chapter 14 jock comes to camp

julian found the path quite by chance and went along it as fast as he could. he used his torch, forhe did not think he would meet anyone out on such a lonely way at that time of night. the pathwas very much overgrown, but he could follow it fairly easily, even running at times.

'if that spook-train stops about twenty minutes in the yard again, as it did before, it will give mejust about time to reach the other end of the tunnel,' panted julian. i'll be at kilty's yard before itcomes.'

it seemed a very long way. but at last the path led downwards, and some way below him juliancould see what might be a railway yard. then he saw that big sheds were built there - or whatlooked like big sheds in the starlight.

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 slippedquickly down the path and came into what had once been the old railway yard. big buildingsloomed up on every side. julian thought they must be workshops of some kind. he switched historch on and off very quickly, but the short flash had shown him what he was looking for - twopairs 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 insideat all. he switched his torch on and off quickly. yes - the lines led right inside the tunnel. julianstopped and wondered what to do.

'i'll sneak into the tunnel a little way and see if it's bricked up anywhere,' he thought. so in hewent, walking between one pair of lines. he put on his torch, certain that no one would see itslight 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 wascertainly not bricked up. julian saw a little niche in the brickwork of the tunnel and decided tocrouch in it. it was one of the niches made for workmen to stand in when trains went by in theold days.

julian crouched down in the dirty old niche and waited. he glanced at the luminous face of hiswatch. he had been twenty minutes getting here. maybe the train would be along in a fewminutes. he would be very, very close to it! julian couldn't help wishing that dick was with him.

71

it was so eerie waiting there in the dark for a mysterious train that apparently belonged to no oneand 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 heheld his breath, feeling certain that the train was coming. but it didn't come. julian waited forhalf an hour and still the train had not appeared. what had happened to it?

'i'll wait another ten minutes and then i'm going,' julian decided. i've had about enough of hidingin a dark, dirty tunnel waiting for a train that doesn't come! maybe it has decided to stay in olly'syard for the night.'

after ten minutes he gave it up. he left the tunnel, went into kilty's yard and then up the path tothe moors. he hurried along it, eager to see if dick was at the other end of the tunnel. surely hewould wait there till julian came back!

dick was there, tired and impatient. when he saw a quick flash from julian's torch he answeredit with his own. the two boys joined company thankfully.

'you have been ages!' said dick, reproachfully. 'what happened? the spook-train went back intothe 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 otherside! i waited for ages. i never even heard it - though i did hear a very faint rumble once, orthought i did.'

the boys fell silent, puzzled and mystified. what sort of a train was this that puffed out of atunnel 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?' saidjulian 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 enoughtonight!'

julian had had enough too. in silence the two boys went back to camp. they quite forgot thestring in front of their tent, and scrambled right through it. they got into the sleeping-bagsthankfully.

the string, fastened to george's big toe through a hole she had cut in her sleeping-bag, pulledhard, and george woke up with a jump. timmy was awake, having heard the boys come back.

he licked george when she sat up.

72

george had not undressed properly. she slipped quickly out of her bag and crawled out of hertent. 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. bothboys had fallen asleep immediately, tired out with their midnight trip. julian snored a little, anddick 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 havescrambled through that string. after listening for a few minutes, she gave it up and went back toher tent.

in the morning, george was furious! julian and dick related their night's adventure, and georgecould hardly believe that once again they had gone without her - and that they had managed toget 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? isuppose 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 withmy 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 orsomething?'

'i don't know,' said jock. 'mum won't say, but she looks pretty miserable. my stepfather's in afrightful temper. it's my opinion they want me out of the way for some reason. i don't know thissister 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, itcan't matter where you go for a fortnight. we'd love to have you.'

73

'right. i'll come,' said jock. 'i'll not say a word about it, though, to my stepfather. i'll let muminto the secret. she was going to take me away today, but i'll just tell her i'm coming to youinstead. 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 histail. 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 thingsaway. george became sulky again when jock was gone. she simply could not or would notrealise that julian meant what he said!

when they began to discuss everything that had happened the night before, george refused tolisten. 'i'm not going to bother about your stupid spook-trains any more,' she said. 'you wouldn'tlet 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? climbdown 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 wantto 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 ofhearing.

'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 workto 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 neverthought i'd be camping out with you. if there isn't room in your tent for me, julian, i can sleepout on the heather.'

'there'll be room,' said julian. 'hallo, mr. luffy! you've been out early!'

mr. luffy came up and glanced at jock. 'ah, is this your friend from the farm? how do you do?

come to spend a few days with us? i see you have an armful of rugs!'

'yes. jock's coming to camp a bit with us,' said julian. 'look at all the food he's brought. enoughto stand a siege!'

'it is indeed,' said mr. luffy. 'well, i'm going to go through some of my specimens this morning.

what are you going to do?'

74

'oh, mess about till lunchtime,' said julian. 'then we might go for a walk.'

mr. luffy went back to his tent and they could hear him whistling softly as he set to work.

suddenly jock sat up straight and looked alarmed.

'what's the matter?' asked dick. then he heard what jock had heard. a shrill whistle blownloudly by somebody some way off.

'that's my stepfather's whistle,' said jock. 'he's whistling for me. mum must have told him, orelse he's found out i've come over here.'

'quick - let's scoot away and hide,' said anne. 'if you're not here he can't take you back! comeon! maybe he'll get tired of looking for you, and go.'

nobody could think of a better idea, and certainly nobody wanted to face a furious mr. andrews.

all four shot down the slope and made their way to where the heather was high and thick. theyburrowed into it and lay still, hidden by some high bracken.

mr. andrews's voice could soon be heard, shouting for jock, but no jock appeared. mr. andrewscame out by mr. luffy's tent. mr. luffy, surprised at the shouting, put his head out of his tent tosee what it was all about. he didn't like the look of mr. andrews at all.

'where's jock?' mr. andrews demanded, scowling at him.

'i really do not know,' said mr. luffy.

'he's got to come back,' said mr. andrews, roughly. 'i won't have him hanging about here withthose kids.'

'what's wrong with them?' inquired mr. luffy. 'i must say i find them very well-behaved andpleasant-mannered.'

mr. andrews stared at mr. luffy, and put him down as a silly, harmless old fellow who wouldprobably help him to get jock back if he went about it the right way.

'now look here,' said mr. andrews. 'i don't know who you are, but you must be a friend of thechildren's. and if so, then i'd better warn you they're running into danger. see?'

'really? in what way?' asked mr. luffy, mildly and disbelievingly.

'well, there's bad and dangerous places about these moorlands,' said mr. andrews. 'very bad. iknow them. and those children have been messing about in them. see? and if jock comes here,he'll start messing about too, and i don't want him to get into any danger. it would break hismother's heart.'

'quite,' said mr. luffy.

75

'well, will you talk to him and send him back?' said mr. andrews. 'that railway yard now - that'sa most dangerous place. and folks do say that there're spook-trains there. i wouldn't want jock tobe mixed up in anything of that sort.'

'quite,' said mr. luffy again, looking closely at mr. andrews. 'you seem very concerned aboutthis - er -railway yard.'

'me? oh, no,' said mr. andrews. 'never been near the horrible place. i wouldn't want to seespook-trains - make me run a mile! it's just that i don't want jock to get into danger. i'd be mostobliged if you'd talk to him and send him home, when they all come back from wherever theyare.'

'quite,' said mr. luffy again, most irritatingly. mr. andrews gazed at mr. luffy's bland face andsuddenly wished he could smack it. 'quite, quite, quite!' gr-r-r-r-r-r-r!

he turned and went away. when he had gone for some time, and was a small speck in thedistance, mr. luffy called loudly.

'he's gone! please send jock here so that i can - er -address a few words to him.'

four children appeared from their heathery hiding-place. jock went over to mr. luffy, lookingmutinous.

'i just wanted to say,' said mr. luffy, 'that i quite understand why you want to be away from yourstepfather, and that i consider it's no business of mine where you go in order to get away fromhim!'

jock grinned. 'oh, thanks awfully,' he said. 'i thought you were going to send me back!' herushed over to the others. 'it's all right,' he said. 'i'm going to stay, and, i say - what about goingand exploring down that tunnel after lunch? we might find that spook-train then!'

'good idea!' said julian. 'we will! poor old george - she'll miss that little adventure too!'