"Goodness knows, my lady. We're hours away from Winnipeg--that's all I
know--and we're likely to stay here, by what Yerkes says."

"Has there been an accident?"

Simpson replied--sombrely--that something had happened, she didn't know
what--that Yerkes put it down to "the sink-hole," which according to him
was "always doing it"--that there were two trains in front of them at a
standstill, and trains coming up every minute behind them.

"My dear Simpson!--that must be an exaggeration. There aren't trains
every minute on the C.P.R. Is Mr. Philip awake?"

"Not yet, my lady."

"And what on earth is a sink-hole?" asked Elizabeth.



CHAPTER II

Elizabeth had ample time during the ensuing sixteen hours for inquiry as
to the nature of sink-holes.

When she emerged, dressed, into the saloon--she found Yerkes looking out
of the window in a brown study. He was armed with a dusting brush and a
white apron, but it did not seem to her that he had been making much
use of them.