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The Floating Press - Leicester Ford Paul

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72 pages

English

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Based on a true story, this gripping caper novel from Paul Leicester Ford will have you hanging on the edge of your seat. After a series of robberies that have devastated the transportation industry, one enterprising detective goes undercover to get to the bottom of the crime spree. Will he be able to put a stop to one of the most audacious criminal plots ever devised?

Sujets

Adventure (Guyana)

Adventure

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 mai 2016
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781776670659
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0134€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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THE GREAT K & A TRAIN-ROBBERY
* * *
PAUL LEICESTER FORD

*
The Great K & A Train-Robbery First published in 1897 Epub ISBN 978-1-77667-065-9 Also available: PDF ISBN 978-1-77667-066-6 © 2014 The Floating Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike. Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
*
Chapter I - The Party on Special No. 218 Chapter II - The Holding-Up of Overland No. 3 Chapter III - A Night's Work on the Alkali Plains Chapter IV - Some Rather Queer Road Agents Chapter V - A Trip to the Grand Cañon Chapter VI - The Happenings Down Hance's Trail Chapter VII - A Change of Base Chapter VIII - How Did the Secret Leak Out? Chapter IX - A Talk Before Breakfast Chapter X - Waiting for Help Chapter XI - The Letters Change Hands Again Chapter XII - An Evening in Jail Chapter XIII - A Lesson in Politeness Chapter XIV - "Listeners Never Hear Anything Good" Chapter XV - The Surrender of the Letters Chapter XVI - A Gloomy Good-By
*
TO
MY TRAVELLING COMPANIONS
ON SPECIALS 218 AND 97
THIS ENDEAVOR TO WEAVE INTO A STORY SOME OF OUROVERLAND HAPPENINGS AND ADVENTURES
IS GRATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
*
TO MISS GEORGE BARKER GIBBS.
My dear George :
At your request I originally inscribed this skit to our wholeparty. In its republication, however, I can but feel that thededication should be more particular. Written because you askedit, first read aloud to beguile our ride across the greatAmerican desert, and finally printed because you wished a copy asa souvenir of our journeyings, no one can so naturally be calledupon to stand sponsor to the little tale. Should the story butgive its readers a fraction of the pleasure I owe to yourkindness, its success is assured.
Faithfully yours,
PAUL LEICESTER FORD.
Chapter I - The Party on Special No. 218
*
Any one who hopes to find in what is here written a work ofliterature had better lay it aside unread. At Yale I should havegot the sack in rhetoric and English composition, let alone otherstudies, had it not been for the fact that I played half-back onthe team, and so the professors marked me away up above where Iought to have ranked. That was twelve years ago, but my lifesince I received my parchment has hardly been of a kind toimprove me in either style or grammar. It is true that one womantells me I write well, and my directors never find fault with mycompositions; but I know that she likes my letters because,whatever else they may say to her, they always say in some form,"I love you," while my board approve my annual reports becausethus far I have been able to end each with "I recommend thedeclaration of a dividend of — per cent from the earnings of thecurrent year." I should therefore prefer to reserve my writingsfor such friendly critics, if it did not seem necessary to makepublic a plain statement concerning an affair over which thereappears to be much confusion. I have heard in the last five yearsnot less than twenty renderings of what is commonly called "thegreat K. & A. train-robbery,"—some so twisted and distorted thatbut for the intermediate versions I should never have recognizedthem as attempts to narrate the series of events in which Iplayed a somewhat prominent part. I have read or been told that,unassisted, the pseudo-hero captured a dozen desperadoes; that hewas one of the road agents himself; that he was saved fromlynching only by the timely arrival of cavalry; that the actionof the United States government in rescuing him from the civilauthorities was a most high-handed interference with Staterights; that he received his reward from a grateful railroad bybeing promoted; that a lovely woman as recompense for hisvillany—but bother! it's my business to tell what reallyoccurred, and not what the world chooses to invent. And if anyman thinks he would have done otherwise in my position, I canonly say that he is a better or a worse man than Dick Gordon.
Primarily, it was football which shaped my end. Owing to my skillin the game, I took a post-graduate at the Sheffield ScientificSchool, that the team might have my services for an extra twoyears. That led to my knowing a little about mechanicalengineering, and when I left the "quad" for good I went into theAlton Railroad shops. It wasn't long before I was foreman of asection; next I became a division superintendent, and after I hadstuck to that for a time I was appointed superintendent of theKansas & Arizona Railroad, a line extending from Trinidad inKansas to The Needles in Arizona, tapping the Missouri WesternSystem at the first place, and the Great Southern at the other.With both lines we had important traffic agreements, as well asthe closest relations, which sometimes were a little difficult,as the two roads were anything but friendly, and we had directorsof each on the K. & A. board, in which they fought like cats.Indeed, it could only be a question of time when one would oustthe other and then absorb my road. My head-quarters were atAlbuquerque, in New Mexico, and it was there, in October, 1890,that I received the communication which was the beginning of allthat followed.
This initial factor was a letter from the president of theMissouri Western, telling me that their first vice-president, Mr.Cullen (who was also a director of my road), was coming out toattend the annual election of the K. & A., which under ourcharter had to be held in Ash Forks, Arizona. A second paragraphtold me that Mr. Cullen's family accompanied him, and that theyall wished to visit the Grand Cañon of the Colorado on their way.Finally the president wrote that the party travelled in his ownprivate car, and asked me to make myself generally useful tothem. Having become quite hardened to just such demands, at theproper date I ordered my superintendent's car on to No. 2, andthe next morning it was dropped off at Trinidad.
The moment No. 3 arrived, I climbed into the president's special,that was the last car on the train, and introduced myself to Mr.Cullen, whom, though an official of my road, I had never met. Heseemed surprised at my presence, but greeted me very pleasantlyas soon as I explained that the Missouri Western office had askedme to do what I could for him, and that I was there for thatpurpose. His party were about to sit down to breakfast, and heasked me to join them: so we passed into the dining-room at theforward end of the car, where I was introduced to "My son," "LordRalles," and "Captain Ackland." The son was a junior copy of hisfather, tall and fine-looking, but, in place of the frank andeasy manner of his sire, he was so very English that most peoplewould have sworn falsely as to his native land. Lord Ralles was alittle, well-built chap, not half so English as Albert Cullen,quick in manner and thought, being in this the opposite of hisbrother Captain Ackland, who was heavy enough to rock-ballast aroad-bed. Both brothers gave me the impression of beinggentlemen, and both were decidedly good-looking.
After the introductions, Mr. Cullen said we would not wait, andhis remark called my attention to the fact that there was onemore place at the table than there were people assembled. I hadbarely noted this, when my host said, "Here's the truant," and,turning, I faced a lady who had just entered. Mr. Cullen said,"Madge, let me introduce Mr. Gordon to you." My bow was made to agirl of about twenty, with light brown hair, the bluest of eyes,a fresh skin, and a fine figure, dressed so nattily as to be tome, after my four years of Western life, a sight for tired eyes.She greeted me pleasantly, made a neat little apology for havingkept us waiting, and then we all sat down.
It was a very jolly breakfast-table, Mr. Cullen and his son beingcapital talkers, and Lord Ralles a good third, while Miss Cullenwas quick and clever enough to match the three. Before the mealwas over I came to the conclusion that Lord Ralles was in lovewith Miss Cullen, for he kept making low asides to her; and fromthe fact that she allowed them, and indeed responded, I drew theconclusion that he was a lucky beggar, feeling, I confess, alittle pang that a title was going to win such a nice Americangirl.
One of the first subjects spoken of was train-robbery, and MissCullen, like most Easterners, seemed to take a great interest init, and had any quantity of questions to ask me.
"I've left all my jewelry behind, except my watch," she said,"and that I hide every night. So I really hope we'll be held up,it would be such an adventure."
"There isn't any chance of it, Miss Cullen," I told her; "and ifwe were, you probably wouldn't even know that it was happening,but would sleep right through it."
"Wouldn't they try to get our money and our watches?" shedemanded.
I told her no, and explained that the express- and mail-cars werethe only ones to which the road agents paid any attention. Shewanted to know the way it was done: so I described to her howsometimes the train was flagged by a danger signal, and when ithad slowed down the runner found himself covered by armed men; orhow a gang would board the train, one by one, at way stations,and then, when the time came, steal forward, secure the expressagent and postal clerk, climb over the tender, and compel therunner to stop the train at some lonely spot on the road. Shemade me tell her all the details of such robberies as I knewabout, and, though I had never been concerned in any, I was ableto describe several, which, as they were monotonously alike, Iconfess I colored up a bit here and there, in a