It snowed outside in wild-tempered flurries, over the tracks, over the wind-swept platform, over the miserable building of the railway station. But inside the brightly lit carriage, it was pleasantly warm and comfortable. Nice reclining seats, under-the-seat steam heating, wide windows with tinted glass, and lacy vinyl curtains. It was a rather large carriage, with seats for sixty people. At the moment there were only fourteen in it. All adults, all very tired, and all quite uncomfortable, gathered in the front part of the carriage, crowding into seven double seats. Each man sat with his wife, one couple behind the other. The wives sat by the windows, the husbands by the aisle. The wives turned and asked the husbands the time. The husbands whispered back. It was noon -- the time for the train to start.

Just then the door of the passageway which connected with the carriage in front opened, and a young man in the blue uniform of an official came through. He strolled down the aisle, between the seven couples, giving each of them a pleasant smile. Past the last couple he turned around and walked back to the front. Facing the people he started speaking in a casual tone.

"I've just noticed the seats in this carriage don't have any leg-rests. You must be feeling quite uncomfortable without them. I'm terribly sorry. The men who put together the train must have made a mistake. In our trains we always provide leg-rests. We know how essential they are for our passengers' comfort."

He paused for a moment to glance over the tired faces in front of him, then continued in the same soothing voice. "I understand how you must have suffered, but you need not any more. I just happen to know that the carriage in back of you is completely empty -- and its seats have proper leg-rests too. If you care to follow me, you can all be more comfortable there." He stopped with a beatific smile.

The passengers were up in a flash, the women gathering furs and coats, the men crowding the aisle, holding parcels and suitcases. One woman cried out as she hit her knee against the suitcase held by her husband. Another tried to help her aged husband with the bags, then turned to the young official.

"Can't we just leave our baggage here? Won't it be safe?"

"Of course," the young man smiled confidence at her, "It will be safe anywhere on this train. But, if I were you, I'd hang on to it."

"Oh, you would!" The lady nimbly gathered her furs and rushed to join her husband, who was already half-way down the passage with the suitcases.

One woman was too tired to move; she hesitated a moment in her seat. Her husband shook her by the arm. "Come on! Get up! We paid good money for our tickets, didn't we? We should get its full worth. I told you these seats were no good. Now you know -- they don't have leg-rests. Come on, honey, you don't want to miss all the good seats."

The woman got up with a sigh. "Yes, Sheldon, let's go. It was so nice of that young man to think of our comfort."

In a moment the carriage was empty.
 

It snowed outside, in wild-tempered flurries, over the tracks, over the wind-swept platform, over the miserable building of the railway station. But inside the brightly lit carriage, it was pleasantly warm and comfortable. Nice reclining seats, each seat equipped with its own leg-rest, under-the-seat steam heating, wide windows with tinted glass, and lacy vinyl curtains. It was a rather large carriage, with seats for sixty people, but the fourteen people, seven couples, were gathered in the front part, crowding into seven double seats. The man whose wife had hesitated before leaving the other carriage, was mumbling something under his breath. They were the last couple in their row.

Presently the train began to move, and in a short time it was out in open country, rushing past everything at high speed. The snow, too, was falling more heavily, obliterating the fleeting scenery. But the people inside the carriage were oblivious to both the snow and the countryside. They were busy reading. The wives pored over their magazines; the husbands scanned the sports and business columns of their newspapers. The murky twilight outside soon gave way to total darkness, but the passengers were not bothered by it. Their carriage was fitted with more than enough lights. Hours went by. The wives devoured the contents of the magazines, including all the advertisements. The husbands finished the newspapers, then solved the crossword puzzle published each day by the ever-thoughtful editors. One by one, each of them went to the lavatory to smoke a quick cigarette. The wives smiled an indulgent smile and curled up to doze off in their corners. Hours went by, as the train rushed through wilderness, leaving behind a misty trail. The train rushed, and the hours went by.
 

Suddenly, with a sudden shrieking of its brakes, the train stopped. The wives were thrown forward in their seats. The husbands vaguely tried to grab at them, then checked their watches. The wives vainly tried to peer through the ice-covered windows; the husbands again glanced at their watches, to guess by the time where they could possibly be. The watches showed twelve. Just then the door of the carriage opened from the outside and someone climbed into the vestibule at the head of the passage. It was that young man in a blue uniform again.

Entering the carriage he walked down the aisle at a leisurely pace between the rows of double seats. At the other end he turned around and walked back to the head of the passage, where he opened the door to the vestibule and, holding it open, turned to face the inquisitive stares of the passengers. Apparently the outside door was also open, for a gust of chilly wind rippled down the carriage, making the passengers huddle a bit more closely in their wraps and coats. The young man smiled, and the passengers all smiled back.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the young man began to speak. "There's nothing to get worried about. It's merely a brief delay; we'll start moving soon again. I hope you have enjoyed your journey so far. We do try to make our passengers relax when they travel with us. I'm sure all of you made good use of the many amenities we have provided -- specially the leg-rests. Did you notice how we have placed the rests under the seats? Also, they can be adjusted to three different positions to suit the individual's need and taste. We had a panel of doctors and engineers determine these positions after months of research. And don't overlook the corrugated rubber which covers the rest itself. It's corrugated for greater safety. The rubber itself is of superfine quality, specially treated to give a warm and secure feeling under your shoes."

He paused to speak briefly to someone outside near the tracks, then turned around again to face his bewildered but mute audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in a moment you'll start on the final lap of your journey, during which, I assure you, there will be no sudden stops. It will be a super-smooth journey, and it will take only five minutes, for you'll be going down a steep slope. We're on an abandoned branch line. These tracks lead to the edge of a deep quarry that goes back to the old mining days of this nation. Now, of course, it's only a deep hole, a stagnant pool of water surrounded by a security wall. We're at the moment at the top of an incline. At a signal from me this carriage will be cut off from the rest of the train to go hurtling down the tracks. We expect it to hit the wall at more than a hundred miles an hour, enough to tear through the wall and plunge into the hole below. I'm afraid I won't be with you on this journey, for I'll jump out of the carriage after it starts moving. It was a pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, to have you with us today. I'm sorry that we won't be able to do it again."

The young man signaled to someone outside, and with a sudden lurch the carriage started running backward on silent wheels. As he turned to face the passengers again, the young man's face was livid with hatred. And when he spoke his voice was like a shriek.

"Ladies. Gentlemen. Are you going to just sit there and do nothing? No struggle? No effort? Aren't you going to jump out of your seats and rush at me? Try to kill me before I jump out the door to safety? You might even be able to jump out after me."

But they did not move, not one of them They remained seated with listless eyes, their hands gripping the arm-rests. And the carriage kept hurtling down the incline, increasingly gaining speed.

The young man shrieked again. "Are you dead, that you don't move? -- You swine -- you filthy bitches. -- Why don't you make an effort to save yourselves? -- Why don't you attack me? -- Why don't you knock me out of your way to safety? -- There's still time. -- It isn't too late..."

But the men and women did not answer; they did not move; and the carriage kept hurtling down the tracks. It was too late now for anyone to jump out of the carriage to safety.