chapter 5 back at camp again

the children and timmy left the deserted railway yard behind them and climbed up the heatheryslope to find their way back to their camping-place. the boys could not stop talking aboutwooden-leg sam and the strange things he said.

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'it's a funny business altogether,' said julian. 'i wonder why that yard isn't used any more - andwhere 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 itall seem so weird. if there had been a proper watchman we shouldn't have thought there wasanything strange about it at all.'

'perhaps the boy at the farm would know,' said julian. 'we'll ask him tomorrow. i'm afraid therearen'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 youwant another adventure. and i don't.'

'well, there won't be any adventure, so don't worry,' said dick, comfortingly. 'and, anyway, ifthere was an adventure you could always go and hold old luffy's hand. he wouldn't see anadventure if it was right under his nose. you'd be quite safe with him.'

'look - who's that up there?' said george, seeingtimmy 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 farmlabourer 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 onthem.'

'no. there aren't any down there,' said julian. 'but there are some further along the hill. we'vebeen 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'sa 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'sthe time i've heard them when i've been up here at night with my sheep. that tunnel hasn't beenused 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 spinequite suddenly.

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'no. i've only heard them,' said the old man. 'choo, choo, they go, and they jangle and clank. butthey don't whistle any more. old wooden-leg sam reckons they're spook-trains, with nobody todrive 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 inspook-trains - and neither do you, shepherd. dick, have you got the tea in your bag? let's find anice place and have some sandwiches and cake. will you join us, shepherd?'

'no, thank you kindly,' said the old man, moving off. i'll be after my sheep. always wanderingthey 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 ofnonsense,' said julian, who wanted anne to feel happier again. 'we can easily ask the farmer'sboy about it tomorrow. i expect it's all a silly tale made up by that old one-legged fellow, andpassed 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 therumblings of the trains that go underground here. there's one going somewhere now! i can feelthe ground trembling!'

they all could. it was a peculiar feeling. the rumbling stopped at last and they sat and ate theirtea, watching timmy scraping at a rabbit-hole and trying his hardest to get down it. he coveredthem with sandy soil as he burrowed, and nothing would stop him. he seemed to have gonecompletely deaf.

'look here, if we don't get timmy out of that hole now he'll be gone down so far that we'll haveto 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 tosay: '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 holeagain, 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 attheir heels. when they at last got back they saw mr. luffy sitting waiting for them. the bluesmoke from his pipe curled up into the air.

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'hallo, hallo!' he said, and his brown eyes looked up at them from under his shaggy eyebrows. 'iwas beginning to wonder if you'd got lost. still, i suppose that dog of yours would always bringyou back.'

timmy wagged his tail politely. 'woof,' he agreed, and went to drink out of the bucket of water.

anne stopped him just in time.

'no, timmy! you're not to drink out of our washing-up water. there's yours, in the dish overthere.'

timmy went to his dish and lapped. he thought anne was very fussy. anne asked mr. luffy ifhe would like any supper.

'we're not having a proper supper,' she said. 'we had tea so late. but i'll cook you something ifyou like, mr. luffy.'

'very kind of you. but i've had an enormous tea,' said mr. luffy. 'i've brought up a fruit cake foryou, from my own larder. shall we share it for supper? and i've got a bottle of lime juice, too,which will taste grand with some of the stream water.'

the boys went off to get some fresh stream water for drinking. anne got out some plates and cutslices of the cake.

'well,' said mr. luffy. 'had a nice walk?'

'yes.' said anne, 'except that we met a strange one-legged man who told us he saw spook-trains.'

mr. luffy laughed. 'well, well! he must be a cousin of a little girl i know who thought she wassitting on a volcano.'

anne giggled. 'you're not to tease me. no, honestly, mr. luffy, this old man was a watchman ata sort of old railway yard - not used now - and he said when the spook-trains came, he blew outhis light and got under his bed so that they shouldn't get him.'

'poor old fellow,' said mr. luffy. 'i hope he didn't frighten you.'

'he did a bit,' said anne. 'and he threw a cinder at dick and hit him on the head. tomorrowwe're going to the farm to ask the boy there if he's heard of the spook-trains, too. we met an oldshepherd who said he'd heard them but not seen them.'

'well, well - it all sounds most interesting,' said mr. luffy. 'but these exciting stories usuallyhave a very tame explanation, you know. now would you like to see what i found today? a veryrare and interesting little beetle.'

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he opened a small square tin and showed a shiny beetle to anne. it had green feelers and a redfiery spot near its tail-end. it was a lovely little thing.

'now that's much more exciting to me than half a dozen spook-trains,' he told anne. 'spook-trains won't keep me awake at night - but thinking of this little beetle-fellow here certainly will.'

'i don't very much like beetles,' said anne. 'but this one certainly is pretty. do you really likehunting about all day for insects, and watching them, mr. luffy?'

'yes, very much,' said mr. luffy. 'ah, here come the boys with the water. now we'll hand thecake round, shall we? where's george? oh, there she is, changing her shoes.'

george had a blister, and she had been putting a strip of plaster on her heel. she came up whenthe boys arrived and the cake was handed round. they sat in a circle, munching, while the sungradually went down in a blaze of red.

'nice day tomorrow again,' said julian. 'what shall we do?'

'we'll have to go to the farm first,' said dick. the farmer's wife said she'd let us have some morebread if we turned up in the morning. and we could do with more eggs if we can get them. wetook eight hard-boiled ones with us today and we've only one or two left. and who's eaten all thetomatoes, i'd like to know?'

'all of you,' said anne at once. 'you're perfect pigs over the tomatoes.'

'i'm afraid i'm one of the pigs,' apologised mr. luffy. 'i think you fried me six for my breakfast,anne.'

'that's all right,' said anne. 'you didn't have as many as the others, even so! we can easily getsome more.'

it was pleasant sitting there, eating and talking, and drinking lime juice and stream water. theywere all tired, and it was nice to think of the cosy sleeping-bags. timmy lifted his head and gavea vast yawn, showing an enormous amount of teeth.

'timmy! i could see right down to your tail then!' said george. 'do shut your mouth up. you'vemade us all yawn.'

so he had. even mr. luffy was yawning. he got up. 'well, i'm going to turn in,' he said. 'goodnight. we'll make plans tomorrow morning. i'll bring up some breakfast for you, if you like. i'vegot some tins of sardines.'

'oh, thanks,' said anne. 'and there's some of this cake left. i hope you won't think that's toofunny a breakfast, mr. luffy - sardines and fruit cake?'

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'not a bit. it sounds a most sensible meal,' came mr. luffy's voice from down the hillside. 'goodnight!'

the children sat there a few minutes longer. the sun went right out of sight. the wind grew alittle chilly. timmy yawned enormously again.

'come on,' said julian. 'time we turned in. thank goodness timmy didn't come into our tent andwalk all over me last night. good night, girls. it's going to be a heavenly night - but as i shall beasleep in about two shakes of a duck's tail, i shan't see much of it!'

the girls went into their tent. they were soon in their sleeping-bags. just before they went tosleep - anne felt the slight shivering of the earth that meant a train was running undergroundsomewhere. she could hear no rumbling sound. she fell asleep thinking of it.

the boys were not asleep. they, too, had felt the trembling of the earth beneath them, and it hadreminded them of the old railway yard.

'funny about those spook-trains, dick,' said julian, sleepily. 'wonder if there is anything in it.'

'no. how could there be?' said dick. 'all the same we'll go to the farm tomorrow and have a chatwith that boy. he lives on the moors and he ought to know the truth.'

'the real truth is that wooden-leg sam is potty, and imagines all he says, and the old shepherdis ready to believe in anything strange,' said julian.

'i expect you're right,' said dick. 'oh my goodness, what's that?'

a dark shape stood looking in at the tent-flap. it gave a little whine.

'oh, it's you, timmy. would you mind not coming and pretending you're a spook-train orsomething?' said dick. 'and if you dare to put so much as half a paw on my middle, i'll scare youdown the hill with a roar like a man-eating tiger. go away.'

timmy put a paw on julian. julian yelled out to george. 'george! call this dog of yours, willyou? he's just about to turn himself round twenty times on my middle, and curl himself up forthe night.'

there was no answer from george. timmy, feeling that he was not wanted, disappeared. hewent back to george and curled himself up on her feet. he put his nose down on his paws andslept.

'spooky timmy,' murmured julian, re-arranging himself. 'timmy spooky - no, i mean - oh dear,what do i mean?'

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'shut up,' said dick. 'what with you and timmy messing about, i can't get - to - sleep!' but hecould and he did - almost before he had finished speaking. silence fell on the little camp, andnobody noticed when the next train rumbled underground - not even timmy!