Chapter Nineteen – Train
Rutsford was about the same size as Porthaven but it was bustling. A different atmosphere filled the town. Porthaven had been sleepy and going about its daily life as it always had. Rutsford was a town experiencing the confusion of war. The streets were thronged with people. Wagons, carts, smart motor cars, coal lorries, even charabancs all jammed the streets and mounted the pavements. Horses whinnied in fear and men shouted. People were on the move. South, always south. Go south. Away. Hamar stopped the haywain in a side street and the three of them stood up on the driving board and watched a sea of people sweeping past in the main square.
"Hey, what the hell is going on?"
"There's a shop. I'll get a newspaper."
Pazu jumped down. Her cry of
"Be careful!"
Chased after him and held his hand. It took Pazu five minutes to push the fifty feet to the shop doorway. Inside it was packed with shouting excited people. Getting to speak to the owner was impossible.
"What's happening?" he asked a man beside him
"Restormel has invaded, smashed over the border, smashed our troops, fighting around the coal fields. Everyone's getting' away."
"How far south has the fighting come?"
"Don't know. Don't care laddie, I'm off out of it, soon as I got me some food."
Pazu went back outside.
"The fighting is bad already, we've been invaded."
"Hey, I'm going to get unloaded and get me to Kingsbury. I think this is where I leave you."
"Hamar, thanks, you were a big help. Thanks for the ride."
"Hey, that's alright. Good luck to you."
"Thank you Hamar, and I'm sorry I messed you about."
"Hey, don't worry young lady. But – one thing."
"Yes?"
"What's your name?"
"It's best if you don't know. Just call me Simon."
"All right Simon, take care."
"Bye."
"Hamar – please, if anyone asks, you never saw us. You came here from Porthaven alone. Yes?"
"Hey, I follow you, Peter."
They unloaded their bags and watched Hamar edge the big wagon out into the flow across the square. The wagon swung left, mounting the kerb and scraping it's big iron hub against a streetlamp, then it was gone, carried along in the tide. At the far side of the main road was a railway station. With only half an idea in his head Pazu took Sheeta's hand and dived across towards it.
"Where?"
"Train!"
"Right."
Inside the station it was a little less chaotic, Sheeta sat on a bench inside the large brick ticket office but Pazu saw something that was like a gift from heaven. On the wall opposite the ticket office windows was a huge map of the railway company's system. Across the top in large flowing scrolly letters was written KINGSBURY AND GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY. The capital Kingsbury, was at the bottom of the map and the company's lines fanned out north, northwest and northeast. He looked for Rutsford and found it about a third of the way up the map where two lines, one from the north and another from the northeast converged and ran on south to the capital. Where they stood was a junction, an important one it seemed from the size of the station. But the thing was he could get his bearings within the whole country from this map because while the K&GNR's lines were shown in bold red, other connecting company lines were marked in thinner black. And at the sides were marked the country's two coasts, east and west.
Marinaer was the bottom country of a continent shaped like a giant capital "V". At the southern tip was the Sea of Neb and south of that, somewhere, lay Numenaor. Part way up the right side of the "V" was Porthaven, and in the middle, low down, Kingsbury. Rutsford was in the middle above Kingsbury. Across the top of the "V" was a border and Pazu knew this was Restormel. He looked to the top left and saw Greycastle and a mass of small black railway lines that served the coal mining district. He had no idea how far it was north to south across Restormel but beyond that map, in the room above the ticket office somewhere, was Gondoa. He looked up at the gas lamp hanging from the ceiling as though by staring hard through the floorboards he might see it.
While he wanted to avoid Greycastle in the west, where the fighting was, he thought they might be able to get a train to the north east. He looked at the map. Above Rutsford on the northern line was a place called Middenhall and the tracks forked again there, the line continued north but another went more easterly towards the border on the coast to a place called Stoak. He memorized the names, tried to commit as much of the map as possible to memory.
"Can I help you sir?"
His view was blocked by a black coat with brass buttons on it. He looked up. A wide chest was behind the brass buttons and above that a starched collar and huge mutton chop whiskers beneath a red face. Above the face was a black cap with STATION MASTER written above the shiny leather peak.
"Ah, yes, are trains still running north?"
By way of answer the man pointed above Pazu's head. He turned and looked. Above the row of three glass arched ticket office windows was a big hand-painted sign.
DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND THE CONTROL OF THE K&GNR WE ADVISE THAT ALL PUBLIC SERVICES ARE SUBJECT TO DELAY AND CANCELLATION WITHOUT NOTICE.
"Yes," the station master said, "trains are running, but when and where is anyone's guess. War Department trains take priority, but we are running a service where we can."
"I can get to Stoak?"
"Stoak? Why would you want to go there at a time like this?"
"Family."
"We have a train running to Princeport beyond Stoak at eight this evening. Night train. In (he pulled a beautiful gold watch from his waistcoat pocket) forty minutes. Whether it will leave on time, or what time it'll get there I can't say."
"Thank you."
Pazu turned to the ticket office window.
"I'd not make a habit of standing and looking at railway company maps if I were you, sir."
"Oh?"
Pazu turned back.
"Spies. Been reported everywhere. Spies would find that map interesting I should think. Now I wouldn't want to see a man dressed such as yourself looking at such a map again, if you understand, sir."
The man put his hands behind his back and rose up on his toes. He gave Pazu a look that spoke more clearly than any words. Pazu considered his own appearance: Labourers clothes, dirty, a big travelling bag, straw in his hair.
"I see. Thank you."
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
They sat on the train, they'd been sitting there half an hour and it still hadn't moved. From time to time Pazu got up, went out of the compartment into the side corridor and looked out the open window. The platform bustled with officials and passengers aimlessly wandered about but no one he asked knew any more than he did.
They had bought one way tickets and then on the platform a food seller had provided a meal, soup and bread and mugs of tea. Pazu had bought a bag of boiled sweets, he thought the sugar in them would help stave off any pangs of hunger. All they had now though were those and his water canteen which he'd refilled at a station tap. Their bags filled the luggage racks above them and they just sat, and fretted. It was getting dark.
What bothered them was that there seemed to be hardly anyone on the train. Pazu had walked along the corridor and they were definitely the only passengers in this carriage. No one was going north, which wasn't really surprising, but what troubled him was that if hardly anyone was using the train, the railway company might just cancel it.
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
Captain Mahler went up the steps and into the building. He looked at the name board above the door. WATSON. TIMBER SUPPLIES. HARDWARE. STONEMASONRY UNDERTAKEN. Was this the place? It was the address Major Andersen had given him. First left past Porthaven station. Next to the library. A little uneasy he opened the door without knocking. Inside the small office there was just a desk. And one chair. That was all, nothing else. No filing racks, no pin-board, no in or out tray. The desk was bare. He closed the door behind him. There were two people in the room. A man in a dark overcoat, hat and dark glasses stood to the right. Government men always stood to the right. If the person coming in caused trouble they would turn to the man on the right and that would leave whoever was behind the desk on the assailants left side where he could be most easily tackled. Standard procedure. Sat on the other side of the desk was a slim scrawny looking man in a green suit. He wore a freshly starched shirt with a stiff stand up collar and a loud red bow tie. He had a thick mop of black hair, untidy and long. He wore half round glasses, granny glasses, Mahler called them. The man in the green suit was holding a flimsy in his hand, a piece of official government paper, very thin, used in carbon copy machines to print multiple copies of important memos. Mahler knew the system, white copy for filing, yellow copy for the contracting department, blue for stores requisitions, pink for action. The green suited man's copy was pink. To be actioned.
"Come in," Green suit said.
Mahler stood at ease before the desk. Green suit studied the pink flimsy. Mahler could see through it and saw it contained only three lines of typing. But Green suit ignored Mahler for a full two minutes, looking at the paper in his hand.
"Captain Mahler, yes? Third Company, Second Battalion, Eighth Infantry Regiment, His Majesties Marinaen Army."
"Yes."
"That would be yes, sir, captain. A colonel outranks a captain, even if he is a Numenaorian colonel."
Green suit hadn't yet looked up. He studied the three lines of typing in an off-hand, almost indifferent way.
"Yes. Sir."
"This morning, captain Mahler, you were ordered to Porthaven to take up command of your company which has been deployed as security around the town. Set up roadblocks, check incoming traffic, smile nicely at the good citizens, all very dull and boring."
"Yes, sir."
"You think your job is dull and boring?"
"No, sir."
"I wouldn't want you to be bored, captain. This is a war, our two nations are fighting side by side. There is no place, not even here at the very centre of things in Porthaven," he looked about disdainfully, "where we can afford to have bored company commanders."
"Yes, sir."
what was this man's problem? wife had a headache this morning did she?
"I understand that on the Rutsford road this morning some four miles north of here you met someone."
oh, that. why is he interested in that? I mentioned it to one of the platoon commanders. and now nosey green suit hears of it. strange.
"I did, sir."
"Describe them."
"A boy, about fifteen or sixteen, farm labourer, carrying a knapsack."
"No, captain, I said describe him. Exactly."
Green suit took off his granny glasses and for the first time looked up. Mahler met his gaze. He had green eyes, bright and very piercing. Cold.
"Ah, yes, sir. Stocky, well built, medium height, red brown hair. A yellow leather engineers cap – a peaked cap. White shirt, moleskin waistcoat, blue overall trousers, brown boots. He had a canvas knapsack, a leather jacket, and a blanket roll around his chest."
"Was he alone?"
"Yes, sir."
"Which way was he heading?"
"He wasn't, sir. He was just stood at the roadside. He said 'good morning' to me."
"Did he now?" Green suit's voice dripped sarcasm, "Well isn't that nice. What a pleasant young man he must have seemed."
Mahler said nothing. Green suit was a swine and no mistake.
"Don't you think so, captain?"
"No, sir."
"Hm, and your response was?"
"I didn't reply. He was just a farm boy. I ignored him."
"I ignored him, sir."
"I ignored him, sir."
right nasty sod we have here. are we allied to these bastards?
"Where was this, that you met our young man?"
"The road passes a farm turning two miles out of town, the Tanner farm. Sir."
"Hm, yes, I know it."
"And two miles after that it passes through a belt of woodland, sir, on rising ground. I met him there."
"Woodland – that comes right down to the road?"
"Yes, sir."
"The jacket he had, captain. Did it look anything like this one?"
Green suit pulled a brown jacket from the seat back behind him. It was leather and fur lined, an aviators jacket. Green suit's one differed from the one the boy had in only one respect. It was dark stained and encrusted with sea salt.
"Yes, sir. Very much like that."
"Good. Thank you, captain Mahler, that will be all. You have been very helpful. Please don't get bored playing roadblocks now will you?"
Without a word, Mahler spun on his heel and left the office.
Green suit rose from the desk. He spoke to no-one in particular. The big man with the overcoat and the ginger moustache didn't seem to be especially worth talking to.
"I expect she was in the trees, powdering her nose. How quaint."
He walked to the only window, pulled aside the net curtain with one long hooked finger and looked out at the street.
"We're flying north. Send Hempser and Ryddyck to Middenhall, we'll head for Rutsford."
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
With a lurch and a clanking of couplings the train began to move.
"At last," Sheeta sighed, "We must have been here an hour."
The train rolled slowly out of the station and began to gather speed. Sheeta and Pazu sat on opposite sides of the compartment, in the window seats, watching the dark town, the dark fields slide by. While the train had been delayed night had come.
"This could be a long night. Why don't you rest?"
"Yes, I might."
Sheeta found that the two arm rests that divided the seat up into three could be folded up into the cushion back to make a single long bench seat. She balled her jacket up into a pillow and lay down.
"Warm enough?"
"Yes."
Pazu sat for a while watching the moonlit fields. From time to time he got up and went out into the corridor and looked from the opposite window but the view never changed: fields, woodland, small villages, farms. Occasionally he would scan the sky but saw nothing, no airships at all. He sat back down, folded his arms and looked at the girl across from him. She lay on her back, hands resting on her stomach.
"Are you asleep?"
"No."
"Sorry, try to. It would be good to rest."
"You too."
"I'd rather be alert. In case something happens."
"My guardian angel. Watching over me."
"I do my best."
She turned her face towards him and looked at him. She was still looking ten minutes later when her eyes closed and sleep came.
Pazu stayed awake. Several times in the night their train would stop. It seemed to be travelling very slowly, sometimes creeping along. At one point they had been stationary for ten minutes when another train overtook them, also going north. Pazu went across the compartment and opened the window. A military train was grinding by them, flat car after flat car with cannons on, and horse drawn artillery limbers, then horse boxes from which restless neighing came. The horse drawn artillery train seemed to take for ever to go past. Its wheels clank-clanking across the rail joints, red tail lamp fading into the night.
They were on a side track, presumably a place where normally slower goods trains were held to allow faster passenger trains to go by. In war time the priorities were reversed. There were four tracks here, two running lines and two passing loops, one going north, one south. He leaned far out of the window and looked ahead. He could see their engine, steam lazily whispering up from the chimney, the cylinders and drain cocks. From time to time the fireman opened the firebox to shovel in coal and the cab and trackside were lit up with an orange glow. In front of the engine he could see a red signal lamp. He watched it for a while but it stayed irritatingly, obstinately red.
He returned to his seat and sat for a while, trying not to sleep. He didn't know why he didn't want to sleep, but he was on edge. Sitting here in the dark made him nervous, they could be going north but here they were stuck.
--I--
---o-o-oOo-o-o---
I I
He snapped awake, wide awake in an instant. The train had jolted violently, and come to a sudden stop. He looked out the window. It was daylight, early, five or six o'clock, and misty. A low mist hung over the fields making them mysterious, like shallow lakes upon which low islands of hedge and tree floated. Pazu got up and went across the train and looked out the other side. Two tracks, no other trains in sight. More misty fields on this side, but here, on the east the sun was just up. He looked at it and thought how beautiful it was, through the mist it was a pure white disc and the smoke over the fields moved like dreams. Slightly ahead of where the train had stopped he could see buildings and a church tower, a sizeable town. It was annoying that the train was so empty, there was no-one to ask questions of. It was spooky too, as though they were the only ones here. He imagined walking forwards, all the way to the front and meeting no-one, and then climbing across to the engine and finding that deserted too.
don't Pazu, that's silly.
Leaning out he couldn't see a red signal lamp, nothing to indicate why they'd stopped. He couldn't even see the engine, it was too misty, his view consisted of four or five carriages curving round into whiteness. Faintly, very faintly he heard the sizzling of the engine at rest and he thought he heard voices. He went into their compartment and shook Sheeta awake. She was drowsy but he roused her and offered her water.
"Hello. It's morning and we've stopped in the middle of nowhere. Don't know why, but I don't like it."
"What time is it?"
"Don't know. Not long after sunrise. About six."
Sheeta stood and stretched, hands above her head. She looked out the window and then did what he'd done and went to the other side of the train and looked out that window as well. She saw him. The man in black. Her heart missed a beat and the blood drained from her face. She put her hands over her mouth.
"Oh, my God. Pazu. Look!"
He looked. Exactly like the men who had been with Muska. Same dark coat, round hat and dark glasses. This man was tall and wide with fair hair and sideburns. He was on the other railway track and walking along the sleepers, down alongside the train. Mist swirled around his ankles and his outline became clearer as he came closer out of the low fog. He was two or three carriages away towards the engine end and he stopped occasionally to look up at the windows of the train. He said something to someone in the train and then came on again.
Instinctively Pazu looked down the train corridor.
"He's with someone, someone on the train. Coming this way. Get out, the other side. Now!"
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13 March 2007
For author notes about Chapter Nineteen, please see my forum (click on my pen name)