Then he
quarrelled with his food, which brought a certain consolation.
* * * * *
The train did stop, however, before Plymouth--indeed, before Exeter. An
accident on the line had dislocated the traffic. The express was held up
for an hour, and when it was permitted to proceed, instead of thundering
on, it went cautiously, subject to continual stoppings. It arrived at
Plymouth two hours late. The travellers learned that they had missed the
connection on which they had counted and that they could not reach
Trehenna till nearly ten o'clock. After weary waiting at Plymouth they
took their seats in the little, cold local train that was to carry them
another stage on their journey. Hot-water cans put in at Plymouth
mitigated to some extent the iciness of the compartment. But that only
lasted a comparatively short time, for soon they were set down at a
desolate, shelterless wayside junction, dumped in the midst of a hilly
snow-covered waste, where they went through another weary wait for
another dismal local train that was to carry them to Trehenna. And in
this train there were no hot-water cans, so that the compartment was as
cold as death.
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