at this and writhed at what followed shant we take breakfast together 9 mallory stuttered 1 I I 1 no thank ou lve had breakfast kathleen froze up again as she snapped with that train acquaintance I 1 suppose oh no mallory amended 1 mean I 1 haven t had breakfast dut kathleen scowled with a leal ausy of her own you seem to be getting along famously tor mere train acquaintances oh all we are and hardly that mallory hastened to say with too much truth bit down here a moment won t you no no I 1 haven t time she said and sat down mamma will be wait ing for me you haven t been in to see her yeta no you see she cried all night for me iso for papa hes such a good traveler and he had such a good start she really kept the whole car awake too bad mallory condolee condoled con doled per lly then with sudden eager ness and a trial at I 1 see you have that bracelet stall of course you dear fellow 1 be parted from it for worlds marjoree Marj orle grashed gnashed her teeth but kathleen could not hear that bhe gushed on and now we have met again it looks like fate it it certainly does mallory assent ed bitterly then again with zeat let me see that old bracelet will you he tried to lay hold of it but kath leen giggled coyly it a just an excuse to bold my hand she swung her arm over the back of the seat and marjoree Marj orle made a desperate lunge at it but missed since kathleen that mallory did not pursue the fugitive band brought it back at once and yielded it up The rebe careful someone might look mallory took her by the wrist in a gingerly manner and said bo the bracelett 9 take it off won t you esever its wished on kathleen protested sentimentally don t you remember that evening in the moon light mallory caught marjories accusing eye and lost bis bead lie made a ferocious effort to snatch the bracelet off when this onset failed he bad recourse to entreaty just slip it off kathleen shook her head mallory urged more strena bously please let me see it kathleen shook her head with sophistication you d never give it back you d pass it along to that train acquaintance how can adu think such a thing mallory demurred and once more made his appeal please please slip it off what on earth hakea you so acx lous kathleen demanded with sud den suspicion mallory was stumped till an inspiration came to him I 1 d like to to get you a nicer one that one isn t good enough for you here was an argument that kath leen could appreciate oh how sweet of you harry she gurgled and had the bracelet down to her knuckles when a sudden instinct checked her when you bring the other you can have this she pushed the circlet back and mallory s hopes sank at the gesture he grew frantic at being eternally frustrated in his plans he caught kathleen s arm and while bis words pleaded bla hands tugged please please let me ake it for the measure you know kathleen read the determination in bis fierce eyes and she struggled fu piously why richard at dally I 1 m amazed at youl let go or scream she rose and twisting her arm from his grasp confronted him with bewildered anger mallory cast toward marjoree Marj orle a look of surrender and despair marjoree Marj orle laid her band on her throat and in pantomime sug that mallory should throttle kathleen as be bad promised but mallory was incapable of fur ther violence and when kathleen with all her coquetry bent down and murmured you are a very naughty boy but come to breakfast and well talk it over he was so addled that he answered thanks but 1 never eat breakfast CHAPTER down braked just as kathleen flung her head in baffled vexation and mallory started to flank back to marjoree Marj orle with an other defeat there came an abrupt shock as it that gigantic child to whom our railroad trains are toys had reached down and laid violent hold on tha trans american in tull career its smooth flight became sud denly such a spasm ot jars shivers and thuds that mallory cried were off the track down the aisle he was sent flopping hurled through the car bolster like a he brought up with a sickening slam the seat into which marjoree Marj orle across jounced back with a breath had been slam and then kathleen taking backwards and landed in came flying of them a heap on both several of the other passengers returning from breakfast were just shot and scattered all and they were over the car as if a great chain or hu beads had burst man women screamed men aart then while they were still struggling i f t f IS f against the beats and one another tee train came to a halt thank god we slopped in time mallory gasped as be tried to disengage himself and Mar lorle from kath leen the passengers began to regain their courage with their equilibrium little wellington had flown the whole length 0 the car clinging to bis wife as it she were francesca da kimlel and he paolo flitting through inferno fhe bight ended at the stateroom door with such a thump that mrs fosdeck was sure a detective had come or her at last and with a battering ram but when got bade breath enough to talk be remembered the train stopping excitement or the day before and called out lias mrs mallory lost that pup again everybody laughed uproariously at this people will laugh at anything or nothing when they have been frightened almost to death and sud denly relieved of anxiety everybody was cracking a joke at marjoree Marj orle s expense everybody felt a good natured grudge against her for being such a mystery the car was ringing with hilarity when the por ter came stumbling in and paused at the door with eyes all white bands waving frantically and lips mapping like flannel in a vain effort to speak the passengers stopped laughing at marjoree Marj orle to laugh at the porter ash ton sang out what s the matter with you por ter are you trying to crow everybody roared at this till the porter finally managed to articulate att train rob rob robbers silence shut down as if the whole crowd had been smitten with paralysis from somewhere outside and ahead came a pop popping as of tire crackers everybody thought lie solvers vol vers the reports were mingled with barbaric yells that turned the marrow in every bone to snow these regions are full of historic terror all along the nevada route the conductor the brakemen and old travelers had pointed out scene after scene where the indians had slaked the thirst of the arid land with white man s blood ashton who had t aled this way many times bad made himself fascinatingly horrifying the evening before and ruined several breakfasts that morning in the dining car by regaling the passengers with stories of pioneer ordeals men and women massacred in burning wagons or dragged away to fiendish cruelty and obscene torture spiked out supine on burning wastes with eyelids cut off bound down within reach of rat subjected to every misery that human deviltry could devise ashton bad brought his fellow pas to a state of ecstatic exalt ability and like many a of burglar stories at night had tuned his own nerves to high tension the violent stepping of the train the heart shaking yells and shots out side found the passengers already apt to respond without delay to the appeals of fright after tho arst husn of dread came the reaction to panic each passenger showed his own panic in his own way aslton whirled round and round like a horse with the blind staggers then bolted down the aisle knocking aside men and women he climbed on a seat pulled down an upper berth and scrambling into it tried to shut it on mrs was so frightened that she assailed aslton with fury and seizing bis feet dragged him back in to the aisle and beat him with her fists demanding that he protect her and save her for sammy s sake mrs fosdeck rushing out of her stateroom and not finding her luscious eyed husband laid bold of jim ale wellington and ordered him to go to the rescue of her spouse mrs wellington tore har handa loose cry I 1 ing let him go madam he has a wife of his own to defend was trying to pour out dy ing messages and only sputtering tor getting that he had put his watch in his mouth to hide it though its chain was still attached to his waistcoat anne gattle who bad read much about chinese atrocities to mission arles gave herself up to death yet rejoiced greatly that she bad provided a timely man to lean on and should not have to enter paradise a spinster providing she could manage to con vert ira in the next few seconds before it was everlastingly too late she was begging her first heathen to join her in a gospel hymn bat ira was roaring curses like a pirate captain in a hurricane and swearing that the villains should not rob him ot bis bride mrs temple wrung ner twitching hands and tried to drag her husband to his knees crying oh walter walter wont you please aay a prayer a good strong prayer but the preacher was BO confused that he answered weats the use ot prayer in an emergency like this walter she I 1 m on my va vacation you know he stammered TO ITE CONTINUED |