CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
A great deal of excitement
About two hundred feet below Harold, Gordon and James were making good progress. Moments previously, they had clattered through Edward's station, earning themselves two awestruck gazes from Bill and Ben, who were arranging a train of empty trucks ready to be taken to the port. After that, they had approached the hill where Gordon had memorably got stuck, determined to give it all their worth. That was when things began to decline.
Up until then, the trucks had allowed the engines' guard to drop, and to assume that they were in control. However, they were aware that neither Gordon nor James was at all experienced when it came to trucks. These feelings had deepened when the engines had bumped them from time to time, either because of misbehaviour, a red signal or just to keep them in order. But now they all realised that the time had come to pay the two engines back!
'I don't know what you're boiler-aching about, little James!' said Gordon as they cleared Edward's station and made for the hill. 'This is a doddle – an absolute doddle! Such a shame I'm an Express engine! I sometimes wonder if they only pick on engines who are new to the game.'
'I wasn't "new to the game" when I was involved in that tar incident,' James reminded him. 'In any case, this is the line's weak spot. We have to slow down here to let the drivers pin down our brakes, and that's when the trucks usually attack.'
'Have no fear,' said Gordon confidently. 'The trucks might want to settle scores with engines like you, but they wouldn't dare try it on if I'm at the front of the train as well!'
That was when the front truck, who had heard every word of what the two engines had said, had hissed 'Hold back!' and the other trucks had passed the word down the train. As a result, both Gordon and James had their work cut out trying to stop themselves rolling to a total stop!
'Come ON! Come ON! Come ON! Come ON!' commanded James.
'Get MOVING you! Get MOVING you!' roared Gordon.
'Come ON! Come ON! Get MOVING you! Come ON! Come ON! Get MOVING you!' they puffed together. Between them, the two engines made a terrific noise that could be heard from Edward's station! All in all, the sight of Harold above their boilers and their general frustration lent them extra strength. Before they knew it, they had reached the brow of the hill, and Gordon and James' drivers applied the brakes. That was the signal the trucks had been waiting for!
'Go on! Go on!' they yelled, surging against Gordon's tender. The lurch sent both crews staggering and, by the time they regained their balance, Gordon and James were hurtling down the hill and along the Main Line with ever increasing speed, while the trucks yelled and swayed behind them!
The trucks knew their moment was here – they might not have this chance again! 'Faster! Faster!' they brayed as they shot through Maron Station and on towards Cronk and Killdane.
'HELP!' bellowed Gordon and James as the train thundered across the viaduct.
To his horror, James could see a goods train on the track straight ahead! His and Gordon's crews saw it too. Both drivers slammed on the brakes with all their might. The brakes screamed, but the train was still going much too fast! James' crew leapt from the cab onto the verge, while Gordon's simply crouched in the cab. James and Gordon shut their eyes and waited for the crash!
Now I rather think that this is going to be a most interesting turn-up. Because, as it turns out, the goods train in front is headed by none other than that awful Class 50 diesel, Selwyn – or Smellwyn, if you want to be fussy! And yes, he does have Lord and Lady Belvedere in his cab.
Selwyn had set off shortly after Henry had left to fetch the Express from the Other Railway. The Belvederes were seated in the swivel chairs in his cab, and His Lordship was driving. They felt confident that, by the time the children had escaped and told the police all they knew, they themselves would be miles away, starting a new life.
As you might expect, quite the opposite actually happened! They had made fine progress through Edward's station, then up and over Gordon's Hill. But it was as they crossed the viaduct that Selwyn began to feel very strange indeed.
'My generator feels funny!' he wheezed at last. 'I can't breathe properly, and I'm slowing down!'
Sure enough, he was definitely slowing down, until finally, a few miles from Killdane, a loud crack cut the air like a gunshot! Selwyn coughed, spluttered, and stopped altogether! The rubbish in his tank had eaten its way into the workings in his engine, which had seized up until finally they broke apart.
'Come on, you!' snarled Belvedere, pummelling the starter button. 'This is no time for lazing around!' At last, he gave up trying to get Selwyn to move, and instead got down and marched over to the fuel tank. He unfastened the cap, and stared into the tank in disbelief and fury!
Lady Belvedere peered out of the cab. 'Have we broken down, Reggie?' she asked stupidly.
Her husband rounded on her. 'This wretched diesel's tank is full of rubbish!' he roared. 'Those urchins have tricked us! Wait till I get them!'
As Belvedere stormed back to the cab, there came the blare of a horn and BoCo with his stopping train overtook Selwyn. He had been redirected to the up line shortly before he had reached Maron.
'An odd place to have a rest, is it not?' asked BoCo pleasantly as he passed the defused, hostile Selwyn. 'A nice day for it, though, I must say!' He was then turned back onto the down line via a crossover, where he and his train rolled around the next bend and disappeared from sight.
Meanwhile, Belvedere had gone quite mad! He knew that he was finished, but he was starting to let his anger get the better of him! And he was taking it out on Selwyn even now! He had already wrenched out the telephone from its cradle on the dashboard, breaking the wire, and hurled it at the window. After that, he yanked levers and knobs from their sockets, throwing each one in turn at the walls. Next, he seized the fire extinguisher, breaking its brackets, and flung it across the cab. It hit the window, smashing through it and crashing onto the grass verge.
Suddenly, there came the sound of helicopter blades. Through the broken window, Belvedere saw a white helicopter land on the grass atop of the embankment. As he watched, its doors opened and the eleven children, Tim, Seb and Sam, leapt out and began to run across the field towards the railway.
The sight of them doubled Belvedere's fury to the brink of insanity! Without hesitation, he seized the rifle that he'd brought from Bosworth Manor, from underneath his seat. Clutching it with both hands and cramming a few bullets from his belt into the magazine, he stormed across the cab to the broken window, while Her Ladyship watched his progress in bewilderment and fear.
When Harold had landed, Tim had seen Belvedere inside the diesel throwing his lunatic tantrum. The sight of him sent a spasm of hatred through all of them, but Seb, Tim and George especially. As soon as Harold's pilot opened the door, Tim leapt out and dashed across the field.
'Timmy! TIMMY!' yelled George, tumbling out after him. The other followed her lead, all of them concentrated on Timmy and Selwyn. None of them, not even Selwyn and his occupants, noticed the goods train roaring down the line towards the back of Selwyn's train, or the frantic whistles and brake-screaming from the two engines pulling it...
'Timmy!' shouted George again. 'Come back! Timmy, you're in danger! Timmy, come back!'
Timmy had almost reached the fence at the top of the embankment. It was then that Belvedere emerged, the rifle in his hands. He propped it on the empty window frame and took aim at the approaching dog. He was less than a hundred yards away, and His Lordship had a clear shot! There was no way he was going to miss!
'NO!' screamed George, flinging herself forwards in a desperate attempt to save Tim. Julian, Dick, Jo and Anne closed their eyes and turned away, not bearing to see any more.
CRASH! The terrible noise at the end of the train sent the whole thing jolting violently forwards. Belvedere lost his balance and fell backwards with a yell of shock and wrath. His gun fell to the floor with a clang and discharged. The bullet ricocheted off the back of the cab and exited through one of Selwyn's front windows, leaving a small, round hole in its wake.
George saw this, and also that Tim had not been shot! That was all that mattered to her right now!
'Oh, Timmy, you're safe!' she cried, flinging her arms round Tim. 'I thought you were a goner, I really did! Don't worry, Tim! I won't let that rogue have another crack at you – I won't!'
Meanwhile, everyone was hurrying towards the back of the train to see what had happened. It wasn't at all hard to see. James was embedded in the rearmost van of the train, which was half crushed. The van's contents was spilling out over the track – fur coats, chests of cutlery and a few unmarked crates that had been nailed shut.
Poor James was in a bad way. His front was badly bent, his funnel was dented and he looked extremely woebegone. Gordon was shaken but unhurt, and already James' crew was hurrying down the line towards them.
'What happened here?' asked Seb as the two men reached them.
'The trucks pushed us,' replied Gordon's driver, straightening up. 'I think we ought to get the train up to Crovan's Gate as soon as possible. Gordon's all right, so it should be easy enough to uncouple him and then take the train back to a crossover.'
'What about me?' groaned James miserably as Seb hurriedly uncoupled him from Gordon. 'I suppose me and Smellwyn will have to stay here and wait for help.'
'I'm afraid so, old fellow,' said his driver sympathetically. 'I'll just head back to the signal box and tell the signalman what's planned.'
Selwyn and his trucks were left where they were – Selwyn clearly wasn't going anywhere! The stolen goods were left inside the trucks and James made himself the sentry for when the police arrived. Harold watched all this from his vantage point on top of the slope.
It was easy enough for Seb to guide Gordon away from the scene of the disaster. From there, he really did have the trucks under control. The trucks hadn't expected to have an accident like this, and that silenced them for the rest of the journey!
'Poor old James!' chuckled Gordon as he passed the crash site. 'Never mind, at least you'll have a good enough reason to be pulling coaches for the next few weeks! "Sorry, Sir – the trucks pushed me and James into Belvedere's getaway train, and James came off worse!" Ho, ho, ho! What a joke!'
By now, the children had hurried up to the front of the train to see if there was anything they could do to stop Belvedere escaping. James' driver had just returned from the signal box, saying that he had persuaded the signalman to phone the police as well as the breakdown gang, and direct both parties to the scene of the accident.
Julian hurried up to the cab and cautiously opened the door. He gave a loud exclamation.
'I say! They're gone! Lord and Lady Belvedere have vanished! Where can they have gone?'
The others hurried up and peered in astonishment and despair into the empty cab. Both Belvederes were most certainly not there! Only an abandoned gun belt and rifle lying forlornly on the floor remained to tell the tale.
Dick suddenly looked round the group. 'I say, where are Seb and Sam?'
The others looked round, and saw that neither Seb nor Sam was anywhere in sight. Then George noticed something. Atop the embankment about half a mile from where Harold had landed stood the stone fortress that was Bosworth Manor. The children must have missed it in their desperation to get outside and stop Timmy before Belvedere put a bullet in him!
'I think I know where Mother, Father and the Belvederes have gone,' said David, and he started up the grassy slope. 'Come on, chaps! We've got some more criminals to catch!'
