The rest of the mountain engines teased Lord Harry all night for coming off the rails and jamming the points.<\/p>\n
\u201cOld Harry,\u201d chuckled Culdee, \u201ccan stand on the points twice as fast as any of the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he does it in perfect safety!\u201d added Wilfred. \u201cIn fact, the whole line is perfectly safe if no one else can move on it either.\u201d<\/p>\n
None of them thought it was funny when they came back from their jobs the next day. While they were out, the Manager had sent workmen to move Lord Harry to the back of the Shed and to take his name away.<\/p>\n
Even King Godred had been allowed to keep his name. The other engines were worried for No. 6.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he\u2019s meant to be having a Lesson,\u201d supposed Ernest. \u201cThere wouldn\u2019t be a point in taking his name away otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless they took it because they\u2019re going to send him away,\u201d said Wilfred.<\/p>\n
\u201cWherever would they send him to?\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 6 didn\u2019t worry, not even after the older engines told him what happened to Godred. No. 6 thought for sure he\u2019d be let out of the Shed soon enough. The Railway couldn\u2019t run as well without him. The fitters said they could mend him. It\u2019d be a waste to keep him out of service.<\/p>\n
He became less sure of this the longer he remained in the back of the Shed.<\/p>\n
But you remember that The Manager eventually did let him out of the Shed, don\u2019t you? The coaches didn\u2019t want to be pushed by him so No. 6 was made to push The Truck instead.<\/p>\n
The Manager usually reserved the new engines for passenger trains so No. 6 had never met The Truck before. One of the older engines would push it up the mountain early in the morning before anyone else left the Shed. When he first saw it up close, he was surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re\u2026 you were\u2026\u201d he trailed off.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d drawled the Truck daringly.<\/p>\n
No. 6 didn\u2019t want to get off on the wrong wheel with The Truck on his first day back out of the Shed, but he was stuck now.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used to be a coach,\u201d he answered delicately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 6 tried to think of something to say. The Truck thought of something first.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear,\u201d said the Truck, \u201cfrom the coaches that you are reckless and go too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose coaches! They\u2019re just-\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you\u2019re strong as well,\u201d interrupted The Truck. \u201cI\u2019m quite a bit heavier than they are. It won\u2019t do if you can\u2019t get us to Summit in good time. Our train is terribly important, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 6 didn\u2019t know. The Truck didn\u2019t look very important, even once it was loaded with coal and workers. He doubted that he was being given that important job if The Manager was still cross with him.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
For important work, the job was very dull. The Truck was indeed heavier than the coaches were and it was slow going pushing it up the mountain. There was a lot of waiting as well. Once they\u2019d delivered all the supplies needed at the Summit Hotel for the day and took the previous day\u2019s rubbish back down, there was nothing more for them to do until it was time to collect the workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you miss being a coach?\u201d asked No. 6 to make conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot especially,\u201d yawned The Truck. It had been resting its eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201c…If you were a coach, then you must have had a name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c…Yes.\u201d It didn\u2019t sound like The Truck wanted to tell him what it was.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a name,\u201d No. 6 said instead, \u201dbut they took it away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of us,\u201d said The Truck matter-of-factly, \u201care lucky enough to get named more than once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I haven\u2019t been renamed,\u201d complained No. 6 sadly. \u201cI have no name at all now. And what sort of name is \u2018The Truck\u2019 if you\u2019re so lucky?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of my siblings had names too,\u201d said The Truck, unbothered by No. 6\u2019s pique. \u201cThere were five of us, one for each engine. But I\u2019m the only one still here to be Useful. And \u201cThe Truck\u201d is a fine name for me as I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do then,\u201d asked No. 6, \u201cthat they chose you to be turned into a Truck out of the lot?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing at all?\u201d he asked incredulously.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy engine was King Godred,\u201d explained The Truck. \u201cWhen they decided they needed a Truck, I had no engine so I was available for salvage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh,\u201d said No. 6. \u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be. My job is important and only I can do it. It\u2019s why I\u2019m the only one they kept when they bought the new coaches,\u201d said The Truck evenly. \u201cYou can see why they\u2019re afraid to work with you though. None of them want to end up like me. Or like the coaches they replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 6 grunted noncommittally at that, but he looked contrite.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you like \u2018The Truck\u2019 better than your old name?\u201d he asked after a while. He heard The Truck let out a snort and he suddenly felt very silly for being preoccupied with names. It took its time answering him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m different now,\u201d it said carefully. \u201cMy old name was for a coach. When I was a coach, I concerned myself with being clean and presentable and comfortable. When I was needed, anyway,\u201d it added ruefully. \u201cWhat the Railway really needed, though, was someone who could get the workers and their supplies to the Summit first thing. You cannot be worried about dust or bumps then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey could have let you keep your name, at least,\u201d said No. 6 sympathetically.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t take my name,\u201d said The Truck lazily. \u201cThey forgot what it was since it didn\u2019t fit anymore.\u201d It rolled its eyes at No. 6\u2019s misplaced pity. \u201cThey took your name,\u201d it explained, \u201cbecause they didn\u2019t like how Lord Harry was. So now you are No. 6 instead. If you are clever – and I think you might be – No. 6 will be just the engine they needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 6 wanted to be cross, but he wanted to be clever too so he kept quiet.<\/p>\n
\u2014<\/p>\n
A few days later, it was bright and clear but very windy. No. 6 pushed The Truck up the mountain to the Summit. The wind didn\u2019t worry No. 6 and it didn\u2019t worry The Truck until it was unloaded. On the way back down the mountain, The Truck was much lighter without its water and coal and stores. The wind beat against its sides with a threatening force.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wind is jostling me,\u201d complained The Truck loudly. It almost had to shout to be heard over the bluster. \u201cCould we go faster?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFaster?\u201d asked No. 6. Certainly no coach had ever asked him to go faster.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease?,\u201d insisted The Truck, \u201cMy wheels are practically coming off the rails.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 6 was torn. He didn\u2019t feel as though the wind was that strong and he wasn\u2019t keen on making another mistake so quickly. He was a lot heavier than The Truck was though. All it had to weigh it down was yesterday\u2019s rubbish. Even though The Truck had asked to go faster though, No. 6 didn\u2019t think The Manager would hear of it if anything went wrong.<\/p>\n
She doesn\u2019t complain usually, No. 6 considered, so if she says the wind is too strong for her, it must be. And she\u2019s\u2026 well, she\u2019s not nice exactly but she hasn\u2019t been afraid to go with me. She\u2019s not silly about it like those coaches are.<\/p>\n
No. 6 did put on a little more speed, but he still kept a close eye on the line and listened for any objection from The Truck.<\/p>\n
He was lucky he\u2019d been so careful. All at once, he heard a screech of brakes and felt the weight of The Truck lift off his buffer. The Truck was pulling away from him! Impossible! He braked himself, coming to a stop a few yards down the line from it. From there, he could see that The Truck hadn\u2019t pulled away, but had simply stopped. It had only looked like it was going back up the mountain because he had been going faster than usual.<\/p>\n
\u201c6?\u201d called The Truck to him worriedly. \u201c6!?\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 6 gave two short blasts on his whistle and drove forward back up the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here! I\u2019m here!\u201d assured No. 6. \u201cDon\u2019t worry. I\u2019ve got you.\u201d He buffered back up to The Truck to support its weight. It let off its brakes when it could feel No. 6 holding it up and he resumed their descent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wind knocked my guard off balance,\u201d explained The Truck, \u201cand he accidentally threw on my brake.\u201d<\/p>\n
No. 6 was relieved. It wasn\u2019t his fault.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo harm done then,\u201d he said reassuringly. \u201cDon\u2019t give it another thought.\u201d They eased down the rest of the way back to the Devil\u2019s Back station. Their crews checked them over to make sure the sudden stop hadn\u2019t damaged them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were very quick to stop,\u201d said The Truck as its wheels were inspected. \u201cYou were paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to be in another accident. I only just got back out of the Shed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were quick to answer too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sounded worried,\u201d he brushed off, \u201cI didn\u2019t want you to think I\u2019d leave you up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Truck hadn\u2019t been worried about that but it didn\u2019t say as much.<\/p>\n
That night, No. 6 had pushed The Truck back into the Carriage Shed. When he was gone, the other coaches asked after the incident it\u2019d had.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must have been frightened out of your wits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would be, if I had to rely on Lord Harry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure I don\u2019t know what you mean,\u201d said The Truck. \u201cNo. 6 is always most careful with me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The rest of the mountain engines teased Lord Harry all night for coming off the rails and jamming the points.<\/p>\n
\u201cOld Harry,\u201d chuckled Culdee, \u201ccan stand on the points twice as fast as any of the rest of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he does it in perfect safety!\u201d added Wilfred. \u201cIn fact, the whole line is perfectly safe if no one else can move on it either.\u201d<\/p>\n
None of them thought it was funny when they came back from their jobs the next day. While they were out, the Manager had sent workmen to move Lord Harry to the back of the Shed and to take his name away.<\/p>\n
Even King Godred had been allowed to keep his name. The other engines were worried for No. 6.<\/p>\n