The next morning dawned, and the lighthouse at the end of the harbour rang to the sound of preparations. Argyle was busy making sandwiches for their journey, and consulting track diagrams to ensure that they could safely make their way out of the harbour and onto the main line. Sunny was at work in the workshop, busy oiling Salty's parts and mechanical components to ensure he could run properly over the track. This include ensuring his lubricators and roller bearings were properly topped up. After all, it would not help anybody if their engines suffered hot boxes and blocked the line.
Izzy was doing the same for Porter. She had been out of bed since four in the morning to get Porter's fire up to temperature. Thankfully, it seems as though her efforts had payed off, and Porter was producing a nice head of steam. She released his brakes and moved him off the siding. Steam whooshed from his cylinder cocks as he reversed onto the main track, before stopping on the other side of the switch.
"We're ready for you!" she called out.
Moments later, a rumbling sound started up from the tunnel, and within a few moments a light was visible. Salty emerged from the gloom of the tunnel a few seconds later, his engine rumbling quietly (though still not completely settled) before he came to a stop. He groaned as he came to a stop. "This lubrication is taking a while to work!" he said. "I feel very stiff indeed."
"You won't need to do all the work alone," Sunny told him. "Porter's here to help. That way we can spread the load as we run along, as even at full power you're not the fastest of engines."
"I was only meant for shunting," Salty noted.
Argyle emerged from the house with the preparations complete. "We should be good to go!" he called, as he hopped onboard. "I'll set the switches so we can get up to the station, and then we can begin our journey to Truro."
"What's there?" Salty asked.
"The mainline junction," Porter explained. "Hopefully we won't get lost this time."
Izzy simply nodded as she buffered Porter up. Sunny secured the couplings, and within a few minutes they were on their way. They steamed into the station up the steep slope from yesterday, and Argyle changed the points.
The long journey began up the slope, battling against some very steep gradients. Salty's limited engine power meant Porter was doing much of the work. Having said that, the repeated blasts from a steam engine and the growl of a diesel engine did produce a quite spectacular sound.
People who were near the lineside turned out to see this most unusual sight. Porter was leading, but running bunker first, so Izzy had more restricted visibility than usual. In comparison, Salty had a cab radio, so he was important for communicating with signalmen and lineside crew.
At last, they pulled up at Truro, and after an express worked by an HST flew past they were cleared to continue their run. With puffing and a growling engine, the duo accessed the mainline. They were truly on their way, and as the Cornish landscape rolled past Sunny stuck her head out of the cab. "Izzy?" she called.
"Yes?" Izzy replied.
"I feel a song coming on!"
"You know what? Me too!" Izzy replied.
Porter rolled his eyes. "When did this become a musical?"
"Around Season 19," Salty replied.
Izzy led off. "Up ahead is a sky growing dark/
Where it leads is a big question mark!
And I'm scared that I'll end up
A pony gone missing from Pegasus-ing!"
"That is not a word," Porter said.
Sunny then joined in. "But you're not alone
You got a buddy in your crew!"
"I do?" Izzy asked.
Sunny then resumed singing duties. "I'm lookin' out for you
When you're off track-
I got your back!
You can rely on me,
I'm lookin' out for you."
She then took a short pause. "Back at home, it just humans first-
Heard it so many times, I could burst
And I fought for a change, but it's lonely-
'Cause, you know, party of uno!"
"Well. that's not quite true-" Argyle started, but was interrupted by Izzy.
"Well, if you need a friendly steed
Like you-know-who-"
"I think I do!"
"I'm lookin' out for you!" the girls sang together.
"I'm lookin' out!" added several mysterious disembodied voices.
"Where did all these disembodied voices come from?" Salty asked.
"It's a musical, don't ask," Porter sighed. "I can only hope they don't start singing Genesis."
"When you're off track!"
("When you're off track!")
"I got your back!"
("I got your back!")
The two girls rejoined together, now singing in two part harmony.
"You can rely on me
I'm lookin' out for you!"
("I'm lookin' out!")
The vocals now bounced between Sunny and Izzy, before rejoining in harmony.
"Lost in the hills!"
("Lost in the hills!")
"I got the skills!"
("I got the skills!")
"Starting your quest!"
("Starting your quest!")
"Makes you feel stressed!"
("Makes you feel stressed!")
"Buddy, it helps knowin'
I'm lookin' out for you!"
("I'm lookin' out!")
"You blaze a trail!"
("You blaze a trail!")
"I'll watch your tail!"
("I'll watch your tail!")
"Pony, let's get goin'
Get goin', get goin'-"
Suddenly, the chord finished building, as Sunny launched off into a descending sequence that sounded oddly like a harmony part.
"I'm lookin' oooooout!"
The disembodied choir echoed this, whilst singing their own section.
""I'm lookin' out for you-
I'll go where you're goin' to/
It's all that I want to do/
I, I, I!")
The two leads then joined together. In harmony.
"I'm lookin' oooooout!"
("I'm lookin' out for you
I'll go where you're goin' to
It's all that I want to do
I am lookin' out...")
The to end: "...for you!"
Argyle added something as they rolled to a stop in a station. "Your voices go very well together. You should consider recording an album."
"Thanks!" Izzy said. "Well, we're at Wareham already! That shows one of the benefits of musical numbers. They let us skip a lot of the boring bits of travel."
"If only that trick worked with engineering works," Sunny sighed. "Where are we?"
"Well," Argyle said, consulting his map, "we're at Wareham, which is the junction for one of the places I marked. It's a small town called Swanage, so I suggest we reverse down the branch and pull up at the next station to get some directions."
"There are a lot of exotic place names around here," Salty said. "Castle Cary, Dorchester. This is a world that is new to me!"
"Same here, mate," Porter replied, as they ran down the line to the next station, a place called Norden. Once they had parked up, Argyle hopped out to use the station telephone.
Moments later, there was a loud horn in the distance. "What was that?" Porter asked.
Izzy hopped off the footplate and pointed in shock. "Oh no!"
"What's happening?" Sunny asked.
A voice was audible in the distance. "GET OUT OF MY WAY! I'M AN EXPRESS TRAIN!"
A passenger train was bearing down on their position, and was going much too fast to stop.
"Where are they?" Hitch demanded of the others.
"They must have slipped away during the morning," said one CCF member. "We can't find any trace of them. It's possible they and the engine were heading away from our location for safety reasons."
"Safety or not, they caused a lot of chaos in the docks yesterday," Hitch replied. "And not only that, Sunny was helping them. She's gone completely loopy, I know it." He clenched his fist and began to speak to himself. "Sunny, Sunny, Sunny, Sunny. You think you've escaped? Well, think again." He paused. "I will not eat! I will not sleep! Well, maybe a quick nap and a snack if I can't find you in the next few hours. But after that, nothing will stop me! I'll follow you wherever you go. Whether harshest deserts, the coldest tundras, no trail too dangerous, no clue too small. The past matters not! It's justice. Neither snow nor hail nor sleet nor gloom of night will prevent me from carrying out my duties to the Crown."
"Are you feeling alright?" Sprout asked.
Hitch fired up his quadbike, which rumbled obediantly into life. "I'm putting you in charge until I get back," he said. "Don't do anything stupid whilst I'm away, and just keep order until I return, got it?"
"Yes Sargeant!" Sprout replied, and saluted.
Hitch glanced back. "You've risen to the rank of Corporal and still don't know you don't salute a non-commissioned officer? Give me a break." He set the gears and after a quick brake check roared away over the hills, the engine producing a fair deal of noise and smoke as he flew up the road."
Sprout turned around. "Let's go!" he said. "I've been tasked with keeping order, and order I shall keep!"