Bell opened the envelope addressed to him. From it, he withdrew the front cover of a recent Harper's Weekly magazine. A cartoon by William Allen Rogers depicted Osgood Hennessy in a tycoon's silk top hat astride a locomotive marked SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD. Hennessy was pulling a train labeled CENTRAL RAILROAD OF NEW JERSEY into New York City. The train was drawn to look like a writhing octopus. Hand-lettered in black pencil across the cartoon was the question CAN THE LONG ARM OF THE WRECKER REACH FARTHER THAN OSGOOD'S TENTACLE?

"What the heck is that?" asked Wally.

"A gauntlet," answered Bell. "He's challenging us."

"And rubbing our noses in it," said Mack.

"Mack's right," said Wally. "I wouldn't cloud my head taking it personal, Isaac."

"The magazine is in there, too," said Dashwood. "Mr. Bronson thought you'd want to read it, Mr. Bell."

Seething inwardly, Bell quickly scanned the essence of the first page. Harper's, dubbing itself "A Journal of Civilization," was reporting avidly the depredations of the railroad monopolies. This issue devoted an article to Osgood Hennessy's ambitions. Hennessy, it seemed, had secretly acquired a "near-dominating interest" in the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The B&O already held, jointly with the Illinois Central--in which Hennessy had a large interest--a dominating interest in the Reading Railroad Company. The Reading controlled the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which gave Hennessy entry into the coveted New York district.

"What does it mean?" asked James.

"It means," explained a grim Isaac Bell, "that the Wrecker can attack Hennessy's interests directly in New York City."

"Any train wreck he causes in New York," said Mack Fulton, "will hit the Southern Pacific even harder than an attack in California."

"New York," said Wally Kisley, "being the biggest city in the country."

Bell looked at his watch. "I've got time to catch the Overland Limited. Send my bags after me to the Yale Club of New York City."

He headed for the door, firing orders. "Wire Archie Abbott! Tell him to meet me in New York. And wire Irv Arlen and tell him to cover the rail yards in Jersey City. And Eddie Edwards, too. He knows those yards. He broke up the Lava Bed gang that was doing express-car jobs on the piers. You two finish up here, make sure he's not still in Ogden--which I doubt--and find which way he went."

"New York is, according to this," Wally said, holding up the Harp- er's Weekly and quoting from the article, " 'the Holy Land to which all railroaders long to make a pilgrimage.' "

"Which means," said his partner, "he's on his way already and will be waiting for you when you get there."

Halfway out the door, Bell looked back at Dashwood, who was watching eagerly.

"James, do something for me."

"Yes, sir."

"You've read the reports on the wreck of the Coast Line Limited?"

"Yes, sir."