Suddenly the train jerked to a stop, and all heads came to the window to see the cause of the delay. The train had been flagged. "Danger ahead!"
"What's the matter?" Bet called to the conductor, who had descended and was walking toward the engine. "A wash-out! That cloud-burst you saw tore away a bit of the track. We'll be stalled here for hours, very likely."
The heat seemed worse than ever now. As long as the train was going, there was some breeze, but at a stand-still, the sun blazed down on the roof of the car and made it almost unbearable.
Soon it became apparent that the delay might be longer than they anticipated.
"There's a good hotel at the next station," said the conductor. "If you will ride in the work train ahead, you can go in there in a few minutes."
"Oh, do let us!" cried Bet who was always ready for something different. "We've never ridden in a work train in our lives."
With Sam's help they carried Mrs. Breckenridge across the broken tracks and into the work train. The girls laughed with pleasure as they settled themselves in the box car.
Bet suddenly had a new idea. "Judge Breckenridge, the engineer says I
can go in the engine with him, if you will let me. Please say yes,"
Bet's face was rosy with excitement. "This might be the only chance
I'll ever have to ride in the engine, and I'd hate to miss it."
The Judge hesitated but finally gave in. And when Bet joined her friends at the hotel in Willowmere she said:
"It doesn't seem quite fair that we are starting out with so many adventures. It will make the summer seem so uneventful."