nd the latter pleasant. His companion
was pretty, the swift motion had brought a fine warmth into her cheeks,
and a sparkle into her eyes; and George was slightly vexed when Edgar,
appearing round the front of the engine, unnoticed by the girl,
surveyed him with a grin.

"Is there room for me?" he asked. "I had to leave the place where I
was, because my fellow passengers didn't seem to mind if they pushed me
off. A stranger doesn't get much consideration in this country."

The girl looked up at him consideringly and answered, through the roar
of the engine:

"You may sit here, if you'll stop criticizing us."

"It's quite fair," Edgar protested, as he took his place by her side.
"I've been in Canada only three days, but I've several times heard
myself alluded to as an Englishman, as if that were some excuse for me."

"Are you sure you haven't been provoking people by your superior air?"

"I didn't know I possessed one; but I don't see why I should be very
humble because I'm in Canada."

The girl laughed good-humoredly, and turned to George.

"I'm glad I came. This is delightful," she said.

It was, George admitted, an exhilarating experience. The big engine
was now running at top speed, rocking down the somewhat roughly laid
line. Banks of trees and stretches of gleaming water sped past, The
rails ahead came flying back to them. The sun was on the firs, and the
wind that lashed George's face was filled with their fragrance. Once
or twice a tress of his companion's hair blew across his cheek, but she
did not appear to notice this. He thought she was conscious of little
beyond the thrill of speed.

At length the engine stopped where the line crossed a lake on a high
embankment. A long row of freight-cars stood near a break in the track
into which the rails ran down, and a faint cloud of steam rose from the
gap.

George helped the girl down, anticipating Edgar, who seemed anxious to
offer his assistance, and they walked forward until they could see into
the pit. It was nearly forty feet in depth, for the embankment,
softened by heavy rain, had slipped into the lake. In the bottom a
huge locomotive lay shattered and overturned, with half a dozen men
toiling about it. The girl stopped with a little gasp, for there was
something strangely impressive in the sight of the wreck.

"It's dreadful, isn't it?" she exclaimed.

Then the men who had come with them gathered round.

"Where's the fireman?" one