第55章

MacWilliams slackened speed as they neared the fort, and moved up cautiously on the scene of their recent victory, but a warning cry from Clay made him bring his engine to a sharp stop.

Many lights were flashing over the ruins and they could see in their reflection the figures of men running over the same walls on which the lizards had basked in undisturbed peace for years.

``They look like a swarm of hornets after some one has chucked a stone through their nest,'' laughed MacWilliams.``What shall we do now? Go back, or wait here, or run the blockade?''

``Oh, ride them out,'' said Langham; ``the family's anxious, and I want to tell them what's happened.Go ahead.''

Clay turned to the sailors in the car behind them.``Lie down, men,'' he said.``And don't any of you fire unless I tell you to.Let them do all the shooting.This isn't our fight yet, and, besides, they can't hit a locomotive standing still, certainly not when it's going at full speed.''

``Suppose they've torn the track up?'' said MacWilliams, grinning.``We'd look sort of silly flying through the air.''

``Oh, they've not sense enough to think of that,'' said Clay.

``Besides, they don't know it was we who took their arms away, yet.''

MacWilliams opened the throttle gently, and the train moved slowly forward, gaining speed at each revolution of the wheels.

As the noise of its approach beat louder and louder on the air, a yell of disappointed rage and execration rose into the night from the fort, and a mass of soldiers swarmed upon the track, leaping up and down and shaking the rifles in their hands.

``That sounds a little as though they thought we had something to do with it,'' said MacWilliams, grimly.``If they don't look out some one will get hurt.''

There was a flash of fire from where the mass of men stood, followed by a dozen more flashes, and the bullets rattled on the smokestack and upon the boiler of the engine.

``Low bridge,'' cried MacWilliams, with a fierce chuckle.``Now, watch her!''

He threw open the throttle as far as it would go, and the engine answered to his touch like a race-horse to the whip.It seemed to spring from the track into the air.It quivered and shook like a live thing, and as it shot in between the soldiers they fell back on either side, and MacWilliams leaned far out of his cab-window shaking his fist at them.

``You got left, didn't you?'' he shouted.``Thank you for the Mannlichers.''

As the locomotive rushed out of the jungle, and passed the point on the road nearest to the Palms, MacWilliams loosened three long triumphant shrieks from his whistle and the sailors stood up and cheered.

``Let them shout,'' cried Clay.``Everybody will have to know now.It's begun at last,'' he said, with a laugh of relief.

``And we took the first trick,'' said MacWilliams, as he ran his engine slowly into the railroad yard.

The whistles of the engine and the shouts of the sailors had carried far through the silence of the night, and as the men came hurrying across the lawn to the Palms, they saw all of those who had been left behind grouped on the veranda awaiting them.

``Do the conquering heroes come?'' shouted King.

``They do,'' young Langham cried, joyously.``We've got all their arms, and they shot at us.We've been under fire!''

``Are any of you hurt?'' asked Miss Langham, anxiously, as she and the others hurried down the steps to welcome them, while those of the `Vesta's' crew who had been left behind looked at their comrades with envy.

``We have been so frightened and anxious about you,'' said Miss Langham.

Hope held out her hand to Clay and greeted him with a quiet, happy smile, that was in contrast to the excitement and confusion that reigned about them.

``I knew you would come back safely,'' she said.And the pressure of her hand seemed to add ``to me.''