into open laughter at this; but Nan was serious.

"Suppose anything happens to the poor little fellow?" she fumed. "He may
get cold. And he certainly will starve."

"Have you anything more in the line of food to give away?" demanded the
conductor.

"Not a crumb," sighed Bess. "By the time the cannibals arrive at this
desert island we'll all be too thin to tempt them to a banquet."

"But there may be something on the train with which to feed that poor
doggie," insisted Nan.

"If you mean in the crew's kettles," said the conductor, "I can assure
you, young lady, there is nothing. This crew usually eats at the end of
the division. It's not like a freight train crew. We'd be a whole lot
better off right now," added the conductor, reflectively, "if we had a
caboose attached to the end of this train. We'd stand a chance of
rustling up some grub for all these hungry people."

"Oh, dear!" gasped Bess. "Do you s'pose we're going to be hungry long?"

"They say one doesn't notice it much after about eight days," her chum
said, chuckling.

"Ugh!" shivered Bess, "I don't much care for your kind of humor, Nan
Sherwood."

The conductor suddenly glanced at Nan more keenly and asked, "Are you
Nancy Sherwood, Miss?"

"Why, yes, sir."

"And you go to school somewhere upon the shore of Lake Huron?" he
pursued.

"Why, yes, sir."

"We go to Lakeview Hall. And we know Linda Riggs," blurted out Bess,
remembering what the baggage-man had advised them to say to the
conductor.

"Oh, indeed?" said Mr. Carter; but his interest remained fixed on
Nan. "You didn't go to school last September over this division, did
you?" he asked.

"No, sir. We went from Chicago," replied the wondering Nan.

"Your train was broke in two at the Junction to put in a car?"

"Yes, sir."

"And what did you do at the Junction?" asked the conductor, quickly.

"Oh, I know!" cried Bess, as her chum hesitated. "She got off the train
and killed a big rattlesnake that was just going to bite a little
girl--yes, you did, Nan Sherwood!"

"You're the girl, Miss!" declared Mr. Carter, drawing out his notebook
and pencil. "There have been some inquiries made for you."

"Mercy!" ejaculated Nan. "I don't want to hear anything more about that
old snake."

The conductor laughed. "I fancy you won't hear anything unpleasant about
the snake," he said. "Where do you live, Nancy Sherwood?"

"I live at Tillbury," Nan said. "But I sha'n't be home much this
vacation