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Isaac Bell had no choice He tore off his coat and waded into the smoke

The fire burned most fiercely on Dashwood’s chest, but the first priority was to save his eyes Bell wrapped his coat around the boy’s head to smother the flames, then threw his body over the fire on the boy’s chest and legs Dashoke up screaht were cries of pain and fear“I’et the drop on me”

“Can you stand up?”

Face black with soot, half his hair singed to a greasydown his throat, Dashwood jumped to his feet “I’m OK, sir, I’m sorry-”

“Find Archie Abbott Tell him to round up the Van Dorns and follow me up the mountain”

Bell scooped his knife, his derringer, and his Browning froer lay nearby, and he pocketed it, too

“Kincaid owns East Oregon Lumber If there’s a back way out, the killer knows it Tell Archie on the jump!”

A sudden shriek of a locomotive whistle snapped Bell’s head around

Kincaid had cli the whistle cord and atte to tie down the braided loop

Bell raised his Browning, aireat, even for such an accurate weapon A bullet whanged off steel The Wrecker coolly finished tying the cord and started to juh the open , intending to pin hiround running

The whistle stopped abruptly Kincaid looked back, his face a mask of dismay

In the sudden silence, Bell realized his shot had missed Kincaid but by chance had severed the whistle cord Kincaid started to turn back to the loconal of so back to the locoered another shot

Kincaid’s hat flew in the air, ripped fro He turned away and ran behind a tender The square bulk of the coal-and-water carrier blocked Bell’s field of fire He ran toward the tender as fast as he could Rounding it, he saw the Wrecker, far ahead of him, jump from the end of the ballast roadbed When Bell reached the end of the roadbed, he gli down the et, weaving and jinking, flickering through the shadows of the trees that crowded the path, disappearing as the bed curved with

the slope of the mountain

Bell jued after him