Chapter 70: Toad Stands By

Oliver was quite embarrassed about his accident. He made a note to avoid the workmen as much as possible.

"They're bound to cause trouble," he thought to himself.

But the workmen sang songs rude and loud. Their leader, Scruffy, led the chorus:

Oliver's no use at all,

Thinks he's very clever.

Says that he can manage us,

That's the best joke ever.

When he orders us about,

With the greatest folly,

We just push him down the well;

Pop goes old Ollie!

Oliver, Percy, and Thomas were horrified.

"Be quiet!" They shouted, but the workmen paid them no mind. Eventually, they gave up entirely.

"We're sorry, Oliver," Duck said, "But I fear that we've only made matters worse."

"It's alright, Duck," Oliver sighed, "I shouldn't have let those compliments go to my head. I'm sure they'll move on to someone else's misfortune eventually, but I do wish that they would pick a better tune than Pop Goes the Weasel."

Toad, Oliver's brother, wished that he could help him. Little did he know that his chance would soon come.

Over the past week, tools and engine parts had gone missing from the sheds at Arlesburgh. At first it wasn't a problem, but when vital tools were being stolen the foreman became worried.

"These things can't just disappear," he grumbled, "Somebody has to be stealing them."

But without any proof, there wasn't much that they could do. Toad had his suspicions that Scruffy and his gang were behind it, but he needed evidence. One day, he was talking to Douglas about it.

"I'm getting worried, Mr. Douglas," he said, "The workmen need those tools to maintain our engines and the line."

"Ooch aye," Douglas agreed, "I know what you mean, Toad. But what can we do?"

"I have an idea," said Toad, and whispered it into Douglas's ear.

"It might work," said Douglas, "I'll help. You might want to talk to Oliver and Duck as well. Something tells me we'll need all of the help that we can get."

Oliver and Duck agreed to help, and that night they waited in a hidden part of the shed and waited. It wasn't long before they heard a truck screech to a halt outside. Seconds later, several men came into the shed.

"Alright you lot," Scruffy's voice said, "Load up all of this junk. I want these tools loaded into the truck within 10 minutes, or none of you will get your cut."

"Are you guys ready?" Oliver asked. Douglas and Toad nodded. "NOW!"

In an instant, they ran at the thieves, flashlights shining right on them. They were so startled that they all dropped their boxes of tools and scrambled for their truck. Oliver caught Scruffy, while Douglas, Toad, and Duck rounded up the rest.

The next morning, Sir Topham Hatt arrived, as did the police who took the thieves away. Before they did, though, Sir Topham Hatt spoke sternly to them.

"Your thievery has caused problem for my railway," he scolded, "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. As of now, you are all fired." And with that, the policeman loaded them into their car and drove away. Next, Sir Topham Hatt turned to the others.

"Thank you all for your hard work," he said, "This could've ended much worse than it did. You all are not only really useful, but also resourceful."

Everyone just beamed.

Nowadays, the workmen don't tease Oliver anymore. In fact, they're downright afraid of him. Whenever he passed them, he could hear them whisper to themselves:

"Steer clear of Oliver. I hear that he roughed up Scruffy. You don't want that to happen to you."

Of course, that's just a rumor. But Oliver prefers to let them believe whatever they want to believe. Saves him some trouble at least.