Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Rail Travel

Bobby did not understand the immediate consequences of his adventure.The next morning he set off into town to meet a friend who wanted to drive and thought Bobby's partnership might be very valuable. After two days of arranging things to everyone's satisfaction, Bobby took the eleven-thirty train home.He did catch the car, it was just too short of time.It was twenty-eight past eleven when he reached Paddington.He hurried through the tunnel, rushed onto platform three as the train started slowly, and jumped onto the first car he saw, ignoring the wrath of the conductors and porters behind him.

Turning the door open, he fell in on hands and feet.The car door was slammed shut by the nimble porter.Bobby now found himself facing the only passenger in the car. This is the first-class carriage, and in the corner facing the front of the car sits a dark-skinned girl smoking a cigarette.She was wearing a red skirt and a green top, and a sky blue beret. Except she looked a bit like a monkey next to a street accordionist (she had a pair of sad black eyes and wrinkled skin on her face), she was still Remarkably eye-catching. Bobby was about to apologize when he stopped abruptly. "Oh, it's you, Frankie 2," he said, "Long time no see."

"Ah, I haven't seen you for a long time, too. Sit down and talk." Bobby grinned. "My ticket is the wrong color." "That's all right," said Frankie politely, "I'll pay the difference for you." "It's not in my manly dignity," Bobby said, "how can I get a lady to pay for me?" "It's because we've had a relationship for years," Frankie said. "I'll pay the difference myself," said Bobby heroically, as a burly blue figure came from the aisle to the car door. "Let me handle it," said Frankie.

She smiled gracefully at the ticket inspector, who took the white ticket and punched a hole in it, then touched his cap in greeting. "Mr. Jones just came in and talked to me for a while," she said. "Is it all right?" "Never mind, miss. I hope the gentleman won't be here long." He coughed dryly, and then added meaningfully, "I'll come back after the car arrives in Bristol." "What's a smile for?" said Bobby after the conductor had exited. Miss Frances de Winter shook her head thoughtfully. "I don't quite believe it's the smile," she said. "I rather think it's my father's habit of tipping five shillings apiece on every trip."

"I thought you had left Wales for good, Frankie." Frankie sighed. "Honey, you understand how it is. You know how boring parents can be, and the bathrooms are in such a bad state, with nothing to do and no one to visit, that people just don't want to stop in the country these days! They Said it was saving money and couldn't go that far. Well, I mean, what's a girl doing at home?" Bobby shook his head, sadly realizing the problem. "However," continued Frankie, "after I went to a party last night, I even thought it was worse than being at home."

"What happened at the party?" "It's nothing. It's like any other party, only more uneventful. The party started at Savoy at eight-thirty. Some people didn't arrive until about nine-fifteen. Of course we got tangled up with other people, But we didn't part ways until around ten o'clock. We ate dinner, and after a while, went to the Marient's, and there was a rumor that there was going to be an attack, but nothing happened, just dead. We drank a little wine, Went to Bulling's again, which was even more dead. Then we went to a coffee shop, then to a fish fry shop. Then we thought we'd have breakfast with my uncle at the Fisherman's Haven, to see if he'd scare A jump, but he wasn't surprised, just annoyed. We ended up going our separate ways, hissing and going home. Honestly, Bobby, it wasn't good enough."

"I don't think so," said Bobby, suppressing envy. Even in his most capricious moments, he never dreamed of being one of the Marients or the Bullings. His relationship with Frankie is peculiar. As a child, he and his brothers used to play with the children in the castle.As they grew up, they rarely saw each other.They still use their given names when they meet. Occasionally, when Frankie was home, the Bobby brothers played tennis.But Frankie and her two brothers were never invited to the parsonage.Everyone tacitly realized that it would not make everyone happy.Tennis, on the other hand, has always required men more than ever, although calling each other by Christian names can make them feel a little constrained.The De Winters were perhaps a little more friendly than they needed to be, as if to show that there was "no difference at all" between people; the Reverend Jones's, on the contrary, were a little more serious, As if determined not to accept the kindness offered to them, "I'm sick of everything," said Frankie feebly. "Aren't you?"

Bobby thought for a moment. "No, I don't think I do." "My God, that's wonderful," said Frankie. "I'm not saying I'm zealous," said Bobby, fearing not to look bitter. "I'm just a man who can't stand zealots." Frankie shuddered at the mere mention of the word "enthusiast." "I see," she murmured, "that kind of person is scary." They glanced at each other sympathetically. "By the way," asked Frankie suddenly, "what happened to the man who fell off the cliff?" "Dr. Thomas and I found him," said Bobby. "How do you know, Frankie?"

"Saw it in the paper, and look!" She pointed to the headline of the passage: "Fatal accident in sea fog."The article reads: The identity of the March Bolt tragedy victim was confirmed last night by a photograph he was carrying.The photo was confirmed to be that of Mrs. Leo Cayman herself.Mrs. Cayman rushed to March Bolt immediately after receiving the notification, where she testified that the deceased was her brother Alex Pritchard.Mr. Pritchard recently returned from Jolo.He had been away from England for ten years and was just beginning to travel on foot.An autopsy hearing will be held tomorrow in March Bolt.

Bobby's thoughts went back to the particularly haunting face in the photograph. "I see I have to testify at the hearing," he said. "How exciting: I'm coming to the hearing." "I don't think it's exciting," Bobby said. "We just found him." "Did he die then?" "No, he wasn't dead then. He died about a quarter of an hour later. I was alone with him." He stopped talking. "It's horrible," said Frankie with that keen understanding that Bobby's father lacked. "Of course he doesn't feel anything..."

"yes?" "But still... Well, actually, he looked alive and awe-inspiring. The man, killed by the bad road, just stumbled and fell in the dizzying mist." "I understand you," Frankie expressed sympathy and understanding again. "Have you seen that sister?" Frankie asked again at once. "No. I'm going to live in the city for two days. I have to see a friend we're going to drive with. You remember him, Badger Beaton." "I?" "Of course you. You must remember good old Badger. He squinted." Frankie frowned. "He used to have a goofy laugh, ha ha ha, like that," Bobby went on. Frankie still frowned thinking back. "We saw him fall off the pony when we were boys," Bobby was still saying, "and go head-first into the mud, and we had to pull him out by the legs." "Oh!" It took Frankie a long time to remember. "I know now. He stuttered." "He's still like that," said Bobby proudly. "Didn't he start a chicken farm and go broke?" Frankie asked. "right." "Then he joined a stock exchange and was fired after a month?" "That's right." "Then someone sent him to Australia and he came back?" "yes." "Bobby," said Frankie, "I hope you're not investing in the deal?" "I have no money to invest," said Bobby. "That's all right," said Frankie. "Naturally," Bobby went on, "Badger tries to get people with some capital to invest. But it's not easy, as you can imagine." "When you look around you," said Frankie, "you don't believe people have any common sense, but they do." The point of the sentence seemed to hit Bobby at last. "Look out, Frankie," he said, "Badger's a good man, a very good man." "They often do," said Frankie. "Who are they?" "Those who go to Australia and come back. How does he get the money to open it?" "One of his aunts or something died and left him a six-car garage with three rooms on top. His family paid a hundred pounds for used cars. Deals in used cars You'll be amazed." "I bought one once," said Frankie. "It's a painful subject, don't talk about it. Why did you leave the Navy? They didn't fire you? You're under your age." Bobby's face turned red. "Eyes," he said hoarsely. "I remember that you often have trouble with your eyes." "I know. But I'm going to try to get by. Then there's foreign service, strong lights, and it hurts the eyes quite a bit. So, alas, I had to go." "Cruel," murmured Frankie, looking out of the window. There was a pause in the conversation. "It's still a disgrace," broke out Bobby. "My eyes aren't really bad, they say they won't go any further. I could have kept on serving." "They look normal," said Frankie, looking into the depths of Bobby's honest brown eyes. "So you can see why I'm going to go with Badger," said Bobby. Frankie nodded. A waiter opened the door and said, "First lunch." "Shall we go?" said Frankie. They went forward to the dining car. Bobby made a brief strategic retreat when the wicketkeeper was likely to come. "We don't want his conscience to be overly strained," he said. But Frankie said she didn't expect any conscience from the ticket inspector. It was just after five o'clock when they reached Silham, the station for Marchbolt. "There's a car coming for me," Frankie said, "and I can take you for a ride." "Thanks. It saves me two miles with the damn thing." He kicked his suitcase hard. "Three miles. Not two miles," said Frankie. "It's only two miles from the walking trails on the golf course." "It's that..." "Yes, that's where that person traveled." "I don't think anyone pushed him down?" Frankie said, handing the suitcase to the maid. "Push him off? My God, no. Why do you ask?" "Oh, that would make it more exciting, wouldn't it?" said Frankie casually.

---

Notes: