The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2
Welcome to America
Chapter 11
Toy Town
Dinner was served, quite reasonably, in the dining room. The cat carrier was deposited on a side table and Jim and Artie were lifted out by one of the henchmen. They were placed on the table cloth, on tiny chairs, at a tiny table as befitted their size.
Jim was fuming inside at the indignity but his face gave away nothing of his inner feelings.
"Good evening, gentlemen," Loveless said, playing the charming host. "I'm glad you could join us." He couldn't keep a slight smirk from his face.
"We just couldn't tear ourselves away," Artie replied. He had dropped his American accent now it was no longer necessary.
Jim simply nodded his head in acknowledgement of Loveless' words.
Artie looked round the table and saw that the only other person present was the beautiful Antoinette. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
The henchmen were serving the food and Artie thought they had probably cooked it as well.
Antoinette took it upon herself to cut up small portions for the two men so that they wouldn't go hungry. They had little knives and forks to eat it with.
While they ate, Loveless couldn't help questioning the two agents.
"How interesting it must be to see things from your perspective," he said.
"I can't speak for Artie," Jim said, "but from my perspective you are still a crazy megalomaniac and failed assassin."
Doctor Loveless banged his fist on the table, making even Antoinette jump. The two tiny agents had to hold onto their table to prevent being thrown from their chairs.
"Since I have demonstrated my genius to you on at least two separate occasions then I can only assume that you are wilfully mistaking it for madness. You have also called me a failed assassin; well I can easily put that right by successfully assassinating you!"
He stood up, but Antoinette pulled at his sleeve to get his attention.
"My dear Miguelito," she said, "there is apple strudel for dessert; your favourite."
Loveless looked torn for a moment but then made a decision. "We can eat dessert after I have annihilated these two jackanapes," he said.
"Can't we have dessert first," Artie moaned. "I'm quite partial to apple strudel,"
Loveless pounded the table again. "You think you are very funny, Mr Gordon, but I will be the one laughing when you and Mr West are dead."
Artie and Jim looked at each other. Though they might be able to make jokes about it they realised this very well might be the end for them.
The two men were carried to a large room on the other side of the hallway to the parlour. The first thing they noticed was that track for a model railway had been laid out and covered most of the floor. It was elaborate, with tunnels and points and buffers. There were even stations and signals and little model people of about the same size as Artie and Jim. It would take a couple of minutes to complete one circuit of the layout.
There was a working steam engine and Loveless instructed one of his henchmen to get it ready. He did this by placing a block of a creamy-white substance in a metal pan which he then lit with a match before clipping it into position under the water-filled boiler of the engine.
"Do you see how the boiler is fuelled with metaldehyde," Loveless informed them. "Discovered by a German chemist, Justus von Liebig in 1835," he boasted.
It didn't take long before there was a good head of steam to power the engine, which had a tender attached and a series of carriages behind that.
Loveless made sure that Artie and Jim were tied hand and foot and placed on the footplate. Then he explained what was about to happen to them.
"The train will complete the circuit of the track three times then, on the fourth circuit the points will change and send the engine toward the buffers to which an explosive has been attached. When the engine makes contact with the buffers the whole train will be blown up, including the two of you." He laughed. "Another proof of my genius," he said.
"Or insanity," Jim mumbled so that Loveless couldn't hear him.
Artie chuckled.
Loveless pulled a lever and the train was soon going at a steady speed. He then left the room to avoid being caught by flying debris from the explosion and to eat his apple strudel.
Jim and Artie, with one mind manoeuvered themselves until they were sitting back to back which allowed them to untie each other's hands. They then untied the ropes around their own ankles.
"What now?" Jim asked.
"We need to climb on the tender and uncouple it from the engine," Artie said.
They managed to climb onto the tender but the engine was going so fast that it pulled the coupling taut and it couldn't be moved.
"Watch out!" Jim shouted as the train drew near to one of the tunnels. He and Artie laid themselves flat until the train emerged from the other side.
"Do you have any other ideas?" Jim asked. "I'm sort of counting on you."
Artie thought for a moment and then climbed back down to the footplate. The train was on its second circuit. He removed his jacket and tore a piece of his shirt off and wrapped it around his hand then he reached out through the cab window and pushed the hot brass lever that controlled the train's whistle from the horizontal to the vertical position; an action that resulted in a piercing, continuous shriek.
"What are you doing?" Jim shouted.
"The whistle will vent steam from the boiler causing the engine to slow down and then we can uncouple it from the train."
"Artie, you're a genius," Jim shouted, smiling hugely.
Sure enough the engine eventually slowed down sufficiently for them to uncouple the tender and they watched the engine move away from them. The tender and the rest of the train slowed to a crawl and the two men jumped off and ran to the far corner of the room, hunkering down with their arms over their heads.
The explosion, when it came was loud but the debris didn't reach as far as the corner where they were crouching. They were safe.
The door opened and Loveless came back into the room. He was smiling and rubbing his hands in expectation that he had been successful in eliminating his two enemies.
The rail layout had been mostly destroyed and what was left was damaged by flying debris. His henchmen searched through the pieces of the train and the buffer, but they found no sign of the two little men.
"They're not here," the tall, bearded one told Loveless.
The small Doctor jumped up and down in fury. "How could they have escaped?" he screamed. "Look for them, you dolts!"
As soon as Loveless and his henchmen were occupied with searching the remains of the toy railway Jim and Artie had taken the opportunity to run out of the open door and head for the basement steps. But they hadn't taken into account the whereabouts of Antoinette. She had been feeding Brunhilde some of her favourite apple strudel and was just coming out of the bedroom where they had been kept prisoner when she saw them attempting to make their way slowly down the stairs. In a moment she had scooped them up and they were her prisoners. Artie grinned at her while Jim scowled at the further indignity.
"It looks like you survived the train explosion," she said. "I wonder what Miguelito will do with you now?"
The two agents were wondering the same thing.
To be continued