chapter 15 george has an adventure

george had gone off with one fixed idea in her mind. she was going to find out something aboutthat mysterious tunnel! she thought she would walk over the moorlands to kilty's yard, and seewhat she could see there. maybe she could walk right back through the tunnel itself!

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she soon came to olly's yard. there it lay below her, with wooden-leg sam pottering about.

she went down to speak to him. he didn't see or hear her coming and jumped violently when shecalled to him.

he swung round, squinting at her fiercely. 'you clear off!' he shouted. 'i've been told to keep youchildren out of here, see? do you want me to lose my job?'

'who told you to keep us out?' asked george, puzzled as to who could have known they had beenin the yard.

'he did, see?' said the old man. he rubbed his eyes, and then peered at george short-sightedlyagain. 'i've broken my glasses,' he said.

'who's "he" - the person who told you to keep us out?' said george.

but the old watchman seemed to have one of his sudden strange changes of temper again. hebent down and picked up a large cinder. he was about to fling it at george when timmy gave aloud and menacing growl. sam dropped his arm.

'you clear out,' he said. 'you don't want to get a poor old man like me into trouble, do you? youlook a nice kind boy you do. you wouldn't get wooden-leg sam into trouble, would you?'

george turned to go. she decided to take the path that led to the tunnel and peep inside. butwhen she got there there was nothing to see. she didn't feel that she wanted to walk all aloneinside that dark mouth, so she took the path that julian had taken the night before, over the top ofthe tunnel. but she left it half-way to look at a curious bump that jutted up from the heather justthere.

she scraped away at the heather and found something hard beneath. she pulled at it but it wouldnot give. timmy, thinking she was obligingly digging for rabbits, came to help. he scrambledbelow the heather - and then he suddenly gave a bark of fright and disappeared!

george screamed: 'timmy! what have you done? where are you?'

to her enormous relief she heard timmy's bark some way down. where could he be? she calledagain, and once more timmy barked.

george tugged at the tufts of heather, and then suddenly she saw what the curious mound was. itwas a built-up vent-hole for the old tunnel - a place where the smoke came curling out in thedays when trains ran there often. it had been barred across with iron, but the bars had rusted andfallen in, and heather had grown thickly over them.

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'oh, timmy, you must have fallen down the vent,' said george, anxiously. 'but not very fardown. wait a bit and i'll see what i can do. if only the others were here to help!'

but they weren't, and george had to work all by herself to try and get down to the broken bars. ittook her a very long time, but at last she had them exposed, and saw where timmy had fallendown.

he kept giving short little barks, as if to say: 'it's all right. i can wait. i'm not hurt!'

george had to sit down and take a rest after her efforts. she was hungry, but she said to herselfthat she would not eat till she had somehow got down to timmy, and found out where he was.

soon she began her task again.

she climbed down through the fallen-in vent. it was very difficult, and she was terrified of therusty old iron bars breaking off under her weight. but they didn't.

once down in the vent she discovered steps made of great iron nails projecting out. some ofthem had thin rungs across. there had evidently once been a ladder up to the top of the vent.

most of the rungs had gone, but the iron nails that supported them still stood in the brick walls ofthe old round vent. she heard timmy give a little bark. he was quite near her now.

cautiously she went down the great hole. her foot touched timmy. he had fallen on a collectionof broken iron bars, which, caught in part of the old iron ladder, stuck out from it, and made arough landing-place for the dog to fall on.

'oh, timmy,' said george, horrified. 'however am i going to get you out of here? this hole goesright down into the tunnel.'

she couldn't possibly pull timmy up the hole. it was equally impossible to get him down. hecould never climb down the iron ladder, especially as it had so many rungs missing.

george was in despair. 'oh, timmy! why did i lose my temper and walk out on the others to dosome exploring all by myself? don't fall, timmy. you'll break your legs if you do.'

timmy had no intention of falling. he was frightened, but so far his curious landing-place feltfirm. he kept quite still.

'listen, tim,' said george, at last. 'the only thing i can think of is to climb down round itsomehow and see how far it is to the tunnel itself. there might even be someone there to help!

no, that's silly. there can't be. but i might find an old rope - anything - that i could use to helpyou down with. oh, dear, what a horrible nightmare!'

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george gave timmy a reassuring pat, and then began to feel about for the iron rungs with herfeet. further down they were all there, and it was easy to climb lower and lower. she was soondown in the tunnel itself. she had her torch with her and switched it on. then she nearly gave ascream of horror.

just near to her was a silent train! she could almost touch the engine. was it - could it be - thespook-train itself? george stared at it, breathing fast.

it looked very, very old and out-of-date. it was smaller than the trains she was used to - theengine was smaller and so were the trucks. the funnel was longer and the wheels were differentfrom those of ordinary trains. george stared at the silent train by the light of her torch, her mindin a muddle. she really didn't know what to think!

it must be the spook-train! it had come from this tunnel the night before, and had gone backagain - and it hadn't run all the way through to kilty's yard, because julian had watched for it,and it hadn't come out there. no - it had run here, to the middle of the dark tunnel, and there itstood, waiting for night so that it might run again.

george shivered. the train belonged to years and years ago! who drove it at night? didanybody? or did it run along without a driver, remembering its old days and old ways? no, thatwas silly. trains didn't think or remember. george shook herself and remembered timmy.

and just at that very moment, poor timmy lost his foot-hold on the iron bars, and fell! he hadstretched out to listen for george, his foot had slipped - and now he was hurtling down the vent!

he gave a mournful howl.

he struck against part of the ladder and that stopped his headlong fall for a moment. but downhe went again, scrabbling as he fell, trying to get hold of something to save himself.

george heard him howl and knew he was falling. she was so horror-stricken that she simplycouldn't move. she stood there at the bottom of the vent like a statue, not even breathing.

timmy fell with a thump beside her, and a groan was jerked out of him. in a trice george wasdown by him on her knees. 'timmy! are you hurt? are you alive? oh, timmy, say something!'

'woof,' said timmy, and got up rather unsteadily on his four legs. he had fallen on a pile of thesoftest soot! the smoke of many, many years had sooted the walls of the vent, and the weatherhad sent it down to the bottom, until quite a pile had collected at one side. timmy had fallenplump in the middle of it, and almost buried himself. he shook himself violently, and soot flewout all over george.

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she didn't know or care. she hugged him, and her face and clothes grew as black as soot! shefelt about and found the soft pile that had saved timmy from being hurt.

'it's soot! i came down the other side of the vent, so i didn't know the soot was there. oh, timmy,what a bit of luck for you! i thought you'd be killed - or at least badly hurt,' said george.

he licked her sooty nose and didn't like the taste of it.

george stood up. she didn't like the idea of climbing up that horrid vent again - and, anyway,timmy couldn't. the only thing to do was to walk out of the tunnel. she wouldn't have fanciedwalking through the tunnel before, in case she met the spook-train - but here it was, close besideher, and she had been so concerned about timmy that she had quite forgotten it.

timmy went over to the engine and smelt the wheels. then he jumped up into the cab. somehowthe sight of timmy doing that took away all george's fear. if timmy could jump up into thespook-train, there couldn't be much for her to be afraid of!

she decided to examine the trucks. there were four of them, all covered trucks. shining hertorch, she climbed up into one of them, pulling timmy up behind her. she expected to find itquite empty, unloaded many, many years ago by long-forgotten railway men.

but it was loaded with boxes! george was surprised. why did a spook-train run about with boxesin it? she shone her torch on to one - and then quickly switched it out!

she had heard a noise in the tunnel. she crouched down in the truck, put her hand on timmy'scollar, and listened. timmy listened, too, the hackles rising on his neck.

it was a clanging noise. then there came a bang.

then a light shone out, and the tunnel was suddenly as bright as day!

the light came from a great lamp in the side of the tunnel. george peeped cautiously out througha crack in the truck. she saw that this place must be where the tunnel forked. one fork went on tokilty's yard - but surely the other fork was supposed to be bricked up? george followed the lineswith her eyes. one set went on down the tunnel to kilty's yard, the other set ran straight into agreat wall, which was built across the second tunnel, that once led to roker's yard.

'yes - it is bricked up, just as the old porter told julian,' said george to herself. and then shestared in the greatest amazement, clutching the side of the truck, hardly believing her eyes.

part of the wall was opening before her! before her very eyes, a great mass of it slid back in thecentre of the wall - back and back - until a strange-shaped opening, about the size of the trainitself, showed in the thick wall. george gasped. whatever could be happening?

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a man came through the opening. george felt sure she had seen him before somewhere. hecame up to the engine of the train and swung himself into the cab.

there were all sorts of sounds then from the cab. what was the man doing? starting the fire torun the train? george did not dare to try and see. she was trembling now, and timmy pressedhimself against her to comfort her.

then came another set of noises - steam noises. the man must be going to start the enginemoving. smoke came from the funnel. more noises, and some clanks and clangs.

it suddenly occurred to george that the man might be going to take the train through that littleopening in the bricked-up wall. then-supposing he shut the wall up again - george would be aprisoner! she would be in the truck, hidden behind that wall, and the wall would be closed sothat she couldn't escape.

'i must get out before it's too late,' thought george, in a panic. 'i only hope the man doesn't seeme!'

but just as she was about to try and get out, the engine gave a loud 'choo-choo', and began tomove backwards! it ran down the lines a little way, then forward again, and this time its wheelswere on the set of lines that led to the second tunnel, where the small opening now showed soclearly in the wall.

george didn't dare to get out of the moving train. so there she crouched as the engine steamedquickly to the hole in the wall that stretched right across the other tunnel. that hole just fitted it!

it must have been made for it, thought george, as the train moved through it.

the train went right through and came out in another tunnel. here there was a bright light, too.

george peered out through the crack. there was more than a tunnel here! what looked like vastcaves stretched away on each side of the tunnel, and men lounged about in them. who on earthwere they, and what were they doing with that old train?

there was a curious noise at the back of the train. the hole in the stout brick wall closed up oncemore! now there was no way in or out. 'it's like the open-sesame trick in ali baba and the fortythieves,' thought george. 'and, like ali baba, i'm in the cave - and don't know the way to getmyself out! thank goodness timmy is with me!'

the train was now at a standstill. behind it was the thick wall - and then george saw that in frontof it was a thick wall, too! this tunnel must be bricked up in two places - and in between was81

this extraordinary cavern, or whatever it was. george puzzled her head over the strange place,but couldn't make head or tail of it.

'well! whatever would the others say if they knew you and i were actually in the spook-trainitself, tucked away in its hiding-place where nobody in the world can find it?' whispered georgeto timmy. 'what are we to do, timmy?'

timmy wagged his tail cautiously. he didn't understand all this. he wanted to lie low for a bitand see how things turned out.

'we'll wait till the men have gone away, timmy,' whispered george. 'that is, if they ever do!

then we'll get out and see if we can manage that open-sesame entrance and get away. we'dbetter tell mr. luffy about all this. there's something very strange and very mysterious here -and we've fallen headlong into it!'