The four children stared at him. They thought he must be quite mad. He came nearer to them, and his wooden leg tip-tapped oddly. He swung his great arms loosely. He peered at the children as if he could hardly see them.
‘I’ve broken me glasses,’ he said, and to their astonishment and dismay two tears ran down his cheeks. ‘Poor old Wooden-Leg Sam, he’s broken his glasses. Nobody cares about Wooden-Leg Sam now, nobody at all.’
There didn’t seem anything to say to all this. Anne felt sorry for the funny old man, but she kept well behind Julian.
Sam peered at them again. ‘Haven’t you got tongues in your heads? Am I seeing things again, or are you there?’
‘We’re here and we’re real,’ said Julian. ‘We happened to see this old railway yard and we came down to have a look at it. Who are you?’
‘I told you – I’m Wooden-Leg Sam,’ said the old man impatiently. ‘The watchman, see? Though what there is to watch here, beats me. Do they think I’m going to watch for these spook-trains? Well, I’m not. Not me, Sam Wooden-Leg. I’ve seen many strange things in my life, yes, and been scared by them too, and I’m not watching for any more spook-trains.’
The children listened curiously. ‘What spook-trains?’ asked Julian.
Wooden-Leg Sam came closer. He looked all round as if he thought there might be someone listening, and then spoke in a hoarser whisper than usual.
‘Spook-trains, I tell you. Trains that come out of that tunnel at night all by themselves, and go back all by themselves. Nobody in them. One night they’ll come for old Sam Wooden-Leg-but, see, I’m smart, I am. I lock myself into my hut and get under the bed. And I blow my candle out so those spook-trains don’t know I’m there.’
Anne shivered. She pulled at Julian’s hand. ‘Julian! Let’s go. I don’t like it. It sounds all peculiar and horrid. What does he mean?’
The old man seemed suddenly to change his mood. He picked up a large cinder and threw it at Dick, hitting him on the head. ‘You clear out! I’m watchman here. And what did They tell me? They told me to chase away anyone that came. Clear out, I tell you!’
In terror Anne fled away. Timmy growled and would have leapt at the strange old watchman, but George had her hand on his collar. Dick rubbed his head where the cinder had hit him.
‘We’re going,’ he said, soothingly to Sam. It was plain that the old fellow was a bit funny in the head. ‘We didn’t mean to trespass. You look after your spook-trains. We won’t interfere with you!’
The boys and George turned away, and caught up with Anne. ‘What did he mean?’ she asked, scared. ‘What are spook-trains? Trains that aren’t real? Does he really see them at night?’
‘He just imagines them,’ said Julian. ‘I expect being there all alone in that deserted old railway yard has made him think strange things. Don’t worry, Anne. There are no such things as spook-trains.’
‘But he spoke as if there were,’ said Anne, ‘he really did. I’d hate to see a spook-train. Wouldn’t you Ju?’
‘No. I’d love to see one,” said Julian, and he turned to Dick. ‘Wouldn’t you, Dick? Shall we come one night and watch? Just to see?’
5 Back at camp again
The children and Timmy left the deserted railway yard behind them and climbed up the heathery slope to find their way back to their camping-place. The boys could not stop talking about Wooden-Leg Sam and the strange things he said.
‘It’s a funny business altogether,’ said Julian. ‘I wonder why that yard isn’t used any more – and where that tunnel leads to – and if trains ever do run there.’
‘I expect there’s quite an ordinary explanation,’ said Dick. ‘It’s just that Wooden-Leg Sam made it all seem so weird. If there had been a proper watchman we shouldn’t have thought there was anything strange about it at all.’
‘Perhaps the boy at the farm would know,’ said Julian. ‘We’ll ask him tomorrow. I’m afraid there aren’t any spook-trains really – but, gosh, I’d love to go and watch for one, if there were any.’
‘I wish you wouldn’t talk like that,’ said Anne, unhappily. ‘You know, it makes me feel as if you want another adventure. And I don’t.’
‘Well, there won’t be any adventure, so don’t worry,’ said Dick, comfortingly. ‘And, anyway, if there was an adventure you could always go and hold old Luffy’s hand. He wouldn’t see an adventure if it was right under his nose. You’d be quite safe with him.’
‘Look – who’s that up there?’ said George, seeing
Timmy prick up his ears, and then hearing him give a little growl.
‘Shepherd or something, I should think,’ said Julian. He shouted out cheerfully. ‘Good afternoon! Nice day it’s been!’
The old man on the path just above them nodded his head. He was either a shepherd or farm labourer of some sort. He waited for them to come up.
‘Have you seen any of my sheep down along there?’ he asked them. ‘They’ve got red crosses on them.’
‘No. There aren’t any down there,’ said Julian. ‘But there are some further along the hill. We’ve been down to the railway yard and we’d have seen any sheep on the slope below.’
‘Don’t you go down there,’ said the old shepherd, his faded blue eyes looking into Julian’s. ‘That’s a bad place, that is.’
‘Well, we’ve been hearing about spook-trains!’ said Julian, with a laugh. ‘Is that what you mean?’
‘Ay. There’re trains that nobody knows of running out of that tunnel,’ said the shepherd. ‘Many’s the time I’ve heard them when I’ve been up here at night with my sheep. That tunnel hasn’t been used for thirty years – but the trains, they still come out of it, just as they used to.’
‘How do you know? Have you seen them?’ asked Julian, a cold shiver creeping down his spine quite suddenly.
‘No. I’ve only heard them,’ said the old man. ‘Choo, choo, they go, and they jangle and clank. But they don’t whistle any more. Old Wooden-Leg Sam reckons they’re spook-trains, with nobody to drive them and nobody to tend them. Don’t you go down to that place. It’s bad and scary.’
Julian caught sight of Anne’s scared face. He
laughed loudly. ‘What a tale! I don’t believe in spook-trains – and neither do you, shepherd. Dick, have you got the tea in your bag? Let’s find a nice place and have some sandwiches and cake. Will you join us, shepherd?’
‘No, thank you kindly,’ said the old man, moving off. Til be after my sheep. Always wandering they are, and they keep me wandering, too. Good day, sir, and don’t go down to that bad place.’
Julian found a good spot out of sight of ‘that bad place’, and they all sat down. ‘All a lot of nonsense, ‘said Julian, who wanted Anne to feel happier again. ‘We can easily ask the farmer’s boy about it tomorrow. I expect it’s all a silly tale made up by that old one-legged fellow, and passed on to the shepherd.’
‘I expect so,’ said Dick. ‘You noticed that the shepherd had never actually seen the trains, Julian? Only heard them. Well, sound travels far at night, and I expect what he heard was simply the rumblings of the trains that go underground here. There’s one going somewhere now! I can feel the ground trembling!’
They all could. It was a peculiar feeling. The rumbling stopped at last and they sat and ate their tea, watching Timmy scraping at a rabbit-hole and trying his hardest to get down it. He covered them with sandy soil as he burrowed, and nothing would stop him. He seemed to have gone completely deaf.
‘Look here, if we don’t get Timmy out of that hole now he’ll be gone down so far that we’ll have to drag him out by his tail,’ said Julian, getting up. ‘Timmy! TIM-MY! The rabbit’s miles away. Come on out.’
It took both George and Julian to get him out. He was most indignant. He looked at them as if to say: ‘ Well, what spoil-sports! Almost got him and you drag me out!’
He shook himself, and bits of grit and sand flew out of his hair. He took a step towards the hole again, but George caught hold of his tail. ‘No, Timmy. Home now!’
‘He’s looking for a spook-train,’ said Dick, and that made everyone laugh, even Anne.
They set off back to the camping-place, pleasantly tired, with Timmy following rather sulkily at their heels. When they at last got back they saw Mr Luffy sitting waiting for them. The blue smoke from his pipe curled up into the air.
‘Hallo, hallo!’ he said, and his brown eyes looked up at them from under his shaggy eyebrows. ‘I was beginning to wonder if you’d got lost. Still, I suppose that dog of yours would always bring you back.’