ween them they half-carried,
half-dragged the stubborn old person from the shining rails.

"Toto!" she gasped.

Bob stared, but Betty's quick eye had seen. There, in the middle of
the track, sat a fluffy little dog, its eyes so thickly screened with
hair that it is doubtful if it could see three inches before its
shining black nose. This was Toto, and the rush of events had
completely bewildered him. The dog was accustomed to being held on
its mistress' lap or carried about in a covered basket, but she
had decided that a short walk would give the little beast needed
exercise, and it had pantingly tagged along after her, obedient, as
usual, to her whims. Now she had suddenly disappeared. Well, Toto
must sit down and wait for her to come back. Perhaps she might miss
him and come after him right away.

The thundering noise of the train was clearly audible when Betty
swooped down on the patient Toto, grabbed him by his fluffy neck, and
sprang back. Bob, turning from his charge, had caught a glimpse of
the girl as she dashed toward something on the track, and now as she
jumped he grasped her arm and pulled her toward him. He succeeded in
dragging her back several rods, but they both stumbled and fell.
There was a yelp of protest from Toto, drowned in the mighty shriek
and roar of the train. The great Eastern Limited swept past them,
rocking the ground, sending out a cloud of black smoke shot with
sparks, and letting fall a rain of gritty cinders.

"Don't you ever let me catch you doing anything like that again!"
scolded Bob, getting to his feet and helping Betty up. "Of all the
foolish acts! Why, you would have been struck if you'd made a
misstep. What possessed you, Betty?"

"Toto," answered Betty, dimpling, brushing the dirt from her skirts
and daintily shaking out the fluffy dog. "See what a darling he is,
Bob. Do you suppose I could let a train run over him?"

Bob admitted, grudgingly, for he was still nervous and shaken, that
Toto was a "cute mutt," and then, when they had restored him to his
grateful mistress, they went on to their goal. No one had noticed
Betty's narrow escape, for all had been concerned with their own
safety. Betty herself was inclined to minimize the danger, but Bob
knew that she might easily have been drawn under the wheels by the
suction, if not actually overtaken on the track.

There was a crowd about the engine, and the grimy-faced engineer
leaned from his cab, inspecting them impassive