quickly left before Lynn could see it. He missed the smile that lit up her face.
With a sense of duty pushing him, Karl walked around the wreck assessing the damage in detail. His arm was throbbing with every step but he pushed on. Both cars appeared to be in remarkably good condition. The coupler was missing on the first car, but there was no damage to either car's frame. With a little work, they should be running again soon. The same could not be said for the rest of the train. The tender was smashed and twisted and only the wheels looked like they could be salvaged. The engine, what could still be seen, appeared to be undamaged. The problem was that it was slowly sinking into the pond. With the soft ground in the area, that was going to be a nightmare trying to raise. The large, old growth trees might cause a problem with access to the site.
Gunther and Hans approached with worried looks on their faces. 'Come with us, we need to show you something.'
They started back down the track, past the wreck. When they reached the start of the damage, Gunther pointed to the ties. 'Do you see it?'
Karl stared but didn't understand what Gunther was pointing at. 'I don't see a thing!'
'Exactly!' Gunther pointed to a long stretch of ties with wheel marks gouged in them. 'There are only a few spikes on the outside edge where the rail was. They weren't pulled out by the rail; they're just gone! Someone's taken the spikes! The track crew wouldn't notice because they don't see the outside of the rail as easily on the curve when they're riding the hand car.'
Hans held up a spike bar that he had found nearby. 'It looks like someone used our own tools for the job!'
Karl realized that he was in over his head and needed help. Just then, a familiar 'Aaahooogah' sounded from the direction of Grantville. Help had arrived.
****
Hugh Lowe sat in his office, rereading for the fifth time a copy of the terse telegram that had notified the railroad of the wreck. No doubt by now, word was spreading like wildfire, since the telegraph message had been sent in both directions in the clear. A commotion in the outer office broke in on his thoughts. His secretary discreetly knocked on the door and then entered. 'Mr. Lowe, a messenger just arrived from the radio station. He says that a government official from Magdeburg is trying to reach you and they say it's extremely urgent he speaks with you.'
'Tell him I'll be right over.' He looked once more at the message, still trying to decide whether it was a harbinger of more sinister problems. With a sigh, he folded it and shoved it in his pocket, and then headed for the radio station.
Brendan Murphy, from the Secretary of Transportation's office, was still holding for him when Hugh arrived. The operator showed him how to work the equipment and then stepped out to give him some privacy. Sterling immediately asked, 'Was it a raid, Hugh? As soon as word of the wreck reached us, our first thoughts were another raiding party, what with all the war rumors flying about.'
Hugh stuck his hand in his pocket, but left the message there. 'All we know, there was a wreck. The conductor said nothing about a raid in his message. It may have been sabotage and it might not. I would greatly appreciate any help you could lend in that area. By the way, who's going to be responsible for the investigation? I sure hope it's not your office. No disrespect intended, but you guys never struck me as the CSI types.'
'I was afraid you might ask that, Hugh. Right now, no one is. I've recommended that TacRail handle this and I'm waiting for the army to give its approval. They could also help with the clean up and repair. I've spoken to Colonel Pitre and she says they should be able to get there within a few hours. I'll get back to you within the hour. Magdeburg out.'
Hugh took off the headset, muttering, 'It sure sounds like someone's lit a fire under him! I hope he can follow through on that promise. I've got too many shipments that are going to be delayed if the mainline is tied up waiting for someone in Magdeburg to make a decision about investigating.' He summoned the operator back.
Less than ten minutes later, a follow up contact came in. 'Please tell Mr. Lowe that TacRail will be arriving in the morning to investigate the wreck and assist in repairing the track. Magdeburg out.'
****
'Of all the damn places to have a wreck! Miserable terrain and soft ground, a winning combination!' Colonel Pitre's sarcasm was drowned out by the bellowing of the oxen hitched to a passenger car as they pulled it back onto a temporary shoo-fly track. One car was already back on the rails and workers from Vulcan Werks were checking the brakes so it could be hauled back to their shops for repairs. During a pause in the salvage work, Beth pulled Sergeant Cooper aside. 'I want you to conduct an investigation. It's obvious someone removed the spikes on the track, causing the accident, since the spikes are gone.' She pointed toward an obvious break in the undergrowth. 'There's a trail that leads off into the woods from the tracks. It appears to be quite recent and shows signs that someone has traveled back and forth with a heavy load.' Jim Cooper gathered a squad to follow the trail and see where it led. He'd been gone almost two hours and Beth was beginning to get worried.
A bellow from the oxen brought her attention back to the salvage work. The car had reached the rail and the straining oxen had managed to pull the first set of wheels onto the track. The drover had pulled them up short because some of the timbers had moved. A short pause was needed while the timbers that were guiding the rear wheels were repositioned for the final pull. For the umpteenth time in the past hour, the lack of an adequate-sized crane to work on rough ground came back to the top of Beth's Christmas wish list. As she finished checking the timber placement, she heard a commotion from the group trying to decide how to proceed with the locomotive. She stood up and walked back around the car. Coming out of the woods was the squad, with Sergeant Cooper leading the way. Two civilians were being escorted, with their hands tied behind their backs.
Dragging his captives with him, Sergeant Cooper pulled up in front of Beth and saluted. 'Mission accomplished, Colonel.'
A quick glance at his watch showed Vince that he was ten minutes early. Even so, he increased his pace. Dark clouds were threatening rain any minute and he detested wet clothes. As he approached the entrance to the Gardens, the doorman held the door open for him and motioned for his attention. 'Herr Masaniello, your party is expecting you. Herr Lowe has the private room in back reserved for you.'
Vince was surprised. This was so unlike Hugh. He never went out for lunch, and the added cost of a private room had probably unleashed a swarm of moths from his wallet when he paid for it. This had to be something important, and most likely involved last week's train wreck. If he was going to make another plea for faster delivery on the locomotives they were assembling, it was a waste of time and money. The current schedule was already overambitious and the delay in the wheel castings was out of his control. He chuckled to himself. He'd wait until after the meal to tell him that. A free lunch from Hugh was too good to pass up!
As Vince entered the private room, Hugh Lowe rose and shook his hand. A quick glance at the table showed it was set for three. 'Somebody else coming, Hugh?' He motioned toward the settings.
'A little later. I wanted to have a chance to eat with you in peace before getting down to business. This is my first chance to relax since that business last week.' Outside, a rumble of thunder and patter on the roof announced that the rain had arrived.
****
A discreet knock on the door announced the arrival of the third member of the meeting. Colonel Elizabeth Pitre opened the door. 'Am I on time?'
Hugh waved her over to the extra place setting. 'Beth, we're just starting dessert. Tell the waiter to send in an extra serving if you're hungry.'
'If that's today's special, you don't have to twist my arm. I'll definitely join you.' Beth took her seat facing Hugh. 'Good to see you again, Vince. Any new toys for us to play with at TacRail?'
'Maybe. If you're really interested, I'll send someone over to your office later this week to brief you. We've finally solved the bottleneck on the boiler tubes shortage. Would you believe, we're recruiting gun makers? The steel barrels they use for muskets only need some minor changes to be used as boiler tube stock. We should start seeing a steady supply of boilers for larger industrial uses.'
Hugh visibly perked up at the news. 'Does that mean I'll see my new locomotives sooner?'
Vince winced. This was what he had expected! 'I'm sorry, Hugh, but the casting delays on the drivers and cylinders are what are delaying the construction. We already had the locomotive tubes built. It's still going to be
