The Railroad Mystery

Gabby woke later that afternoon, puzzled — his dog was barking again. He squinted to see if he could spot smoke rising over the edge of the mountain. Normally, the locomotives would come around the mountain, and before he’d see the engines he’d watch white puffs of smoke rising up in the sky. Gabby couldn’t see the white smoke rising. And his dog wasn't barking at a coming train.

His dog was barking at a robber.

Violent hoofbeats struck the dirt trail that ran along the tracks. Hunched over a horse's neck, a rider furiously spurred the animal in a reckless gallop. "Yah! Yah!" he shouted, as the horse rushed past the train depot. Gabby reached for his spectacles, but by the time he'd put them on, the rider's voice was fading off into the distance. "Faster, faster! We've got to get away!"