Crown Phoenix: Night Watchman Express Page 26

  ***

  ith great effort, Miriam opened her eyes. Ouch, she said to herself. It hurt to open her eyes and look at the light, but she forced her head up to see where she was.

  At least that sack wasn’t over her eyes anymore, but her hands and feet were still securely tied. In front of her on the ground, lay Simon, his eyes closed and his head tilted back at a funny angle.

  Her heart gave a horrible lurch in her chest. She gasped and nudged him with both feet. “Simon! Are you all right? Simon, wake up! Oh, please don’t be-”

  He groaned suddenly, and opened his eyes. “Don’t be what?” he asked.

  “Thank goodness,” she said with relief. “I thought you were –”

  “Was what?” he asked, licking dry lips and blinking in a befuddled manner. “Where are we?”

  Miriam considered. The ground was rocking beneath her, and she could hear a rhythmic clacking outside. “I’d say we were on the Night Watchman Express,” she said. She shuddered.

  He groaned again and sat up. This was a rather complicated maneuver, as his hands were tied as well. “Say again? The train, you mean? We can’t be. Why would we be?”

  “Who knows,” Miriam answered. Her head hurt abominably, and she was certain that she had a large lump on her forehead.

  “Well, let’s just shout and make them understand they’ve got the wrong people,” Simon said. He began to yell out, “Oy!.. Hullo there!.. Oy!”

  The door opened after a few minutes of shouting and a guard pushed his head in to glare at them. “Lay off of it,” he said at once.

  “Listen, my good man, you’ve got hold of the wrong people,” Simon said confidently. “Let us off at the next station, please, and my father will reimburse you for any expenses.”

  “’Strewth! ‘Reimburse me for expenses’, eh?” The guard laughed mirthlessly, and he leaned down and gave Simon’s ear a violent twist. “Make a noise like that again and I’ll stuff my old socks into your mouth to keep you quiet and give you a bash on the head in the bargain.”

  Miriam cleared her throat, and the guard looked at her. “Well?” he barked.

  “Please, sir,” she said, giving him a winning smile, “my arms hurt ever so much. Could you please untie us? We promise we won’t go anywhere, don’t we, Simon?”

  Simon stared at her. “Oh, yes – yes, what she said. We really won’t try anything funny.”

  The guard laughed. “Ha! Not bloody likely!”

  “There’s money in my shirtfront,” Miriam wheedled. “You can have it all.”

  The guard frowned. “’Spose there’s not you can do. No place to go, see?” He bent down and fished out the money from Miriam’s pinafore, as well as the biscuits and apples. “Hm!” he said, looking at the food. “Might get peckish later.”

  Pulling out a penknife, he cut the rope binding their wrists and feet. Straightening up with some difficulty, the guard walked away, stowing Miriam’s money and the food in one pocket. He closed the door with finality, and they heard his footsteps retreating.

  Simon rubbed the skin on his wrists. “Ouch,” he said. “That really hurt.”

  “Well, aren’t you going to thank me?” Miriam demanded. “I got us free!”

  “We’re not free,” Simon insisted. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we seem to be rushing along in a train. I don’t feel like jumping off a moving engine, thank you very much.”

  “Oh ho, so you admit that I’m right now!” Miriam replied with some spirit.

  Simon frowned. “My point is that we’re not free, and it’s ridiculous to say so.”

  “Well, at least I can scratch my nose now,” Miriam said, itching violently. “And, it’s more than you were able to do, being all posh and trying to order people about. At least I was able to accomplish something.” She screwed her face into a horrible, mimicking expression. “Listen to me, ‘my good man’! What were you thinking?”

  Simon rolled his eyes. Groaning, he got up and half rolled, half crawled next to her, leaning against the wall of the train carriage. “Maybe I didn’t strike the right tone,” he admitted.

  “I’ll say.”

  “Well, since you have all the answers, now what are we going to do?” Simon asked.

  Miriam looked at him. “Obviously, we have to wait until we get where we’re going. We can’t do anything now.”

  “Well, thank you for pointing out the obvious,” Simon said. “Whatever would I do without you here to set me straight?”

  “Still be tied up, for one,” Miriam retorted.

  “Oh, we’ll never hear the end of that now, I suppose.”

  “And once we get to where we’re going, do try not to call anyone ‘my good man’.”

  “Oh, be quiet,” Simon said wearily.