That was the opinion of the several other laborers on the front car.  And when the work-train halted, that car had run beyond the station a few rods.  Casey and his comrades jumped off.

A little group of men awaited them.  The operator, a young fellow named Collins, was known to Casey.  He stood among the troopers, pale-faced and shaking.

“Casey, who’s in charge of the train?” he asked, nervously.

The Irishman’s grin enlarged, making it necessary for him to grasp his pipe.

“Shure the engineer’s boss of the train an’ I’m boss of the gang.”

More of the work-train men gathered round the group, and the engineer with his fireman approached.

“You’ve got to hold up here,” said Collins.

Casey removed his pipe to refill it.  “Ah-huh!” he grunted.

“Wire from Medicine Bow—­order to stop General Lodge’s train—­three hundred Sioux in ambush near this station—­Lodge’s train between here and Roaring City,” breathlessly went on the operator.

“An’ the message come from Medicine Bow!” ejaculated Casey, while his men gaped and muttered.

“Yes.  It must have been sent here last night.  But O’Neil, the night operator, was dead.  Murdered by Indians while we slept.”

“Thot’s hell!” replied Casey, seriously, as he lit his pipe.

“The message went through to Medicine Bow.  Stacey down there sent it back to me.  I tried to get Hills at Roaring City.  No go!  The wire’s cut!”

“An’ shure the gineral’s train has left—­wot’s that new camp—­ Roarin’ wot?”

“Roaring City....  General Lodge went through two days ago with a private train.  He had soldiers, as usual.  But no force to stand off three hundred Sioux, or even a hundred.”

“Wal, the gineral must hev lift Roarin’ City—­else thot message niver would hev come.”

“So I think....  Now what on earth can we do?  The engineer of his train can’t stop for orders short of this station, for the reason that there are no stations.”

“An’ thim Sooz is in ambush near here?” queried Casey, reflectively.  “Shure thot could only be in wan place.  I rimimber thot higher, narrer pass.”

“Right.  It’s steep up-grade coming east.  Train can be blocked.  General Lodge with his staff and party—­and his soldiers—­would be massacred without a chance to fight.  That pass always bothered us for fear of ambush.  Now the Sioux have come west far enough to find it....  No chance on earth for a train there—­not if it carried a thousand soldiers.”

“Wal, if the gineral an’ company was sthopped somewhere beyond thot pass?” queried Casey, shrewdly, as he took a deep pull at his pipe.

“Then at least they could fight.  They have stood off attacks before.  They might hold out for the train following, or even run back.”

“Thin, Collins, we’ve only got to sthop the gineral’s train before it reaches thot dom’ trap.”