"What do you say to going out and sitting in the observation car for a while?" Frank suggested. "It's roomier than this compartment."
"Suits me."
Frank went to the door. To his surprise he found that it would not open. He tried again, but the door refused to budge.
"That's funny," he remarked. "We're locked in."
Both the boys tried the door, but it was of no avail.
"The catch must have been on when Mr. Hopkins went out," Frank said. Even yet the real truth of the situation had not dawned on them.
They hammered on the door for a while, but no one heard them. At last Frank caught sight of the bell button.
"That's stupid of me," he said, with a smile. "I should have known there'd be a bell to call the porter."
He pressed the button and waited. No one came. There was no sound but the roar of the train as it rushed on its way. He pressed the button again and again.
"That porter must be either dead or asleep," he muttered, settling down to a prolonged ringing of the bell.