And just then the motor bus slid down a slight slope to a long bridge that crossed the salt creek dividing the island, which the railroad crossed, from the higher ground where the hotel was located. Ryder, glancing ahead, thought he saw the flash of a red light. Then a woman screamed and the forward truck of the motor bus crashed through the loosened planking of the bridge. The passengers were tumbled together, but nobody was hurt. Ryder found himself holding Ruth in his arms--and somehow he did not care to let her go. Men and women began to scramble out of the bus, having hastily gathered together what hand baggage they had taken inside with them. It was a time of confusion. A handbag was dropped, calling forth a grunt of protest from someone whose toes had been hurt. An umbrella, caught crosswise in the door, caused delay and more confusion. "I--I fancy we shall have to get out with the rest of them," Ruth whispered. "Oh, I suppose so," Ryder admitted. They were the last to leave the stalled bus. The driver was explaining: "I didn't suppose these country fools would begin to repair the bridge flooring tonight. I didn't see the light. 'Twas all right when I came down from the hotel. Guess you'll hafter walk. It'll take half the night to jack this old car up out of the hole. And see! they've left only a footpath the length of the bridge. I bet they'll leave it that way till over Sunday. Just like 'em." The guests, already in sight of the hotel lights, went on with laughter or grumbling, as their dispositions dictated. The incident seemed quite unimportant to John Ryder, bemused as he was in the very first quarter of his honeymoon. CHAPTER III "WHEN A MAN MARRIES----" Ryder and his bride climbed the winding road to the wide and pillared veranda of the hotel behind the other shipwrecked passengers from the motor bus. In the rear of the hotel was a considerable village; they could see the twinkling lights in the small frame dwellings and the glare of acetylene lamps in the big general store. "I--I really think," Ruth observed, "that the bridge is not safe. Didn't it tremble as we came over it?" "Seemed rather a rickety affair, that's a fact," Ryder agreed. "But we're all right now. We've reached the hotel. It looks friendly and comfortable--and old-fashioned. Nothing much untoward can happen to us here, dear." He said it tenderly, and looked at her lovingly. Nothing more was needed as they entered the wide foyer to advertise the fact that they were newly wed. The clerk--and even the bellboys--welcomed them with broad smiles. But Ryder was getting hardened to the notoriety of their situation now. He went to the desk to register and get the key of the rooms he had ordered before leaving New York, while Ruth went toward a quiet spot which overlooked the entire foyer to wait for him.