The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man - By Mark Hodder Page 0,119

line and caused that one to derail a little over an hour ago."

"Richard had an appointment at ten o'clock," Swinburne answered. "His - um - his - er - his message reached me around midnight. So I guess whatever train left here with him aboard did so during the hour before the crash."

Krishnamurthy turned to his subordinate. "Hoare, run and get a Bradshaw, would you? We'll look up the train times and destinations."

The constable hurried away and, while he was gone, Swinburne gave the commander a brief outline of the events leading up to Burton's plea for help.

"So he got a message to you, did he? The resourceful so-and-so! What was it, a parakeet?"

Swinburne cleared his throat. "Um. I heard a tapping at the window, yes."

"So what's all this seance malarkey about? What are the Rakes up to? I've been receiving preposterous reports from the West End. Some of my colleagues claim that dead Rakes are shuffling about in the Strand!"

"It's true," Spencer said.

"As to what's going on," Swinburne added, "hopefully Richard will be able to tell us, if we can snatch him out of their hands!"

Hoare returned with a portly gentleman in tow.

"I went one better than a Bradshaw and brought the stationmaster, sir."

"Ah, good show. Hello, Mr. Arkwright. I presume you know the station's timetable better than the back of your hand?"

"I certainly do," confessed the uniformed man. "I could sing it to you in my sleep, if I ever sleep again, which after this disaster I probably won't. Just look at the state of my station!"

"No serenades are required, thank you, but perhaps you could tell us what trains left this platform prior to the crash, after, say, half-twelve?"

"Just the one, sir, on account of it being the night timetable and us having a reduced service due to the public disorder."

"And that was?"

"An offence against the king, if you ask me, sir."

"I meant the train, Mr. Arkwright. When did it leave and where was it bound?"

"It was the twelve forty-five atmospheric service, sir, to Weymouth via Reading, stopping at Basingstoke, Winchester, Eastleigh, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Poole. Due in at - "

"Winchester!" Swinburne interrupted. "That's where they've taken him, I'd bet my life on it."

"Yus," Spencer agreed. "Then by carriage to Alresford and on to Tichborne House!"

"Bloody hell!" the little poet cursed, flapping his arms wildly. "Our rotorchairs are somewhere between Clerkenwell and Scotland Yard by now! I say! Krishnamurthy, old bean, I don't suppose we could commandeer a couple of your police fliers?"

The commander shook his head regretfully. "I'd say yes, of course, but they're all in the air, what with tonight's disturbances. We're monitoring the edge of the riot zone as it expands outward. The bigger it gets, the closer we're pushed to our limit."

"If it's police business, you could requisition an atmospheric carriage," the stationmaster said quietly.

"Confound it! I suppose we'll have to make our way to Miss Mayson's place, though we can ill afford the delay, and I daresay she's sick of us making off with her swans - " Swinburne stopped and looked at Mr. Arkwright. "What was that?"

"I said, if it's police business, you could requisition an atmospheric carriage. We've been moving them to the sidings since the crash, so there are plenty available. And there'll be no more trains on the line until daylight. If I wire ahead to the pump stations and signal boxes, you'll get a clear run. It's only sixty miles, and one carriage alone will do you a good fifty-five-miles-per-hour minimum."

"You can supply a driver?"

"You won't need one, sir, which is just as well, since some of the beggars seem to have lost their heads and others have been taken ill. But no, it's all automated."

Krishnamurthy punched a fist into his palm. "I'm in on this!" he snapped.

"Me too, if that's all right, sir," Constable Hoare interjected.

Swinburne slapped his hands together. "Then let's get this rescue party moving!"

The atmospheric railway system was one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's inventions. Between its wide-gauge tracks ran a fifteen-inch-diameter pipe, its top cut through lengthwise by a slot which was sealed with a leather flap-valve. Beneath the train carriages, a thin shaft ran down through the slot and was affixed to a dumbbell-shaped piston, which fitted snugly inside the pipe. Every three miles, pump stations sucked air out in front of the trains and forced it back into the pipe behind. The pressure differential shot the carriages along the tracks at great speed.

The run down to Winchester was fast and uneventful.