Chapter 311: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Part 2

Diesel found a mixed reception waiting for him at The Little Western. Daisy and Ryan welcomed him with welcome arms and kind smiles. Donald and Douglas regarded him with wary stares, but didn't press him too much. But Duck, Oliver, and Toad would only glare at him, never saying a word. Diesel sighed, knowing exactly why that was.

"I just wish I could prove to them that I've changed," he thought to himself as he shunted a line of trucks into a siding. Just then, Sir Topham Hatt came up to see him.

"Ah, Diesel, just the man I was hoping to see. I was wondering if you could make a quick run to Brendam Dock for me. A ship transporting an important load of supplies for the construction work was supposed to dock at Arlesburgh Harbor, but was sent to Brendam by mistake."

"Certainly sir," Diesel replied, all too happy to get away from the scorn.

His trip to Brendam was quiet, but not very pleasant. Gordon, James, and Henry glared at him whenever they saw him, making him feel very small.

At last, he arrived at Brendam Docks. The train was still being loaded, so he had some time. He was just about to close his eyes for a rest when…

"Ahoy there, matey!"

Diesel's eyes jolted awake. On the track in front of him was Salty, shunting a line of fish vans.

"Uh, hi."

"Haven't seen you around in these parts before! What brings ye to Brendam?"

"Some of the materials we need for the Arlesburgh extension got sent here by mistake. Sir Topham Hatt asked me to collect them."

"Arlesburgh, eh? That's a port town too, isn't it?" What's it like?"

Diesel shrugged.

"Meh, it's nice, but kind of boring. Just a bunch of boats and water."

Salty laughed heartily.

"Ah, the beauty of the sea! Say, would you like to hear a story!"

"Don't say yes!" A voice came from above. "Once he starts, he'll never shut up!"

"Oh, don't be like that, Cranky! You love my stories and you know it!"

Cranky scoffed, and went back to work. Diesel looked back at the train, and saw that it would still be quite a while before it was ready.

"Alright, I suppose one story couldn't hurt."

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Cranky muttered darkly as Salty began his tale.

"A long time ago, the seas of Sodor and beyond were at the mercy of pirates. One pirate stood out above them all for his cunning and ruthlessness: Captain Calles. They say he pillaged a thousand ships before he was captured. But his treasure was never found, for he had hid it and his prized ship in a cavern hidden deep in the heart of Sodor, where no man would ever find it but him. He drew a map, but in his final chase it was lost to the sea! No one ever found the treasure, and it may still be somewhere on Sodor."

"Alright Diesel, you're all set!"

"Thanks for the story, Salty."

"Of course! Feel free to drop by anytime for a yarn."

"Just leave me out of it!" Cranky snapped.

Diesel laughed, and gave a friendly toot of his engine's horn as he left. It was nice to have met a friendly face.

By the time Diesel reached Arlesburgh, the sun had started to set. Miss Jenny and Kelly were waiting to unload the supplies.

"Spot on, Diesel! You'd make a mother proud!"

"Uh, thanks, Miss…"

"Jenny, Jenny Packard. Leave the train in that siding, Kelly will sort them out."

Diesel nodded, and did just that. Once the train was secured, he drove off to the shed. But when he got there, he found Duck and Oliver blocking his way.

"Keep out!"

"Stop messing around!" Diesel snapped. "I'm tired!"

"So are we," Duck snapped back. "Tired of you!"

"I don't know what Sir Topham Hatt was thinking letting you come back, but we're not going to sit around and take it! You can find another place to sleep tonight."

By then, Donald, Douglas, Daisy, and Ryan had arrived as well, and were completely confused by the scene taking place in front of them.

"What's going on here?"

"Nothing, we're just taking out the garbage."

Diesel scoffed, and reversed his engine.

"Fine, I don't need your negativity anyway."

Everyone watched Diesel slink away before turning their attention to Duck and Oliver.

"Alright, what was that? It's not like you two to treat newcomers like that."

"He's no newcomer, he's been here before."

"And he's nothing but trouble!"

"I think you need to start from the beginning, dears," Daisy said firmly. Duck scoffed, but relented.

"A few years back, Sir Topham Hatt gave Diesel a trial run on the railway. He was cocky, so I played a trick on him to take him down a peg. Perhaps it wasn't the most mature thing to do, but what he did next was even worse. He spread lies about me, told everyone how I would make fun of Gordon, James and Henry behind their back. Nobody knew what to believe, so I was sent to Wellsworth until things blew over."

"Ok," Donald said slowly. "But that still doesn't quite justify how hostile you are. I mean, your name got cleared eventually, right?"

"Some things can't be forgiven."

And with that, Duck and Oliver reversed their engines into the sheds, leaving everyone else to their thoughts.

"Well, that was melodramatic," Ryan said at last.

"There has to be more to this story," Daisy said. "I'm going after him!"