“Paralyzed!” Tommy Tucker gave a loud snort and fell over backward into the arms of his twin.

The conductor shot a suspicious glance toward him.  He had traveled on school trains before.

“You seem to be all right, Madam,” he said to the stricken one courteously.  “There’s a doctor at the Junction, I’m sure.  What makes you think you’re paralyzed?”

“My good man,” said the woman majestically, “when a person in good health and accustomed to normal activity suddenly loses the power to use her—­er—­feet, isn’t that an indication of some physical trouble?”

Her unfortunate and un-American phrase, “my good man,” had nettled the conductor, and besides his train was losing time.

“We’ll miss connections at the Junction if we fool away much more time,” he said testily.  “I wonder—­Why look here!  No wonder you can’t use your feet!”

To the elderly woman’s horror he had swooped down and laid a not ungentle hand on her ankle in its neat and smart-looking shoe.  Now he took out his knife, slashed twice, and held up the pieces of a stout length of twine.

“You were tied to the seat-base by the heels of your shoes,” he informed the patient grimly.  “One foot tied to the other, too.  Well, Jim, take in your signals—­guess we can mosey along.”

“And who would have expected her to wear high-heeled boots!” exclaimed Bobby, with real amazement showing in voice and look.

The few passengers in the car, aside from the school contingent, were openly laughing.  The victim of this practical joke turned a dull red and the glare she turned on the back of the luckless Tommy’s head was proof enough that she knew exactly where to lay the blame.

However, she said nothing, nor did she make another trip down the aisle and as Tommy philosophically whispered, this was worth all he had dared and suffered.  Sydney and Winifred finished their game before the Junction was reached and that brought a wild charge to get on the train that would carry them to Shadyside station.

To their relief, there was no sign of the elderly woman in the new car, and as they were all a bit tired from the journey and excitement the hour’s ride to Shadyside from the Junction was comparatively quiet.

Betty looked eagerly from the window as the brakesman shouted, “Shadyside!  Shadyside!”

CHAPTER X

SHADYSIDE SCHOOL

“Isn’t it a pretty station!” said Louise Littell.

Betty agreed with her.

The lawn was still green about the gray stone building and the tiles on the low-hanging roof were moss green, too.  The long platform was roofed over and seemed swarming with girls and boys.  Evidently a train had come in from the other direction a few minutes before the Junction train, for bags and suitcases and trunks were heaped up outside the baggage room door and the busses backed up to the edge of the gravel driveway were partially filled with passengers.