Page:Betty Gordon in the Land of Oil.djvu/35



was uproar and confusion in the coaches through which Bob had to pass to reach the car where he knew Betty was. Distracted mothers with frightened, crying children charged up and down the aisles, excited men ran through, and the wildest guesses flew about. The concensus [sic] of opinion was that they had hit something!

"Oh, Bob!" Betty greeted him with evident relief when he at last reached her. "What has happened? Is any one hurt? Will another train come up behind us and run into us?"

This last was a cheerful topic broached by the fussy little man whose capacity for going ahead and meeting trouble was boundless.

"Of course not!" Bob's scorn was more reassuring than the gentlest answer. "As soon as a train stops they set signals to warn traffic. What a horrible racket every one is making! They're all screeching at once. Get your hat, Betty, and we'll go and find out something definite. I don't know any more than you do, but I can't stand this noise." Rh