The engineer opened the throttle, and the _Texas_ crept away, taking up the
slack in the couplings. The left wheel followed back along the groove its
flange had cut in the tie. Fuller watched it breathlessly. There came a
clash of metal as the wheel slipped down from the tie and struck the track.
For a second the flange rode on the rail, then settled into position,
forcing the right wheel up.
Fuller yelled in triumph, kicked the tie off the track, and jumped for the
ladder. The steam hissed as the _Texas_ was thrown into reverse again. They
swept out of the shed, pushing the two cars.
The bent rail which Andrews had left as a snag in the track would have
wrecked Fuller if the _Texas_ had been traveling forward instead of
backward. As it was, the cars cleared it. The snag caught on the low
cow-catcher of the engine and gave the train a mighty jerk. They were past
it before they knew what had happened. In fact, Fuller did not know until
later, for he had not seen the snag ahead of them, and he could see nothing
as he looked back.
He motioned Murphy ahead. "What was that?" he asked.
"Don't know. Something on the track. Thought the engine was going off for a
second."
"They'll probably stop at Green's for wood," said Fuller.
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