“No, not frightened; but why?”
“It looks as though we couldn’t go much farther. We may have to stop. You can see how slowly we’re moving now. If they can get to the next station we can all stop at an hotel, but if not we may have to sit up all night.”
“I think it’ll be rather fun—only won’t Angela Peyton-Russell be worried?”
“She’ll probably have telephoned the station at North Adams and will know that we’re late. Gloria was wise. The track may be clear by the time her train leaves and she’ll arrive as soon as we.”
“Then I won’t have to decide about warning Professor Pendragon. He’ll learn the news less gently.”
“He may have left,” said Terry.
“I don’t know whether to wish that he has or has not,” said Ruth. She could not bear the thought of Gloria’s marrying Prince Aglipogue, but every hour it seemed to grow more difficult to entertain the thought of her marrying Terry. Of course it wasn’t absolutely necessary for her to marry any one, but she must be in a marrying mood, or she wouldn’t think of Aglipogue, and she’d done it so often before that it ought to be easier every time. If only she could ask Terry what he thought, but of course she couldn’t do that.
Prince Aglipogue had heard Terry’s first words and had lumbered off to secure the first-hand information. All the other men in the coach seemed to be doing the same thing. The snow had brought on a premature darkness and the lights were lit so that now they could see nothing outside. One could almost feel the struggles of the engine, which seemed to grow greater and greater as the speed of the train grew less. Finally it stopped altogether with a sound of grinding wheels. The conductor told them not to be alarmed. It was nothing but a few hours’ delay. A steam plough was already on its way. It was impossible to say how long.
For a few minutes the passengers all talked to each other. Some of the men thought that if they could reach the road they might hail a passing sleigh that might convey some of them to the nearest town, but the road was half a mile away and there would be few vehicles abroad in such a storm, and the idea was abandoned. Terry went back to see how George was faring, and reported him still in the baggage car, sleeping on the trunk which doubtless contained “the daughter of Shiva.”
People settled down to waiting; some of them read, and others slept, among them Prince Aglipogue. He snored unrebuked. Ruth heard a man inviting Terry to a poker game in the smoking car and was relieved when he refused. It would have been lonely without him. She tried to read, but the car was growing steadily colder. Terry insisted that she put on her cloak, but even that didn’t help much, when she was stiff with inaction. She tried to read, and finally curled up in the chair to sleep. Her last conscious thought was a protest when she felt rather than saw Terry wrapping his cloak around her.