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 embarrassment of a trainful of passengers 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.

"I never ran so fast in my life," answered Bess. "If exercise is all that is needed for reducing, I ought to have lost pounds," and she smiled, although the smile was tremulous.

They were lucky to find the boys still waiting at the garage, and the surprise of the latter at their appearance was only equalled by their consternation at the danger Belle had run.

"You girls need a guardian," said Jack severely, "and Walter and I elect ourselves unanimously for that position."

"It's a mighty hard job," sighed Walter. "Our hair will be gray before our time."

"Don't tell Aunt Betty about this adventure," warned Jack. "She must be on the verge of nervous prostration already, and this would just about cap the climax."

They made the purchases for which Cora had come, and drove rapidly back to Kill Kare.

They found that Paul had returned some time before.

"Did you find out anything?" asked Cora eagerly, as she stepped from the car.

"Not such an awful lot," answered Paul. "The gypsy camp was certainly stirred up about something--little knots everywhere jabbering away in that outlandish lingo of theirs. Didn't seem as keen on grafting from visitors as usual. I suppose of course that Nina was the storm center. They're pretty badly roiled, I imagine."

"But how about Higby?" asked Bess.

"I saw him, too," replied Paul. "Jostled against him, excused myself in my well known irresistible manner, and got into conversation with him. He's staying over at Wilton on a two weeks' vacation. He's used up nearly a week of it now. Doesn't seem to be very keen about going back, though. Knocks his job to beat the band. I guess he's sore on the management."

"Probably the real reason is that they're sore on him," said Jack.

"I noticed the manager looked at him very suspiciously the day that Cora lost her purse," observed Belle.

"Perhaps he's near the end of his rope and knows it," said Paul. "He was quite anxious to know how far we were here from the Canadian line. He may be getting ready to emigrate."

"He'd be a great loss to the United States," sniffed Bess contemptuously.

"We could probably stagger along without him," drawled Walter.

"Did he have anything to say about Nina?" asked Bess.

"Only in an offhand way," returned Paul. "He remarked that there seemed to be a great hullabaloo among the gypsies, and that he understood one of the girls was missing. But I noticed that he kept looking sharply all around as though he was hoping to see some one."

"Well, there's just one thing to do," remarked Cora, "and that is to keep Nina close inside the house until the coast is clear. Higby will be gone in another week, and the gypsies never stay long in one place. And in the meantime we may get word from Roxbury that will tell us what the next step must be."

The following night was the one set for the celebration of Cora's safe return, and the weather was all that could be asked for. The spread itself was a great success. The girls had decorated the lawn with strings of Chinese lanterns on lines that swung from tree to tree, and the tables were abundantly spread with food that both in quantity and quality roused the enthusiastic appreciation of the men from the sawmill, who composed the major portion of the guests. Mr. Morley made a little speech and Mr. Baxter came out of his shell long enough to offer a witty toast to Cora and the other girls. The boys sang some rollicking college ditties, and the phonograph, brought out on the porch, discoursed such music as was not commonly heard in that remote region. It was a jolly, sparkling evening that they all enjoyed, and it was late when the gathering dispersed with three rousing cheers for their hosts.

The days flew swiftly by until a week had passed. Nina had fallen readily into the life at Kill Kare and the girls had become greatly attached to her.

The danger that threatened her seemed to be vanishing. The gypsies, after unavailing search and inquiries that had reached as far as the bungalow, had departed. Paul had motored over to Wilton and found that Higby had left the place where he had been boarding, and the presumption was that he had returned to Roxbury.

Under these circumstances the restrictions that had held Nina to the house seemed unnecessary. Besides, she felt the confinement more on account of the outdoor life to which she had been accustomed.

Soon she ventured into the woods round about, though seldom going far from the house. But as her sense of security increased, she occasionally went farther. And one afternoon, when her temerity had taken her far beyond her usual limit, she turned a bend in the path and came face to face with--Higby!