The Little Clown Part 7

'I wanted to look out at the window,' he answered.

'Well, you can look out at my window,' she said, and so Jimmy went to the other end of the compartment, and she gave him her seat; and for an hour or more the train went on its way, stopping at one or two stations, until presently it came to a standstill again.

'Where is this?' asked one of the ladies. The other looked out at the window and said--

'Meresleigh.'

'We ought not to stop here,' answered her friend.

At the other end of the compartment the old gentleman let down his window: 'Hi, Hi! Guard, Guard!' he cried, and the guard came to the door.

'Why are we stopping here?' asked the old gentleman.

'Something's gone wrong with the engine, sir.'

'How long shall we stay?' asked the gentleman.

'Maybe a quarter of an hour, sir,' said the guard. 'We've got to wait for a fresh engine, but it won't be long.'

'We may as well get out,' cried one of the ladies, and as soon as they had left the carriage the old gentleman also stepped on to the platform, and Jimmy did not see why he should not do the same. So he got out, and seeing a small crowd near the engine he walked along the platform towards it.

The engine-driver stood with an oil-can in one hand talking to the station-master, but there being nothing interesting to see, Jimmy began to look about the large station.

It was then that he began to feel hungry. His feet were very cold, and the wind blew along the platform, so that Jimmy turned up his overcoat collar as he stamped about to get warm. As he walked up and down he noticed a good many people going in and out at a door, and looking in he saw that it led to the refreshment room.

Now, Jimmy had two shillings and a sixpence in his purse, and had no doubt that lemonade could be bought at the counter where a good many persons were standing. Feeling a little shy, he went to the counter, and presently succeeded in making one of the young women behind it see him.

'What do you want?' she asked.

'A bottle of lemonade--have you got any ginger-beer?' asked Jimmy.

'Which do you want?' said the young woman.

Jimmy could not make up his mind for a few moments, but he stood thinking with his hands in his pockets.

'Is it stone-bottle ginger-beer?' he asked.

'Yes,' was the answer.

'I think I'll have lemonade,' cried Jimmy, and she turned away impatiently to get the bottle.

It was rather cold, but still Jimmy enjoyed his lemonade very much, and before he had half finished it, he put his sixpence on the counter. He thought it was a little dear at fourpence, and he looked sorry when he received only twopence change. Then he emptied his gla.s.s, and went outside again, thinking he would eat his ham-sandwiches. But the wind blew colder than ever, and seeing another open door a little farther along the platform Jimmy cautiously peeped in. The large room was quite empty, and an enormous fire was burning in the grate.

He thought it would be far pleasanter to sit down to eat his sandwiches comfortably beside the fire than to eat them whilst he walked about the cold, windy platform. Before he entered the room he looked towards the train, which still stood where it had stopped. There was quite a small crowd near the engine, and whilst some persons had re-entered their carriages, others walked up and down in front of theirs.

Pushing back the door of the waiting-room, Jimmy went to the farther end, and sat down on a bench close to the fire. Then he tugged the sandwiches out of his pocket, untied the string, and began to eat them.

He did not stop until the last was finished, and by that time he began to feel remarkably comfortable and rather sleepy. He made up his mind that he would not on any account close his eyes, but they felt so heavy that they really would not keep open; his chin dropped on to his chest, and in a few moments he was sound asleep.

Then for some time all the busy life of the great railway station went on: trains arrived, stopped, and started again; other trains whistled as they dashed past without stopping; porters hurried hither and thither with piles of luggage, and still a small dark-haired boy sat on the bench in the waiting-room, unconscious of all that was happening.

Presently Jimmy awoke. He opened his eyes and began to rub them, thinking at first that the bell which he heard was rung to call the boys at Miss Lawson's school. But when he looked around him, he soon discovered that he was not in the school dormitory, and then as he became more wide-awake he remembered where he really was and began to fear that he had slept too long and missed his train. Starting up in a hurry, Jimmy ran out to the platform, and there to his great joy he saw a train standing exactly where he had left one. A good many people were waiting by the doors, but Jimmy looked in vain for the two ladies and the old gentleman.

'Take your seats!' cried a porter, 'just going on;' so that, afraid of being left behind, Jimmy jumped into a carriage close at hand. It happened to be empty, but he did not mind that, and he was only just in time, for the next minute a whistle blew and the train began to move. It had not long started, before he noticed that the afternoon had become much darker; he did not possess a watch, but as far as he could tell it must be very nearly tea-time. However, he supposed that it could not be long now before he arrived at Chesterham, and he began to look forward more eagerly than ever to seeing his father and mother on the platform.

The train went on, stopping at several stations, and at each one Jimmy looked out at the window and tried to read the name on the lamps. But he felt no fear about going too far, because he knew that the train stopped altogether when it reached Chesterham. It seemed a long time reaching there, however, much longer than he had imagined; but at last it came to a standstill, and, looking through the window, Jimmy saw that many more persons got out than usual. He leaned back in his seat, feeling tired and cold, and waiting for the train to go on again, when presently a porter stopped at the window.

'All change here!' he said.

'But I don't want to change,' answered Jimmy. 'This isn't Chesterham, is it?' for he had read the name of Barstead on one of the lamps.

'Chesterham!' cried the porter, 'I should say not. Chesterham is fifty miles away on another line. This is Barstead. And if you don't want to stay all night on the siding the best thing you can do is to get out.'

CHAPTER VII

JIMMY IS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

Jimmy stared at the porter in great astonishment. His eyes and his mouth were opened very widely, and he felt extremely frightened. He rose from the seat and stepped out on to the dark platform.

'I want to go to Chesterham,' he said.

'Well, you can't go to Chesterham to-night,' was the answer. 'Where's your ticket?'

Jimmy felt in his pocket for his purse, and opening it took out his ticket.

'You'd better come to speak to the station-master,' said the porter; and Jimmy, feeling more frightened than ever, followed him to a small room, where a tall red-bearded man sat writing at a table which seemed to be covered all over with papers. When Jimmy entered with the porter the station-master rose and stood with his back to the fire, whilst the porter began to explain.

'You can't get to Chesterham without going back to Meresleigh,' said the station-master presently. 'Chesterham is on a different line, and there is no train to-night.'

'Then what am I to do?' asked Jimmy, turning very pale.

'That's just what I should like to know!' was the answer. 'But you can't get back to Meresleigh until to-morrow morning, that's certain.'

'But where shall I sleep?' cried Jimmy.

'How was it you got out of the train at Meresleigh?' asked the station-master.

'You see,' faltered Jimmy nervously, 'there was an accident to the engine and we all got out.'

'Then why didn't you get in again?'

'I did,' said Jimmy.

'You didn't get into the right train,' answered the station-master, 'or you wouldn't be here. Tell me just what you did, now.'