Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 LATER THAT MORNING WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 AROUND 8:00 A.M. Janie stood in the aisle with Frederick and the other bleary-eyed passengers. Most were still in their pajamas and robes, their hair rumpled from

sleep. The train's conductor, Mr. Pettit, had come to their car to explain what had happened. "It's nothing serious," he said in a jolly voice. "The train will be moving very soon." "Someone said there was a… an avalanche?" Mrs. Letts said. "That's just another word for snowslide," Mr. Pettit said. "In the winter up here in the mountains, snow can slide off slopes and onto the tracks. It happens all the time on this part of our Great Northern rail line." "I've never heard that," Mr. Riggins muttered. "And as I said, it's nothing to be concerned about," Mr. Pettit continued. "Because the Great Northern Railway has a snow-fighting army already at work—three hundred men to shovel snow. And we have five of the most powerful snowplows on Earth." "But, sir," asked Miss Wade. "Where exactly are we?"

"In the mountains," Mr. Pettit said. "We're in a little railroad town called Cascade, about eightyfive miles from Seattle. We're right at the entrance to the Cascade Tunnel." "So the middle of nowhere," Mr. Riggins grumbled. Janie flashed in her mind to the atlas in the library. She and Dash always loved looking at the different maps in that big, heavy book. She pictured the map of Washington State—a rectangle way up at the top left corner of the United States. The city of Spokane was on one side of the rectangle—the right side. Straight across the state on the other side was Seattle. In between? Lots of empty green. Squiggles of rivers. And the jagged lines of the Cascade Mountains. This train was trapped inside those jagged lines. The middle of nowhere was right! Frederick eyed Miss Wade.

"Now you'll have something to write about in your article!" She smiled a little. "That's true," she said. "But I'm not sure this is what I had in mind." "How long will we be stopped here?" Mrs. Letts asked, pulling her thick pink robe more tightly around her shoulders. "My grandchildren are waiting for me." "We should get to Seattle sometime around midnight," Mr. Pettit said. "Tonight!" Mr. Riggins snapped. "That's more than twelve hours late!" Twelve hours? A clock began to tick inside Janie's skull. Tick, tick, tick, tick… By early this afternoon, someone would call Malvo to say that Hammer was arrested. Tick, tick, tick, tick… He'd call Aunt Barbara, who'd tell him that Janie hadn't come home. Tick, tick, tick, tick…

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is some good news," Mr. Pettit said. "Just a short walk from the train tracks is the best railroad cookhouse in the West—we call it the beanery. So, everyone, bundle up and get ready for the most delicious pancakes you've ever tasted." "I love pancakes!" Violet cheered. She scooted over to Janie and bounced up and down. "Janie! Janie! Pancakes! Pancakes!" But all Janie heard was tick, tick, tick, tick. She looked out the window and imagined Malvo's face—his thick, unsmiling lips. It wouldn't take him long to figure out that Janie had gotten on the train. That she planned to run away… with the jewels.

Janie's guts twisted. Blood pounded in her ears. What had given her the idea that she could escape from Malvo? She'd made a huge mistake! And now there was nothing she could do. She was trapped.