Peril on the Royal Train Read online

  ‘They’re not coming, sir,’ he said.

  ‘Be patient, Victor. Give them time.’

  ‘They should have been here by now. They’ve got to dig up that gunpowder and carry it to the place where they’ll set off the explosion. That can’t be left until the last minute. We’ve seen how well they plan things.’

  Colbeck checked his watch. ‘There’s still an hour to go.’

  ‘Where are they?’

  ‘Keep your voice down. Sound carries in the open.’

  Half an hour later, Colbeck started to have his own fears. Nobody had come anywhere near the clearing. When he used the telescope again, it showed him a deserted landscape. Leeming was agitated.

  ‘They know, sir,’ he said. ‘They know that we’re waiting for them and they’ve called off the attack. That means they’ll strike again when we least expect it and when we won’t be there to protect the royal family.’

  Colbeck was baffled. ‘I can’t understand it.’ He looked at his watch again. ‘Time is running out. In thirty minutes, the royal train will be passing near here.’

  ‘It will be quite safe. They’re not coming.’

  ‘Oh, yes, they are, Victor.’

  ‘We’ve scared them off.’

  ‘I doubt that. Put yourself in their shoes. They’re bent on assassination and it has to be on the Caledonian. If they miss this opportunity, they’ll have to wait until the royal train returns from Balmoral and they don’t have full details of that. Her Majesty and her party are capricious,’ said Colbeck. ‘They’ll stay in Scotland as long as they wish. The date of their return may shift.’

  ‘If they’re so keen to launch their attack now,’ said Leeming with concern, ‘why aren’t they here? They can’t cause an explosion without gunpowder and it’s under the ground in that clearing.’

  Colbeck was uncertain. ‘Is it?’

  ‘You actually saw it, sir.’

  ‘What I saw was a barrel with the name of the regiment on it,’ said Colbeck, ‘but I didn’t check what was in it. Let’s do that now.’

  Getting up, he led Leeming up the hill towards the stand of trees.

  The sergeant was puffing. ‘Are you saying there’s no gunpowder there?’

  ‘I’m suggesting that we might have been tricked. We know that one of the men is a former soldier. He’ll understand the importance of strategy.’

  ‘What sort of strategy?’

  ‘Let’s be quick about it, Victor.’

  Colbeck ran hard with Leeming panting at his heels. They went into the trees and stopped in the clearing. Kneeling down, Colbeck began to shovel the earth away with his hands. Leeming helped him. They were frantic. Time was running out fast. When the barrel came into view, they kept on digging until they’d loosened the earth around its side. It was several minutes before they were able to get a good grip on it. Putting all their energy into the heave, they yanked the barrel free in a snowstorm of earth. It felt suspiciously light. Colbeck used a twig to work away at the bung and it suddenly sprung out. Lifting the barrel, he shook it hard but nothing came out.

  ‘What are they playing at?’ wailed Leeming.

  ‘This is a decoy,’ said Colbeck. ‘We were meant to find it. They knew that the whole area would be searched after that train crash so they made sure that we’d be misled. It’s a clever strategy. The royal family is only twenty minutes away and we haven’t a clue where the villains will strike.’

  Leeming was appalled. ‘It’s our fault, sir.’

  ‘They’ve pulled the wool over our eyes.’

  ‘We’ll be hanged, drawn and quartered for this.’

  ‘Get back to the horses,’ snapped Colbeck. ‘We need to move fast.’

  A day that had begun with high ambition had ended in calamity. Instead of being able to proclaim their message to the royal family and, by extension, to a much wider audience, they were trussed up in a tent like three Christmas turkeys. The final insult was that their banner had been torn to shreds to bind them hand and foot. Nobody would see it now. Howie blamed himself for leading them into the dire situation and he could see no way out. He now saw that it had been madness to undertake such a project and wished that they’d never embarked on it. Vowing never to get involved in protest again, he prayed furiously for deliverance.

  Dalton, meanwhile, was overcome with remorse. Like Howie, he’d been deceived by their earlier successes into thinking they could do anything. They had now taken a step too far and would suffer for it. There was another strand to his guilt. Having accomplished their work, he’d expected to return to Glasgow where he could take his wife into his confidence at last and tell her what they’d done. Morag Dalton would have applauded him, yet the likelihood now was that she’d never see her husband alive again. He, too, resorted to prayer.

  It was Flora who had most to fear. The three men were armed and ruthless. They tied up their captives and stowed them in the tent until they could deal with them later. She knew what they planned. The sabbatarians had merely wished to bring the royal train to a halt whereas the three men intended to cover it under an avalanche. It was an unspeakable crime. Flora and her companions couldn’t be left alive to describe the assassins. Their fate was settled. While her husband and Dalton would have a quick death, however, Flora would be kept alive for a while. Her age and respectability were no protection. She’d seen the way two of the men looked at her. Before they killed her, they’d take their pleasure in turns.

  Instead of being paralysed by the horror of it all, Flora was prompted to think more clearly than she’d ever done before. Their very survival was at stake. While her companions were pleading for some kind of divine intervention, she was looking for a means of escape. Like the others, she was sitting on the ground with her hands tied behind her back and her feet lashed together. The prisoners were yards apart from each other. Her bonds were biting into her wrists and ankles. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t loosen them. Yet she was capable of some movement.

  ‘Help me, Tam!’ she cried.

  ‘I wish that I could,’ he said, tearfully.

  ‘Come towards me.’

  ‘How can I do that?’

  Flora showed him. She bounced along inch by excruciating inch then lay back so that she was horizontal. Gathering her strength, she rolled over towards her husband. He was quick to respond, edging towards her in small bounces.

  Flora rolled again and got closer.

  ‘Turn round,’ she said.

  ‘What are you going to do?’

  ‘Turn round, Tam.’

  It took him over a minute to do so. By the time he had his back to her, she was right next to him, manoeuvring her head into position. Howie realised what she was trying to do and moved his hands near her mouth. Lifting her head, Flora began to bite her way frenziedly through the strips of cloth that held his wrists. She drew blood at one point but Howie didn’t complain. He could sense that he’d soon be free. Dalton watched in fascination as Flora took one last bite and severed the bond. Howie tossed the bits of cloth away and undid those around his ankles. Then he untied Flora and hugged her. Dalton was the next to be liberated. All three of them rubbed their wrists and ankles. They might be free but they were also bewildered.

  ‘What do we do now?’ asked Dalton.

  ‘I think we should make a run for it,’ said Howie.

  ‘They could come after us, Tam.’

  ‘It’s a chance we have to take. We can’t tackle them. They’re armed.’

  ‘But we can’t let them set off that explosion,’ argued Flora. ‘The royal train will have the Queen and her family aboard and it’s heading for an ambush. We mustn’t just think of ourselves. Somehow we have to raise the alarm.’

  ‘How can we possibly do that?’ said Dalton. ‘We’re miles from anywhere.’

  ‘It’s worth a try, Ian.’

  ‘Flora is right,’ said Howie, reaching into his pocket. ‘We came to start a fire, didn’t we? Let’s do it. If the blaze is big enough, someone
might see it.’

  Galloping to a high point, Colbeck reined in his horse and used the telescope to scan the horizon in all directions. He could see nothing suspicious. Leeming joined him, handling his mount with far less skill and worrying about being unsaddled. They were angry at themselves for being deceived and hoped for a chance to make amends. The sergeant’s confidence was waning rapidly.

  ‘It’s a waste of time,’ he said. ‘We’ll never find them in time.’

  ‘They can’t be all that far away, Victor. We know they’ll strike somewhere on this stretch of line. We must just keep looking.’

  ‘But we don’t know whether to go north or south.’

  ‘Yes, we do,’ said Colbeck, peering through the telescope again. ‘Take a look along the ridge.’

  He handed the instrument to Leeming who did as he was told. About half a mile away, a column of smoke was now curling up into the sky. It was coming from the heart of a wood. Colbeck sensed that it might be a warning signal.

  ‘Let’s go,’ he said, digging his heels into the horse.

  Leeming took a little longer to move. Still with the telescope, he had to hold the reins with one hand. His hopes had been rekindled by the distant fire, however, and he rode with much more purpose now as he followed the bobbing figure of Colbeck ahead of him.

  The three of them were standing down by the rocks that overhung the line. Matthews had dug the holes and Ure had filled them with the requisite amount of gunpowder. When it was set off, the explosion would be big enough to knock the train off the rails with the force of a gigantic cannonball. Now that they were so close to achieving their aim, they were almost giddy with the sense of triumph. Because none of them turned round, they didn’t see the smoke that was climbing up into the air behind them. Their attention was focused on the line.

  ‘I hope that we kill the whole family,’ said Hibbard, licking his lips. ‘India has been stripped of all of its riches in the name of the Queen. The East India Company is her tool of repression. It controls the armies.’

  ‘Aye,’ said Ure, ‘I was part of one and I couldn’t believe what I saw. It wasn’t the fact that we were made to crush the rebellion. It was the effect that it had on those around me. I’d lived and trained with those men for years. They were my friends until we got to Lucknow,’ he went on, ‘then they turned into wild animals. What they were doing was inhuman and I wanted no part of it. That’s when I deserted.’

  ‘There were outrages on both sides, Davey,’ admitted Hibbard, ‘but the sepoys and sowars who rose up against the British had good cause. They were poorly paid, badly treated and forced to keep their own countrymen in subjection. They were asked to do things that were against their religion.’

  ‘After what I saw, I no longer have any religious beliefs. I just want to stop this monster called the British Empire from killing its way to power.’

  ‘Two of my half-brothers were sepoys. Because they joined the rebellion, they and their wives and children were slaughtered.’

  ‘I ken nothing of India,’ said Matthews, ‘except that it’s been robbed of its resources in the same way as Scotland. Independence is our birthright. This is our chance to grab it with both hands.’

  ‘I agree with ye, Callum,’ said Ure. ‘All the countries in the Empire should be set free, then there’d be no more fighting. We could all live in peace.’

  ‘It’s not peace that I came all this way to get,’ Hibbard told them, looking at his watch. ‘It’s revenge and it’s not many minutes away. The pilot train went past a while ago. Callum and I will withdraw to safety while Davey gets ready to set off the explosion. It will be the sweetest sound I ever heard.’

  But it was another sound that came into his ears. The drumming of hooves made them turn around. The first thing they saw was the smoke billowing up from what had been their camp. The next second, they saw two horsemen bearing down on them. Hibbard looked at them in amazement.

  ‘Where did they come from?’ he demanded.

  ‘And who started the fire?’ asked Matthews.

  ‘You carry on, Davey. We’ll take care of these two.’

  Drawing his pistol, Hibbard went up the hill to meet the approaching riders. Matthews went with him, weapon at the ready. Ure stayed to ignite the gunpowder. He was determined that nothing would stop them.

  Colbeck was still in the lead. When he saw that the two men were armed, he tried to zigzag in order to present a less easy target. Leeming was thirty yards behind him, brandishing the telescope and relieved that they’d found the conspirators at last. Throwing caution to the wind, he kicked even more speed out of his horse as it descended the hill. Colbeck headed for the slighter of the two men and braced himself when the man’s pistol was aimed at him. But the shot came too soon and was yards wide. The man tried in vain to reload his weapon. Colbeck pulled his horse to a skidding halt and leapt from the saddle. Knocking Hibbard to the ground, he grappled with him and they fought hard.

  Leeming’s interest was in the second man. When he saw that Hibbard was in difficulties, Matthews went to his aid. Intent on shooting Colbeck, he yelled in pain as Leeming smashed the telescope hard against his wrist. The pistol was dislodged at once. When he’d pulled his horse up, Leeming jumped from the saddle and ran towards Matthews to pull him away from the two threshing figures on the ground. A second fight developed but there could only be one winner. Having tossed the telescope aside, Leeming used both fists to pummel away at the sturdy frame of Matthews. Since his wrist had been broken by the impact of the telescope, the Scotsman could only punch with one hand. It took Leeming less than a minute to overpower him and get his arms behind his back. When the sergeant snapped handcuffs onto his wrists, Matthews howled in agony.

  Colbeck’s opponent was proving stronger than he looked, biting, spitting and twisting in all directions. The ferocious contest was brought to a halt when Leeming put his pistol to Hibbard’s temple.

  ‘Don’t give me an excuse to pull the trigger,’ he warned.

  Hibbard gave in and Colbeck rolled off him, turned him over and handcuffed him. As soon as he’d done that, he ran down the hill. The royal train could now be heard in the distance. Leeming could see it through the telescope. Colbeck was bent on ensuring its safe passage. When he burst through the bushes, he saw a square-shouldered man kneeling beside a trickle of gunpowder with a tinderbox. Though the man pulled out a pistol, he had no time to aim it because Colbeck dived at his midriff and sent him sprawling. The gun went off and the bullet was discharged harmlessly into the air. The force of the attack made Ure roll uncontrollably towards the railway line, clasped tightly by Colbeck. They got to the very edge of the rocks overlooking the track. The sound of the approaching train was getting louder and louder.

  Deprived of his chance to set off the explosion, Ure fought back madly and was a more powerful adversary than Hibbard. He and Colbeck traded blows and each sought to get on top of the other. All the time, the train was getting closer, its royal passengers sublimely unaware of the desperate struggle that was taking place ahead of them. Colbeck put all his strength into his punches but he’d met his match in the former soldier. Whenever the inspector got the upper hand, Ure broke free of his grasp. Both were covered in blood from facial wounds. Colbeck could hear the train getting ever nearer. A second later, he came close to being thrown onto the rails in front of it. Ure landed a blow on Colbeck’s chin that momentarily dazed him. He then got up and tried to push the inspector over the edge of the rock.

  Before he could do so, however, he let out a cry of anguish and reached for the leg that the sheepdog had just bitten. Having hared down the incline, Angus had arrived just in time to save Colbeck because the royal train was thundering below him on its way to Balmoral. Leeming held his pistol on Ure who was more interested in rubbing his wounded leg than in fighting on. Colbeck dragged himself to his feet and patted the dog in gratitude. Jamie Farr came over to join them.

  ‘We saw the smoke,’ he said.

  It was not u
ntil the following evening that they returned to London. Behind them in Scotland, they left three murderous villains in custody, a delighted general manager of the Caledonian Railway, a chastened Inspector Rae, a happy shepherd and a trio of rueful sabbatarians. Arriving at Scotland Yard, they went straight to Tallis’s office. He leapt up from behind his desk to pump their hands in turn.

  ‘I want a full report,’ he said, glancing at Colbeck’s bruises, ‘though your face tells some of the story, Inspector.’

  ‘You can’t see my bruises, sir,’ complained Leeming. ‘I never want to ride another horse again. I was saddle-sore within minutes.’

  ‘Nevertheless,’ observed Colbeck, ‘you proved your point. There are indeed times when a horse is the best way to travel. Without four legs under us, we’d never have been able to save the royal train.’

  ‘Mr Craig’s telegraph sang your praises,’ said Tallis. ‘I’m glad I sent you.’

  ‘With respect, Superintendent, you did everything you could not to send me. Had the sergeant and I not gone to Scotland, we would now be reading horrendous stories in the press about the royal train.’

  ‘I encouraged you to go, Colbeck.’

  ‘I remember it differently,’ said Leeming.

  ‘Who asked for your opinion?’ growled Tallis.

  ‘We went because the inspector felt that we had to.’

  ‘Whatever the reason,’ said Colbeck, trying to rescue the sergeant from another rebuke, ‘we were able to solve the crime. Yet it has to be said that we had assistance from others – Angus among them.’

  ‘Angus?’ echoed Tallis.

  ‘He’s a sheepdog, sir.’

  ‘He probably saved the inspector’s life,’ said Leeming.

  ‘Let’s go back to the beginning,’ suggested Colbeck.

  He gave the superintendent an edited account of their second visit to Glasgow and explained how the fire lit in the woods had alerted them. When Colbeck described the clash with the conspirators, Leeming interrupted to say that the telescope had had a double function, guiding them to the site of the explosion and acting as a useful weapon. Tallis wanted to know more about the motives of the three men who would now face certain execution.