Betty felt that if she never saw him again there would be little to
regret. As a matter of fact, she was to meet him again and not under
much more favorable aspects. But of that she was happily ignorant.

The whistling of the lanky young station agent, who was covertly
staring at her under pretense of sweeping up the already neat boards
before the door, roused her. She remembered that she did not want to
go to Pineville.

"Why, I guess I can fix it up for you," said Dan Gowdy cheerfully,
when she had stated her predicament, withholding only the reason for
not telling Mr. Peabody. "Let me see--twelve-three stops at
Centertown. But you don't want to spend the night on the train. Going
from Centertown, you'd get to Washington about ten in the morning."

"I'd rather not sleep on the train," answered Betty timidly, hoping
that she was not unreasonable. Aside from the expense, she was not
used to traveling, and the idea of a night alone on the train for the
first time rather daunted her.

"Well, then--Wait a minute, I've got it!" shouted the agent
enthusiastically. "You buy a ticket up the line to Halperin. That's
quite a town, and the through trains all stop. My brother-in-law's
telegraph operator there, and I'll send him a message to look out for
you, and he and my sister will keep you over night. They've got a
pretty place right in the country--trolley takes you to the door--and
a baby that's named for me and some kid if I do say it. Then in the
morning you can take the seven-forty-five for Washington and get
there at five-fifty-two if it isn't late. How's that?"