“There isn’t any train coming,” said Jessie. “I know all about the trains. There isn’t any after the 803 when 411 comes along. The next train is at twelve and the one after at four.”
“Much you know,” replied the man. “I suppose the president of the road has sent you a special message saying he’s just changed the fall schedule. I had my information from Ezra, but I reckon he don’t know. He told me to look out for a train at 8:35.”
“There wasn’t any such train on Friday,” said Jessie.
“Fall schedule hadn’t come into effect. Time changes to-day.”
“Where is Ezra?” asked Jessie, still unbelieving, but by this time safely across the track.
“Took down with rheumatiz. Been bothering him on and off for some time. Now he’s laid up in bed.”
“Dear me, but I am sorry,” said Jessie.
“That don’t cure his aches and pains,” returned the man. “You’d better hustle along, sis. I’ve got to signal to this here train and I can’t stand here all day talking to you.”
Jessie turned away indignantly. Ezra would have asked if she didn’t want to hold the flag when the train went by, and he would not have told her in that rude way to “go along.” She did not like this man at all. She wondered if Ezra would be ill all winter, and then suddenly she thought of what her mother had said; that if anything happened to Ezra, her parents would not feel that they could allow Jessie to take the walk to the Hill School.
However, Ezra and the trains were forgotten when the little girl reached school, for there were several interesting things to take up her thoughts that morning. In the first place, there was a new scholar named Anna Sharp. She had come to live with her aunt in the neighborhood and was going to attend the Hill School. Next Effie Hinsdale whispered that there were four dear new kittens in the barn and that Jessie could have one if she liked. Effie had been given a demerit for whispering, and that had so disturbed Jessie that she missed her geography lesson and had to recite it after school, so altogether there was quite enough to put Ezra out of her mind.