‘That could be done,—certainly. I’ll have it done at once if you like.’
‘Then where’s the next stoppage?’
‘Well, they’re at Luton at 12.51. But that’s another case of St Albans. You see there won’t be much more than twenty minutes by the time you’ve got your wire off, and I don’t expect there’ll be many people awake at Luton. At these country places sometimes there’s a policeman hanging about the station to see the express go through, but, on the other hand, very often there isn’t, and if there isn’t, probably at this time of night it’ll take a good bit of time to get the police on the premises. I tell you what I should advise.’
‘What’s that?’
‘The train is due at Bedford at 1.29—send your wire there. There ought to be plenty of people about at Bedford, and anyhow there’ll be time to get the police to the station.’
‘Very good. I instructed them to tell you to have a special ready,—have you got one?’
‘There’s an engine with steam up in the shed,—we’ll have all ready for you in less than ten minutes. And I tell you what,—you’ll have about fifty minutes before the train is due at Bedford. It’s a fifty mile run. With luck you ought to get there pretty nearly as soon as the express does.—Shall I tell them to get ready?’
‘At once.’
While he issued directions through a telephone to what, I presume, was the engine shed, I drew up a couple of telegrams. Having completed his orders he turned to me.
‘They’re coming out of the siding now—they’ll be ready in less than ten minutes. I’ll see that the line’s kept clear. Have you got those wires?’