“I’m—­I’m trying to!” almost shouted Cora, as she exerted more strength on the brake lever.  “I’ve done all I know, now, but but we don’t seem to be stopping!”

She spoke the last words in a curiously quiet voice.

“Put on the brakes!” called Bess.

“They are on!” said Cora fiercely.

“Oh, Cora!” screamed Isabel.  “I see the train!  There at the foot of the hill!  We’ll run into it!  I’m going to jump!  We can’t stop!”

“Sit still!” commanded Cora energetically.

Elizabeth covered her face with her hands.  She shrank back into her seat.  Her sister leaned up against her.  Below could be heard the puffing of the train.  Then the engineer, seeing the auto rushing down to destruction, blew shrieking whistles, as if that could help.

Cora was frantically pulling on the brake lever.  Her face was now white with fear, but even in the midst of this terror she felt a curious calmness.  It was just as if she were looking at some picture of the scene.  She thought she was miles and miles away.  Her foot was pressed down so hard on the brake pedal that it felt as if her shoe would burst off.

But the car slid along, nearer and nearer the track, along which the train was thundering—­rushing to meet the auto-to annihilate it.

“Stop!  Stop!” screamed Isabel.  “Stop!” She rose in her seat.

“Sit down!” commanded Cora.

“But stop!” pleaded Isabel.  “We’ll all be killed!  Stop!  Oh, Cora, stop!”

“I’m trying to!” was the grim reply.  “But—­I can’t the brake—­the brake is jammed!”

The last words came out jerkily, for Cora was pulling on the brake handle with all her force.

Nearer and nearer sounded the approaching train.  The auto was sliding down the hill with ever-increasing speed, but Cora never let go her hold of the steering wheel.

Once more she tried to pull the brake lever.  It would not come back another notch.  The engineer of the train was blowing more frantic signals.  He leaned from his cab window and motioned the auto back.  He even seemed to be shouting to them.

Cora braced both feet against the brake pedal.

She took a firmer grasp of the wheel.  The seams of her new gloves were starting from the strain.  There was a desperate look on her face.

“Oh, we’ll be killed!  We’ll be killed!” screamed Isabel.  “We can’t get across in time!”

She leaned over, and fell into her sister’s arms, while Cora, with a keen glance to either side, stiffened in her seat.  There was a bare chance of safety.

CHAPTER III

A SUDDEN ACQUAINTANCE

Despite the tense moment of anxiety, the almost certainty that the auto would crash into the train, Cora’s quick eye had seen something that she hoped would enable her to avert the accident.

She knew that she could not stop the machine in time, by any means at her command.  There was but one other thing to do.  That was to steer to one side.