Page:The railway children (IA railwaychildren00nesb 1).pdf/277

 Then Peter told how the boy came to be in the tunnel.

"Well," said the man, "I don't see as I can do anything. I can't leave the box."

"You might tell us where to go after some one who isn't in a box, though," said Phyllis.

"There's Brigden's farm over yonder—where you see the smoke a-coming up through the trees," said the man, more and more grumpy, as Phyllis noticed.

"Well—good-by, then," said Peter.

But the man said wait a minute. He put his hand in his pocket and brought out some money—a lot of pennies and one or two shillings and sixpences and half-a-crown. He picked out two shillings and held them out.

"Here," he said. "I'll give you this to hold your tongues about what's taken place to-day."

There was a short unpleasant pause. Then:—

"You are a nasty man, though, aren't you?" said Phyllis.

Peter took a step forward and knocked the man's hand up, so that the shillings leapt out of it and rolled on the floor.

"If anything could make me sneak, that would!" he said. "Come, Phil," and marched out of the signal-box with flaming cheeks.