No one said a word; just listened. "I heard that," Westy said; "it isn't a train." "One is likely to crash into us any minute," Wig said; "I'd rather jump and be done with it--the suspense." "Do you call that using your brains?" Pee-wee shouted. Gee whiz, when you come right down to it, I have to admit that kid is a bully little scout. "You couldn't walk the ties even if we could," Wig said; "you can't take a long enough step." "Well, then, _you_ walk them and I'll stay here," the kid said. I reached across in the dark and hit him a good rap on the shoulder. "That shows there's one thing about scouting you don't know, Kiddo," I told him. "A scout troop is just as strong as its weakest member, just the same as a chain is as strong as its weakest link. We _will_ use our brains, right up to the last minute. Don't get scared." We all listened to a sound we heard far off. "I'm not scared," Pee-wee said. And even in the dark I could see his eyes looking straight at me and they looked awful brave and clear, kind of. "No use getting excited," Wig said. "Why couldn't we break up some wood and start a fire a few feet away from the car?" "Listen!" Connie said; "shh----" "Maybe it would stop a train, but it would surely burn the bridge down," Westy said. "The ties are wooden. There's enough wood to curl the steel all up into a mess of wreckage. And all that might happen before the train came along." "Could we walk the ties?" Wig asked. "Even if they're far apart we might help Pee-wee----Listen!" "Don't be all the time scaring me," I said, kind of mad, like. Because I was getting good and scared, and rattled. "Let's see your light, Connie." I held the light to the time table. "There's no station anywhere around here, I guess," I said; "but that flyer ought to come along pretty soon----" "I hear it now," Wig said. "No, you don't," I told him; "what's the use of getting us all excited? Sit still. If it comes along, all we can do is to go out and lie flat on the ties and trust to luck. Any fellow that wants to hang by his hands, can do it. It would be pretty hard lifting ourselves up again though. But the flyer isn't coming yet." "I hear a whistle," Wig said. "No, you don't hear a whistle," I told him; "that's an owl down there in the woods. Don't you know the call of an owl?" "How about freight trains?" Connie asked. I said, "I don't know anything about freight trains; they're not on the time table. Of course, we're up against it, but what's the use of going all to pieces? If any fellow wants to try walking the ties, he can do it. It would be hard enough in the daytime. On a dark night like this, he'd just go crashing down into all those rocks and water, that's all. Maybe the chances are against us, but I say, let's stick together." "That's what I say," Pee-wee shouted; "we've always stuck together. I say _stick together_." "Bully for you, Kid," I said.