Virginia leaned over the railing to look past the car and the dovecote
station shading her eyes to shut out the snow-blink from the sun-fired
peaks.

"Why, they are soldiers!" she exclaimed. "At least, some of them have
guns on their shoulders. And see--they are forming in line!"

The secretary adjusted his eye-glasses.

"By Jove! you are right; they have armed the track force. The new
chief of construction doesn't mean to take any chances of being shaken
loose by main strength. Here they come."

The end of track of the new line was diagonally across the creek from
the Rosemary's berth and a short pistol-shot farther down stream. But
to advance it to a point opposite the private car, and to gain the
altitude of the high embankment directly across from the station, the
new line turned short out of the main canyon at the mouth of the
intersecting gorge, describing a long, U-shaped curve around the head
of the lateral ravine and doubling back upon itself to reenter the
canyon proper at the higher elevation.

The curve which was the beginning of this U-shaped loop was the
morning's scene of action, and the Utah track-layers, two hundred
strong, moved to the front in orderly array, with armed guards as
flankers for the handcar load of rails which the men were pushing up
the grade.

Jastrow darted into the car, and a moment later his place on the
observation platform was taken by a wrathful industry colonel fresh