The old man's tone towards the last rose into such a wild, weird
shriek, that Ralph's blood ran cold. He attempted to speak with a
tongue so tied by fear that words would not come.

Under the agony of effort he screamed aloud, then suddenly awoke.

"Here! Here! Wake up, I say!"

These words, uttered shrilly in his ear, staggered his senses as he
opened his eyes and looked up.




CHAPTER V.

Ralph's First Railroad Ride.

A slender, thin faced, alert looking man was stooping over the boy, and
shaking him vigorously. Day had dawned.

"Wake up, young fellow!" continued the stranger, as Ralph gazed at him
in a dazed sort of way. "How came you in here?"

"I--I got in out of the rain," said Ralph, staggering to his feet, only
to be thrown down again by the jolting of the car, which was in rapid
motion.

The sliding door was now open. Ralph glancing out, saw the landscape