6 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



the 10.30 express, which was my one chance in case the 

 Imperial Limited could be halted. The three men were 

 persistent but finally, two or three minutes before the 

 de[)arture of the express, they came to me hurriedly and 

 said: "You had better go by this train to North Bay, 

 where you will arrive at 9.30 to-morrow morning. There 

 you will catch the train, or if not you can return here." 

 There appeared to me small prospect that the three men 

 would succeed in <jbtaining the desired permission, but 

 I had no time for reflection. The train was ready to 

 start and my luggage was hastily thrown to the platform 

 of the car. I bade the gentlemen a hurried good-bye, 

 thanking them for all the trouble they had taken. "You 

 are going to catch that train !" the reporter exclaimed in 

 a firm and encouraging tone. " But what do you expect to 

 find in New Guinea .''" he suddenly inquired as I jumped 

 on to the slowly moving train. 



Reflecting that in the worst case I would be back in 

 Montreal in one and a half days, I fell asleep. At 6.30 

 in the morning I was awakened by the voice of the 

 porter saying, "the train is waiting for you, sir," as he 

 rolled up the curtain. Ir really was the Imperial Express ! 

 The big red cars stood there quietly in the sunshine of the 

 early morning. In a few minutes I was dressed, and never 

 with greater satisfaction have I paid a porter his fee. 



The station was Chalk River, and the train had waited 

 forty minutes. What a comfortable feeling to know that 

 all my belongings were safely on Im.ini ! 1 had not 

 only saved time and money but an interesting trip across 

 the continent lay before me. Having washed and f)ut on 



