- Episode 1: "Helen's Race with Death" Helen Holmes, age three, accompanies her father, General Holmes, president of the C.W.R.R., to the beach depot each morning as he departs for his office. The nurse takes her to the park, and while her erstwhile guardian chats with the family chauffeur Helen forms a chance acquaintance with a stray dog. The pup, unused to affection, runs away and Helen goes in pursuit. Nearby is a miniature railroad and Storm, an orphan newsboy, seeking to learn the mysteries of the small engine, has struck up an acquaintance with the engineer. Storm is ambitious; he has dreams of operating a real locomotive when he grows up. The miniature train pulls out with its load of passengers. The pup, with Helen in close pursuit, runs in front of the train. Throwing aside his newspapers, Storm dashes forward, and seizing Helen, throws her out of harm's way. Helen likes her rescuer and he tells her of his great ambition to run a big locomotive just like his father before an accident ended his life. Meantime the nurse and chauffeur gather Helen up and she waves a farewell to her new-found friend. The years roll by. Helen, raised in luxury, has developed into a beautiful young girl, in whom is centered all her father's affections. She receives a message from her father, telling her to meet him on No. 19, and that he is bringing home his nephew and a friend of the latter's. After years of disappointments and hard work, Storm has become a fireman on the road presided over by General Holmes. On this day he pulls out on No. 245 over the Black Rock Pass. Half way over the grade the air pump on his engine breaks. The long train is brought to a stop. Connecting up an emergency telephone, the conductor, talking to the dispatches receives orders to "bring on train by hand brakes." With the crew on decks, No. 245 is again in motion. Passing the summit, the crew realizes it can no longer control the long drag of cars, for the freight's speed has put it on the schedule of No. 19, the passenger aboard of which is General Holmes. The crew decides to cut off the caboose and escape, but Storm doggedly insists on sticking to the engine. Writing a message on a white signal flag and wrapping it around a wrench, the conductor hurls it through the window of the first telegraph office they pass. The operator wires news of the runaway to the next station, but it is too late; No. 19 has left. This put the passenger in the path of the runaway. Helen learns of the danger from the operator, where she is waiting. She rushes out and mounts her pony and rides for the bridge, but reaches it just as it is raised to permit the passage of a battleship. Digging her spurs into her mount, she makes a wild attempt to reach it, but fails. Into the river go horse and rider. As she rises to the surface Helen strikes out for the opposite shore. The two trains are drawing closer together. Arrived on shore, Helen mounts her pony and resumes her race with death. Down the track she gallops to a switch, the lock of which she breaks with a stone. Seizing the lever, she throws the switch as the head end of the freight thunders into the passing track. The hind end just clears the switch as the passenger tears by. At the far end of the passing track three box cars are standing. As Storm, still at his post, see the impending collision he jumps to safety. Helen rushes forward and picks up the gallant fireman. She has repaid her debt to her newsboy hero.—Moving Picture World synopsis
- Episode 2: "The Winning Jump" General Holmes learns of the plans to steal the survey charts for his proposed new line. He tells this news to Rhinelander and Seagrue, his associates, who are at the home to meet with the directors of the C.W.R.R. en route to Signal on a special train. General Holmes takes Helen and his associates down to the depot to greet the visitors. On a passing track Storm is working around a big freight engine. Casting discretion aside he steps over and with outstretched hand greets Helen. She shakes hands with him and then rebukes him for his impertinence. Arrived at the house General Holmes and his friends get down to business. A discussion arises over distribution of stock holdings. Seagrue refuses to accept the proposition advanced by Holmes and Rhinelander. Threats come from both sides and finally the meeting breaks up in disorder. Late that night Seagrue admits two confederates hired for the purpose of blowing the general's safe and stealing the plans for the survey. Helen awakens. Realizing the matter at hand and seeing Storm working on his engine at the depot, in the flare of a torch, she quickly fastens a serving bell to the wire running to the station and starts it along on its message for help. Storm hears the bell and wondering what it is all about looks to the general's house and sees there silhouetted against a window the struggling forms of a girl and two men. After tying Helen, Spike and Lefty, the hired crooks return downstairs where they encounter General Holmes. They give him a beating and escape with the plans. The crooks run down to the track and at the risk of their lives board a passing train. Helen takes command of the situation. At the head of a group of her father's friends she hurries to the depot and hastily commandeers Storm's engine. Hiding on the roof of one of the passenger coaches the two crooks see the beginning of the chase. Climbing over the cars they reach the engine and hold up the engineer and fireman. The freight engine is gaining. Spike sends Lefty back to cut off the coaches. As the engine is cut off the air brakes bring the coaches to a sudden stop. Behind them, Storm pulls his big iron horse. A parallel track affords further pursuit. Hastily backing onto it, Storm speeds up his engine and soon is abreast of the fleeing crooks. Helen climbs back over the tank of the engine and as the two engines race side by side she jumps to the tank of the passenger engine. Lefty grapples with her but Storm knocks him out by throwing a wrench straight and true. Spike seeing the game is up leaps into the river but upon coming ashore he sees himself surrounded, so he craftily buries the survey plans at the foot of the trail. The party then returns to Signal and the general's home, when Helen learns she is an orphan.—Moving Picture World synopsis
- Episode 3: "A Life in Peril" Helen learns the railroad stock left to her by her father is worthless. Segrue, given the location through a memorandum of Spike's, finds the missing survey. He renews his proposals to Helen, who, as before, refuses his attentions, whereupon Segrue pretends to tear up her stock, but is restrained by Waldo, who says, "Some day that stock will be worth its value." Meantime, Spike is in jail for attempted murder. He writes Segrue that unless he is immediately liberated he will "squeal." Segrue hurries to the jail. As they talk Spike sees possibility of escape in the jailer's key. Hurriedly crushing some bread which he has been eating into dough, he covertly covers the key to his cell. He then passes the dough to Segrue with a significant glance. The following day the trickery of this is apparent when Segrue passes into Spike a key made from the dough mold, also a linen duster and auto cap and goggles. It is a matter of an instant for Spike to put his arm through the bars and open the cell door. Spike lets himself down from the jail wall and makes his escape in Segrue's machine. A financial reverse has come to Helen. She is forced to abandon her home and tearfully dismisses her maid and servants. Her uncle offers her a home, but this she declines as she realizes she must make her own living now. The superintendent of the railroad establishes her as assistant to the agent at Signal. Waldo in order to recoup his own and Helen's fortune again seeks to locate the survey. Segrue and his crowd in possession of the stolen survey plan begin work. Construction material, including two cars of dynamite and one car of powder, are shipped to Signal on a train of which Storm is the engineer. Segrue, determined to harass Helen, sends Spike up to Signal station to commit any sort of deviltry that will interfere with the operations of Waldo's forces. When Storm brings in his train Spike sets fire to the axle box of one of the cars. The crew unsuspectingly starts out with the train. Too late the fire is discovered, having spread so that two cars are enveloped in flames. The burning cars are cut off and backed under a water spout, but one of the cars was filled with crude oil and this the water spread over other cars. Suddenly the four cars start down the grade, two loaded with dynamite and one with powder. Storm is on top of one of the cars with the crew. The cars picking up headway, the crew except Storm jump to the ground. A message is sent back to Signal warning of the runaway burning cars, Helen receives the warning and immediately evolves a rescue plan. She takes a rope and rushing outside climbs a tree, where she makes it fast. The other end is dexterously landed over a telegraph pole. As the burning cars come down the grade Helen climbs out on the rope. Storm, still fighting heroically to stop the cars with hand brakes, sees rescue ahead and as the cars speed underneath he makes a frantic leap and grasps the rope. Just as he does so the fire reaches the explosives and with a terrible din the four cars are rent to pieces.—Moving Picture World synopsis
- Episode 4: "Helen's Perilous Escape" Segrue visits Helen Holmes, now operator at Signal Station, and finds her deeply interested in the promotion of Storm to drive "the pride of the road," the fast express. Rhinelander, her uncle, is having difficulty in relocating the survey over Superstition Range, resulting in threats from his financial backers to withdraw their support. Segrue, grown arrogant by the apparent progress of his conspiracy against Rhinelander and Helen, sends the latter a photograph of himself taken in his office. Helen is about to tear the photograph to pieces when she notices the missing survey, shown in the photograph, lying on the desk at Segrue's elbow. It was a trick of fate. Her first impulse was to telegraph the news to her uncle, but reflection gave her a plan. She would wait, feed Segrue's egotism, obtain entrance to his office-hut and obtain the survey. A party was arranged and Helen is received by Segrue in his construction office. Helen searched the interior of the place with her eyes for a trace of the survey, but it was all in vain. Segrue later opening a desk, Helen spies the survey tucked in a corner, but Segrue, ever cunning, carefully locked the drawer again. Helen was growing nervous, for Segrue was getting entirely too familiar. He dismissed the man who had been serving their dinner and Helen knew a test of courage was being rapidly forced upon her. Despite his protests, Helen started to clear the table of its array of dishes. A scuffle followed and Helen, driven to desperation, with a superhuman effort brought a water bottle full across her assailant's forehead. He sank to the floor and Helen, quickly forcing open the desk, seized the survey and rushed out into the night. Arrived at the depot, she telegraphed Rhinelander: "Have blueprint of survey. Will be on Limited." But Segrue was not yet undone. Recovering from the blow, he followed her to the depot. Seeing him she closed and locked the station door. Now another battle was on. Segrue threw his weight against the door, but Helen had no thought of remaining a prisoner. She climbed out of a window and ran down the track. Segrue followed. On the top of a cliff she was brought to bay. Segrue advanced. She warned him back, but on he came. Then Helen plunged off the cliff into the ocean below. Segrue, spellbound, ran back and boarded the Limited for Oceanside after, seeing Helen weathering her mad plunge, climb into a speed launch and start, as he had anticipated, for the same place. Then there ensued a race between the Limited and the speed launch. Aided by powerful glasses Helen saw Storm at the window of the Limited engine's cab. Grasping the cord of the air whistle, Helen screamed out "H-E-L-P" in the Morse code. Storm hurriedly glanced back over his train, then at his whistle and finally his attention was attracted to the speed launch dropping gradually behind the train. He recognized Helen. Then came another whistled message from the launch: "Have survey. Segrue on your train. Delay so I can reach Oceanside first." Almost immediately the big Mogul slowed down. The fireman tried to persuade Storm it would cost him his job, but Storm laughingly replied, "My job is nothing compared to the help I must give that girl." Segrue in his seat in the last car was plainly disturbed. Dashing forward with the conductor, Storm was encountered coolly working with wrench and hammer, while in the distance a speed launch was making the best of the delay. In Oceanside, Rhinelander was having the argument of his life with his backers. What they wanted was the survey, not telegrams about it. Segrue instituted an inquiry as the self-appointed passengers' chairman and the fireman disclosed the messages between the speed launch and Storm. Segrue and Storm mixed it a bit and finally the conductor ordered the fireman to take the train into Oceanside, landing then at the same time Helen clambered onto the dock and rushed to the office of the directors of the road where Rhinelander was awaiting her. But Segrue had Helen arrested and obtained the survey. Rhinelander was beaten. Storm, meantime, was suspended indefinitely. Very disconsolate Helen, her uncle and Storm boarded the launch to return to Signal. Suddenly her eyes became focused on the canvas covering the deck of the boat. When she boarded the launch earlier in the day she had carefully laid the blueprint out to dry. Now on the canvas she saw a reproduction of the survey. The launch was turned back to Oceanside and a pocketknife quickly gave them the much-sought survey. The directors decided, upon seeing the canvas copy of the survey, to continue their support.—Moving Picture World synopsis
- Episode 5: "The Fight at Signal Station" Storm visits Signal station and tells Helen he is looking for work. Together they seek the construction camp of Amos Rhinelander, Helen's uncle, who happening to be short of men installs Storm as assistant foreman. He learns the need of Rhinelander is a shipment of railroad ties and he is given the responsibility of landing these in the camp. Spike, Segrue's spy in the Rhinelander camp, reports to his chief. "Impossible," exclaimed Segrue, "there are no more ties coming to Rhinelander. His supplies are cut off." Spike insisted the ties were on the way and this was confirmed by Capelle, another Segrue agent. Then Spike received new and brief instructions: "Those ties must never reach Rhinelander." Spike hastens to the task. He goes to Oceanside and locates the four cars of ties for Rhinelander. His activities arouse the suspicion of railroad detectives and he is promptly chased away, but Spike is a resourceful crook. He waits at the bridge for the train and swings handily aboard. He works his way forward to the tie cars and clinging to their sides removes Rhinelander's name from the billing cards and substitutes the name of Segrue. Then the trainmen discover him but he mysteriously eludes them and clambers into the caboose, where he changes the tie way bills so that they read "to Segrue" instead of "to Rhinelander." The crook has accomplished an artistic bit of deviltry. Awaiting the ties at Signal Station is a gang of workmen in charge of Storm. Segrue apprised by a secret code message of Spike's coup also musters a gang in charge of one Delaney who glares menacingly at Storm. Plainly trouble is brewing. Then the train arrives and the conductor, a man of peace immediately becomes the center of an angry bellowing mob. Segrue demands the production of the doctored way bills. These, as changed, showed Segrue to be consignee. Rhinelander and Helen are dumbfounded and Segrue's gang triumphantly begins the task of unloading. But Storm insists there is some trickery afoot and following an argument with Delaney lands an unwholesome wallop on that individual's jaw. Helen steps toward her desk to wire for confirmation only to discover the wires have been cut. Outside the two gangs are engaged in a free-for-all fight. Storm realizing the advantage is to neither plans to capture Segrue which he does in daring fashion. The loss of their leader had its effect on Segrue's men. Helen meantime had climbed a telegraph pole to cut in on the wire with a "pony" instrument and she drops down on top of a boxcar of the train just as Storm leaps to the engine's throttle and starts to back the train up to Rhinelander's camp. Spike leads a gang to the rescue of Segrue and then gives chase to the train mounted on a horse. He is successful too, swinging from his saddle to the engine's running board. Then follows a fearful fight in which Helen plays a decisive part. The rival gangs again attack the train only to be interrupted by the arrival of the sheriff and his posse. Spike and Segrue are put to work with the other men. under the sheriff's guns unloading the cars at Rhinelander's camp.—Moving Picture World synopsis
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