From outside there came a short sharp whistle. The man on the
counter answered it, and slipped at once to the floor. The door
opened, to let in another masked form, but one how different from
the first! Here was no confidence almost insolent in its
nonchalance. The figure was slight and boyish, the manner
deprecating, the brown eyes shy and shrinking He was so obviously
a novice at outlawry that fear sat heavy upon his shoulders. When
he spoke, almost in a whisper, his teeth chattered.

"All ready, sir."

"The wires are cut?" demanded his leader crisply.

"Yes, sir."

"On both sides?"

"On both sides."

His chief relieved the operator of the revolver in his desk,
broke it, emptied out the shells, and flung them through the
window, then tossed the weapon back to its owner.

"You'll not shoot yourself by accident now," he explained, and
with that he had followed his companion into the night.

There came to the station agent the sound of galloping horses,
growing fainter, until a heavy silence seemed to fill the night.
He stole to the door and locked it, pulled down the window