"Wake up, Reade," ordered Rutter, at last shaking the cub and hauling him to his feet. "This is no place to sleep. Go to your tent and stretch out full length on your cot."
"On my cot?" demanded Tom, rubbing his eyes fiercely. "You can"t spare me from the day"s work?"
"I don"t believe there will be any day"s work," Rutter answered.
"You"re in charge, man! You must put us to work," Tom insisted.
"I don"t know just what ought to be done," complained Rutter.
"I shall have to wait for orders."
"Orders?" repeated Tom, in almost breathless scorn. "From whom can you get orders?"
"Howe is Thurston"s a.s.sistant at the lower camp," Rutter rejoined.
"He"ll have to come over here and take real charge. I"m going to send a messenger to the telegraph station and wire Mr. Howe to come here at once."
"See here, Rutter," blazed Tom insistently, "Mr Howe is in charge of the construction forces. He"s laying the bed and the tracks. He can"t be spared from the construction work for even a day, or the road will fail to get through, no matter what we do here. Man, you"ve simply got to be up and doing! Make some mistakes, if you have to, but don"t lie down and kill the S.B. & L. with inaction."
"Cub," laughed Rutter good-humoredly, "you speak as if this were a big personal matter with you."
"Oh, isn"t it, thought" retorted Tom Reade with spirit. "My whole heart is centered on seeing the S.B. & L. win out within the time granted by its charter. Rutter, if you don"t take hold with a rush and make a live, galloping start with your new responsibilities, I"m afraid I"ll go wild and a.s.sault you violently!"
"Ha, ha, ha!" Jack laughed loudly.
"Here, stop that cackling," ordered Reade in the same low voice that he had been using. "Let"s get away from the chief"s tent.
We"ll disturb him with our noise."
Dr. Gitney, entering the big tent five minutes later, found Mr.
Thurston very much awake, for he had heard the low-voiced conversation outside the tent. Mr. Thurston was not quite as ill as was Blaisdell, and had not as yet reached the stage of delirium.
"Doctor, I want you to summon the engineer corps here," begged the patient.
"When you"re better," replied the doctor, with a hand on the sick man"s pulse.
"Doc, you"d better let me have my way," insisted Mr. Thurston in a weak voice. "If you don"t, you"ll make me five times more ill than I am at present."
Watching the fever glow in the man"s face deepen, and feeling the pulse go up several beats per minute, Dr. Gitney replied:
"There, there, Thurston. Be good, and I"ll let you have three minutes with your engineers."
"That"s all I ask," murmured the sick man eagerly.
Dr. Gitney went outside and rounded them up. All were present except "Gene Black, who, according to Matt Rice, had taken a little walk outside of camp.
"I hope you"ll soon be better, sir," began Rutter, as the engineers gathered at the cot of their stricken chief.
"Don"t say anything unnecessary, and don"t waste my time," begged Mr. Thurston. "Rutter, do you feel equal to running this field corps until either Blaisdell or I can take charge again?"
"No, I don"t chief," replied Jack. "I"ve sent a wire to Howe, urging him to come here and take charge."
"Howe can"t come," replied the chief. "If he does, the construction work will go to pieces. This corps will have to be led by someone now present."
Morris and Rice gazed eagerly at their chief. b.u.t.ter showed his relief at being allowed to hack out from full control.
As for Timothy Thurston, he let his gaze wander from face to face.
"Reade!" he almost whispered.
"Yes, sir!" answered Tom, stepping gently forward. "What can I do for you, sir?"
"Reade," came in another whisper, "can you---have you the courage to take the post of acting chief?"
Several gasps of astonishment broke on the air, but the greatest gasp of all came from Reade himself.
"I think you need a little sleep now, sir," urged Tom.
"I"m not out of my head," smiled Timothy Thurston wanly. "Doc Gitney will tell you that. Come---for I"m growing very tired.
Can you swing this outfit and push the S.B. & L. through within charter time?"
"I---I---hardly know what to say," stammered Tom, who felt dizzy from the sudden rush of blood to his head.
"Have you the courage to try?"
"Yes, sir---_I have_!" came, without further hesitation from Tom Reade. "I believe I"ll succeed, at that, for I"ll stake health, and even life, on winning out!"
"That"s what I like to hear," breathed Mr. Thurston, an added flush coming to his own face.
"Gentlemen, it"s time to leave," warned Dr. Gitney, watching his patient.
"One moment more, Doc," insisted the chief engineer feebly.
"Gentlemen, you"ve heard what has just been said. Will everyone of you pledge himself on his honor to drop all feeling that might interfere? Will you all stand loyally by Reade, take his orders and help boost him and all the rest of us through to victory in this big game?"
"I will!" spoke Jack Rutter earnestly and with a deep sigh of relief.
The others added their promises.
"Reade, you will take full charge here," continued Timothy Thurston.
"Notify Mr. Howe, too, at once. You and he will not need to conflict with each other in any way. Also notify the president of the road, at the New York offices. Wire him at once. Now---thank you all, gentlemen. I believe I shall have to stop and go to sleep."
"Get out, all of you," came firmly from bearded, middle-aged Dr.
Gitney. "You fellows now have your acting chief to look to, and you don"t need to bother a sick man any more."
When Tom Reade stepped outside, on the heels of the others, he certainly didn"t feel as though treading on air. Instead, he wondered if he were going to reel and totter, so dizzy did he feel over the sudden realization of the responsibilities he had taken upon himself.
"Give us our orders, chief," begged Matt Rice, with a grin, when Tom joined the others over by the mess tent.
"Wait a few moments," urged Reade. "I don"t really know whether I am chief or a joke."
"Great Scott! After lecturing me the way you did, you are not going to get cold feet, are you?" gasped Jack Rutter.