Jim Powell, in charge of laying the Union Pacific railroad tracks into the west, had aged perceptibly in just a few weeks. His troubles had begun with an Indian attack on a grading train near Cheyenne, and after that the obstacles were multiplied. Time after time, bands of Indians swept down to attack the railroad workers, tear up the track, burn buildings, kill stock and tear down telegraph wires. Despite all of this, Powell and his track laying gangs fought valiantly to maintain the schedule. They met each attack with matter of fact courage, and when it was repulsed, put down their rifles and picked up their tools. It wasn't savage Indians that worried Powell, it was a far more sinister danger...