CHAPTER XX.

We must now return to the young travellers, whom we left in the car, expecting to reach their destination by nightfall.  In this they were disappointed, for when the train was within a few miles of Truro it came to a sudden standstill, throwing some of the passengers out of their seats, but seriously injuring no one.

“Something wrong with the engine!” was the explanation, when heads were thrust from the windows to inquire the cause of the trouble.

This explanation was received with due submission by those accustomed to railway travelling, but Elsie, her nerves unstrung by other causes, sat crying hysterically, and would give no heed to Lancy’s repeated declaration that nothing serious was the matter.

“We will be detained here for a while, Elsie, but that is all,” he added.

Elsie, though, seemed unable to control her sobs, and Dexie began to feel anxious, for these crying fits invariably brought on a nervous headache, and when at last the train started, Elsie was hardly in a fit state to continue the journey.

Under the circumstances Lancy deemed it best to stop over at Truro until the next trip of the Island boat.  This would give Elsie time to recover, and they would have an opportunity to see something of the pretty town they had heard so highly praised.

Elsie felt relieved at this decision.  She was unused to travelling, and found the short journey tiresome in the extreme; indeed her throbbing temples called imperatively for quietness and rest.

The train steamed into the dark, tunnel-like depot, and stepping out on the platform, they found, after some difficulty, the little room that was designated “The Waiting-Room,” where Lancy left the girls to inquire for hotel accommodations.

While in semi-darkness they waited his return, Dexie tried to ascertain if there was not a pleasanter outlook than could be obtained from the door, but the one dust-encrusted window gave a dim and indistinct view from that quarter.

As if in answer to their wishes, Lancy speedily returned, and as they gathered up their wraps Dexie asked: 

“Do you know why they call this room the ‘waiting-room,’ Lancy?  Give a guess.”

“Can’t!  I give it up,” giving a glance around him.

“Well, I’ll just tell you.  This room has been ‘waiting’ for years for someone to clean it, and that is how it has earned its name.  Even the rusty old stove has taken on the look of dejection that seems to haunt the place.”

Lancy was beginning to think that the little town had been very much overpraised, as unfortunately the worst-looking part of it was situated near the depot, and he felt disappointed and vexed that they had not been able to continue their journey.  His annoyance was increased when he learned that there had been an excursion to the town the day before, crowding the hotels, which had not yet recovered from the effects of the many disturbances that had taken place inside their doors.