Oh, please hurry," begged Barbara in an agonized tone.

The men quickly lifted down Grace Carter's limp form. Then they turned
to assist Barbara, but she already had swung down without assistance.
Mollie was kneeling beside Grace, other passengers crowding about the
unconscious girl who lay stretched out on the ground beside the track.
Someone pushed through the crowd to Grace and thrust a bottle of
smelling salts under her nose.

This served to restore her to consciousness, and she feebly brushed the
bottle aside.

"She's alive," screamed Mollie, almost beside herself.

"Oh, I'm so glad!" cried Barbara in an ecstacy of joy.

Grace Carter sat up dazedly.

"Are you hurt, dear?" urged Bab.

"I--I don't know. I think not. Oh, it was awful. I--I thought the world
surely was coming to an end. Was anyone--anyone killed?"

"No," answered a voice from the crowd. "Some of us got a fine shaking
up, but the train was running so slowly that the shock of the accident
was not very severe."

"What was the matter?" asked Grace as Barbara assisted the trembling
girl to her feet.

"The trainmen say it was a loose rail. They've been putting in new rails
at this point and the train was running slowly on that account, the work
not yet being entirely finished."

At this juncture the conductor came bustling up, ordering the passengers
to go to the cars ahead, which had not left the track. The train was to
move on in a few minutes. A flagman had been stationed some distance to
the rear to stop any following trains and the conductor was anxious to
reach the next station ahead to telegraph for a wrecking train and
report the wreck of the sleepers. A pleasant-faced woman whom Barbara
had seen on the train the day before, stepped up and offered to assist
them, which she did by placing an arm about Grace, helping to support
the latter in the walk to the cars.

"I am Miss Thompson, from Chicago," said the woman. "My father is with
me. I saw you yesterday and wanted to speak to you. Are you going to
Chicago?"

"Yes. You are very kind," answered Barbara.

"I wonder if all the passengers were gotten out of the sleeper?" asked
Miss Thompson when they had finally reached the cars up ahead and Grace
had been comfortably disposed of in another sleeper.

Barbara started.

"Oh, I forgot. Conductor! There was a man in the smoking compartment of
our car."

The porter who had followed them with the other passengers and such
luggage as he