“Not midnight. We’re way past that,” he said. “Five minutes until the 4.36. If it’s on time.”
“4.36?” asked Edie. “How do you how there’ll be a train then?”
“Haven’t you heard it?” said Gus. “When you’re lying in bed at night?”
“No,” said Edie. Her voice was growing a little louder now as she got used to being outside with the darkness all around her. “I usually sleep like a log. Except tonight, of course… ” She trailed off, sensing again that neither of them wanted to mention Uncle Peter and all those terrible things they’d heard him shout. She realized too, from the way he spoke, that Gus must lie awake most nights.
“Have you been out here before?” she asked. “In the dark?”
“No,” said Gus.
“Oh, good!” Edie didn’t mean to sound so pleased. She was surprised how glad she was. It felt exciting being out here like this and she was happy she wasn’t playing catch-up with some adventure Gus had already had.
“Is it just me,” she asked, “or is it getting darker?”
“Much darker,” said Gus, beside her. She realized she could hardly see his face any more. A thick cloud had passed across the moon.
“Listen,” said Edie. “I can hear it.” There was the unmistakable chug-chug-chug of a train, far away, like a little drummer boy softly practicing a rhythm to get it right.
She glanced down the line, expecting to see lights coming towards them but there was nothing. Just darkness. The noise grew louder – thumping now like a proud drum major in a big brass band.
“Where is it?” she said. But before Gus could answer, a shadow roared out of the gloom. Steam whistled and the train flew past. There were no lights on it at all. Just a red glow from the firebox where the hot coals burned.
Like the flames in a dragon’s mouth, Edie thought.
“They don’t have lights at night, so the bombers can’t see them,” said Gus, raising his voice above the noise now as the dark carriages rattled past.
“Of course,” said Edie. It was like the blackout, except even more important out here. The Germans were always trying to bomb the railway lines. Nothing could move around the country without trains.
The carriages rattled on and on and on.
“It’s like a serpent,” she gasped. “The Dark Demon.” She had never seen a train so long. Not that she could see it now, of course. She could just make out the shape of the shadows enough to tell that they were not passenger carriages rattling by. The Dark Demon was some sort of goods train, with long low wagons, loaded up with ominous black mounds.
“Bombs,” said Gus. “From the munitions factories.”
Edie shuddered. She knew they were their bombs. Good bombs, she almost found herself saying. But that was nonsense. There was no such thing as a good bomb. She hated the thought of them all – screeching through the air, shattering everything to smithereens below.
Then, with a last rattle of a final wagon, the mighty train was gone.
“Phew!” Edie found she’d been holding her breath and let it out in a rush.
“We never asked it to send our love,” said Gus.
“I wouldn’t want it to,” said Edie. “Not that one. Not the Dark Demon.”
“Fair enough,” said Gus. There was maybe just the hint of a laugh in his voice, but he didn’t tease her. She knew Perky would have done, if he’d been here.
They both sank down and sat with their backs against the fence. Gus had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and he spread it across their knees.
“We should go back, really,” said Edie. But neither of them moved.
“Bit dark still,” said Gus, glancing at the sky. “I wouldn’t want you twisting your ankle in the long grass.” He was teasing her now for sure. “You know how clumsy you are.” She couldn’t see his face, but she knew he was grinning.
She decided to ignore it. She knew he was only using her clumsiness as an excuse not to go home quite yet. The moon was coming out from behind the clouds again and they probably could have seen well enough to find their way. But neither of them seemed ready to move. She could still hear the sound of poor Uncle Peter’s dreadful screams echoing inside her head. It was nice to be out here in the fresh air for a while longer, even if it was a little chilly. Edie pulled the blanket up around her neck and yawned.
“We mustn’t go to sleep,” she said. “Not here!”
Chapter Nine
The Telegram
Edie woke slowly and pulled the blanket around her, keeping her eyes closed for a last moment of peace.
She had fallen asleep sitting up, and she thought she was back in London with a Tube train rattling past her as she dozed against the wall on the Underground platform at Piccadilly.
It didn’t smell like the Underground. It smelt clean and fresh … but there was a tang of smoke too.
“Fliss?” She yawned, stretching out her hand, expecting to find her mother beside her.
Then she opened her eyes and remembered where she was. She was on the bank above the railway track. It was light now and the sky was still pink from the sunrise. The dawn air was chilly and the grass was damp with dew. She pricked her ears. The sound she could hear was another train rumbling towards them. Gus was stretching sleepily beside her. He must have fallen asleep too.
They staggered to their feet and she wrapped the blanket around herself, shivering, as the train rattled past. She could see the sleepy early-morning passengers slumped in their seats, some resting their tired heads against the windows, catching a last wink of sleep before the start of a busy day.
“Sweet dreams!” she whispered.
“6.06,” said Gus, checking his watch. “What shall we call this one?
“The Dreaming Dragon,” said Edie decisively. “Come on. We better get back.”
They were about to move off when they heard voices on the
