CHAPTER II
THE WRECK
What followed was like a terrible nightmare. Shaken and jolted badly,but not seriously hurt, it took the girls a horrible minute or two torealize what had happened. There had been an accident--a terribleaccident. Then hands went out in the blackness and the girls called toeach other in strangled whispers that could not be heard above the dinand uproar outside.
They heard Mr. Bradley shouting above the noise, asking if any one ofthem was hurt and reassuring them. Gradually they managed to grope theirway to his side, guided by his voice, and with an agony of relief in hisheart he gathered the three girls to him and heard the voices of Mrs.Gilligan and the boys at his elbow.
"Let's get out of this," he cried, and began feeling his way cautiouslytoward what had been the front of the car.
He soon found the aisle blocked by what appeared to be the wreck of theforward end of the car and was forced to turn back and feel his waytoward the rear platform.
Fortunately the train had not been crowded. There had been only three orfour passengers in that car besides themselves, and so there was littledanger of being trampled in the dark.
Fearfully, holding on to one another, the girls followed Mr. Bradley andthe boys, stepping gingerly over broken glass and other debris andshivering with fear and excitement.
"I wonder if anybody was hurt," Laura cried into Billie's ear.
"Oh, I hope not," said Billie, her voice almost lost in the uproar. "Iguess it must have been the forward cars that caught the worst of it. Wejust escaped." She shuddered and clasped Laura's hand more tightly.
It seemed ages before they finally reached the platform of the car.However, even nightmares come to an end, and they were suddenly startledby having a red light flashed in their faces. And then a friendly Irishvoice accosted them in unmistakable brogue.
"So it's here you are!" cried the voice, the speaker swinging thelantern high so as to get a good look at them. "And it's glad Oi am tobe seein' ye. Be there any more in the car wid yez?"
"I don't think so," replied Mr. Bradley, surprised to find that hisvoice was trembling and that the hand he raised to wipe his foreheadshook like a leaf. If it had been himself alone who had been indanger--but the young folks!
As they descended to the platform the girls looked about them with wide,frightened eyes, while their hearts pounded suffocatingly.
The faces of the boys were white, but they plunged immediately into thework of rescue. Men came running from the farms about. All who could getlanterns had them, and the lights were seen swinging down the roadsideor in the ruined cars, searching for any one who might be pinned underthe wreckage.
Most of the passengers had already been accounted for, but there wereone or two who must still be found. Mr. Bradley picked his way throughthe debris to the front of the train, while Mrs. Gilligan and the girlsfollowed him slowly.
"I wonder how it happened," said Violet, and it was the first time shehad spoken since the accident. "Oh, girls, I'm frightened to death!"
"I wonder if anybody was hurt," said Laura, her eyes dark withexcitement.
"I don't think so," Billie answered. "The damage seems to be mostly atthe front of the train. We may have run into another train. Oh, look!"she cried suddenly, pointing with trembling finger to the wreck of thecar in front of them. "Fire, girls! The car's on fire!"
With horrified eyes the girls followed her pointing finger and saw amalignant tongue of flame shoot out--then another--and another.
"It's the baggage car!" screamed Laura, as men, attracted by the blaze,came running from all directions. "Billie, your trunk!"
"My trunk! my trunk!" wailed Billie distractedly. "Oh, it will be burntup! All my money and everything!"
"Say, Chet, look! The baggage car's on fire!"
It was Teddy's voice, and Billie looked up to see him beside her staringunbelievingly at the burning car.
"Oh, Teddy," she cried, clutching his arm desperately, "my trunk'sburning up! Can't you do something--can't you?"
Teddy gave a low whistle and kept on staring while Chet and Ferd camerushing up and joined him.
"The trunk----" Chet began, but Teddy clutched his arm excitedly.
"Look!" he cried. "It's the front end of the car that's on fire. If weclimbed through the side door we'd have a chance to----"
He never finished the sentence, for the boys had caught the idea andwere racing headlong for the burning car. Mr. Bradley, meeting them halfway, literally had to drag them back.
"Don't be idiots!" he shouted to them. "Do you want to get burned up?"
"Let go, Dad!" gasped Chet, struggling to free himself. "Billie'strunk!"
"Billie's trunk will have to take its chance," Mr. Bradley yelled backat him. Then he added in a changed voice that made the boys stopstruggling for a moment and follow the direction of his gaze. "Here comethe fire engines. Maybe we'll save that trunk after all."
With a yell the boys dashed off down the platform to meet the engines,whether with a vague idea of helping the horses pull or just on generalprinciples, no one will ever know.
The fire department was a country one, and there was not enough force ofwater; in fact, there seemed not to be enough of anything.
They did at last succeed in putting out the fire, however, while thegirls stood by in an agony of suspense, and finally some of the trainhands were allowed to climb into the sodden train and find what luggage,if any, could be saved.
Wildly hoping that their own particular little trunk with its preciouscontents would be among the saved, the girls and boys would havefollowed, but a guard politely but firmly held them back.
"Claim your baggage at the next town, please," he said, and, his hardheart softened perhaps by the sight of Billie's anxious face, added byway of explanation: "All the baggage will be sent to the next town to beclaimed in the morning."
"In the morning!" gasped Billie in consternation. "Have we got to waitall night?"
"There won't be another train through till to-morrow," the guardexplained, still patiently. "And it will save confusion to wait untilmorning to identify the baggage."
"How far is it to the next town?" inquired Mr. Bradley, and the guardturned to him with an air of relief that said as plainly as words,"Thank heaven, here's a man to talk to."
"Three miles, sir," he said. "I reckon you'll have to walk it, as theyhaven't taxi service around here." He grinned, but Mr. Bradley's facewas sober. He was wondering how he was going to get his charges to thenext town.
However, even while he was wondering, the difficulty was being solvedfor him by some of the good-natured farmers who generously put theirwagons at the disposal of the survivors of the wreck.
When they reached the village fate chose at last to smile upon them--avery little. They found a comfortable little cottage presided over by acomfortable little farmer's wife who first gave them supper and then ledthem to the best rooms in her house and tucked the girls in bed as ifshe had been their own mother.
Mrs. Jenkins, the farmer's wife, was as pretty and comely as a shiningred apple--and just as neat. She said that her husband had gone to aneighboring town to sell some of their stock and would not be back for aweek or two. She was so lonely that her guests were as welcome to her asshe and her hospitality were welcome to them.
Yet in spite of comfortable beds and snowy sheets, the girls sleptlittle. All night long they tossed and turned, and when occasionally,worn out, they would drop into an uncomfortable doze, they would alwayswake up with a start and a frightened cry.
Visions of crushed cars with flames shooting from the windows tormentedthem all night until at last, when it seemed they could stand it nolonger, they opened their eyes upon the dawn.
"Oh, girls, it's morning!" cried Billie, jumping out of bed andbeginning to drag her clothes on hastily.
"What are you going to do?" asked Violet, opening one sleepy eye.
"Do?" cried Billie, turning upon her like a little whirlwind. "What doyou suppose I'm going to do?
I'm going to find that trunk!"
Billie Bradley at Three Towers Hall; Or, Leading a Needed Rebellion Page 2