At the end of fifteen minutes, the station was surrounded by a seething mass of people, who understood imperfectly what had happened and applied their imaginations to supplying the details. It was Jed Hopkins who, in spite of his blistered face and scorched head, took the leadership and selected twenty men to form a posse to pursue the robbers. And just as this ceremony was completed, the midnight train pulled in and nearly a score of armed men leaped off, headed by the sheriff of Athens County. He explained his presence in a moment. The dispatcher at Wadsworth, immediately upon receiving Allan's warning, had called up the sheriff at Athens, told him of the robbery, and asked him to swear in a body of deputies and proceed to the scene on the first train. He had also wisely concluded that where there had been so much fighting, there were doubtless some wounds to dress, and the company's surgeon, armed with lint, bandages, and what not, had come down from Athens with the posse. He set to work at once dressing the injuries which Allan and Jed Hopkins had sustained; while two linemen, who had come by the same train, started in to straighten out the tangle of wires and reestablish telegraphic communication. The operator who was to relieve Allan was also on the train, so the boy was free to return home, when he wished. But he had no such intention. "I'm going along," he announced to Jed, as that worthy emerged, his head elaborately bandaged, from under the hands of the surgeon. "All right, kid," Jed agreed, good-naturedly. "Kin you ride?" "Not very well; but I'll manage to stick on." "Sure you kin stand it?" and Jed looked at him thoughtfully. "If I can't, I'll drop out." "Well, come along; you were in at th' beginnin' an' it's no more'n fair you should be in at th' end. Besides, you'll be useful identifyin' suspects. You're th' only one that seen 'em--they were on me afore I had my eyes open. But I left a mark on one of 'em--that'll help. You say it went through his hand?" "Right through his hand, I heard him tell one of the others." "Good; that won't be easy to rub away! Now, men," Jed went on, "we'll divide into two parties. You men who come with th' sheriff are armed, so you kin start at once. Th' robbers drove off along this road. You start ahead, an' I'll go up to th' mine an' git arms fer my men an' as many hosses as I kin find, an' we'll come right after you." The men murmured assent and started off along the road, the sheriff in the lead. "But how can they ever catch them?" asked Allan, as he watched them disappear in the darkness. "Ever hear th' story of th' turtle an' th' rabbit?" queried Jed. "Yes--but this rabbit isn't going to go to sleep." "Well, they'll have t' sleep sometime. Besides, we've got a messenger that kin go a million miles to their one," and he motioned toward the wires overhead. "You mean the telegraph?"