She
looked at her watch; it was six o'clock.
"Goodness!" she thought, sitting up suddenly, "what is the matter?"
The curtain flew up and her startled eyes blinked out upon the glaring
world.
There was not a house in sight as far as her eyes could range forward
and behind. Instead, a wide sweep of farm lands partially submerged by
the flood water of many rains. Far away there were brown hills and a
long army of tall trees standing at attention,--a bleak prospect
despite the cheery intentions of the sun, which lurked behind the
hills. Despondent cornstalks of last year's growth stood guard over
the soggy fields; drenched, unhappy tufts of grass, and forlorn but
triumphant reeds arose here and there from the watery wastes,
asserting their victory over a dismantled winter. It was not a
glorious view that met the gaze of the bride on her wedding morn.
Strangest of all, the train was so quiet, so utterly inactive, that an
absurd feeling of loneliness grew upon her, gradually developing into
the alarming certainty that she was the only living person in the
world. Then she heard men's voices outside of the window; her relief
was almost hysterical.
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