"Something wrong!" ran through his mind. A vague thrill crossed his frame as, whirling by a landmark, a white-painted cattle guard, he realized that he must have gone five miles without noting distance. The bridge was his next thought. Muddy Creek was less than a mile ahead. If the draw should be open! Wildly reaching towards the lever, the young engineer sank to the floor a senseless heap, while No. 999, without a guide, dashed down the shining rails! CHAPTER XIV A SERIOUS PLOT "Who stopped this train--and why?" Dreamily returning to consciousness, these were the first words that reached Ralph Fairbanks' rallying consciousness. They were spoken by the conductor of the accommodation train sharply. The locomotive was at a standstill, and, staring wonderingly, the conductor stood by the side of the tender. "I did," answered a prompt voice, and removing his hand from the lever, the boy whom the young engineer had known as Marvin Clark drifted before his vision. "Hello!" exclaimed the conductor, "I've seen you before. You're the fellow who caught the train at Riverton just as she left--had a free pass." "Never mind me, Mr. Conductor," responded the other rapidly. "I'm thinking they need some attention," and he pointed to the fireman, lying doubled up in his seat, and then to Ralph, lying prone on the floor of the cab. "Fairbanks--Fogg!" fairly shouted the conductor. "Why, what can this mean?" "Foul play, if I'm a judge," spoke Clark definitely. "Fairbanks! Fairbanks!" he shouted, stooping over and lifting Ralph in his strong arms. "Here, brace him in his seat." "Water!" gasped the young engineer in a choking tone. "My throat is on fire! What has happened?" "Nothing alarming," answered Clark reassuringly, "only--I'm glad I happened to be here." Ralph's mouth and throat seemed burning up. The water he drank only partially allayed his frantic thirst. It was with great difficulty that he could arouse himself from a lethargy that seemed to completely paralyze both body and mind. As the moments passed, however, he succeeded in rallying into something like normal. But as yet he was unable to fully understand just what had happened. "He needs something to stimulate him," declared the conductor, and stepping into the cab he hastily ransacked the fireman's bunker. "Aha!" His tones announced a discovery--likewise a suspicion. He had unearthed two flasks of liquor, one only partly filled. "Not for me," said Ralph, waving back the conductor, who evidently was intent on administering a stimulant. "Liquor!" he cried, suddenly bracing up now. "Fogg never brought it aboard. It's some plot! Why!" he exclaimed, in sudden enlightenment, "I see it all, clear as day."