8:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 16th, 1980
Although it took a few hours for a rescue crew to get Diesel 10 and the others out, the steam engines were celebrating Mavis, Daisy and Toby's victory as they worked harder than ever to be really useful.
By 8:10, Thomas found Henry on a siding near the Railway Works, looking glum.
"Morning, Henry. What's the matter?"
"I've got boiler ache," Henry groaned. "Driver says I may need to go back the Crewe works to get a new one."
"No need to," Thomas whistled. "I'm going off to collect six trucks of special coal for you."
"Thanks, Thomas," smiled Henry. "Special coal will make me feel a lot better."
And I wish I could make Mr. Conductor feel better too by finding him, Thomas thought to himself.
The Welsh coal was located in a depot north of Kirk Ronan. When Thomas found the six trucks, he was heading down onto them bunker first. The trucks were somewhat behaved, but they were not coupled together. As a result, Thomas shunted the last and sixth truck too hard and it flew down the track…right towards a pair of buffers that had not been touched for a long time.
I hope the buffers will stop me, thought the truck.
But the buffers didn't stop him, and before he knew it, in a shower of rainbows and engine noises, he had disappeared into thin air just as his buffers made contact with those ones.
Thomas and his crew never noticed what had happened until they went back to Crovan's Gate for Henry.
"Didn't you tell me you were going to bring me six coal trucks?" the big green engine asked.
"Yes, I did," Thomas was confused. "I don't know why I have five."
After spending a bothersome night on the couch, Mr. Conductor was, combed, fully dressed and ready go out and search for Thomas, hoping to find him with the help of Sister's one-prop aeroplane. Sister wanted to come too, despite her brother's objections. Then she put the big foot down and said.
"Your gold dust is almost as important to you as it is to me. Besides, I know how to fly that plane better than you do."
"I thought you didn't need any."
"I do need it: to keep ourselves alive."
That being said, Mr. Conductor and his sister walked their way over to Sister's aeroplane and took off. They flew over the Cronk viaduct, which was known to railwaymen as the Big Dipper because of the long gorge that lay below it. But to their displeasure, they could see Diesel 10 on the track below. Mr. Conductor gulped out of fear that he would make one false move and he find himself falling into the river below.
Then he noticed something else. The arches on the viaduct, which were built in the mid-10s, were in dire need of strengthening and Diesel 10 was just sitting on the middle of it, watching their plane with curious eyes. Beneath him, a keystone fell into the water from the stress of his weight.
"No time to wave this diesel hello," Sister said to her brother. "My plane is running low on fuel."
"Didn't you refuel it this morning?"
"I completely forgot."
Mr. Conductor could see the hopeless grimacing on his sister's and they carried on over the main line.
On the main line, Gordon, who was pulling the Wild Nor' Wester, could see the plane flying above. He wondered who was flying it.
James, who was pulling a goods train up Gordon's Hill, saw the plane as well. He stopped on the very top, hoping to get a better look at it, but by the time he did, Mr. and Sister Conductor were already out of sight.
Soon they were above the mouth of Thomas' branch line, but right now, the plane was starting to sputter, and its altitude slowly decreased. Sister could see a windmill up ahead, moving gently in the light breeze. The field nearby the windmill was flat and smooth, big enough for Sister to land her plane. The landing gears made contact with the grassy earth and the plane rode on for 20 yards, coming to a stop just ten feet away from the track. Opposite the track was the windmill.
"Come on," Mr. Conductor said to his sister. "Let's see if anyone's home."
Crossing the track, the siblings crossed the track and knocked on the door of the house nearby the windmill. The owner was a bearded man with a taut stomach.
"Excuse us, sir," said Mr. Conductor kindly. "Our plane ran out of fuel and we were wondering if we could bunk here until we could find an engine to take us to Ffarquhar."
"Sure," said the owner. "But don't mess the place up. I just cleaned it this morning."
They walked inside, and then settled down at the table to have toast and jam for lunch.
Diesel 10 meanwhile, was scouring around the island, keeping an eye out for Mr. Conductor. He suspected little of the plane that buzzed over the viaduct earlier. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Mr. Conductor was just as powerless as he had thought two nights ago. Alas, after spending an hour looking around, he retreated to Tidmouth Harbour where he found the main line engines working there, along with Splatter and Dodge, who had been anticipating his arrival.
"So, boss," Splatter asked. "Where exactly is Twinkle Toes now?"
"How the hell should I know?" Diesel 10 grumbled sulkily. "With the way he flew, he could be halfway to Swindon by now."
The more he thought about Mr. Conductor, the more his temper rose. His claw reached out for a platform of oil drum. He crushed one of them like they were New Coke cans and moved on to the other one. He didn't notice until too late that the crane had lifted platform high above them, ready to be loaded onto a ship. The crane, as old as it was, wobbled with the load and the oil drums spilled, splattering down all over the unholy trinity. Donald and Douglas, who were in the yard with Oliver, laughed with glee.
"Looks like someone's oiling mad!" Donald whispered to his brother.
12:25 p.m., Muffle Mountain
Burnett's cottage was not equipped with a telephone, leaving Lily with no means of contacting Stacy, the station or her parents. She began to wonder how long it would be until her new brother or sister was brought into the world. To keep her mind at ease, she went outside, dressed in white jeans and a purple sweater, sat down on the bench in Burnett's garden and played "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain" on her harmonica.
A little later, as she played, she saw Mutt running down the road and into the garden. He immediately started barking at the shuttered house. As Burnett came out into the garden to fix some branches on the apple tree, Mutt scampered away down the road.
"Was that a dog I heard barking?" he asked.
Lily was instantly honest.
"Yes, it was. But he's gone now. He belongs to Billy, the engineer I met at Shining Time."
Hoping to get deeper into her grandfather's sympathetic side, Lily began to play a quiet, gentle, lilting version of "He Loves, She Loves". She kept her eyes on Burnett as she played, hoping to catch a glimpse of his soft side. But not once did he bother to look at her.
"Grandma loved to dance to this, didn't she?"
"Yes, she did," replied Burnett, not taking his eyes off of the tree.
"And you danced with her."
But her grandfather's concentration remained on the tree.
"I can't remember."
Lily scrunched her face.
"Yes, you can."
And she walked moodily away from the cottage, walking past the fence, out onto the road and towards the field. As she walked, she looked back, hoping that Burnett would come to his senses and follow her. But there, he remained, concentrated on his tree, his apples and his land.
Her legs took her to a corner of the field behind the cottage. With the way she saw the grassy fields, trees and high cliffs that made up the mountain, she would have assumed that she had transported her inner self into the Scottish Highlands, or the greener pastures of the French Alps. Frustrated and somewhat tired, she leaned against a tree and sat herself down. She picked up a grass blade and threw it. After picking up another, Lily thought of something else.
Could I find true love here? All those other boys back home are so rambunctious. Give me the perfect man to make my trip more interesting, please!
Sure enough, her wish was fulfilled. Behind her, was a boy around her age in blue jeans and a brown jacket underneath those cheap looking clothes. He had short blonde hair to go with his cocky personality as Lily soon found out.
"Hi!"
Lily turned back. She had gotten her wish, all right, but it was not something that she expected. She perceived the boy as a street-smart trash who liked to giving a few sexist remarks around girls.
"Who are you and what are you doing on my grandfather's property?"
"I'm Patch McKilt. Dan, Miss Stacy's nephew told me that Mr. Stone's granddaughter was coming over, but I never imagined that it would be someone as beautiful as you."
Lily felt her blood boil. She decided to get nasty with the newcomer.
"Beautiful? Is that all you mountain boys ever think about? That girls like me can't do anything besides chores and proper etiquette like all those rich snobs you read about in the newspapers?"
Patch relaxed his attitude.
"Well, I didn't think you were proper. From the way you dress, the way you act, you look as though you've been through a lot."
"Oh, go away! You don't even know anything else about me!"
Lily stood up and was just about to leave, when Patch talked her into a dare.
"Well, maybe you can show me how much of a girl you are. I bet you can't even climb that tree."
Without a word, Lily accepted his dare. She jumped up onto the lowest branch, and slowly but surely, made her way to the top. Patch was amazed and the sparkle in his eyes told him that he had found the girl of his dreams.
"Wow! Where did you learn to do that?"
"On my fire escape," replied Lily, climbing down. "What did you say your name was?"
Patch offered his right hand as soon as her feet were, if you pardon the expression, planted on the ground.
"Patch McKilt."
Lily smiled, placing her trust in the newcomer.
"Patch, what a unique name."
"Yeah, my mom and dad gave me that name because, I was basically the 'patch' that brought them together."
"Interesting," but Lily found it a bit silly. "Do you live around here?"
Patch pointed to the farmhouse in the distance.
"I live right over there. My folks run the stables."
"I'd like to meet them," Lily said. "Maybe they can show me some of the horses."
But before they could even consider the idea, Burnett came up.
"Lily. I see you met Patch. He does yard work for me."
"Good day, Mr. Stone," Patch replied. "I'm going to Shining Time to get some groceries. Can I take Lily with me?"
"Sure," Lily said to Patch. "I need to speak with Stacy about something."
"She can go," nodded Burnett. "But since Lily is my responsibility, she has to be back by sunset."
"Would you like to come too?" Lily asked.
Burnett shook his head no. He hung his head low and prepared to turn back.
"I wish I could, but I never go there now."
Lily now felt sad for Burnett, and she could see it in his eyes.
"See you later, Grandpa," she moped.
Her mood brightened when Patch turned to face her.
"So, have you ever ridden a horse before?"
"No," Lily shook her head. "But I am going to now."
"Well, then I guess today is your lucky day."
It was a long walk to the McKilt farm, but Lily's legs weren't tired as she stood there in the front door, with Patch introducing her to his parents. After ham sandwiches and potato chips for lunch, they went to the stables and Patch brought out Silvermane. Lily, having seen pictures of white Arabian thoroughbreds, was impressed by the horse's strength. Patch placed the saddle and bridle onto the horse's back, and, like a true gentleman, offered Lily's hand and she climbed aboard, tightly holding onto Patch's back during the first leg of the ride.
By the time Lily and Patch reached the lake on Silvermane, storm clouds were gathering above them. But Patch's attention was not focused on the sky, but something else.
"I read in a book that if you get lost in the wilderness, you should never eat white, yellow or red berries."
Patch brought his full attention onto Lily's comment.
"I don't get lost. It's not the wilderness, it's home. The summerspan birds are usually flying around this lake—they nest at the foot of the mountain. They should be here by now."
Sure enough, the lake was completely deprived of life. But Patch did not want to stick around feeling sorry for the absence of the birds. They continued on.
As they ran through the meadow, Lily spoke again.
"Patch, Grandpa says that trains don't go up the mountain, but…"
"But what?"
"I'm sure I heard one last night."
"I heard it too! But if we've both heard it…."
"Then why can't Grandpa too? There's nothing wrong with his hearing. I mean, he heard a dog bark, for heaven's sake."
The valley took them through the idyllic landscape of tall grass and wheat. The storm clouds didn't bother our two soon-to-be lovebirds for a bit and then Patch directed Silvermane onto a route that he thought he had seen before.
"I've always wanted to go this way, we're following some shadowy lines that I have seen on a map. They look like straight railroad tracks without any rails."
Then Silvermane started tossing his head and swishing his tail.
"I want to go faster," he neighed.
Suddenly, he and his riders were thundering along as if driven by a current of energy. It was a joyous feeling that Silvermane had never really experienced before. His hooves were picking up gold dust as he galloped along the shadowy lines. It reminded Lily of a line she saw in the city skyline not too long ago. Before she could tell Patch of that, the lines suddenly stopped. The remainder of the ride carried on at a normal pace.
When they arrived at Shining Time, Patch took a careful ease while tethering the horse. Opposite of them was Boomer loading a black box marked "Explosives" onto the back of his motorcycle. He stared at the kids for a minute, greeting them both with a nasty glare that made Lily feel uneasy.
"Who are you?" she asked, trying to sound courageous.
"None of your goddamn business," Boomer glared.
Unsatisfied with her answer, Lily spoke again. The man's face was ringing some sort of alarm bell into her memory. Then she remembered the photograph.
"You wouldn't happen to be Boomer, are you?"
Boomer smiled a nasty grin.
"Yup…and you are just an annoying little bitch, who's too stupid to know her place."
Lily felt a strong urge to strangle Boomer for calling her such a name, but it was Billy who held her back. He was with Mutt, and the dog was looking for a nice pair of trousers to latch his teeth onto.
"I'll look after him," he told the kids.
Patch and Lily made their way into the station. Boomer was preparing to leave when Billy stood there, arms crossed and looking dead serious as he spoke next.
"There's a big storm comin'," he warned, pointing to the grey clouds in the distance. "We've been safe from storms in this valley for a long while. Let's hope this one is just passing through—like yourself, P. T. Boomer."
But Boomer was undeterred by Billy's words. He just uttered a sinister chuckle and placed his helmet on.
"You are so full of shit, redface. I will be passing through… right into that mountain: no more engine, no protector, no more mountain of rocks…just a mountain of money."
"That mountain won't change. It can survive anything," Billy said with a glare. "including yourself."
But Boomer didn't reply. He kicked his motorbike into gear and drove away.
On the platform, Patch and Lily expected to see Dan and the other kids. Who they found instead was Schemer's nephew Schemee, playing with a den-den daiko.
"Wanna see this new toy my uncle brought back from Japan?"
"I think it's an instrument, given the way it's shaped like a drum," said Patch, trying to be patient with Schemee's naivety.
"Drum, toy, does it make any difference?" Schemee said like it wasn't anything new.
"It does to me," Lily said. "Drums like these could be spiritual for all I know."
Schemee lowered the daiko onto the bench. He had a sinking feeling that he might have provoked the station ghosts that his uncle had told him about.
Inside the station, with no sign of Stacy, Lily considered waiting for them over by the mural. Maybe she would have a chance at seeing Junior again. Patch walked up to her.
"Would you like to come with me to the store?" he offered.
"I'll wait here in case Stacy comes," Lily told him.
"Suit yourself," Patch shrugged and he walked out the door.
In her ears, Lily could hear the soft humming of a man that sounded all too familiar to her. She turned around and a cloud of gold dust appeared, then disappeared, revealing Junior, dancing the watusi on his old skateboard.
"Oi! Never thought I'd see you again. I was preparing a riddle for you. What's blue, green and red and goes 'beep-beep!'?"
Lily thought that his so-called riddle was imbecilic. She rolled her eyes, annoyed.
"A parrot and you mean 'chirp-chirp.'"
"Nah, engines. Talking engines from the Island of Sodor."
Lily was interested.
"Where is this Island?"
"Across the Atlantic," Junior explained. "But I know of a faster way to get there."
Junior ran three steps forwards and tapped his right hand on the tunnel in the mural.
"We'll take the shortcut down the Anything Tunnel."
"Really?"
"Of course. You want to come?"
Now she was unsure and wondering if she should accept his offer.
"I don't know. I need to be back by sunset."
"Oh, come on," Junior said. "Wouldn't you like to have a little more fun in your life?"
Lily thought this over. She had led a quiet life back home in her apartment since she didn't want to bother any of the downstairs tenants. Sometimes it was boring and quiet, but sometimes, it was fun; going to parties, movies, adventure parks, and even boat rides on the river. But most of the time, the city was filled with the same kind of people, always going off to work and pursuing their own personal agendas. Those agendas made Lily think about her own personal needs, like her wish: to visit the most magical place of them all.
Without another thought, she picked up a scoop of the gold dust that Junior left behind yesterday and asked.
"Can I take some of this back for Grandpa? Maybe he'll like it."
"Sure," Junior nodded. "Though, of course, I'll have to use cuz's extra supply of gold dust to get us both there."
Junior popped the gold dust into his pocket and gave a bow. Then he held his whistle in front of his mouth.
"Ready?"
Junior's lips were already blowing before he even placed his mouth on the whistle. A huge burst of gold dust surrounded both him and Lily and it engulfed them both, carrying them away into the anything tunnel.
It was dark, with musty green lights inside, hidden away by a tunnel tall thorns and vines. Lily could feel that they were bumping along a track below them. They were being carried by small pools of magical light, which helped to illuminate the near darkness of the tunnel. Then she noticed something…a bit unexpected.
"You've grown bigger."
"Or you're just smaller," Junior said. "It's just a side effect of travelling on the Magic Railroad. As of now, we're travelling thousands of miles to the island, but I don't think it'll last much longer. It's going to vanish like the engine."
"What engine?" asked Lily.
"The engine that used to travel on this railroad. Cuz and I never saw it."
Suddenly, he spotted a truck full of coal lying there, followed by another pair of buffers. Junior wondered what it was doing there. The truck could not believe his eyes.
"Take my hand!" Junior called to Lily as they were fifteen feet away from the buffers.
Lily gripped Junior's hand very tightly and a rainbow of colors flew into their eyes at the precise second, they hit the buffers. But they even knew it, they had launched into the air. And landed on a patch of grass, next to the track, just ten yards away from the buffers. Junior stood up, scratching his rear end.
"Oh, my tailbone!" he muttered. "This happens so many times."
"Now where are we?" Lily asked.
Junior looked around. The scenery was very familiar indeed.
"The Island of Sodor, of course," was his response.
Then his nose began to tickle. Junior's nose released a great big sneeze.
"Sorry about that. I think I'm allergic to grass."
He looked at the track up ahead.
"Why not we follow this track and see where it leads us."
They followed along the track's route, taking them past trees and bushes. After walking for twenty-seven minutes, Junior and Lily finally came to Kirk Ronan. They found Bear waiting there with the Limited, but with his cousin's gold dust on the line, Junior decided that it was better to speak with him another time. Junior paid for the tickets with some leftover pound savings he found in Mr. Conductor's emergency supply box and soon they were on their way to Knapford Junction. Little did they know that fate was guiding them on the right path to finding Mr. Conductor himself.
Lily, on the other hand, saw this as déjà vu. She felt like she was back on the Rainbow Sun, but this time, the scenery was far more interesting.
At Tidmouth Sheds, Thomas discussed the events of that morning to Percy and Richard, who was driving the little green engine to shunt trucks.
"I have sneaking suspicion that the coal truck disappeared when I was near the buffers at the old sidings in Kirk Ronan. When I went back to look for it, there was no sign of it."
"No sign of it?" Percy was confused at first, but then he realized. "Maybe those could be the buffers that lead to Mr. Conductor's railway."
Thomas' face brightened.
"By Billinton's name, I think you've got it! Percy, you are the cleverest friend I ever had! Now you keep them safe while Richard and I look for Mr. Conductor."
Percy was speechless and stunned. Richard, interested in continuing the search, hopped into Thomas' cab.
In spite of this, Thomas had to take his afternoon train to Knapford. He fetched Annie and Clarabel from the carriage shed and puffed his way over to Knapford Junction. When he was near the station, he smiled and let out a happy "peep-peep", when he saw a familiar tinge of blue.
Is that Mr. Conductor? He wondered. Shoot its that Junior fellow.
Junior and Lily had just gotten off the Limited, the girl wondering why Junior brought them all the way over here. Before she could ask, Junior noticed Thomas pulling in, with a confused expression.
"Oi, Thomas!" he waved.
Thomas came to a complete stop, glaring at him intensely.
"I know you haven't seen me since that Christmas party, but this is an emergency."
"So I imagine you've heard about Mr. Conductor's troubles," Thomas took his words with a grain of salt.
Lily decided to ask:
"Why are you looking at him as though he murdered someone?"
Richard stepped down from the cab.
"Last time he came here, he stuffed party poppers down Thomas' funnel. Or so Thomas told me."
Junior chuckled at the memory.
"Hey, we had a laugh."
"You did, not us," Thomas corrected.
Lily turned to Richard.
"Do you drive him?"
"Somewhat," he offered his right hand. "I'm Richard. Richard Awdry."
"Lily," said the girl, shaking his hand. "Lily Stone."
Richard took Lily's right shoulder, gesturing to the engine.
"Lily, this is Thomas. Thomas, this is Lily."
"Hi!" Lily waved to the engine.
"Hello, Lily," smiled Thomas. "Welcome to Sodor."
Richard climbed into Thomas' cab, offering a hand to Junior.
"If you want to help us find Mr. Conductor, feel free to join us."
He helped Junior up into the cab.
"Come on, Lily," he called. "I'm very at home on trains."
Lily climbed onboard Thomas, who now wondering about his other passengers. He noticed Daisy nearby and called out to her.
"Daisy, could you take Annie and Clarabel for me? Mr. Conductor is still out there!"
He puffed off before Daisy could respond.
"As if we needed you more than ever!" complained the coaches.
With only three humans for passengers, Thomas puffed his way along the branch line, keeping a close eye out for Mr. Conductor. Richard kept his eyes on the controls, keeping Thomas at an easy pace. Lily stuck her head out of the cab, letting the wind fly into her hair. Junior, however, wasn't faring better. Thomas' movements made him feel like a bowl of jelly was tossing about inside his stomach.
"I think I need to throw up," he moaned. "This travel sickness is getting the best of me."
But his troubles were soon over; Thomas had spotted a tinge of blue over by the windmill. Could possibly be?
Bisto. I think it's my cousin.
Sure enough it was. Sitting there, on a small pile of flour, was Mr. and Sister Conductor.
"Mr. Conductor!" cried Thomas. "Thank goodness you're safe."
Mr. Conductor looked up at Thomas, happy to see him, but not so much with Junior when he saw him walking down from the cab. Sister shared his contempt.
"Hey, cousins. Have you brought me all this way here to catch you sunbathing?"
"No, Junior, we did not," Mr. Conductor said in a stern voice.
"As a matter of fact," added Sister. "We just landed here after my plane ran out of fuel. And why did it take you so long to get here?"
"My bad," Junior blushed. "I got a little sidetracked."
"Did you get your sparkle back, Mr. Conductor?" asked Thomas.
Mr. Conductor shook his head.
"Not yet, Thomas," then he beamed. "But I do know the clue. 'Stoke up the magic in the mountain and…'"
It was right on the tip of his tongue, a close conclusion that seemed so far and distant from his memory. Mr. Conductor slapped the right side of his head, curing himself for being so forgetful.
"Damn it!" he muttered.
He held his head down in shame, and look up, noticing Lily. Before he could even bother to ask, Junior answered for him.
"Cuz, sis cuz, this is Lily. She's staying with grumpy Grandpa Stone."
"Isn't that the same name of our other cousin?" Sister asked open-mindedly. "What a coincidence."
She offered her right hand to him.
"How do you do? I'm Mr. Conductor's sister."
"Pleased to meet you," Lily said, shaking her hand. "How well do you know my grandfather?"
"Well, our father knew him a long time ago," Mr. Conductor said. "I think he came to Sodor just like you did."
Junior, not used to boring conversations, so to speak, felt his mind going back to his boyhood years of being a rambunctious hellion. The windmill that rotated before him his looked like a Ferris wheel in his head. One time, he went on one himself, during a fair in Shining Time. As soon as the first blade of the windmill came closer to him, he jumped upwards and latched his hands onto it. Mr. Conductor was certain that he felt a whoosh, and so did Sister. Lily was too busy conversing with either of them to even notice.
When Sister and her brother did, they turned back and looked up to see Junior laughing as he held on to the slowly rotating windmill.
"Will you get down from there?!" shouted Mr. Conductor in the voice of a stern father. "It's too windy!"
"Oh come on, cuz!" Junior cackled. "This is just like the funfair! I'll come down in two seconds!"
But two seconds was far too long for him to make the chance. In this particular area, the wind was sometimes gentle, but at other times, it was a teasing wind which blew long and loud puffs. Junior laughed even harder as he felt the blade he was riding on going faster and faster, spinning around like a top until the force of the wind blew him away from his allies, and towards the main line
It was unfortunate that he had to land smack dab on, of all places, the rear cab of Diesel 10.
"What was that?" he wondered. "Probably just a stupid bird."
It didn't take Junior that long for him to realize where he was.
"Yo! Metal head! Get me down from here!"
Diesel 10 was still not sure exactly where the source of the voice was coming from, so he raised his claw and chomped everywhere. The people and engines that he passed thought that he was going mad with fever.
"Where do you think he went?" Richard asked Thomas.
"I don't know," the tank engine replied. "But I have a feeling that's he's in a big heap of trouble."
"Not to worry," Mr. Conductor tried to remain positive. "My family usually gets out of trouble eventually."
"I don't know what eventually means," Thomas said. "But it sounds very, very, long."
5:32 p.m., Muffle Mountain
Burnett had spent the last hour and a half cooking a roast beef for dinner. But as he sat at the dinner table, alone to himself, watching his clock every ten minutes or so, he was growing increasingly agitated. Lily was nowhere to be seen. After spending what felt like hours eating a morsel to himself, he walked to the edge of a cliff and looked out at the setting sun. He was fortunate to find Patch, who he had hoped would give him an answer.
"Where is Lily?" he asked, trying not to sound desperate.
"I wish I knew, Mr. Stone, but she wasn't at the station when I went back for her."
"I'm sure we'll find her," Burnett said, and he walked past him up the mountain.
But Patch seemed interested in something else.
"Did you hear a train whistle last night?"
"Of course not, I'd be too deaf to hear it."
"But Lily says you've heard a dog bark!"
"Well, maybe he was closer."
That was all Burnett said before he left. Dismayed, Patch turned around…and standing there before him was none other than, to his great misfortune, Boomer.
"At least I believe you," he smiled sadistically. "But the question is: where did you hear that whistle?"
"Do I look like the kind of guy who talks with bullies, Boomer?" Patch crossed his arms.
But Boomer knew just the thing. Kids these days, just loved getting spoiled with money, almost as much as he was. He pulled out a wad of money (maybe one or two hundred dollars) and waved it like a fan.
"Think of what you can buy with it," he said in a devilish voice.
Patch thought about the money. There were some small debts that his father needed to pay (bills, taxes, health insurance among other things) and the bank was trying hard to be patient until the money could be delivered. But what shouldn't he? Maybe he could trick Boomer into thinking that he was going to spill the beans. Carefully planning his next move, Patch walked up to Boomer, took the dollar bills…and threw his right foot into the man's solar plexus. Boomer doubled over in pain as Patch fled down the mountain, hopped aboard Silvermane and ran off to Shining Time.
By the time Boomer had recovered, Patch was completely out his sight. Indeed, he was furious that Patch stole his money, but at the very least, he had another plan in mind…a very destructive method.
The sky outside of Shining Time was beautiful, but stormy. With everyone else at home, Billy, Stacy and the kids (minus Schemee) were doing their best to try and keep the station busy. Billy came in with a sack of mail from the evening train.
"At least the mail's on time," he smiled to Stacy, who working on the schedules from her desk.
About a minute later, Patch rushed in, looking winded. He had already delivered the money to the bank, but now a human life was resting heavily on his mind.
"Mr. Twofeathers! Miss Jones! I'm sure Mr. Stone knows the secret of the mountain. There is an engine in there….but now, because of me, Boomer knows it too. He's going to put us all in danger and I don't know where the hell Lily is."
"I think I do," said Stacy. "Junior must have taken her to the Island of Sodor to help Mr. Conductor."
"Junior, Island of Sodor?" Patch was still confused. "From those Thomas stories Mr. Conductor tells the other kids about?"
"The very same," replied Tanya.
"I wish we could go to help," said Becky. "But we're fresh out of gold dust. Mr. Conductor could have left some behind but we have no way of getting it."
Then, the idea came into Patch's head.
"Maybe Mr. Stone can help…and I think I know where he might be."
Before anyone else could reply, Patch shot off out of the station.
6:58 p.m., Sodor
Mavis, who had been keeping a close eye on Splatter and Dodge, invited Percy to come and spy on them. Percy had to admit, he was frightened at first, but for Thomas' sake, he had to be brave. He followed Mavis to the old sidings to where the buffers were supposedly located.
"Shiver my pistons," he whispered. "I hope those sidings aren't haunted."
At the moment he and Mavis stopped under a tree, a bird's nest fell onto Percy's funnel and settled itself comfortable around his face.
"At least the birds flew from this nest," he sighed in relief.
"Shush!" Mavis whispered. "I see Splatter and Dodge."
Percy kept as quiet as he could, listening to the two silly diesels. George was with them.
"These must be the last set of buffers on this island," Splatter said to his brother.
"If they are, shouldn't we go through it?" asked Dodge.
"That's why we brought George along. He should go first."
"Why don't you two go first?" George asked them. "I'm starting to think this plan is a waste of time."
"What do you mean?" asked Splatter.
"Your plan, Diesel 10's desire to dominate over steam engines, my attitude…in case you're wondering. I've been doing a little soul searching recently. Even my driver thinks this plan is too inhumane. So if you want to destroy the buffers, go ahead. I don't care."
Splatter and Dodge were confused by George's turncoat behavior. Perhaps at that moment, they were starting question their loyalty to Diesel 10 as well. But they pushed that thought aside when the sound of a hooting owl spooked them both and the two diesels retreated, intent on informing their boss about George's resignation the next day.
Having heard everything, Percy and Mavis decided to head back and warn Thomas.
With no sign of Junior (save for the fact that he was still dodging Diesel 10's claw and treating the mean engine like a surfboard), Thomas, Richard, Lily, Sister and Mr. Conductor all headed back to Richard's house in Ffarquhar for dinner. There, Lily took in the old furnishings and knick-knacks with great interest. Very little of the house had changed since 1940, with the obvious exception of a stove, a radio and some new pictures. Lily saw a monochrome photograph of a boy and a girl who were around her age.
"Who are they?" she asked Richard.
"That's my mother and father. They met here forty years ago."
"Did they grow up together?"
"Not their whole lives, no. My dad was being evacuated during the Blitz, he ended up on the wrong train and he met Thomas and Mum."
"Sort of like me," Lily reflected on the course of her actions from yesterday.
While Richard was busy cooking up some stew with Sister's assistance, Mr. Conductor tried to entertain Lily with some card tricks. He did one involving the King of Clubs, in which he stacked his cards on one hand above and released them neatly into the other. She was impressed.
"Where did you learn to do that?"
"In Old Bombay, from a monarch butterfly. When it came to card tricks, she really knew how to wing it."
Lily chuckled, then she looked out of the window, not noticing until too late that the sky had gotten pitch black.
"Mr. Conductor, I was supposed to be back by sunset. I promised Grandpa."
"I think he can guess where you are. My father told me that he was here, but that was a long time ago. But if he can help, I wish he'd hurry back. I haven't told Junior this, but soon he'll grow as weak as I am."
"You really do love Junior, don't you?" asked Lily thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Mr. Conductor smiled. "Even though he is a pain in the ass. But that's what families are for. Someone to be there with you in the bad times as well as the good."
"Speaking of Junior, he told me that an engine used to run on your magic railroad. If we found it, we could still head back to Shining Time."
"Sorry, Lily, but wherever that engine is, she's long gone by now."
"Maybe not…" Lily slightly rose from her seat. "Last night, I heard an engine's whistle and it sounded like it was coming from the mountain."
Mr. Conductor beamed. Then his smile grew wider.
"Mountain…Oh my goodness. I have just remembered another part of the clue! 'The Lady will smile.' All we need now is your grandfather's help. Have you told anyone?"
"Only my friend, Patch. He heard it too."
Speaking of Patch, he had taken Silvermane all the way to the top of the mountain, all the way to Burnett's workshop. He tethered the horse to the front of the last entrance on the left and walked cautiously in. There were no other sounds in this dark and empty cave except for a water pipe dripping and the sound of the low wind. As he walked further, he could see a light, as well as Burnett's voice.
"Well, Lady, what are we to do? It seemed so much easier when Tasha and I were children."
Patch stood right in the doorway, his arrival creating soft footsteps that Burnett's hearing picked up.
"Boomer!" he whispered, turning around.
The flashlight in his left hand shone its light into Patch's eyes nearly blinding him. Seeing that it was only Patch, Burnett was at ease.
"How did you find me here?"
"I found the entrance to your workshop ages ago, but I would never tell anybody, not even an asswipe like Boomer. Pardon my French."
Burnett smiled.
"Well, you're a lot braver than I was, Patch."
He aimed his flashlight to the round switch on Patch's right.
"See that switch on the wall? Flip it on for me."
Patch obeyed and the lights glowed brighter, allowing him to see the purple-pink tank engine with gold trimmings standing there. It looked obviously European. But Patch was too amazed to notice.
"So it is true, we did hear an engine in the mountain. I guess there really was something mysterious about this mountain after all."
He climbed to the other side as Burnett spoke.
"Yep, all mountains have their secrets Patch. But I didn't think it would surprise a kid like you."
Patch studied the engine. She seemed to be in good shape, save for the dust. Which had been settled there for a very long time.
"How can I help, Mr. Stone?" he asked.
Burnett threw a brown, burgundy rag at him.
"You can help me dust her off."
"What do you call this engine?" Patch asked after catching the rag in both hands. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Her," Burnett corrected. "Her name is Lady."
"What is she doing here?" Patch was even more curious.
"She's safe from harm," Burnett explained. "Or was, no thanks to Boomer overhearing us. He has no compassion or imagination. All he's interested in is making money rather than making sense."
"Then why does he want her so badly?"
Burnett drew a breath as he began his story.
"It all started when we were young boys. Boomer and I were classmates, but he didn't want to understand magic, because his family was very prejudiced against it. From what I've known, his ancestors were executioners during the Salem Witch Trials. He was also jealous of me for courting Lily's grandma, Tasha. But she and I knew what kind of a husband he would be if I let him marry her: a misogynistic one. He chose to take revenge by threatening to destroy Lady if he didn't let me drive her. So I gave in to that monster's demands. But once I did, he drove her recklessly, used up all her coal, he made her go too fast…and then Lady came off the rails at a bend. Boomer wasn't seriously injured, but he disappeared shortly afterwards. Once he ran away, I brought Lady back to fix her up. She's in perfect condition, but all I need now is the coal to make her steam."
His right hand gently smoothed Lady's dome.
"Patch…She's as precious as gold and that's all that matters to Boomer: Selling her gold trim for scrap. But magic is worth more than gold or rubies. I'll always fight to protect her."
"She can whistle as well," Patch added. "I've heard her."
"So have I. That's because she's magic."
Patch's wandering eyes turned to the old faded map on a frame on the wall behind her. It depicted faded lines, faded borders and even maybe a river and mountain range.
"This must be the map of the Magic Railroad," Patch said, not noticing Burnett's nod. "But judging by its condition, it's fading along with the railroad's energy. I sensed it when we were out riding."
Then he realized.
"Lily and I were travelling on the ground above it!"
"The railroad needs Lady, but I need her secret now more than ever. Only Lily has it."
7:40 p.m., Sodor time
Speaking of Lily, she was curious to know if Thomas knew her grandfather at some point. She walked her way over to the shed, in spite of the mild cold and tapped him on the right buffer beam. Thomas, who had been napping, woke up, eyes blinking.
"Thomas, I'd like to ask you something: Did you really know my grandfather…Burnett Stone?"
"I believe I do," Thomas smiled nostalgically. "He came here a few months before Christopher did. And like Christopher, he helped to fix us, even shared some of his feelings with me. I wish he had gotten the chance to know Christopher. They would have made good friends."
"Christopher," Lily wondered. "As in Richard's father?"
"Yes," Thomas replied. "His father wrote stories about us on the mainland. His name was Wilbert."
His mind reflected back to the days of old…when he was a very new engine.
"Wilbert was the first person I ever met. He was afraid of the war that was going on outside of England, so he wanted to run away. I took him to Sodor, where I assumed that he would be safe. But Wilbert was still a young boy who missed his father. With the Fat Director's help, his father came and took him back to England. I never saw them again after that."
Sadness came upon that memory. He could remember Wilbert's innocent face shrinking away from him along with his father's ship.
"Then when the Second World War came, I went to the mainland to find other children. Ones who were being evacuated from the cities over to the island. That's how I met Christopher. He was Wilbert's son. I expected that he and Wilbert just the same, liking trains and all."
Happiness had returned. He remembered Christopher, standing there on the platform of Barrow-in-Furness, looking up at him in awe.
"What's your name?" he said.
"Christopher Awdry, what's yours?" was the reply.
"Christopher lived with us for the next five years until Gordon took him back to the mainland. I waited for Christopher to return, but he didn't. I guess he wanted me to remember him as a little boy forever. But then a few years later, when Christopher was older, he came back with his son…Richard. Then Richard came to live with us. Now he works as my driver."
"Was Christopher anything like me?" Lily asked at last. "The only reason I came here was to visit my grandpa while my mom was having a baby. I got on the wrong train thanks to this dog Mutt and…then I ended up at Shining Time instead of Muffle Mountain, I met Junior, and now I met you."
"In some ways, yes," Thomas answered. "Like you, he too got on the wrong train, and the life he spent here on Sodor was…pretty eventful to say the least. Thank goodness there's not a war going on, otherwise you'd be stuck with us for a long time."
"To be honest," Lily said. "I wanted to go to someplace magical and I got my wish. But I'm worried for Grandpa. I need to go back so I can tell him where I'm staying."
Before Thomas could answer, Percy and Mavis came into the yard, looking worried.
"You won't believe this, but Splatter and Dodge know where the buffers are," said Mavis, frantically.
"Which means that Diesel 10 knows where they are too," Percy added.
Lily felt a tinge of danger.
"I don't know about you, but I'd better get back home in case the Magic Railroad closes forever. But how?"
Then she looked up at Thomas.
"Could you take me back, please?"
"Through the buffers?" now Thomas worried. "What if I go on the railway and my wheels don't work? What if it's dark and cold? How will I even get back again?"
"I'm sure you'll find a way."
Lily's smile was that of a reassuring one, one that reminded Thomas of Christopher. He saw the trust within her and his smile reflected hers.
"Then I'll try," he said bravely.
Lily then told Richard, Sister and Mr. Conductor where she was going, and Mr. C parted farewell with the clue. He even gave her his cap to bring good luck for the journey.
"Remember to stoke up the magic in the mountain when you find Lady," he called after her as she and Richard left the house.
Richard helped Lily onboard into Thomas' cab and off they went, through the darkness of the night under the pale moon. When they approached the buffers, a fog covered Thomas' wheels, but he kept moving on. A small wind followed, blowing twigs and leaves onto the track. But Thomas kept puffing. In spite of this, he was worried.
"Cinders and ashes. What is going to happen now?"
The buffers were getting closer and closer—and then, they went through.
The Magic Railroad's lights were a dark blue, slowly turning into a light green, reflecting the early morning. But Thomas didn't seem to fond of it. Richard had never seen anything like it.
"Well, it's dark, it's cold and it's bumpy, but I am not afraid."
Then he, Lily and Richard spotted…
"The missing coal truck."
"I think I know what Mr. Conductor meant by 'Stoke up the magic in the mountain,'" Lily said.
"Exactly, you use coal to stoke the engine boiler and make steam!" finished Richard. "Let's go back for the coal truck."
He threw the regulator into reverse and Thomas stopped.
Little engine can do big things, he thought bravely. I'm not going to lose that coal truck again. I'm going back!
Thomas turned his wheels anti-clockwise and accelerated back down the railroad, feeling prouder and prouder. Lily got out, coupled the coal truck to the back of Thomas and soon they were on their way again.
"You're a really useful engine, Thomas," Lily congratulated.
Then Richard noticed something. On either side, there seemed to be dark caverns and ahead of them, looming closer, was nothing but a huge set of buffers. They could only carry on or stop…if it was not too late. It was, but it didn't matter. As they made contact with the buffers, they-like those on the Island of Sodor, allowed the passengers to pass into the light and into a world that Thomas had never seen before.