He told Farrington, too, that he believed he had his father’s twenty thousand dollars’ worth of railroad bonds hidden away somewhere, and notified him that he should yet try to unravel the mystery surrounding them.
Ralph now reaped the reward of duty well done. Life grew brighter. They had a home, and Mr. Blake, the master mechanic, showed his appreciation of the recovery of the stolen plunder.
Ralph was officially notified that he was promoted to duty at the depot switch tower.
For two days he had been under the skilled tuition of old Jack Knight, learning the ropes. Now, at the noon hour of a bright, balmy autumn day, he entered upon this second grade of service in the employ of the Great Northern.
It was a pleasure to the ardent young railroader to view the panorama of rails and switches in plain view of the switch tower.
It was a fascinating novelty to study old Jack Knight at the levers. One-handed as he was for the occasion, he went through his duties like some skilled master giving an expert exhibition.
The switch levers were numbered up to twenty. In their center was a dial, a foot across. Over its surface ran an indicator, moved by an electric button one mile south, at the main signal tower at the limits of the town.
"Passenger No. 8," "Freight 10," "Express 3," "Special," "Chaser," and half a dozen other regular trains were marked on this dial.
Nearby was a telephone, also connecting with the limits tower. This was in requisition every minute to announce when trains had passed a certain switch, closed again behind them.
A large megaphone hung in readiness near an open window behind the operator, who darted from lever to lever according as he received his orders by ’phone or dial.
For two days, as Ralph had told Mort Bemis, he had been under the skilled tuition of old Jack, learning the switches.
He had gone down the tracks to the limits, foot by foot slowly, twenty times or more that morning, until he had a perfect map in his head of every rail and switch on the roadbeds.
He had familiarized himself with every lever number, and that of every train on the road. He realized that trained eye, ear, and muscle must be ever on the alert, or great loss of life and property might result at any moment.