The screams of the two girls went unheard. Already the circus man who had locked the door was far away.
All too soon, the girls heard a loud hissing sound.
“I know what that is,” whispered Veve.
“What, Veve?” It was all Connie could do to be brave.
“The engineer is letting air out of the brakes. That means the train is about to start.”
Veve was right too. Within a few minutes the car lurched forward and the couplings between the other cars went, “chunk-chunk, chunk-chunk.” The two girls nearly were thrown to the floor.
Despair overcame them as they heard the wheels going “clickity-click” every time they passed from one rail to another. The sound came faster and faster. Connie and Veve knew the train was leaving Shady Hollow, moving along at a lively clip.
“Oh, Connie, were being carried away with the circus,” Veve wailed. “How will we ever get back to camp? How will we ever get home?”
Connie wondered the same thing. She was desperately afraid it might be a long while before anyone came to open the car door. And by that time they would be miles away from Shady Hollow.
Only a little light filtered into the car through a small ventilator door high in the wall. Although they could see each other, objects about them were hazy.