ly watching for a chance to escape, suddenly
finding it, excused himself and joined the young folks.

"What's the row?" he asked casually.

"Nothing, save that we have a traitress in our midst," declaimed Jessie,
dramatically.

"How exciting!" drawled her cousin. Then, turning to Lucile, he inquired,
lightly:

"Did you get any sleep last night, or were the bumps too much for you?"

"The bumps didn't worry me at all," she confessed, as she smiled
whimsically. "In fact, I didn't know there were any."

"How about something to eat?"

It was Mr. Payton who voiced the welcome suggestion, and there was a
prompt shout of approval from all hands.

"You have said it, Dad," commended Phil. "If we start now, we'll get
there before the crowd."

So off went the merry company to the dining-car, where the tempting odors
made them more ravenous than before, if such a thing were possible, and
Phil kept on ordering until it seemed as though the rest of the
passengers would have to go on short commons.

The early morning passed quickly and it was no time at all before Jack
announced to Lucile--for he was never very far from her side--that they
would reach New York within the next hour.

Then, as Jack had said, at exactly five minutes of nine--the authority
for the time being Phil's beloved chronometer, which he declared, and
devoutly believed as well, varied hardly a second during the year--the
train glided smoothly into the station and they reached--New York!

The girls stood with shining eyes and breath that came and went quickly
through parted lips. Then, as the porter shouted in stentorian tones,
"New Yawk--all out!" they moved half dazedly through the crowd and out on
the great platform, where the din half fascinated, half frightened them.

"Stick close together, everybody," Mr. Payton directed. "It wouldn't be
any joke if we got separated!"

Lucile had faced many situations and never turned a hair, but now the
roar of the great metropolis, the rumble of the hand-cars on the platform
as the heavy baggage was carted to and from the trains, the shrieking of
engine whistles, the hoarse cries of the train-hands, all combined in
such a menacing roar that for a moment she had a wild desire to run and
hide somewhere, anywhere to get away from the thunderous din.

It was only for a second, however, for, as Jack slipped a reassuring arm
through hers, she looked up at him with her old, confident smile.

"I'll see that you don