through all its parts. The red eye was winked out instantly; but the
long and heavy train came to an abrupt stop.

CHAPTER II

RENO

But the Limited had stopped so that Ruth could see along the length of
the train. Lanterns winked and blinked in the dark as the trainmen
carried them forward. Something had happened up front of more
importance than an ordinary halt for permission to run in on the next
block. Besides, the afternoon Limited was a train of the first-class
and was supposed to have the right of way over all other trains. No
signal should have stopped it here.

"How far are we from Cheslow, please?" she asked of the rear brakeman
(whom she knew was called the flagman) as he came down the car with
his lantern.

"Not above a mile, Miss," he replied.

His smile, and his way of speaking, encouraged her to ask:

"Can you tell me why we have stopped?"

"Something on the track, Miss. I have set out my signal lamp and am
going forward to inquire."

Three or four of the male passengers followed him out of the car. Ruth
saw that quite a number had disembarked from the cars ahead, that a