A BAD BREAK
“That was queer, wasn’t it?” said Jerry to his chums when they were
seated in the train, moving swiftly toward the great west. “I wonder
what he meant, and what he was doing out here?”
“And I guess you can keep on wondering, for all the good it will do,”
commented Bob. “I couldn’t make anything out of what they said, except
that some ship might be lost. That’s common enough.”
“I wonder what that stuff was that he shipped from the freight office?”
mused Jerry.
“Rat poison, maybe,” replied Ned with a laugh. “I’ve heard there are
lots of rats on ships, and maybe he has a patent stuff for getting rid
of ’em.”
“It might be,” agreed Jerry. “Well, as Bob says, there’s no use
wondering. Say, but this is pretty nice scenery,” and he pointed to the
view from the window, as they were passing along the shores of a lake.
“Fine!” exclaimed Ned. “It ought to have some mountains around it, and
it would look just like Lost Lake, where we found the hermit, that
time.”
“Seems as if that was a good while ago,” commented Bob, “but it wasn’t
so very.”
For several hours the boys discussed their past adventures, some of
which were brought to their minds by views of the western country
through which they were passing. Professor Snodgrass took no interest
in anything except a big book which he was studying carefully, at times
making notes on slips of paper, which had a tendency to drop into the
aisle, or under the seat when he was not looking. In consequence the
car, in the vicinity of where the professor sat, looked as though a
theatrical snow-storm had taken place.
One morning the boys awakened to find the train making fast time over a
level stretch of country, with rolling hills here and there, covered
with tall grass. Occasionally glimpses could be had of herds of cattle.
“We’re on the prairies!” exclaimed Bob, as he went to the lavatory to
get ready for breakfast. “Say, now we’re in the wild and woolly west,
all right.”
“Well, it’s not the first time,” replied Jerry. “Still it does look
good to see it again. It’s a little different, traveling this way, than
it was scooting along in our auto.”
“Yes, and I think I prefer the auto to this,” spoke up Ned, yawning and
stretching. “This is too lazy a way of journeying. I’d like to rough it
a bit.”
“Rough it!” exclaimed Bob. “Wait until we get out in California, and we
can sleep out doors, while the folks back home are tending the furnace
fire.”
The three boys were just about to enter the lavatory when the train
gave a sudden lurch, and then it began bumping along over the ties,
swaying from side to side. Every window in the car rattled as if it
would break, and the boys were so shaken up, that, to steady
themselves, they had to grasp whatever was nearest.
“We’re off the track!” cried Ned.
“This—is—roughing—it—all right!” said Jerry, the words coming out in
jerks. “There’s—been—an—accident!”
“A—whole—lot—of—’em—by—the—way—it—feels to—me,” declared Jerry.
“I—wonder—”
Just then the train came to a stop, the car the boys were in being
tilted at quite an angle.
“Let’s see what happened,” suggested Bob, going to the door. His
companions followed him, and, from various berths the passengers began
emerging, in different stages of undress. They looked frightened.
“Well, at any rate, none of us are killed,” said Professor Snodgrass,
as he came down the aisle, fully dressed, for he had arisen early to
continue his reading about horned toads. “What is the matter, boys?”
“We’re just going to find out,” said Jerry, as he went down the steps
and walked along the track toward the engine, about which a crowd of
passengers and train men were gathered.
“What’s the trouble?” asked Bob of a brakeman who was running toward
the rear end of the train with a red flag.
“I don’t know exactly. Something wrong with the engine; I guess. I
heard the conductor say it was a bad break.”
“Come on,” said Jerry to his chums. “There doesn’t seem to be anybody
hurt, but it looks as if we were in for a long wait,” and he pointed to
several cars that were off the track, the wheels resting on the wooden
ties.