Johnny Swanson - Eleanor Updale [69]
‘But they needn’t find out.’
‘Not if we fail, Johnny. But what if we succeed? If we can solve the murder, your mother will be let out, and there will be lots of publicity. Questions will be asked. My lie would be exposed.’
Johnny was fired up by the thought that they might succeed, and that with Mrs Langford’s help Winnie might be freed. But he could see Hutch’s point.
‘I’ll go by myself,’ he said.
‘Are you serious?’ said Hutch.
‘Of course I am. My mother and Mrs Langford are both in danger. It looks as if I’m the only one who can help them. I really have to go.’
Hutch was thoughtful. ‘I’m not sure I should let you. I promised your mother I would keep you safe.’
‘Hutch, I’m sorry,’ said Johnny defiantly. ‘I know I should do what you say, but if you don’t let me, I’ll just go anyway. There’s no way you can stop me. I’ve got enough money to buy a ticket. If you help me, I might at least get on the right train.’
Hutch gave in eventually, and looked up the route and train times in a large book he kept under the counter in the post office. He worked out that if Johnny started early enough, it was just about possible to get to Craig-y-Nos and back in one day. He made Johnny a packed lunch for the journey, and wrote a list of the stations where he would have to change trains.
‘If you have any problems, ask a lady,’ he said, ‘or the guard or the ticket collector. Don’t stick your head out of the window – you might get it knocked off. And don’t use the lavatory while the train is in a station – it’s not allowed.’ He asked for the list back and scribbled something new on the bottom. ‘It’s the phone number here, in case you hit trouble. You’ll have to ask the operator to put you through.’
‘I know how to work the phone,’ said Johnny wearily. ‘I sometimes went to the telephone box by the Town Hall to send in adverts. It meant I could use papers all over the country.’
‘But how did you pay them?’
‘Oh, I sent postal orders. Sometimes I could put two or three adverts on one bill. The Yorkshire Post even gave Auntie Ada an account.’
Hutch shook his head. ‘So much knowledge for one so young,’ he said.
Johnny didn’t dare tell him that he’d never been on a train in his life.
Chapter 33
JOHNNY’S JOURNEY
Johnny loved the railway. He often watched from the footbridge over Stambleton station as snorting steam engines powered through on their way from places like Birmingham, Rugby and Crewe to all parts of the country. Even the little local trains that puffed to a stop at Stambleton were exciting.
On board for the first time, Johnny rocked with the rhythm as the wheels bumped over the joints in the track. He stared out at the unfamiliar perspective on the town he knew so well, and then, only minutes later, on a rural landscape he had never seen before. He adored the smell of the sooty steam that blew in through the little sliding window at the top of the compartment. It mingled with the aroma of cigarettes and pipe-smoke clinging to the itchy upholstery, which left patterns on the backs of his legs. Hutch had put some comics in his bag, but Johnny didn’t want to read. There was too much to see. And anyway, he was worried in case he missed the two connections he would have to make before arriving at Penwyllt, where a station had been built at Adelina Patti’s own expense especially to serve Craig-y-Nos. Johnny thought how much Dr Langford would have loved those place names, heavy with consonants and mystery.
His last change involved a cold wait for the local service to Penwyllt. There was a refreshment room at the other end of the platform. Johnny wondered whether they would let him sit inside to keep warm. He had a shilling in his pocket, but Hutch had given it to him for use in emergencies only, and he didn’t want to be forced to spend some of it on a cup of tea. He decided to go in, sit down, and see if he got thrown out. It would be worth the embarrassment to have the chance to get the feeling back in his feet and fingers again. But as he pushed open the door, letting out a blast of steamy brightness, he caught sight