2. Never Late (II)

What will happen to the narrator who has pulled the iron thing near the notice? Did he have a strong reason to do that? Will he be punished for what he has done? Continue your reading and find the answer.

Well, a noise started above our heads. That was to show everyone that there was something wrong. It was not a small sound. It hurt my ears, and quite possibly the men in my ship two miles away could hear it. Then everyone began to talk at the same time. Then the train stopped, and I was glad to see that we were still in the station. Again I tried to get through the door into the corridor, and this time I certainly tried very hard. But all the people and the suitcases and boxes made it impossible. I was getting very hot and rather angry.

Then the noise above our heads stopped, but something seemed to be happening outside in the station. A lot of people were running about, and some of them were calling to others and making a lot of noise. There were two small men just in front of me; they were standing in the corridor and looking through the window. I could see over their heads, and so I could see the station outside. Out there a rather fat man, dressed in blue, was running about and trying to look in through the windows. He seemed to be very angry about something.

Well, I needed help, and perhaps he could help me: he was wearing blue and so he was perhaps a man who worked on the train. So I raised my two bags high in the air, and made signs over the men's heads that I wanted to get out.

The man in blue stopped running and stood there with a very red and angry face. He leaned down and looked at me out of the tops of his eyes. Then he called to someone whom I could not see, and pointed at me through the window. He was certainly an angry man. But he seemed to be angry with me, and I could not understand that. I only wanted to get out.

I tried to speak to him, but the window was closed. I raised my voice, and everyone stopped talking. They all seemed to think that something was going to happen now. They were right.

The fat man came to the window, and someone opened it.

"Did you stop this train?" he cried. How hot he looked!

"Of course I stopped it," I said. "I want to get out."

He could not believe his ears. " You stopped The Flying Bluebird?" he cried at the top of his voice.

"Yes, I certainly did," I answered.

"But you can't do that!" he cried angrily. "You can't do that."

"I can do it," I said. "I've done it."

"You can't! You can't!" I thought that he was going to need a doctor. "You may stop every other train in the world if you like, but not The Flying Bluebird! It will be late at Endoran, and it is never late. Never! Never! No one has ever stopped it before."

I was not feeling very pleased about all this. "Well," I said, "now I've stopped it. That's something new in the world. Help me to get out."

He was so angry that for some seconds he could not speak. Then he said, "There will soon be something new in your life."

He looked away from me towards the back of the train. I was still trying to get out, of course, but it was impossible. There were about twelve people between me and the outside door, and the floor of the corridor was covered with all kinds of things. No one could walk on that floor. My two cases gave me a lot of trouble, too.

When I looked out of the window again, I saw five policemen. The man in blue clothes was talking to one of them and pointing at me. This one seemed to be an officer, and he told me angrily to get out at once. But what was the use of that? I could not move, and so he became angrier.

"Get out!" he said again. "You're coming with us to the police-station."

"The police-station?" I cried. "What have I done?"

"You've stopped The Flying Bluebird," he called back.

"I can't come to the police-station," I said. "I have to catch my ship, and it leaves at half past eleven. I have no time to come to the police-station."

"You won't catch any ship today," he said. "Get out."

"I cannot get out," I cried. "I've tried for ten minutes, and it's impossible." "Oh, is it?" he said. "We shall see."

He took his four men away from the window, and then I heard someone opening the outside door at the end of the corridor. A noise started near the door, and I heard angry voices. The police were trying to reach me and take me to the police-station. But they could not. It was true that I could not get out; but it was also true that they could not get in.

I heard the sound of something falling outside. The policemen were throwing the suitcases and boxes out of the train! Angry cries came from their owners, and of course the owners got out too. The corridor was not so full now, and I could hear the police coming nearer and nearer to me.

I lost hope of catching my ship. I had not enough money to buy a ticket for another ship, or to stay in a hotel for several days. My bank was far away. But I did not need a hotel, I was going to the police-station.

It seemed a long time before the officer reached me, and when at last his face came round the door, it was very hot. Most of the things from the corridor were now outside on the station, and a lot of very angry people were out there too. I got ready to go with the officer.

"Follow me," he said.

I did so, and we easily reached the door and got out. There was a lot of noise there, but I was able to hear him.

"Good morning!" he said kindly. "I hope that you will catch your ship." I was very surprised. "But aren't we going to the police-station?" I asked.

"Oh, no. There's no need for that. You were quite right. Of course you couldn't get out. No train ought to have so many people in it. Good morning!"

I liked that officer. He was a man who could think.

I thanked him and walked away with my two cases. I looked back once. The Flying Bluebird still stood in the station, and the people were trying to put their things back into the train. The officer was talking to the man in blue, who did not look very happy. The officer was pointing at all the people, and it seemed to me that the man in blue was going to take my place at the police-station.

I caught my ship easily. It was quiet there. I had a drink as soon as I could. I needed it.

From A Number of Things, Longman, 1962.