paced. "The maintenance of way department would be alerted. They would have to call Kansas City and get the engineering department to look at the track schematics to see what degree of curved rail they needed. Then they would load up a motorized hand cart and go down and replace the rail."

"That would take a lot of time," Ross smiled.

"Right," said Waller.

"Also, we would have taken the bolts and straps that hold the rails together. We would have bent the ends of the rails. This would take hours to repair. Also, they have reduced the number of workers on this division."

"What if someone from the Star had walked down the track toward us to see if any more rails had been vandalized?" Fanning asked.

"The conductor is in chargean hour since the agent at Wynchester had said the train was on schedule. Many things could go wrong. Railroad workers sometimes would go on wildcat strikes for a few hours. The train crew belonged to many different unions. If the porters' union went on strike, the engineer would honor it and not operate the train. Or, a flood up north could close the line. Something could delay the Star and that would not be good.

Ross and Fanning were sitting under a tree talking. Suddenly, Waller heard the moan of an air horn. He listened intently. Soon, he heard the throb of diesel locomotives and the click-clack of the steel wheels on the rails. The sound grew closer. In the far distance, he saw the Star roll across