their train. They
were dirty and tired. They would all be glad when the little desert
station of Benito would be reached and they could transfer to the
automobiles that would carry them to the hills and the ranch.

Summer storms raged ahead of them, big black clouds that threatened.
The girls watched from the windows the deluge of rain in the distance.

"That's what we call a cloud-burst," said Kit with a pleased smile.
"It's good to get home again!"

"Do you mean," asked Joy, "that you are glad to see that terrible
storm? You _must_ be homesick if _that_ pleases you."

"I love it!" Kit answered.

Suddenly the train jerked to a stop, and all heads came to the window
to see the cause of the delay. The train had been flagged. "Danger
ahead!"

"What's the matter?" Bet called to the conductor, who had descended and
was walking toward the engine. "A wash-out! That cloud-burst you saw
tore away a bit of the track. We'll be stalled here for hours, very
likely."

The heat seemed worse than ever now. As long as the train was going,
there was some breeze, but at a stand-still, the sun blazed down on the
roof of the car and made it almost unbearable.

Soon it became apparent that the delay might be longer than they
anticipated.

"There's a good hotel at the next station," said the conductor. "If
you will ride in the work train ahead, you can go in there in a few
minutes."

"Oh, do let us!" cried Bet who was always ready for something
different. "We've never ridden in a work train in our lives."

With Sam's help they carried Mrs. Breckenridge across the broken tracks
and into the work train. The girls laughed with pleasure as they
settled themselves in the box car.

Bet suddenly had a new idea. "Judge Breckenridge, the engineer says I
can go in the engine with him, if you will let me. Please say yes,"
Bet's face was rosy with excitement. "This might be the only chance
I'll ever have to ride in the engine, and I'd hate to miss it."

The Judge hesitated but finally gave in. And when Bet joined her
friends at the hotel in Willowmere she said:

"It doesn't seem quite fair that we are starting out with so many
adventures. It will make the summer seem so uneventful."

"That's just what I was thinking," added Kit anxiously. "I'm so afraid
you'll be disappointed. There aren't many adventures in the mountains.
It is just one day after another. Nothing new, nothing to do, no place
to go, and absolutel