Chapter 282: What a Picture

It took forever to clean all of the gunk off Thomas's engine. Bill and Ben kept teasing him about it, making him very annoyed. Eventually, even Edward lost patience with them.

"Enough, you two! An enthusiast train will be coming next week, but if you can't behave then I shall not bring them!"

That got Bill and Ben to shut up, and they promised to behave. Edward just rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, I don't know how those two are still employed with all the trouble they cause. I'd say you'll get used to them, Thomas, but probably not."

"No, I don't think I will."

But Bill and Ben behaved, and at long last the day came. Bill and Ben got up extra early to clean and polish their engines until they shined like gold. Thomas, though, couldn't see the point.

"You don't have to clean them that much! It's not like the enthusiasts will eat their breakfast off of them, you know."

"Got to get that quarry grime off! The enthusiasts won't want to see that, will they Ben?"

"Certainly not, Bill! Oh, what's that on your engine's headlamp, Thomas? Looks like a bit of egg!"

Thomas pretended he hadn't heard. When the enthusiasts arrived, they fussed over Bill and Ben's engines, completely ignoring Thomas and Edward, not that they minded very much.

"Anything to get those two to shut up! They've talked about nothing but this all week."

Edward agreed wearily. Just then, a dock worker ran up.

"The mail ship is due out, but the tugboat has broken down! Can you two tow it out of the dock?"

Bill and Ben were happy to help. Ben took off first, followed by the enthusiasts. Bill was about to join him, but one enthusiast blocked his way.

"Oi, shove off! I have work to do!"

"Oh no you don't! I paid good money for this trip, and you're not leaving until I get the perfect picture!"

Ben, who had heard everything, laughed loudly.

"Oh, don't worry, Bill, I've got it. You just stand there and look pretty."

Bill scowled, but there was little he could do. Ben drove up and tied a rope from his engine's buffer to the ship's bow. The enthusiasts oohed and awed, and got their cameras ready. Ben got excited.

"This will make for an excellent picture," he thought to himself, and opened the regulator. Slowly, he began to lead the ship out of the dock. At first, everything went smoothly, but it wasn't long before the weight of the ship took its toll. Ben's engine strained to keep going, but it wasn't enough.

"I need help! Where's Bill?"

Bill was still stuck with the rude tourist, but he could see that his brother was in trouble. So, in spite of the man, he began to move off.

"Oi, stay where you are! I've got a lovely shot going on here!"

"Bollocks to your picture, I'm not your personal model!"

And Bill moved off, the man jumping out of the way so as to not get hit, but not before getting a picture.

"What cheek! Don't think you'll get off easy for this, I'll tell your manager!"

"Go ahead, and make sure to let him know you put his employees at risk!"

Bill immediately ran up alongside, and secured another rope between his engine and the ship.

"Bill, what about-"

"Never mind him, let's get this ship out of port!"

Working hard, the two managed to finally get the ship underway, the crowd cheering as the ship sailed out to sea.

Later that evening, their manager came to see them. Bill was worried about what he had to say, but he was smiling.

"Good work today, you two. The ship managed to get to its destination on time thanks to your hard work. And don't you worry about that tourist, I've handed him over to the police for reckless endangerment and interfering with railway operations. Needless to say he won't be on any more enthusiast trains."

Bill breathed a sigh of relief.

"But he did leave you one thing. This was the last photo he took, and he said he wanted you to have it so you can remember how you ruined his trip."

Bill took one look and burst out laughing. The photo showed his engine puffing off, but there was so much steam around it that it couldn't even be seen!