noon
Mr. Post insisted on going with them , and in fact he did not seem to want the boys out of his sight . He was continually referring to his narrow escape at the hands of the fake professor . The boys got to like him better as the hours passed , for he showed that he had a good heart , beneath a rather rough and repelling exterior . At noon the train arrived at the center of the Pennsylvania oil region . The evidences of the great industry were on every hand , and the sight of the tall derricks , the refineries , the storage tanks , and the pipes where natural gas was continually burning , were such interesting ones that the lads never grew tired of looking from the windows . They delayed longer than usual at a small station , and some of the passengers going out to see what the trouble was , reported that the locomotive had broken down and that it would take three hours to repair it . `` Here 's a chance to get out and see the country , '' suggested Jack .