At the same instant, with all the power of his trained baseball arm, Tom
had hurled the heavy paperweight straight at the outlaw captain. It
caught him full between the eyes. His pistol fell from his hand, going
off as it did so, and he crumpled up and went down to the floor in a
heap.

It was all over in a second. The whole thing had been so perfectly timed,
brain and hand had worked in such absolute unison that disaster had come
on the outlaws like a bolt from the blue. It was "team work" of the
finest kind.

The first surprise over, the other men in the car came crowding to the
assistance of the chief actors in the scrimmage. But the danger was past.
The leader was unconscious, and the other, badly beaten and cursing
horribly, was helpless in the grasp of the victors. Train men, rushing
in, took charge of the prisoners and trussed them up securely.

A posse was hastily organized among the passengers and, heavily armed,
swarmed from the train in quest of the two remaining members of the band,
who had been left to guard the engineer and fireman. The miscreants saw
them coming, however, and realized that the game was up. They emptied
their pistols and then flung themselves upon their horses and galloped
off, secure for the time from further pursuit.

The conductor, still pale and shaken from excitement, gave the signal.
There was a scramble to get aboard, the whistle tooted and the train
once more got under way.

In the Pullman there was a wild turmoil, as the relieved passengers