A few days later, Hitch was completing the final works on getting Rebecca ready for service. She just needed her sandboxes filling and a little bit of oil in the lubricators and they'd be ready to go. He looked about to see Salty rolling to a stop nearby.
"Hello, matey!" the diesel called. "How's the sea finding you today?"
"Been better, to be honest." Hitch looked up. "I had to deal with all sorts of nonsense yesterday, not least the fact that Pipp's advert is all over social media."
Sunny rolled down Salty's cab window. "Which one? She posts to various different social media accounts each day, usually multiple videos a day."
Hitch scrolled through his YouTube feed, having ensured Rebecca was secure, and showed the relevant video.
"Try something new, take a chance, just believe it/
Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it?
Whoa-oh-ohhhh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh, hey!
Whoa-oh-ohhhh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh!
"Try something new, take a chance, just believe it/
Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it?
At Mane Melody, hey!
At Mane Melody!"
"That's the new shop she's singing at, isn't it?" Rebecca asked. "I'll admit I don't know her hugely well, having spent most of my time at Swanage in bits, but I'm pretty certain she's not a qualified hairdresser."
"Just be glad that's the YouTube short," Hitch said. "The full thing is even more of an earworm! But it does get a bit annoying after a while."
"I'll still be going along to support her today," Sunny said. "She's singing at the opening today, and it seems kinda good to help out of a friend. Salty and I will finish up our shunting here and then got on down."
"We've got some parcels to deliver to Perranwell," Hitch replied. "But hopefully I should be able to attend. See you later."
"See ya later, landlubber," Salty smiled, and backed away. "I sailed from Auckland to the Bluff..."
As Salty's voice, and his sea shanty, gradually grew quieter, Hitch took this as a sign that he could go. After finding the parcels vans in the sidings, Rebecca formed up in the platform to let them finish loading the parcels onboard.
The loading took several minutes, with the parcels being thrown haphazardly into the doors. "I get the impression the station staff aren't used to loading parcels," Rebecca said. "Isn't it normally put into bags that are mounted on arms and dropped off into nets?"
"I'm not an expert on mail haulage, but I don't think that process has been used for a long time," Hitch replied, as he received a whistle and a green light from the platform.
Before they could pull away, somebody called up the platform. "HALT! PASSENGER WISHES TO BOARD!"
Hitch looked down the line to see Goldie walking down the platform. Aware of the circumstances of the train, she had tied her purple hair back, and her yellowy-gold skin was reflected in the incredibly clean coaches. She was clothed in her usual attire of black shoes and stockings coupled with a dark blue skirt, a beige blouse, and a blue business jacket. Her green eyes seemed to have some level of annoyance in them, as she spoke to somebody on the phone.
"No, Mr Anderson, or whatever your name is, please stop with the messages. We have absolutely no desire to buy your insurance, or your cars, or whatever it is you want to sell today." She ended the call and shook her head. "I've just about had enough of scammers."
She stepped into the carriage. "Hopefully the run to Perranwell will be smooth."
Hitch took this as a signal to depart, and opened the regulator. Rebecca's wheels dug into the rails- and immediately began spinning. A vast cloud of ash like steam roared into the air, visible for several miles.
"Steady on!" the Spam Can called. "I have a very sensitive regulator!"
"Still not used to this," Hitch said, as he made some adjustments. He opened the sanders and reduced steam. "I can see why they nickname one of your brothers the Volcano."
Apart from the wheelslip incident, the run up to Perranwell proved to be rather uneventful. Rebecca dropped off the vans in a siding and prepared to run back down to Falmouth when she heard a voice.
"The times are hard and the wages low!"
"Did you hear that?" she asked. "There was singing a few moments ago!"
"I didn't hear anything," Hitch replied, as he brought her to a stop at the signal.
Suddenly, the voice came again, but louder this time.
"The Rocky Mountains are my Home!"
"It's coming from that siding," Hitch noted, and he secured the engine in place. He walked back along the line and stopped in one of the sidings on the Down side of the station. Sitting in the siding was an old, battered, green crane tank who, although in good mechanical shape, could do with a new coat of paint. He was also the source of the singing.
He stopped when he saw Hitch approaching. "Hello!" he said, with a Scottish accent. "I haven't seen you before!"
"We hadn't seen you here before," Hitch confessed. "What's your name?"
"Harvey, sir," the crane tank replied. "I'm from Scotland, originally. If ever you need something lifted or put back on the rails, I'm happy to help. And I can sing too. There's no better way of keeping trucks in line than singing."
"Not to be rude, but I don't think you're going anywhere soon," Hitch said. "But I'll bring some of my friends up and we can get you back to your former glory. How's that sound?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that, laddie. I'm in good mechanical order, and just need a lick of paint."
"I think I can help," said a voice behind them, causing Hitch to turn in surprise. "Oh! Mrs Starshine!"
"There's no need to be formal," Goldie replied. "But I think I can help. There was a crane tank similar to you in the town where I grew up, and I worked on a dockside to help pay for my college degree. I can get you repainted, and there's plenty for a crane tank to do down in Falmouth."
"Way hey, bully in the alley!" Harvey replied. "Thanks, mateys! As long as we have folks like you, the future is bright."
"Just doing my civic duty, sir," Hitch said. He turned to Goldie. "I don't mean to intrude, but I don't think business clothes are exactly appropriate clothes for working on a machine."
"Precisely," Goldie said. "I'll catch the next train back, and then get a set of overalls so I can drive Harvey down to the harbour."
When Rebecca (and Hitch) had returned to Falmouth, they resolved to tell the others of Harvey. No sooner had Hitch secured his engine in place and handed her over to a fitter to watch than he ran into Posey, who seemed to be annoyed.
"You're that officer, right?" she asked.
"Strictly speaking I'm a non-comissioned officer of the CCF, but yes," he said.
"Close enough," the woman sighed. "I'd like to issue a noise complaint for the seafront district."
Hitch took out his notepad. "Of course. What's the issue you'd like to report?"
"Firstly, the music coming from the hair stylist is far too loud, and it makes concentrating hard." Posey paused. "Seriously, who does that girl think she is? Sofia Carson?" She paused. "And the singing on the seafront is also a problem. I've lost track of how many times the trucks in the yard have sung choruses of Drunken Sailor!"
"I'll be sure to raise it with the individuals in question," Hitch said.
"You'd better," Posey said. "We do fund these services through our taxes, after all." And she walked off, still looking as annoyed as usual.
Hitch popped into Mane Melody to see something was going on. Pipp was onstage, preparing to perform. She was wearing a sleeveless grey gown with matching gloves.
"This song is for my lovely, and paranoid, older sister Zipp. Hit it boys!"
The music began in the background, playing the same generic pop that Hitch had last heard being blasted in Swanage. The backing singers, two people with varying hairstyles, started off.
"Shoop, shoop! Uh-huh! Shoop, shoop!
Shoop, shoop! Hey! Shoop, shoop!"
Then Pipp joined in.
"I know you're feelin' like there's somethin' wrong/
But don't you worry, I have just the song for you! (Mm-hmm!)
Just for you-ooh-ooh! (you-ooh-ooh)
So kick those feet up in this comfy chair/
And you'll forget about those cares in a minute or two/
Yeah! That's what you'll do-ooh-ooh!" (do-ooh-ooh)
The woman then took over.
"You've got a lot on your mind, and that's kind of tragic/
But with a little bit of caring and a touch of magic!"
Followed by the guy.
"You'll feel brand new/
And you'll forget what's been troublin' you!"
Pipp then rejoined the lyrics.
"So put your hands up high/
'Cause we're feelin' all right! (hey!)
Every day is awesome in the Fal- Mouth Bay!
So put your hands up/
Put your hands up/ (hey!)
Everything is gonna be okay!"
The music stopped, and there was brief reverb. Zipp then stood up. "You're still not taking this seriously! Something is seriously wrong with the crystals."
"What's happening?" Sunny asked.
"I don't know if you've been noticing this, but the faces of Non-Faceless Vehicles have been vanishing and appearing at points. If that's not concerning, I have no clue what is!"
"Do you have evidence?" Izzy asked. "If you do, we can come up with a more effective solution quicker."
Zipp pulled out her phone, and started a clip. A truck was joining in a work song alongside several others, only for its face to suddenly vanish without warning. A second or two later, it flickered back in, with the truck continuing from where it had left off.
"Yikes!" Pipp said. "She's a few beats behind there! Somebody needs to teach them about singing in time!"
"You're completely missing the point," Zipp sighed. "If we don't get the crystals sorted out, we could lose the magic forever, and all the work we've been doing these last few months could be lost, possibly forever!"
Pipp sighed. "I think you're just stressed with all the preparations for this event. Just take it easy and you should be fine." She vanished elsewhere, presumably to get changed.
Sunny was the only one who remained after a short while. "Zipp, I'm just as concerned about this as you are," she said. "In fact, it seems to be awkwardly flaring up at times. I seem to be gaining these wierd wings at random times in the day, which is getting really annoying."
The door suddenly opened, and Argyle stuck his head in. "There's a set of trucks rolling about without power on the seafront yard," he said. "You may want to deal with that."
"Sure thing, dad!" Sunny said, and headed out.
This only left Zipp, sitting there, lost in her own thoughts. Why was nobody taking this seriously?