chapter 16 in the tunnel again

jock was really enjoying himself at the camp. he had a picnic lunch with the others, and ate asmuch as they did, looking very happy. mr. luffy joined them, and jock beamed at him, feelingthat he was a real friend.

'where's george?' asked mr. luffy.

'gone off by herself,' said julian.

'have you quarrelled, by any chance?' said mr. luffy.

'a bit,' said julian. 'we have to let george get over it by herself, mr. luffy. she's like that.'

'where's she gone?' said mr. luffy, helping himself to a tomato. 'why isn't she back to dinner?'

'she's taken hers with her,' said anne. 'i feel a bit worried about her, somehow. i hope she's allright.'

mr. luffy looked alarmed. 'i feel a bit worried myself,' he said. 'still, she's got timmy with her.'

'we're going off on a bit of exploring,' said julian, when they had all finished eating. 'what areyou going to do, mr. luffy?'

'i think i'll come with you,' said mr. luffy, unexpectedly. the children's hearts sank. theycouldn't possibly go exploring for spook-trains in the tunnel if mr. luffy was with them.

82

'well - i don't think it will be very interesting for you, sir,' said julian, rather feebly. however,mr. luffy took the hint and realised he wasn't wanted that afternoon.

'right,' he said. 'in that case i'll stay here and mess about.'

the children sighed with relief. anne cleared up, with jock helping her, and then they calledgood-bye to mr. luffy and set off, taking their tea with them.

jock was full of excitement. he was so pleased to be with the others, and he kept thinking ofsleeping in the camp that night - what fun it would be! good old mr. luffy, taking his side likethat. he bounded after the others joyfully as they went off to the old railway yard.

wooden-leg sam was pottering about there as usual. they waved to him, but he didn't waveback. instead he shook his fist at them and tried to bawl in his husky voice: 'you clear out!

trespassing, that's what you are. don't you come down here or i'll chase you!'

'well, we won't go down then,' said dick, with a grin. 'poor old man - thinking of chasing uswith that wooden leg of his. we won't give him the chance. we'll just walk along here, climbdown the lines and walk up them to the tunnel.'

which is what they did, much to the rage of poor sam. he yelled till his voice gave out, but theytook no notice, and walked quickly up the lines. the mouth of the tunnel looked very round andblack as they came near.

'now we'll jolly well walk right through this tunnel and see where that spook-train is that cameout of it the other night,' said julian. 'it didn't come out the other end, so it must be somewhere inthe middle of the tunnel.'

'if it's a real spook-train, it might completely disappear,' said anne, not liking the look of thedark tunnel at all. the others laughed.

'it won't have disappeared,' said dick. 'we shall come across it somewhere, and we'll examine itthoroughly and try and find out exactly what it is, and why it comes and goes in such amysterious manner.'

they walked into the black tunnel, and switched on their torches, which made little gleamingpaths in front of them. they walked up the middle of one pair of lines, julian in front keeping asharp look-out for anything in the shape of a train!

the lines ran on and on. the children's voices sounded weird and echoing in the long tunnel.

anne kept close to dick, and half wished she hadn't come. then she remembered that georgehad called her a coward, and she put up her head, determined not to show that she was scared.

83

jock talked almost without stopping. i've never done anything like this in my life. i call this aproper adventure, hunting for spook-trains in a dark tunnel. it makes me feel nice and shivery allover. i do hope we find the train. it simply must be here somewhere!'

they walked on and on and on. but there was no sign of any train. they came to where thetunnel forked into the second one, that used to run to roker's vale. julian flashed his torch on theenormous brick wall that stretched across the second tunnel.

'yes, it's well and truly bricked up,' he said. 'so that only leaves this tunnel to explore. come on.'

they went on again, little knowing that george and timmy were behind that brick wall, hiddenin a truck of the spook-train itself! they walked on and on down the lines, and found nothinginteresting at all.

they saw a little round circle of bright light some way in front of them. 'see that?' said julian.

'that must be the end of this tunnel - the opening that goes into kilty's yard. well, if the trainisn't between here and kilty's yard, it's gone!'

in silence they walked down the rest of the tunnel, and came out into the open air. workshopswere built all over kilty's yard. the entrance to the tunnel was weed-grown and neglected.

weeds grew even across the lines there.

'well, no train has been out of this tunnel here for years,' said julian, looking at the thick weeds.

'the wheels would have chopped the weeds to bits.'

'it's extraordinary,' said dick, puzzled. 'we've been right through the tunnel and there's no trainthere at all, yet we know it goes in and out of it. what's happened to it?'

'it is a spook-train,' said jock, his face red with excitement. 'must be. it only exists at night, andthen comes out on its lines, like it used to do years ago.'

'i don't like thinking that,' said anne, troubled. 'it's a horrid thought.'

'what are we going to do now?' julian asked. 'we seem to have come to a blank. no train,nothing to see, empty tunnel. what a dull end to an adventure.'

'let's walk back all the way again,' said jock - he wanted to squeeze as much out of thisadventure as he could. 'i know we shan't see the train this time any more than we did the lasttime, but you never know!'

'i'm not coming through that tunnel again,' said anne. 'i want to be out in the sun. i'll walk overthe top of the tunnel, along the path there that julian took the other night and you three can walkback, and meet me at the other end.'

84

'right,' said julian and the three boys disappeared into the dark tunnel. anne ran up the path thatled alongside the top of it. how good it was to be in the open air again! that horrid tunnel! sheran along cheerfully, glad to be out in the sun.

she got to the other end of the tunnel quite quickly, and sat down on the path above the yard towait for the others. she looked for wooden-leg sam. he was nowhere to be seen. perhaps hewas in his little hut.

she hadn't been there for more than two minutes when something surprising happened. a carcame bumping slowly down the rough track to the yard! anne sat up and watched. a man gotout - and anne's eyes almost fell out of her head. why, it was - surely it was mr. andrews,jock's stepfather!

he went over to sam's hut and threw open the door. anne could hear the sound of voices. thenshe heard another noise - the sound of a heavy lorry coming. she saw it come cautiously downthe steep, rough track. it ran into an old tumbledown shed and stayed there. then three men cameout and anne stared at them. where had she seen them before?

'of course! they're the farm labourers at jock's farm!' she thought. 'but what are they doinghere? how very strange!'

mr. andrews joined the men and, to anne's dismay, they began to walk up the lines to thetunnel! her heart almost stopped. goodness, julian, dick and jock were still in that tunnel,walking through it. they would bump right into mr. andrews and his men - and then whatwould happen? mr. andrews had warned them against going there, and had ordered jock not togo.

anne stared at the four men walking into the far-off mouth of the tunnel. what could she do?

how could she warn the boys? she couldn't! she would just have to stay there and wait for themto come out - probably chased by a furious mr. andrews and the other men. oh dear, dear - ifthey were caught they would probably all get an awful telling off! what could she do?

'i can only wait,' thought poor anne. 'there's nothing else to do. oh, do come, julian, dick andjock. i daren't do anything but wait for you.'

she waited and waited. it was now long past tea-time. julian had the tea, so there was nothing foranne to eat. nobody came out of the tunnel. not a sound was heard. anne at last decided to godown and ask wooden-leg sam a few questions. so, rather afraid, the girl set off down to theyard.

85

sam was in his hut, drinking cocoa, and looking very sour. something had evidently gonewrong. when he saw anne's shadow across the doorway he got up at once, shaking his fist.

'what, you children again! you went into that tunnel this afternoon, and so i went up andtelephoned mr. andrews to come and catch you all, poking your noses in all the time? how didyou get out of that tunnel? are the others with you? didn't mr. andrews catch you, eh?'

anne listened to all this in horror. so old sam had actually managed to telephone mr. andrews,and tell tales on them - so that jock's stepfather and his men had come to catch them. this wasworse than ever.

'you come in here,' said sam suddenly, and he darted his big arm at her. 'come on. i don't knowwhere the others are, but i'll get one of you!'

anne gave a scream and ran away at top speed. wooden-leg sam went after her for a few yardsand then gave it up. he bent down and picked up a handful of cinders. a shower of them fell allround anne, and made her run faster than ever.

she tore up the path to the heather, and was soon on the moors again, panting and sobbing. 'oh,julian! oh, dick! what's happened to you? oh, where's george? if only she would come home,she'd be brave enough to look for them, but i'm not. i must tell mr. luffy. he'll know what todo!' she ran on and on, her feet catching continually in the tufts of thick heather. she kept fallingover and scrambling up again. she now had only one idea in her mind - to find mr. luffy and tellhim every single thing! yes, she would tell him about the spook-trains and all. there wassomething strange and important about the whole thing now, and she wanted a grown-up's help.

she staggered on and on. 'mr. luffy! oh, mr. luffy, where are you? mr. luffy!'

but no mr. luffy answered her. she came round the gorse bushes she thought were the onessheltering the camp - but, alas, the camp was not there. anne had lost her way!

'i'm lost,' said anne, the tears running down her cheeks. 'but i mustn't get scared. i must try tofind the right path now. oh, dear, i'm quite lost! mr. luffy!'

poor anne. she stumbled on blindly, hoping to come to the camp, calling every now and again.

'mr. luffy. can you hear me? mr. lufffffffy!'