Chapter 78: Toby's Tightrope

The quarry owner spoke severely to Mavis the next day.

"Not only have you held Toby up every day since you got here," he scolded, "But you caused serious confusion and delay at the level crossing! I have had more complaints about your actions the other day than I care to count."

"But sir," Mavis spoke up, "It wasn't my fault. Toby-"

"Has been nothing but patient with you the past few weeks, not to mention had to cover up your mistake. I'll admit that he shouldn't have let you leave without consulting me or Sir Topham Hatt first, but after how you've been acting I don't blame him for getting cross. If I hear any more about you messing around with his trucks, you will be fired immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Mavis sighed, and got straight to work.

Mavis was unusually quiet for several days. She did exactly as she was told, and nothing more was said. But eventually she got tired of the tedious work. To put Toby's trucks where he wanted them, she had to make several journeys. To her, it was pointless work that saved no more time than her method. Then, an idea flew into her head. She spoke to the manager about it at lunch.

"If I just used a small bit of Toby's line," she told him, "Toby could get his trucks much faster, and we wouldn't have to waste so much time shunting."

"A good idea, Mavis," the manager agreed, "Nice to see you thinking productively. I'll telephone the station to have it arranged before Toby arrives."

And so, it was arranged. Mavis would take the trucks to the level crossing, where Toby would take them the rest of the way to Ffarquhar. Little did anyone know that things would take a turn for the worse.

Winter soon came to the island of sodor, covering it in ice and frost. That didn't slow down work at the quarry, however. Some of the trains were so long that Mavis had to go past the level crossing. This gave her an idea.

"If I use the weight of the trucks to push me," she thought, "I can go further down the line, and nobody would expect anything. They would just think it was either faulty brakes or overloaded trucks."

But Mavis was called away, and Toby had to come to the quarry to collect his trucks. He didn't mind, though, and soon set off. But danger lay ahead.

Melted snow had turned a stream into a torrent, and was washing away an old wooden bridge. The rails were now just dangling over the stream, like a tightrope in the circus. Toby saw what lay ahead and applied the brakes, but the weight of the trucks pushed him and the train forward. Before Toby could jump to safety, the engine was on the bridge, with him holding onto the cab for dear life.

Mavis was just preparing another train when the alarm sounded.

"The bridge is out," the foreman told her, "Toby is in danger."

Without a second thought, Mavis rushed ahead to rescue him. She found Toby barely holding on, with the bridge about to give way any minute. Once Toby's engine was anchored, Mavis pulled the trucks away, then came back for Toby. With all the engine's might, she pulled Toby and his engine to safe ground just as the bridge collapsed, flowing down stream and out of sight.

Mavis drove Toby back to the quarry, where the manager was waiting. Mavis was worried that he would blame her for the accident, but he was smiling.

"Well done, Mavis," he told her, "If it weren't for you, old Toby would be a goner. I've already called Sir Topham Hatt, toby, and he has agreed to allow you to stay here until the bridge is mended. As for you Mavis, you can guarantee that you will be awarded for this."

When he left, Toby turned to Mavis.

"Thank you for saving me, Mavis," he told her, "I'm sorry I was hard on you. You really were a lifesaver today."

"Well, we couldn't let a credit to the railway get hurt, now could we?" Mavis teased, "Though you were just as brave as I was, staying calm on the bridge like that."

Toby just laughed, "Ah yes. I've seen plenty of people tightrope walking before, but I never fancied doing it myself. Of course, they usually have a safety net set up to catch them."

The two just laughed.

Toby and Mavis are now good friends. And although Mavis still has plenty of her own ideas, she is now more willing to listen to others. As a reward for her bravery, Sir Topham Hatt has allowed her to travel down the tramroad and help out on the branchline, where she is an honorary member of their family.