Argosy, Vol. 112, No. 2 — page 169: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE RACE OF THE GIANTS. “ Must be getting pretty near in. Sup- pose you send in and report us.” What ll T tell ’emr”’ Dillon glanced at the mile-gage. “ Tell them we’ll look for signals in ten minutes,” he said. ‘‘ They’re expecting us, anyway.” “Them fellers in there ”—Grim indicated the car—‘ they’re bumpin’ round.” “Yes, they’re comin’ out of it. leave them at Station 20.” They were both watching ahead now, both glad that the long lap was ended. Dillon glanced at the watch on the lever. “Four ten,” he said. ‘“ Not a bad run.” Suddenly the red signal showed like a bar through the white, and they cut off the power, ran in slowly, and stopped in the guides. Ail about them in the huge exca- vation were men hurrying about, and two men in uniform appeared at the lever-room door. ‘A dozen postal men floored in the mail- room,” Dillon told them. ‘‘ Need fresh men for the run through. Come on, Dungeon, we’ve got to have scenery.” He shouldered his way through the men about him and paused before a closed door. A few words, and the attendant passed them through. They entered a lift and began to go up—up. Gradually light, real daylight, crept down into the lift. It grew brighter. Still they went up and stopped. They stepped out on a great flat roof and looked down on. the city below. Both men shaded their eyes and drew full breaths of relief. | “Does get monotonous, doesn’t it, Dun- geon?” Dillon smiled. ‘‘ We’ve ten minutes of this, so drink it down in gulps.” _ Grim was staring about the landscape, satisfaction depicted on his saturnine face. * Never thought the old world was sich a purty place before,” he said, his lips near- ing a smile. ‘‘ Reckon most of us don’t know what woods and hills are for.” “ Certainly is a reviver,” Dillon agreed, his eyes scanning the horizon. “Reckon we bore through off there?” Grim questioned, nodding toward the moun- tains. ‘“ Think of it!” ‘Some one thought of it,’ Dillon replied dryly. ‘This is the world’s greatest en- gineering feat—the tube and its power.” Well 335 Grim didn’t answer. He was staring at a hillside, his dark face twisted in sup- pressed mirth. ‘“What’s the joke?” Dillon quizzed. ‘““ Spit it out; don’t cramp your humor.” Grim pointed to where a surface passen- ger train was rounding a spur of hills at fiity miles an hour. ‘Look at that old coughin’, sputterin’ old-fashioned contraption with her long string of glitterin’ death-traps behind her,” he snorted. ‘‘ Movin’ ’bout as fast as a bug on a wall. Jist two little humped-up rails un a few spikes between ’em and the morgue.” Dillon laughed. ‘“ Branch road running in. Haven’t modernized her yet. Does look ridiculous compared with No. 66. There she is!’’ he shouted. Down near the southeastern horizon a dark speck showed in the sky. It grew so rapidly as to cause Grim to gasp. “Bet it’s McBain with the Shooting Star,” Dillon said. ‘‘ He’s driving her to the limit!” ‘“‘ Other one a comin’!’’ Grim shouted, ex- citedly. ‘“‘ South and lower down. See?” ‘You’ve got good eyes,” Dillon ap- proved, “I hadn’t sighted her when you spoke. Suppose it’s the Cloud Queen.” Both men watched them, striving for a line on their speed. “ Don’t act as if they relay here,” Grim suggested. ‘‘ Them fellers ain’t no notion of comin’ down.”’ Dillon started. “If not, where would they relay?” he asked himself, and the an- swer suggested: “The Truckee River Dams.” ‘““Come on!” Grim yelled. ‘“‘ Them fel- lers are climbin’! Let’s get into our bur- row!” With a leap Dillon followed, and they dropped like plummets to the tube again. In a few minutes they were ready for the last long leg of the trip, and drew away with a new force in the mail-car, with air- gages showing full pressure, and magnets drawing to delight the heart of a lever man. ‘“ How long?’ Grim asked. “Frisco. Eight o’clock. Seven if we can make it.” : ‘Them flyers got a big start.” (EON AMIE .DOOKS ecom