Everybody's scared except the
express messenger, and it's generally easy to settle him, for he
stands where the light is, and we shoot from the dark. Well, I
thought at first Wyoming Ed was on to the scheme, because when we were
waiting in the cut to signal the train he talked about us going on
with her to San Francisco, but I thought he was only joking. I guess
that Colonel Jim imagined that when it came to the pinch, Ed wouldn't
back out and leave us in the lurch: he knew Ed was as brave as a lion.
In the cut, where the train would be on the up grade, the Colonel got
his lantern ready, lit it, and wrapped a thin red silk handkerchief
round it. The express was timed to pass up there about midnight, but
it was near one o'clock when her headlight came in sight. We knew all
the passengers would be in bed in the sleepers, and asleep in the
smoking car and the day coach. We didn't intend to meddle with them.
The Colonel had brought a stick or two of dynamite from the mines, and
was going to blow open the safe in the express car, and climb out with
whatever was inside.
'The train stopped to the signal all right, and the Colonel fired a
couple of shots just to let the engineer know we meant business.
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