Beneath them, shallow pools gleamed in the hollows of the rocks, which rose in rounded masses here and there, and the gravel of the graded track was seamed by water channels.

George remembered having heard the roar of heavy rain and a crash of thunder during the night, but it was now wonderfully still and fresh, and the resinous fragrance of the firs filled the chilly air.
Walking forward, clear of the curious passengers who poured from the cars, he saw a lake running back into the woods.

A tall water-tank stood on the margin with a shanty, in which George imagined a telegraph operator was stationed, at its foot.

Ahead, the great locomotive was pouring out a cloud of sooty smoke.

When George reached it he waited until the engineer had finished talking to a man on the line.
"What are we stopping for?
Has anything gone wrong ?" he asked.
"Freight locomotive jumped the track at a wash-out some miles ahead," explained the engineer.