engineers love to encounter. The Arizona, Gulf & New Mexico Railroad--
more commonly known as the A., G. & N. M.--while laying its tracks in an
attempt at record-beating, had come afoul of the problem of the
quicksand, as already outlined. Three different sets of engineers had
attempted the feat of filling up the quicksand, only to abandon it.

There was little doubt that the Colthwaite Construction Company, a
contracting firm with years of successful experience, could have,
"stopped" the quicksand, but this Chicago firm wanted far more money for
the job than the railroad people felt they could afford to spend.

So, in a moment of doubt, and harassed by troubles, one of the directors
of the A., G. & N. M. had remembered the names and the performances of
Tom and Harry. This director of the Arizona road, being a friend of
President Newnham, of the S. B. & L. road, had written the latter,
asking whether the services of Tom and Harry could be secured. The
reply had been in the affirmative, and Tom and Harry had speedily
traveled down into Arizona. In the few days they had been at this
little town of Paloma, they had gone thoroughly over the ground, they
had studied the problem, and had expressed their opinion that the job
could be put through creditably at a cost not exceeding a quarter of a
million dollars.

"Go to it, then!" General Manager Curtis had replied. "You have our
road's credit at your command, and we look to you to make good. You are
both very young, but Newnham's word is quite good enough for us."

The day before this story opens this general manager had boarded one of
the rough-looking construction trains and had gone back to the road's
headquarters.