lked to the front of the car.

It was warm and pleasant in the coach. The Baker heater was going at
full blast and Henry noticed that there was plenty of coal. He tried to
see out from the front door; but as he was too prudent to open it and
let in the snow and cold he could make out nothing. The silence rather
alarmed him. The train had never waited so long before.

Then, suddenly, came the thought that something very unusual was wrong.
He must get a look at the train ahead. He ran back to the rear door,
opened it and standing on the leeward side, peered forward. The engine
and freight cars were not there! All he saw was the deep cut filled
nearly to the height of the car with snow.

Henry was of a mechanical turn of mind and he realized that doubtless
the coupling had broken. That was what had happened. The trainmen had
not noticed it and the train had gone on and left the coach. The break
had occurred at the crest of the divide and the train had gone rapidly
down hill on the other side. The amount of snow told the boy that it
would not be possible for the train to back up and pick up the car. He
was alone in the wilderness of rolling hills in far western Nebraska.
And this was Christmas Eve!

It was enough to bring despair to any boy's heart. But Henry Ives was
made of good stuff, he was a first-class Boy Scout and on his scout coat
in the trunk were four Merit Badges. He had the spirit of his father,
who had often bucked the November storms on Lake Superior in his great
six-hundred-foot freighter, and danger inspired him.

He went back into the car, closed the door, and sat down to think it
over. He had very vague ideas as to how long such a storm would last and
how long he might be kept prisoner. He did not even know just where he
was or how far it was to the end of the road and the town where his
uncle's ranch lay.

It was growing dark so he lighted one of the lamps close to the heater
and had plenty of light. In doing so he noticed in the baggage rack a
dinner pail. He remembered that the conductor had told him that his wife
had packed that dinner pail and although it did not belong to the boy he
felt justified in appropriating it in such circumstances. It was full of
food--eggs, sandwiches, and a bottle of coffee. He was not very hungry
but he ate a sandwich. He was even getting cheerful about the situation
because he had something to do. It was an adventure.

While he had been eating, the storm had died