But just as the crowd moved--well, then I fancied that the world had come to an end.
There was a shock, terrific beyond description--window panes clattered into the car--the whole coach was hurled from the tracks and slid sideways for several seconds.
Above us the roof split wide open and let in the sunlight. Pa.s.sengers were on the seats, the floor, on their heads!
Then, with a final series of creaks and groans, all was still.
Hawkins and I were near the ragged opening which had once been a door.
We climbed out to the ground and looked about us.
Providence had been very kind to Hawkins. The Washington express was standing, unexpectedly, at a water tank--part of it, at least. Her huge locomotive lay on its side.
Our two freight cars and two more pa.s.senger cars with them were piled up in kindling wood. Even the next car was derailed and badly smashed.
The Alcomotive, too, reclined upon one side and blazed merrily, a fitting tailpiece to the scene.
But not a soul had been killed--we learned that from one of the groups which swarmed from the express, after a muster had been taken of our own pa.s.sengers. It was a marvel--but a fact.
Hawkins and I edged away slowly.
"Let"s get out o" this!" he whispered hoa.r.s.ely. "There"s that infernal conductor. He seems to be looking for some one."
We did get out of it. In the excitement we sneaked down by the express, past it, and struck into the hills.
Eventually we came out upon the trolley tracks and waited for the car which took us back to Jersey City.
Now, there is really more of this narrative.
The pursuit of Hawkins by the railroad people--their discovery of him at his home that night--the painful transaction by which he was compelled to surrender to them all his holdings in that particular road--the commentary of Mrs. Hawkins.
There is, as I say, more of it. But, on the whole, it is better left untold.
CHAPTER XI.
I may have mentioned that it was customary for Hawkins and myself to travel down-town together on the elevated six days in the week.
So far as that goes, we still do so; for it has come over me recently that any attempt to dodge the demoniac inventions of Hawkins is about as thankless and hopeless a task as seeking to avoid the setting of the sun.
For two or three mornings, however, I had been leaving the house some ten or fifteen minutes earlier than usual.
There had lately appeared the old, uncanny light in Hawkins" eye; and if trouble were impending, it was my fond, foolish hope to be out of its way--until such time, at least, as the police or the coroner should call me up on the telephone to identify all that was mortal of Hawkins.
Three days, then, my strategy had been crowned with success. I had eluded Hawkins and ridden down alone, the serene enjoyment of my paper unpunctuated by dissertations upon the practicability of condensing the clouds for commercial purposes, or the utilization of atmospheric nitrogen in the manufacture of predigested breakfast food.
But upon the fourth morning a fuse blew out under the car before we left the station; and as I sat there fussing about the delay, in walked Hawkins.
He was beaming and cheerful, but the glitter in his eye had grown more intense.
"Ah, Griggs," he exclaimed, "I"ve missed you lately!"
"I hope you haven"t lost weight over it?"
"Well, no. I"ve been busy--very busy."
"Rush of business?"
"Um--ah--yes. Griggs!"
It was coming!
"Hawkins," I said hurriedly, "have you followed this matter of the Panama Ca.n.a.l?"
Hawkins stared hard at me for a moment; then I gave him another push, and he toppled into the ca.n.a.l and wallowed about in its waters until the ride was over.
Unhappily, my own place of business is located farther down upon the same street with the Blank Building, where Hawkins has--or had--offices.
There was no way of avoiding it--I was forced to walk with him.
But the suppressed enthusiasm in Hawkins didn"t come out, and I felt rather more easy. Whatever it was, I fancied that he had left the material part of it at home, and home lay many blocks up-town. I was safe.
"Good-by," I smiled when we reached his entrance.
"Not much," Hawkins responded. "Come in."
"But, my dear fellow----"
"You come," commanded the inventor. "There"s something in here I want you to see."
He led me in and past the line of elevators.
So we were not going up to his offices! We seemed to be heading for the cigar booth, and for a moment I fancied that Hawkins had discovered a new brand and was going to treat me; but he piloted me farther, to a door, and opened it and we pa.s.sed through.
Then I perceived where we were. The Blank Building people had been constructing an addition to their immense stack of offices; we stood in the freshly completed and wholly unoccupied annex.
"There, sir!" said Hawkins, extending his forefinger. "What do you see, Griggs?"
"Six empty barrels, about three wagon-loads of kindling wood, a new tiled floor, and six brand-new elevators," I replied.
"Oh, hang those things! Look--where I"m pointing!"
"Ah! somebody"s left a packing-box in one of the elevator-shafts, eh?"
Certainly, more than anything else, that was what it resembled.
At the first glance it appeared to be nothing more than a crude wooden case about the size of an elevator car, standing in one of the shafts and contrasting unpleasantly with the other new, shining polished cars.