The order was shouted back to the car. It was instantly obeyed. There was now another obstruction for the enemy; but George wondered how Andrews, full of resources though he might be, would find more wood for the engine. But Andrews was equal even to this. "Stop!" cried the leader, after they had passed up the line about a mile from where the ties had been last thrown out. "The General" was soon motionless, breathing and quivering like some blooded horse which had been suddenly reined in during a race. "Here's more work for you, boys," cried Andrews. He was already on the ground, pointing to the wooden fences which encompassed the fields on both sides of the track. The men needed no further prompting. In less than three minutes a large number of rails were reposing in the tender. George regarded them with an expression of professional pride, as befitted the fireman of the train. "No trouble about wood or water now," he said, as "The General" tore onward again. "No," replied the leader. "We will beat those Southerners yet!" He positively refused to think of failure at this late stage of the game. Yet it was a game that did not seem to promise certain success. Thus the race continued, with "The General" sometimes rocking and reeling like a drunken man. On they rushed, past small stations, swinging around curves with the men in the car sitting on the floor and clinging to one another for fear they would be knocked out by the roughness of the motion. As George thought of this terrible journey in after years he wondered why it was that engine, car and passengers were not hurled headlong from the track. "We are coming to Dalton," suddenly announced Andrews. Dalton was a good-sized town twenty-two miles above Calhoun, and formed a junction with the line running to Cleveland, Tennessee. "We must be careful here," said Andrews, "for we don't know who may be waiting to receive us. If a telegram was sent via the coast up to Richmond, and then down to Dalton, our real character may be known. Brown, be ready to reverse your engine if I give the signal--then we'll back out of the town, abandon the train, and take to the open fields." George wondered if, by doing this, they would not fall into the hands of their pursuers. But there was no chance for argument. The speed of "The General" was now slackened, so that the engine approached the station at a rate of not more than fifteen miles an hour. Andrews saw nothing unusual on the platform; no soldiers; no preparations for arrest. "Go ahead," he said, "and stop at the platform. The coast's clear so far."