"I always wondered why a suspension bridge wouldn't solve the problem
more easily and cheaply than any other construction," muttered Mr.
Ellsworth, after he had gotten over his first indignation.

"To avoid every possibility of lurking quicksand the suspension bridge
would have to be more than a mile long," Reade answered. "Beyond, there
are other treacherous little patches of quicksand. It would cost the
road millions to put up a suspension bridge that would hold.

"A short bridge would look all right and doubtless serve all right, for
a while. Then, some fine day, part of the structure would give, and a
trainload of passengers would be sucked down and out of sight by the
shifting sands of the Man-killer."

Mr. Ellsworth turned aside with a shudder.

"I'm glad I'm not an engineer," he said earnestly. "The responsibility
for safety of life at this point is all yours, Reade."

"And I'm willing enough to take it, sir, if you don't run trains over
the Man-killer until the new roadbed has stood tests that I'll put upon
it."

"It'll cost at least ten thousand dollars to repair the mischief that
the scoundrels have done to-night," figured Harry Hazelton thoughtfully.

"Then, if we can find out the guilty wretches for certain, we'll see
that they earn more than that amount by enforced labor in prison,"'
retorted the general manager grimly.