Chapter 286: Something Fishy

When Sir Topham Hatt found out about how the twins tricked Arthur, he had quite a few words with them.

"Your tricks have gone on far enough! A railway is a place to work, NOT to mess about! Because of your antics, several farmers have threatened to stop using my railway to transfer their goods."

"Sorry, sir," the twins chorused, but Sir Topham Hatt wasn't done.

"Since the Clay Pits will be undergoing renovations for the next few weeks, your manager has allowed me to borrow you two. I've just opened a new branch line to the fishing village in Norramby, and am short of an engine to run it. That's where you two come in!"

Bill and Ben gasped in horror.

"You start Monday. Good day, gentleman!"

The minute Sir Topham Hatt had left, the two of them turned on eachother.

"This is all your fault, Ben."

"My fault? The whole thing was your idea!"

"Well, you could've talked me out of it!"

Boco sighed wearily.

"At least I'll have some peace and quiet."

Bill and Ben hated their new jobs. From how long it took to load the fish, to the smell, they did nothing but grumble and complain. Even Edward, who would usually be at least somewhat sympathetic, lost patience.

"Oh, give it a rest!" He said at last. "It serves you two right for how you treated Arthur."

"Oh, we were just having some fun!"

Edward, seeing no point in arguing further, left without saying another word.

One afternoon, the two of them were waiting for their vans to be loaded at the Fishing Village. Both were trying to keep in their lunch while having to put up with the smell of fish.

"Phew! Can't you lot go any faster?"

"Sorry," chuckled the fisherman. "But just like with fishing, loading the vans takes patience. Just enjoy the salty sea air!"

Bill and Ben decided that they'd rather not.

"And I thought it smelled bad at the clay pits," Bill whispered to Ben, who chuckled. At long last, the vans were filled and the two were on the way, but danger lay ahead. Up ahead was a split track. One track went along the route as normal, while the other was a disused line that headed straight for the pier. The points were faulty, and sometimes changed on a dime. And unfortunately for Bill and Ben, the points changed just as they went over them. The vans went one way, while the two of them headed straight for the dock!"

"Brakes, Bill!"

"I'm trying!"

But before they could, their engines fell right off the pier and into the water, taking them with it. Luckily, they landed in shallow water and weren't too terribly hurt, but they did feel very sorry for themselves.

Soon, help arrived in the form of Arthur and the breakdown train, as well as Sir Topham Hatt. Bill and Ben gulped nervously, but fortunately he was in a good mood.

"The accident wasn't your fault. It was those faulty points that caused the accident, something I'll be sure to fix. In the meantime, you two can return to the China Clay Pits."

Bill and Ben breathed a sigh of relief.

"As for you, Arthur, you've worked very hard at Brendam. Would you like to run this branchline?"

"Oh, yes please! I love the smell of fish."

"Good, I'll make the arrangements."
Later that night, Bill and Ben made their way to Brendam Sheds. Arthur was there, and didn't look too pleased to see them.

"Oh, it's you two. Come to give me even more brilliant ideas?"

"Actually, we came to say that we're sorry. We shouldn't have tried to trick you, we just wanted to have some fun."

"Yeah! Spending all day at the quarry gets boring after a while, so we try to have fun whenever we come to the docks. It's just that sometimes we get a little carried away."

"We're sorry that we ruined your Spotless Record."

Arthur smiled.

"That's alright, records are meant to be broken. And they can be mended,too. And do you know what else can be mended?"

"What?"

"Friendship."

Bill and Ben happily agreed.