"It has not been signalled for certain," was the reply of Williams. "Eales told me the signal had not come when he left, and I am sure it has not come since."
"Where can it be?" exclaimed the station-master. "I suppose some of those monster excursion-trains are blocking up the line somewhere."
A consolatory conclusion, quite doing away with uneasiness or fear. The station-master promulgated the news that the train had not been signalled from Hildon, together with his own suggestive idea of the offending excursion-trains. He told Mr. Oswald Cray it had not been signalled, and he told others: therefore the officials were perfectly at their ease upon the point, whatever the assembled crowed might be.
It was just five-and-twenty minutes past seven when Eales returned. He had stayed longer than he intended, and he dashed into his office head foremost, catching a glimpse of the crowd on the platform, now quickly increasing.
"What do they want, that lot?" he cried to Williams. "Is anything wrong?"
"They are waiting for the up-train. It's preciously behind time tonight, and I suppose some of them are alarmed--have got friends in it, maybe."
"What up-train?" asked Eales.
"The seven o'clock up-train to London." Eales stood confounded. "Why, is that not come up? An accident must have happened."
"Not obliged to," coolly returned Williams. "It's kept back by the excursion-trains, most likely."
"There are no excursion-trains today between this and Hildon," quickly observed Eales.