Elsie, though, seemed unable to control her sobs, and Dexie began to feel anxious, for these crying fits invariably brought on a nervous headache, and when at last the train started, Elsie was hardly in a fit state to continue the journey. Under the circumstances Lancy deemed it best to stop over at Truro until the next trip of the Island boat. This would give Elsie time to recover, and they would have an opportunity to see something of the pretty town they had heard so highly praised. Elsie felt relieved at this decision. She was unused to travelling, and found the short journey tiresome in the extreme; indeed her throbbing temples called imperatively for quietness and rest. The train steamed into the dark, tunnel-like depot, and stepping out on the platform, they found, after some difficulty, the little room that was designated "The Waiting-Room," where Lancy left the girls to inquire for hotel accommodations. While in semi-darkness they waited his return, Dexie tried to ascertain if there was not a pleasanter outlook than could be obtained from the door, but the one dust-encrusted window gave a dim and indistinct view from that quarter. As if in answer to their wishes, Lancy speedily returned, and as they gathered up their wraps Dexie asked: "Do you know why they call this room the 'waiting-room,' Lancy? Give a guess." "Can't! I give it up," giving a glance around him. "Well, I'll just tell you. This room has been 'waiting' for years for someone to clean it, and that is how it has earned its name. Even the rusty old stove has taken on the look of dejection that seems to haunt the place." Lancy was beginning to think that the little town had been very much overpraised, as unfortunately the worst-looking part of it was situated near the depot, and he felt disappointed and vexed that they had not been able to continue their journey. His annoyance was increased when he learned that there had been an excursion to the town the day before, crowding the hotels, which had not yet recovered from the effects of the many disturbances that had taken place inside their doors. It was a new experience to the girls, this seeking a temporary home at a public hotel, and the unpleasant features of hotel life, to which older travellers shut their eyes, were to them unbearable. Entering the parlor of the hotel to which he had been directed, Lancy told the girls to be seated while he saw the proprietor; but the expression on the faces of both girls gave Lancy some uneasy feelings, and Dexie's uplifted nose told the cause of her disapproval. "It will be no use for you to engage rooms here, Lancy," said she, "for if all smells like this we won't stay." "Well, I will just order a lunch, and we can decide about rooms later on." This was found to have been a wise precaution, as the disgusting fumes of stale tobacco-smoke and liquor, seemed to pervade every corner.