He remembered what the old porter had said. Kilty’s Yard was used for something else now-maybe the lines had been taken up. Maybe even the tunnel had been stopped up, too. He slipped quickly down the path and came into what had once been the old railway yard. Big buildings loomed up on every side. Julian thought they must be workshops of some kind. He switched his torch on and off very quickly, but the short flash had shown him what he was looking for -two pairs of railway lines. They were old and rusty, but he knew they must lead to the tunnel.
He followed them closely, right up to the black
mouth of the dark tunnel. He couldn’t see inside at all. He switched his torch on and off quickly. Yes – the lines led right inside the tunnel. Julian stopped and wondered what to do.
Til sneak into the tunnel a little way and see if it’s bricked up anywhere,’ he thought. So in he went, walking between one pair of lines. He put on his torch, certain that no one would see its light and challenge him to say what he was doing out so late at night.
The tunnel stretched before him, a great yawning hole, disappearing into deep blackness. It was certainly not bricked up. Julian saw a little niche in the brickwork of the tunnel and decided to crouch in it. It was one of the niches made for workmen to stand in when trains went by in the old days.
Julian crouched down in the dirty old niche and waited. He glanced at the luminous face of his watch. He had been twenty minutes getting here. Maybe the train would be along in a few minutes. He would be very, very close to it! Julian couldn’t help wishing that Dick was with him. It was so eerie waiting there in the dark for a mysterious train that apparently belonged to no one and came and went from nowhere to nowhere!
He waited and he waited. Once he thought he heard a rumble far away down the tunnel, and he held his breath, feeling certain that the train was coming. But it didn’t come. Julian waited for half an hour and still the train had not appeared. What had happened to it?
Til wait another ten minutes and then I’m going,’ Julian decided. Tve had about enough of hiding in a dark, dirty tunnel waiting for a train that doesn’t come! Maybe it has decided to stay in Olly’s Yard for the night.’
After ten minutes he gave it up. He left the tunnel, went into Kilty’s Yard and then up the path to the
moors. He hurried along it, eager to see if Dick was at the other end of the tunnel. Surely he would wait there till Julian came back!
Dick was there, tired and impatient. When he saw a quick flash from Julian’s torch he answered it with his own. The two boys joined company thankfully.
‘You have been ages!’ said Dick, reproachfully. ‘What happened? The spook-train went back into the tunnel ages and ages ago. It only stayed about twenty minutes in the yard again.’
‘Went back into the tunnel!’ exclaimed Julian. ‘Did it really? Well, it never came out the other side! I waited for ages. I never even heard it – though I did hear a very faint rumble once, or thought I did.’
The boys fell silent, puzzled and mystified. What sort of a train was this that puffed out of a tunnel at dead of night, and went back again, but didn’t appear out of the other end?
‘I suppose the entrance to that second tunnel the porter told us about is really bricked up?’ said Julian at last. ‘If it wasn’t, the train could go down there, of course.’
‘Yes. That’s the only solution, if the train’s a real one and not a spook one,’ agreed Dick. ‘Well, we can’t go exploring the tunnels now – let’s wait and do it in the daytime. I’ve had enough tonight!’
Julian had had enough too. In silence the two boys went back to camp. They quite forgot the string in front of their tent, and scrambled right through it. They got into the sleeping-bags thankfully.
The string, fastened to George’s big toe through a hole she had cut in her sleeping-bag, pulled hard, and George woke up with a jump. Timmy was awake, having heard the boys come back. He licked George when she sat up.
George had not undressed properly. She slipped quickly out of her bag and crawled out of her tent. Now she would catch the two boys going off secretly and follow them!
But there was no sign or sound of them anywhere around. She crawled silently to their tent. Both boys had fallen asleep immediately, tired out with their midnight trip. Julian snored a little, and Dick breathed so deeply that George could quite well hear him as she crouched outside, listening. She was very puzzled. Someone had pulled at her toe – so somebody must have scrambled through that string. After listening for a few minutes, she gave it up and went back to her tent.
In the morning, George was furious! Julian and Dick related their night’s adventure, and George could hardly believe that once again they had gone without her – and that they had managed to get away without disturbing the string! Dick saw George’s face and couldn’t help laughing.
‘Sorry, old thing. We discovered your little trick and avoided it when we set out – but typically, we forgot all about it coming back. We must have given your toe a frightful tug. Did we? I suppose you did tie the other end of the string to your toe?’
George looked as if she could throw all the breakfast things at him. Fortunately for everyone, Jock arrived at that moment. He didn’t wear his usual beaming smile but seemed rather subdued.
‘Hallo, Jock!’ said Julian. ‘Just in time for a spot of breakfast. Sit down and join us.’
‘I can’t,’ said Jock. ‘I’ve only a few minutes. Listen. Isn’t it rotten – I’m to go away and stay with my stepfather’s sister for two weeks! Two weeks! You’ll be gone when I come back, won’t you?’
‘Yes. But, Jock, why have you got to go away?’ said
Dick, surprised. ‘Has there been a row or something?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Jock. ‘Mum won’t say, but she looks pretty miserable. My stepfather’s in a frightful temper. It’s my opinion they want me out of the way for some reason. I don’t know this sister of my stepfather’s very well – only met her once – but she’s pretty awful.’
‘Well, come over here and stay with us, if they want to get rid of you,’ said Julian, sorry for Jock. Jock’s face brightened.
‘I say, that’s a fine idea!’ he said.
‘Smashing,’ agreed Dick. ‘Well, I don’t see what’s to stop you. If they want to get rid of you, it can’t matter where you go for a fortnight. We’d love to have you.’
‘Right. I’ll come,’ said Jock. ‘I’ll not say a word about it, though, to my stepfather. I’ll let Mum into the secret. She was going to take me away today, but I’ll just tell her I’m coming to you instead. I don’t think she’ll split on me, and I hope she’ll square things with my step-aunt.’
jock’s face beamed again now. The others beamed back, even George, and Timmy wagged his tail. It would be nice to have Jock – and what a lot they had to tell him.
He went off to break the news to his mother, while the others washed up and cleared things away. George became sulky again when Jock was gone. She simply could not or would not realise that Julian meant what he said!
When they began to discuss everything that had happened the night before, George refused to listen. ‘I’m not going to bother about your stupid spook-trains any more,’ she said. ‘You wouldn’t let me join you when I wanted to, and now I shan’t take any interest in the matter.’
And she walked off with Timmy, not saying where she was going.
‘Well, let her go,’ said Julian, exasperated and cross. ‘What does she expect me to do? Climb down and say we’ll let her come the next night we go?’
‘We said we’d go in the daytime,’ said Dick. ‘She could come then, because if Anne doesn’t want to come it won’t matter leaving her here alone in the daytime.’
‘You’re right,’ said Julian. ‘Let’s call her back and tell her.’ But by that time George was out of hearing.
‘She’s taken sandwiches,’ said Anne. ‘She means to be gone all day. Isn’t she an idiot?’
Jock came back after a time, with two rugs and an extra jersey and more food. ‘I had hard work to persuade Mum,’ he said. ‘But she said yes at last. Though mind you, I’d have come anyhow! I’m not going to be shoved about by my stepfather just out of spite. I say – isn’t this great! I never thought I’d be camping out with you. If there isn’t room in your tent for me, Julian, I can sleep out on the heather.’