Thomas the Tank Engine has worked his branchline for many years and knows it very well.

One morning, Thomas stopped at Ffarquhar. His driver and fireman stood beside his cab, talking with the guard, who had shocking news.

"Did you know the stationmaster was burgled last night?" he asked.

Thomas's eyes popped wide with shock.

"You don't say!" exclaimed the driver, "I didn't know he had anything worth stealing."

"He's won cups for gardening," explained the fireman, "All taken, and then the scoundrels had the cheek to pinch his car to carry them away in!"

"Not that new one he's so proud of?" said the driver.

The guard nodded, and at that moment, the signal rose to show 'line clear'. The driver and fireman climbed into Thomas's cab. The guard blew his whistle, waved his flag, and got into Clarabel as Thomas set off.

"If only there was something I could do to help." Thomas said to himself.

At the next station, Thomas met Toby and told him the news.

"Sir Topham Hatt wouldn't allow it!" he exclaimed, "Speaking of which, he relies on us to carry on with our work. Not go around chasing thieves."

Thomas wheeshed, he wanted to help, but he knew that Toby was right.

Just then, a whistle blew and Toby trundled away, "See you later, Thomas." he called as he rang his bell.

Thomas knew that Toby was right, but he just couldn't help but think about the thieves.

Later, Thomas had gone to the Ffarquhar Quarry to collect cars of stone. He tried his best to set his mind on something else, but he couldn't.

Just then, he felt a hard bump against his backside. Mavis had shunted some cars up to him.

"All, right, Thomas, off you go!" she instructed.

Thomas tooted his whistle and hurried off.

Meanwhile, Toby was calmly rolling along the tracks when a flash of color zoomed past him.

"What was that?!" he asked, abruptly stopping.

"It's just a car, Toby," explained Henrietta, "By the looks of it, a stationmaster's."

Toby was immediately hit with a flash of deja vu, but couldn't put his wheel on why. Even so, he carried on with his day.

Thomas had finally arrived at Brendam Docks. On his way there, he'd taken a wrong turn, and was very far behind.

"Where have you been?" creaked Cranky, "You're late!"

"Sorry, Cranky!" called Thomas, "I've just been thinking…"

"The only thing you should be thinking about is keeping busy," grumbled Cranky, "I highly doubt anything else is more important."

Thomas sighed. Salty rolled up with concern.

"Is something wrong, me hearty?" he asked.

Thomas didn't answer. He knew that he now had to make up for lost time. He uncoupled his cars and raced off to find Annie and Clarabel.

Thomas was going faster than he'd ever gone before. As he raced down the line, he whooshed past Gordon.

"Thomas, what are you doing?!" the big express engine called.

But Thomas didn't answer.

"I hope I'm not too late!" he said to himself.

Presently, he arrived at Maron station, where he'd left Annie and Clarabel. Only to find nothing in the sidings.

Thomas gasped. To make matters worse, Sir Topham Hatt stood on the platform.

"Thomas the Tank Engine," he sternly addressed, "What has gotten into you. I heard you were late to the docks, and also late back for your afternoon passenger run. I've arranged for Percy to take Annie and Clarabel to help Toby with the extra load."

"I'm sorry, Sir," apologized Thomas, "I-I…"

"No excuses, please, Thomas," the top-hat wearing controller paused, "I expect you to be up bright and early tomorrow. Is that understood?"

Thomas sighed in defeat, "Yes, sir."

~~~

The next morning, Thomas woke up early as instructed, and set off to fetch his coaches.

By the time Thomas puffed out a tunnel, he was running nicely. Road and railway were beside each other, separated by a stream. Thomas remembered his race with Bertie. He'd only won because he could go through the hill and Bertie had to go over.

As he was chuffing nicely, a car sped by on the road. Thomas tried to go faster to look closer.

"Steady, Thomas," said his driver, "There's plenty of time."

"Can't we get closer to the car?" panted Thomas, "It looks like stationmasters to me."

"Lots of cars look like that," said the driver. However, feeling suspicious, he opened the regulator and they began to draw level.

Two men were in the car. They waved when they saw Thomas, and then tried to go faster.

Just then, Thomas gasped, "That must be them!"

"That's the car all right, Thomas," replied the fireman, "And those must be the thieves. Unfortunately, we can't stop them, and they'll be long gone before the next station."

"We need pencil, paper, and something to put a note in," said the driver, "We'll throw a message out at the next signalbox."

Quickly, he wrote the note and put it in the fireman's empty lunch tin.

As he drew ahead of the car, Thomas whistled to attract the signalman's attention. They slowed down, allowing the fireman to throw the box up to him, and as they went past, the driver and fireman shouted, "POLICE!" at the top of their lungs.

Little did Thomas know, Toby had been somewhere behind and saw everything.

By now, the stolen car had gone far ahead, and Thomas didn't see it. However, the signalman called the police, and the thieves were stopped at a roadblock ten miles down.

Thomas was proud of his act, but then realized that he hadn't been focusing on his work.

"Oh dear," he thought, "Sir Topham Hatt will definitely be cross with me."

Later that afternoon, Thomas arrived at Ffarquhar with Annie and Clarabel. There on the platform stood Sir Topham Hatt.

Thomas's firebox fizzed. He was worried Sir Topham Hatt would be cross. Instead, he was pleased.

"Congratulations, Thomas!" he commented.

Thomas was puzzled, "I thought you'd be cross."

Sir Topham Hatt chuckled, "Toby told me everything."

Thomas looked ahead to see Toby pull up right in front of him. Just then, Percy pulled up alongside him. Then, all the passengers stepped out of the coaches and gathered round.

"Ladies and gentlemen, engines and coaches," began Sir Topham Hatt, "Our friend Thomas has stopped some nasty crooks getting away, and has once again proven himself a really useful engine!"

Everyone cheered, but Thomas tooted his whistle the loudest.