The Motor Girls in the Mountains or The Gypsy Girl's Secret Part 36

She herself did not remember it until Jack had been gone for an hour or more. And by that time Paul had driven off in her car to the gypsy camp.

"Oh, pshaw!" exclaimed Cora in deep vexation, "how could I have been so careless? We just can't get along without those things."

"Just for a lark let's go over to Milford ourselves," suggested Bess.

"And walk?" asked her sister.

"Why not?" said Bess. "I haven't done as much walking as I ought to lately, and it's a great thing to help me reduce. Besides, I don't believe it is more than four miles, and it's a splendid day for walking."

"We might follow the railroad through the cut," said Cora. "That takes off some of the distance. Come ahead, girls, and let's do it. We'll probably get there before the repairs are finished on the car, and we'll give the boys a surprise party."

Belle agreed after a little more urging, and the girls put on their hats and sallied forth, leaving Nina in charge of Aunt Betty, with strict injunctions not to show herself at any of the windows.

At a distance of a mile and a half from Kill Kare ran a single track, narrow-gauge railroad that served a number of tiny towns scattered through that region. It was a leisurely, go-as-you-please affair, and, as a railroad, was considerable of a joke. The rolling stock consisted of a couple of locomotives that had seen better days and a string of dilapidated cars that had been discarded on other roads. Time schedules were honored in the breach rather than in the observance, and one or two trains a day each way wheezed along at their own sweet will.

But it served as a short cut to Milford, and the girls chose to go by way of it on that account, and also because it ran through a sort of gorge that cut off the hot rays of the sun.

But if it was delightful overhead, as much could not be said for the walking underfoot. The ties were split and irregular, and the slag that lay between them was trying to the feet.

"I feel sorry for any stranded actors who ever have to walk these ties,"

complained Belle.

"I think it's smoother on the outside of the track than where you're walking," suggested Cora. "Suppose you try it."

There was a switch in the track just at that point, and as Belle tried to step over the rail as Cora had suggested, her foot slipped and was caught in the frog.

She would have fallen to her knees if Cora had not caught and steadied her.

"Did you hurt yourself?" asked Bess.

"Only sc.r.a.ped my ankle a little," answered her sister. "But I may have ruined a perfectly good shoe."

She tried to pull her foot from the frog, but found that she could not.

"Pull a little harder," urged Cora.

Belle tried again, but with no success.

"The sole seems to be caught in a spike or something," she explained.

Bess gave a little scream.

"Oh, hurry, hurry," she cried. "Suppose a train should come along!"

And just at that instant they heard a long shrill whistle from up the track.

CHAPTER XXVIII WAYLAID

A scream broke from all the girls, and Belle nearly fainted.

They could not see more than a hundred feet up the track, for at that point the road curved round a bluff. But they could see a column of smoke rising high in the air and the humming of the rails grew steadily louder.

Cora was pale as death, but she rose to the emergency and took command.

"Run up the track as fast as you can, Bess," she directed, "and wave your hands to the engineer to stop."

Bess was off at once and Cora turned to Belle.

"We have plenty of time, dear," she said soothingly, "if you do exactly as I say. Keep your foot perfectly still while I unlace your shoe."

By a great effort of will, Belle did as she was told, leaning her hand for support on Cora's shoulder as the latter knelt at her feet.

Bess rushed madly up the track and around the curve, and her eyes dilated with horror as she saw the train, now only a few rods away.

She screamed wildly and waved her hands frantically.

Her voice could not be heard above the rattle of the train, but fortunately her signals were seen and the engineer shut off the steam and put on the brakes.

With a great hissing and clamor the train swung round the curve and bore down upon the girls.

Cora had been working desperately, but her fingers seemed to fumble with the laces as though she were in a nightmare. But she steadied herself and finished her task. Then she sprang to her feet and pulled with all her might, Belle aiding her, and the foot slipped from the shoe, while the girls fell back against the side of the gorge, well clear of the track.

The train had slowed rapidly, but when it came to a full stop it was not more than twelve feet from the abandoned shoe.

The engineer and fireman jumped down and rushed forward. A glance at the shoe told the whole story.

"That was a narrow escape, ladies," remarked the grizzled engineer. "It's lucky I saw those signals. I hope that you're not hurt."

"More scared than hurt," answered Cora.

"I don't wonder you were scared," he replied; "but you were mighty plucky just the same. Lots of girls would have lost their heads and just screamed or fainted. I'll get this shoe out of the frog for you."

He handed the shoe to Belle, and he and the fireman clambered back in the cab. The train was a freight, for which the girls were grateful, as they were spared the embarra.s.sment of a trainful of pa.s.sengers crowding around.

They rested a little after the train moved on, for the strain, though brief, had been very great. Then Belle resumed her shoe.

"Don't you think you had better go straight home?" asked Bess solicitously.

"Oh, I guess not," replied Belle, who was getting back some of her color.

"Besides, we're much nearer to Milford now than we are to Kill Kare."

"Perhaps we had better go on," judged Cora. "The boys will bring us back in the car, and if we should miss them, we'll hire a rig of some kind to get home in."

"I guess Bess will need it more than any of the rest of us," said Belle.