John Gilbert > Great Locomotive Caper 9

The Great Locomotive Caper by John Gilbert
CHAPTER 9

Hold on!" shouted Barney as he shoved the throttle closed and applied the brakes.

Again there were sparks only this time they were coming from the wheels as they slid against the rusty rails. They were rushing toward the curve at a frightful speed and Barney had broken out in a cold sweat fearing that the train would leave the rails. He threw the Johnson Bar into reverse and pulled the throttle wide open. The engine blasted a column of fire from the stack as the drivers began to pound the rails in reverse.

"We're gonna die" shouted Ralph as he locked his arms around the tender's brake wheel.

"Sharon, Becky, grab hold of the hand rails and hang on for all you're worth!" shouted Sam as he held tight to the fireman's seat.

The screams of the train's wheels were amplified as the sounds echoed from the hills surrounding the quarry. The train was racing toward the tallest hill where the track then curved sharply to the left.

"This is it!" shouted Barney as the engine entered the turn.

Suddenly, the engine lurched to the left. Everyone held on to their positions as their momentum tried to pull them to the right. For a moment Sam thought he felt the engine lift onto its right wheels and then settle back onto the rails. The next few seconds passed like an hour and as the engine came out of the turn Sam realized that the speed had been checked sufficiently. Ralph released his grip on the brake wheel and picked up more firewood.

"No more wood!" called Barney as he shoved the throttle closed again, "We've got to drop the fire!"

Barney shoved the Johnson Bar"" into forward and eased the throttle open and the engine huffed into the quarry.

"There's an old engine shed just ahead," said Sam. "We can hide the engine and tender but the caboose is gonna stick out."

"We need to go back and pick up Milton," said Ralph.

"We don't have enough time. He knew we couldn't stop. Anyway, I'll bet he's already half way here," said Sam.

As Barney eased the train toward the shed, the silvery moonlight had painted the structures of the abandoned loading yard with its ghostly light. The old cranes and loading hoppers stood like steel skeletons against the grey-black sky. As 468's headlight illuminated the rusty water tower the faded paint still read: Cutchen & Sons Rock and Gravel. As Barney brought the locomotive to a halt, Sam and Ralph bolted down the side of the cab and ran to open the shed doors. The old hinges popped and groaned as the boys opened the large, corrugated tin doors. As the doors opened, the headlight lit the cobweb infested interior.

"Boy, this place is sure a lot dirtier than the last time we were here," observed Ralph.

"Yeah, it looks like somebody held a spider convention in there," returned Sam.

Barney eased the throttle open and slowly the engine entered its new home. When he brought the engine to rest, there was a loud hiss as he opened the blow off valve to let off steam. He then set to work closing valves, banking the fire, and shutting the engine down for the night. In a moment everyone left the shed and walked into the pale moonlight. Sam turned and looked back at the caboose.

"Wow, what a ride!" he exclaimed.

"You can say that again," said Ralph.

"I can't wait till we do it again!" squealed Sharon.

"That may be a long time," sighed Sam.

"How long do you think it will be before they find out where the train is?" asked Becky.

"Oh, it won't take them long," answered Sam, "but maybe this will buy us the time we need to get our fund raising going. When people see that the engine actually runs, maybe they'll be more willing to support the project."

"We'd better get our tents up," said Ralph. "We've got a long bike ride ahead of us tomorrow."

"Why set up tents?" called Mike from the rear of the caboose. "There's plenty of room in here."

"Hey, that's a good idea," said Sam. "Barney, I brought an extra sleeping bag for you. You can have the bunk and I'll take the floor."

"I'm no stranger to that. I've slept many a night in a caboose bunk," bragged Barney. "When the car gets to swaying, you can sleep like a baby."

Everyone made their way back into the caboose, flipped on flashlights, and began to unroll their sleeping bags.

"Oooh, this is fun!" squealed Sharon. "We're having a spend the night party in a caboose."

"This is not a spend the night party," said Sam.

"Is too!" she snapped, "And Becky and I are going to sleep up in the top. That's going to be the girls room and you can't come in."

"Knock yourself out," said Sam.
Mike was still on the rear platform when he saw automobile headlights from the highway turn into the quarry.

"Sam, we've got company!" he shouted.
More headlights followed the first. They were police cars and each with flashing blue lights. Just as everyone ran onto the platform, a brilliant white light from a thundering helicopter once again lit up the caboose. Within a minute they were surrounded by police cars.

"Sam, you were right," said Barney. "It didn't take them long to find us."

Just then, the mayor's car pulled up and out stepped mayor Pugmyre.

"You bunch of hooligans!" he shouted. "Who do you think you are, stealing city property? And Barney Albright, you, right in the middle of all this. I AM surprised!"

"This was all my idea," said Sam. "I talked them into it."

"Oh yes Dan. Don't worry, I'll take care of you too!" snorted the mayor.

"It's Sam, sir. Don't you see, the engine works! It didn't take a lot of money to get it running. We can run a tourist train or something," Sam pleaded.

"That's entirely beside the point young man. You are all guilty of theft, destruction of property, trespassing on private property, dangerous conduct, and I'm sure I'll have no problem coming up with a few more.”

"Before you go talking about misconduct Harvey, we know about you and your brother-in-law and the scrap deal and how you're going to open a Swiss bank account with the salvage money," informed Barney.
The mayor looked shocked.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," he stammered. "I think that all of you need to come downtown and see what we do to people who steal city property."

"Harvey, I think you know exactly what I'm talking about and I've even got proof. You'd better think long and hard before you do anything you might regret," cautioned Barney.

"What proof?" asked the mayor.

"Oh, you'll see soon enough," returned Barney.

"Sounds like I'll have to add blackmail to the charges," suggested the mayor.
Milton grumbled as he pushed his bike down the quarry spur.

"They could have at least come back and picked me up," he mumbled.
Just then he rounded the curve and came within sight of the police cars. He dropped his bike and ran to the edge of the woods and watched for a moment. He then crept toward the scene until he was within earshot.

"Take them all to headquarters and book them," ordered the mayor. "I've got to get out of this night air. It's bad for my sinuses."

"When I finish with you Harvey Pugmyre, you won't be able to run for dog catcher," shouted Barney as a police officer led him to a waiting patrol car.

"Please Mr. Mayor," pleaded Sam, "My sister and her friend had nothing to do with this. They overheard me talking about taking the engine. They just came along to see what we were doing. Please don't arrest them. They're just kids."

"Oh, very well," grumbled the mayor. "Officer DeLaney, “Take the two girls home, but the rest go downtown."

"No!" shouted Sharon folding her arms. "If my brother has to go to jail. I'm going with him."

"Sharon!" demanded Sam. "Go Home."

“You're the one who ought to go to jail," Sharon shrieked at the Mayor. "You’re the biggest crook in town. My brother is a hero. He was just trying to save this train from you!"

"Officer DeLaney, please take the young ladies home before I lose my patience," said the mayor.
Sam and Ralph were put into one squad car and Mike and Barney into another.

"I feel bad about this," said Sam as the patrol car turned onto the highway. "I guess I let my enthusiasm get the best of me. I should have used my better judgment, but I just couldn't sit back and do nothing."

"You did the right thing," said Ralph. "I'm not sorry we took the train."

"Yeah, but now you're in big trouble and all because of me," Sam sighed.

"Sam, some people sit around all their lives and wish they had done this or that. You'll never have to wish you had done

something about that old locomotive. No matter what happens you can always say that you did your best to save it. No one can say that the engine got scrapped because Sam Thomas did nothing. "

"I shouldn't have involved so many other people. This was my idea and I should have kept it to myself," said Sam.

"Well, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," said Ralph. This has got to be the most exciting thing that has ever happened in my life. Someday, we'll be telling our grandchildren about this. ‘The Great Locomotive Caper!’ There's nothing the mayor can do to make me regret what we did. We did good! "

“The great locomotive caper," chuckled Sam. "We did do good, didn’t we?"

"You bet we did," returned Ralph, "and you'll see. We'll come out of this smelling like a rose."
The eastern sky was beginning to show signs of daylight as the police pulled into police headquarters. Everyone was herded into the station and seated in a waiting area.

"Barney, I told Ralph and I want to tell you that l"m sorry for getting you and Mike involved in this,' said Sam.

"Don't be sorry," said Barney. "Never be sorry for doing the right thing. I only wish I could have done more."

Done more!" exclaimed Sam. "There's no way we could have moved that engine one inch without you. You did a great job."

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Milton reached the outskirts of town. He had peddled non-stop since he left the quarry. As he neared a cluster of buildings, he noticed a car pull into the parking lot in front of the East Coast and Shortline Railroad office. Milton maneuvered his bike into the parking lot as the driver stepped from his car.

"Morning son," greeted the man. "Kind of early for a bike ride, isn't it?"

"Yes sir," Milton huffed. "Do you work here?"

"Well, they give me a paycheck every couple of weeks. I guess that has to mean something," chuckled the man.

"My name is Milton Blumquest and I need to talk to the owner real bad."

"Will I do?" smiled the man. "The name's Eddie Knight."

"You're in to work awfully early aren’t you, Mr. Knight," said Milton shaking hands.

"Yeah, I don't usually come in on Saturday but one of our engineers reported something very unusual this morning."

"What did he report?" asked Milton.

"He said that a steam locomotive was coming at him full speed and then disappeared down an abandoned siding. I think these late night runs are starting to get to him."

"Well Mr. Knight..." Milton Started

"Please, just call me Eddie, and come on inside."

"Well Eddie, that's what I need to talk to somebody about.

What do you do here?" Milton asked.

"They call me the president,"" Eddie answered.

"Looks like I found the right guy right off the bat," Milton smiled.

"We've been here over an hour," grumbled Barney.

"Yeah, and I can hardly keep my eyes open," Mike mumbled as he sank into his seat.

Just then a familiar figure walked into the room.

"Oh, hi dad," said Sam.

"Want to tell me what’s going on?"

"Well dad, you know the old train over in the Park? We stole it."

"How do you steal a 160 ton locomotive?

"100 tons, dad. We fired it up and drove it out of the park. Didn't Sharon tell you
about it?" Sam asked.

"She was too hyper to tell much of anything. She just kept saying you got arrested for stealing a train."

Just then the door burst open and the mayor stormed in. He headed straight for Barney.

"There's a contract missing from my desk," he growled through clinched teeth. "What do you know about it?"

"You mean a contract between you and your brother-in-law's scrap yard? Why Harvey, I don't know a thing about it," smiled Barney.

The mayor looked as if he was about to explode.

"My whistle and my contract are gone. Shall I add breaking and entering to the charges?" threatened the mayor through his pearly teeth.

"That's a serious charge Harvey. I hope you can back it up. "

"Confound it, Barney! I'll give you one hour to bring me that contract. Bring it to me in one hour and I'll think about reducing the charges."

"That's very generous of you Harvey," sneered Barney.

"You can take Sam or Dan or whatever his name with you but the other two boys have to stay till you get back."

"Oh, so now we have a hostage situation?" asked Barney.

"Just bring me the contract and they can leave!"

"So Eddie, that's why we stole the locomotive. We couldn't think of any other way to keep the mayor from scrapping it," explained Milton.

Eddie walked to a file cabinet and began to rummage through several old file folders.

"Here it is," he said bringing a folder back to his desk. "'Locomotive #468. Built in 1927 by Baldwin Locomotive Works. Originally numbered 3210 and renumbered 468 when purchased by East Coast & Short Line Railroad in 1931. Operated until April of 1953 when it was placed on display at Northside Park.' Ah ha! Here's the contract. Listen to this,...'The locomotive number 468 shall remain the property of East Coast & Short Line Railroad and shall not be removed from said location without written consent of the afore mentioned railroad company."'

"So the locomotive doesn’t even belong to the city!" cried Milton.

"That's right," assured Eddie. "468 still belongs to the railroad. It sounds like the mayor's trying to convert private property for his own use."

"He sure is and I've got the proof right here," said Milton pulling the mayor's contract from his pocket. While Eddie examined the contract, Milton flipped through the file folder until he came across an old, yellowed newspaper clipping.

"Hey, look at this. It's about the dedication for the engine and Northside Park. It says that the property for the park was donated to the city for use as a park by Mrs. C.B. Hawkins in memory of her late husband Mr. Cornelius B. Hawkins. It also says that if the city determines that the park is no longer necessary, the property will revert back to the Hawkins estate. Boy, I think the mayor's in big trouble!"

"I'm sure he is but you're friends are in trouble right now. We'd better go down to the jail and see if we can help them out. You keep the contract and I'll bring the folder," Eddie instructed.

"You mean you're not mad at us for steeling your locomotive and almost causing a wreck?" asked Milton.

"Well, I wouldn't want you to do it again but I think I can understand where your heart is. I've had to make a few rash decisions in my time and some of them have paid off," explained Eddie. "I read about your project in the paper but I was one of those who just sat back and did nothing even though I was in a position to do something. I can see that you fellows are men of action and that's the kind of guy I want to be. Come on, let's go."

"What are we going to do?" asked Sam as he and Barney walked toward the door.

"I don't know but we've got an hour to think of something.”

As they stepped into the bright morning sunlight, the two were immediately surrounded by news cameras and reporters.

"Why did you take the train?"

"How did you do it?"

"What were you going to do with it?"

"Who financed such a huge undertaking?"

"Hold it," said Sam. "One question at a time."

"Why did you steal the train?" asked a reporter..

"It was going to be scrapped," Sam answered. "That train is part of our history and I couldn't let it be scrapped."

"Who was going to have it scrapped?" came another question.

"The mayor. He and his brother-in-law were gonna scrap it and split the money. Then he was going to sell the park and turn it into a shopping center. I couldn't let that happen."

"How do you know it was the mayor?"

"I've got proof it was him. He doesn’t care about our town. He just want's to make money."

"Where's your proof?"

Just then the mayor burst through the door.

"What's going on here?" he demanded. "There's no story here. These two have been involved in criminal activities and you're not going to make heros out of them. Now go home."

"Mr. Mayor, is it true you were going to have the park engine scrapped?" asked a reporter.

"Not a word of truth to it and if you want an interview you'll have to make an appointment with my secretary."

As the mayor spoke Milton and Eddie drove up to the police station and parked next to the reporters.

"Now go on home," continued the mayor, "there's not a word of truth to anything they say."

“Oh Mr. Mayor," called Milton stepping from the car holding up the contract, "Does this look familiar?"

All of the cameras turned in his direction and the mayor whose eyes got as big as saucers.

“Give me that!" he hissed through his teeth.

“Is that the proof?" asked a reporter.

“It sure is," answered Sam. "Bring it here, Milton."

“Mr. Mayor, doesn’t your brother-in-law own the only salvage business in town and don't all contracts with the city have to be let out for bids to the surrounding communities?"

“The locomotive doesn't even belong to the city," said Milton as he pushed passed the mayor who was trying to grab the contract.

“Here it is if you want to see it," announced Sam.

"0h that. That's, uh, something entirely different. That’s to scrap uh, uh, yes, that's to scrap 468 old metal trash cans in the park and replace them with new ones. Keep the park clean. That’s what I always say."

"0h come on Mr. Mayor," scolded Sam. "There's not 468 cans in a park with only 20 tables. You can do better than that!”

“You know, I believe that contract does say locomotive," said the mayor. "So many things cross my desk each day that I’m liable to sign anything. Why, if you boys hadn't caught this, that engine might very well have gone to the scraper. You boys have saved that engine from a terrible fate."

"Another thing you overlooked Harvey is that neither the engine nor the park property belong to the city. If the city doesn’t need the park, the train comes back to us and the property goes back to the Hawkins estate," said Eddie. "Have you ever heard of theft by conversion?"

"Now look Eddie, I didn't know. I thought it was all city property. It's on our inventory," whispered the mayor.

"Are you going to drop the charges against the train-nappers?" asked a channel 8 reporter.

"Charges? What charges? Don't be silly. Why, these boys are heros," said the mayor with the same voice he uses during campaigning just before he kisses a baby. "Tell the other two to come out and have their pictures taken. You know, I’d like to stay but I just remembered a pressing appointment. Never keep your appointments waiting, I always say."

Milton grabbed the contract, ducked behind the building, and hid until the mayor was gone. Meanwhile the five Engine-nappers, as they had been dubbed, continued their news conference until the boy’s dads had arrived and put an end to the interviewing. Sam explained what had happened to all of the other dads and offered his apologies for letting his enthusiasm run away with him.

"I want to be angry about this," said Mike's dad, "But I'll have to hand it to you Sam. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever guessed anyone could have taken something that large."

"Yeah," said Milton's dad. "I just hope the mayor never wants to scrap the old Eagle River Bridge!"

Now Read the Final Chapter 10 of "The Great Locomotive Caper"

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