“He says de track between heah and Hobostein’s a foot undeh.”
“Then that means the river must be coming up fast. Any danger we’ll be stranded at Delta?”
“You betteh talk to de conductor,” the porter said, jerking his head toward a fat, bespectacled trainman who had just swung aboard the coach. “Dat’s Mr. Johnson.”
Penny stopped the conductor to ask him what the chances were of getting through the flooded area.
“Doesn’t look so good,” he rumbled. “The rails are under at Mile Posts 792 and 825.”
“Then we’re tied up here?”
“No, we’re going as far as we can,” the conductor answered. “The dispatcher’s sending a work train on ahead to feel out the track. But we’ll be lucky to make ten miles an hour.”
Penny chatted with the conductor for a few minutes, then ambled back to the coach where she had left Louise. The prospects were most discouraging. At best it would be late afternoon before they could hope to reach Riverview.
“I’m starving too,” Louise said. “I suppose there’s no diner on this train.”
As a stop gap the girls hailed a passing vendor and bought candy bars. Having thus satisfied their hunger, they tried to read magazines.