The other passengers in the car took much interest in the Bunkers' trouble. Most of the men and women had grown fond of Violet, in spite of her inquisitiveness, and all admired Laddie Bunker. It seemed a really terrible thing that the two should have become separated from their parents and the other children.
"Something is always happening to us Bunkers," confessed Russ. "But what happens isn't often as bad as this. I don't see what Vi and Laddie could have been thinking of."
We know, however, that the twins had been thinking of nothing but gathering flowers and chasing a chipmunk until that train whistle had sounded. How the twins did run then across the pasture and up to the very verge of the high bank overlooking the railroad cut!
"Oh, the train's gone!" shrieked Vi, when she first looked down.
"And the workmen are gone too," gasped Laddie.
There was nobody left in the cut, and both the train and the handcar on which the section hands had traveled, were out of sight. It was the loneliest place that the twins had ever seen!
"Now, see what we've done," complained Vi, between her sobs. "We ran away and lost mother and daddy and the others. They've gone on to Cowboy Jack's and left us here."
"Then we didn't run away from them," Laddie said more sturdily. "They ran away from us."
"That doesn't make any difference," complained his sister. "We—we're lost and can't be found."
"Say!" cried Laddie suddenly, "how do you s'pose that train hopped over that rock?"