ne is the county-seat and consequently a place of
importance, but Ridgway has little traffic and the roads intersecting
there take no pains to make close connections.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon when the girls reached the junction,
a bleak little place with a low-roofed station, black and dirty. A hotel
stood at the corner--a rough saloon. An engine with a coach usually waited
on this narrow gauge track, but this afternoon there was none. Before she
entered the waiting-room Miss Wilson looked about, expressing her surprise
at the condition of affairs.

"The worst is yet to come," cried a voice back of them. The girls turned
to discover the ticket agent, just about to leave for home.

"The narrow gauge is storm-stayed. You will not be able to go through
to-night."

"Then we'll turn about and go to Exeter."

"Not to-night. The last train pulled out just before No. 10 came in.
There's a hotel over there--"

"Yes, we _smelled_ it," said Elizabeth seriously.

He laughed, and inquired where they were going. Then he suggested a plan.
The hotel was not a suitable place in which to spend the night, and they
could not return to Exeter; but he would find for them a trustworthy
driver who would take them safely to Windburne.

There was no choice. Mary accepted his offer. The girls stayed in the
dingy waiting-room until he returned with a sleigh, horses and driver.

"This man will take you there safely," he said, with a nod toward the
driver. "He knows the road and knows, too, how to handle horses to get the
most out of them." He assisted the girls into the sleigh, tucking the
robes well about them. A moment later, they were speeding along the
country road. The sleighing was fine but the wind had a clear sweep over
the bare fields, and it had grown much colder. They began to shiver in
spite of their heavy wraps.

"We are over half-way there," encouraged Mary. "The farmhouse we have just
passed is six miles from Ridgway. I know the roads about here. This is
beautiful in summer time. Landis Stoner lives in the last farmhouse along
this road. After we pass there, we won't see another for five miles, and
when we do it will be Windburne. There, you can catch a glimpse of the
place now."

"Couldn't we stop and get warm?" asked Elizabeth, her teeth chattering.
"My feet are numb!"

"Yes; perhaps it would be better. We'll get Mrs. Stoner to heat bricks for
our feet. She's very hospitable, and will make us comfortable