"All right," assented Nolan, and arose heavily, and began to undress, lurching unsteadily from side to side. "But you certainly are a peach, Nevins, t' think of a scheme like that!" "Oh, that was easy," protested Nevins, who was winding his alarm-clock. "That was easy." "It'll fix him," Nolan chuckled. "He'll never sleep sound ag'in!" "And he won't be such a pet at headquarters," Nevins added. "In fact, I think his connection with the P. & O. will end then and there." "O' course," Nolan assented. "But it ain't that I'm thinkin' of so much. It's of him thinkin' an' worryin' an' goin' crazy about it. Mebbe he'll kill hisself!" Even Nevins, hardened as he was, could not repress a shudder as he saw Nolan's countenance convulsed with horrible mirth. There was something revolting and fiendish about it. He turned quickly and blew out the light. "Come on," he said, almost harshly. "Get to bed. It's nearly midnight." But even after they were in bed, he could hear Nolan chuckling ecstatically to himself, and shrank away from him in disgust. CHAPTER XI THE PRESIDENT'S SPECIAL The operator's work at Byers Junction was more important and difficult than at any of the other small stations on the line, because, as has already been explained, it was at that point that the track of the D. W. & I. joined that of the P. & O., and all D. W. & I. trains ran over the P. & O. tracks as far as West Junction, a distance of about eight miles. This complicated the traffic problem and the movement of trains much more than a simple crossing would have done, for the trains had to be kept out of each other's way not only at the junction, but for the whole length of that stretch of track which was used in common by the two roads. The P. & O. was considerably the older of the two, and had been built along the main line of traffic from east to west--the line which, in the old days, had been followed by the stage-coach. As the State became more thickly settled, other lines sprang up, and finally, when rich deposits of coal were discovered in Jackson County, the D. W. & I. was built to tap this territory and connect it with the northwestern part of the State. The P. & O. also ran through Jackson County, and, of course, soon built a branch to the coal-fields, so that when the work of construction on the new road began it was found that it would closely parallel the P. & O. for a distance of about eight miles. The new road was short of cash at the time, as most roads in the building are, and decided to use the P. & O. track for that distance, instead of building a track of its own.