"But you were responsible for the rumor getting out?"
Teddy did not answer.
"And those poor fellows are lying there on the siding,
twenty miles from the nearest telegraph office?"
"I guess so." Tucker grinned broadly.
"And how are they going to get out?"
"Walk!"
Phil broke out into a roar of laughter.
"Oh, Teddy, what am I going to do with you? Do you know you have
done very wrong?"
"No, I don't. The trouble with you is that you don't appreciate
a good thing when you get it. You were wishing you could get rid
of the opposition cars, weren't you?"
"Yes, but--"
"Well, you're rid of them, aren't you?"
"Yes, but--"
"And I got rid of them for you."
"Yes, but as I was saying--"
"Then what have you got to raise such a row about? You got
your wish."
Teddy curled up and began studying the landscape again.
"I admire your zeal young man, but your methods are open to
severe criticism. First you imperil the lives of three carloads
of men by cutting them loose from the train; then you climb a
flag pole, nearly losing your own life in the attempt, and now
you have lured three carloads of men to a deserted village, where
you have lost them. Oh, I've got to laugh--I can't help it!"
And Phil did laugh, disturbed as he was over Teddy Tucker's
repeated violation of what Phil believed to be the right and
honorable way of doing business.
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