keeping watch as Alex peeked into the kitchen.
There was no one there. Not even Niko. But there was a pot simmering on the stove.
"Niko will be right back," he said. "Let's hurry."
Almost as soon as he spoke, someone started pounding from within larder. Thorny was awake! Alex fumbled out the keys.
"I'm coming!" he called. "Hold on!"
The pounding stopped as he got the door unlocked. He pulled it open...
And found himself face to face with Captain Rozinshura.
For a moment Alex and Rozinshura stared at each other. And then each grabbed the other by the lapels.
"Where is Thorny?" shouted Alex. "What did you do with him?"
"Who are you?" shouted the captain, and being the one of greater bulk, he propelled Alex backward and up against the wall. "Who ARE you!" he growled again, his nose only an inch from Alex's.
"I'm nobody," said Alex, just as emphatically. "I'm just looking for my friend. What did you do with him?"
"Pookiterin took him," said Niko. The captain shot him a glare, while Alex made a lurch to get away.
"I have to get him back," said Alex, pulling hard as the captain held tight to his jacket. "If they take him away to some prison or something, I'll never find him."
The captain did not let go, but he made a little sound, and shifted back uneasily, like he knew something Alex didn't. Alex grabbed his lapels again.
"They're going to do something worse to him, is that what you're thinking?"
"What do you think?" said Rozinshura, a little more softly.
"I don't know!"
The captain gave Alex a shake to make him let go, and held him at arm's length to study him, looking him down and then up again.
"Niko!" he called. "Why did you give him a uniform?"
"His clothes were wet," said Niko.
"Completely wet, from head to foot?" said the captain. Niko nodded. The captain murmured to himself. "Like the old man."
"Yes, like the old man," said Alex. "He jumped in the river and I dove in after."
All of a sudden Rozinshura let go of Alex with a shove that sent him back three steps. Then the captain swore in frustration and held up a book for all to see.
"The book is dry!" he roared. "It's not yours!"
"That's right," said Alex.
"Then whose book is it?" the captain called up to the ceiling, as if the timbers could answer. Neither the timbers nor anyone else answered.
"Where did you get the book, captain?" asked Lady Featherdale.
The captain stared for a second at the wall, and then abruptly stalked to the door, calling loudly, "Tralkulo!"
He glanced back at Alex, his eyes a little distant, like he was thinking.
"Who are you?" he asked one more time. "Who is that old man?"
"We're stowaways," said Alex. "He's on a drinking binge. He's been hopping trains all over the countryside, and I followed him to keep him out of trouble. I don't even know where I am."
Alex braced himself for a more difficult questioning than Lina had given him. The captain looked down at the book and thought for a minute.
"You chased the girl," he said. "Where did she go?"
"I didn't really chase her," said Alex. "I just stalled the guards so she could get away."
"Why?"
"Because the colonel is a creep," said Alex. The captain gave him a blank look, so he explained. "He makes your skin crawl. Like a slimy worm."
Rozinshura nodded as though he understood and agreed.
"Where did she go?"
"I don't know. Into the stable, I think, but she might have gone over the fence."
The captain looked like he might press the point, but just then the floor rumbled slightly, and there was the sound of a train whistle, not far away. The captain swore and closed his eyes. Then he rushed from the room, shouting again for Tralkulo.
Alex turned to Niko.
"Where'd Pookiterin take him?"
"I think to the train," said Niko. "But he might be running away from the train."
"Great," said Alex.
"But if he wanted to run away, he would go to the station anyway, because that is where they fuel the cars."
Episode 34
The Cussar Sword
It was a good thing that Pookiterin caught sight of his reflection in a window just before the train pulled in. His mustache was lopsided! The girl had cut it when she stole his sword. He shuddered with humiliation.
He could not face his colleagues with half a mustache! And if the train were carrying his enemies... that was all the worse.
He pulled out his grooming kit and hastily trimmed and pruned the remaining hair. The light was poor in the dusk, but the reflection was clear enough to see it was presentable.
The train pulled in while he was trimming, but he paused to brush away loose hairs and straighten his collar. The act of grooming was always calming for Pookiterin. When he looked good, he had confidence.
He flicked some dust off his sleeve and reminded himself that, whatever had gone wrong in the capital, he could blame that clown Rozinshura for everything that had happened here. The man was a known liar. If he said anything about the girl, everyone would assume it was a lie.
The first officer off the train was Colonel Sochir. Though Sochir was a rival, Pookiterin was thrilled to see him; it meant he had not been arrested. Things might have gone wrong, but there was no disaster.
Sochir spotted him from the platform, and rushed to greet him. He drew Pookiterin aside, away from the others.
"Is Argoss alive? Has he spoken?"
"He's alive. I have him hidden away. When I heard Vshtin was coming, I thought it best to wait for orders."
"Good man! The plans have changed. It is now critical to blame this on the Cussars, you understand?"
"Yes, kinchin. Of course."
"Has anyone else spoken to him?"
Pookiterin hesitated. It would be best not to hide the fact that Rozinshura got involved.
"We had some interference from the district facilitator--" he began.
"These facilitators are always impudent," said Sochir.
"Indeed," said Pookiterin, warming to the story. "This one is worse than most. I had to detain him."
Sochir paused, and then nodded with a smile.
"Excellent. Yes. I will deal with him. In the meantime, you have an important duty."
"Yes, kinchin?"
"You must kill our spy. Get a car, take him up the mountain to somewhere near the wreck, a little ways away so people will not wonder why they didn't find him." Sochir paused to signal to an officer. In a moment the officer returned with a long package wrapped in newspaper.
"This is a Cussar sword," continued Sochir, quietly, so others wouldn't hear. "You must kill him with this. Hack at him like a savage, and then drive it in deep and break the sword, to explain why they left it behind."
"Is that... necessary?" said Pookiterin. He was not fond of blood work, though he could make his drunken guards do the job....
"It is absolutely necessary, kinchin," said Sochir sternly. "We can salvage everything if we can blame this on a Cussar plot to inflame relations between Imperia and Awarshawa. But if we fail to blame them, then we are all at risk. We are counting on you, Pookiterin. You must do this right!"
Pookiterin clicked his heels and gave a sharp nod of acquiescence. He took the package and headed back toward the shed. He was a dizzy and a little sick at the thought of this duty, but it was important.
There were soldiers all along the tracks, busily unloading supplies from the cars. He hardly noticed them, even when a pair of young soldiers separated themselves from the rest and carried their heavy sacks along the path just behind him.
As Pookiterin reached the shed, he had convinced himself that this duty was so critical it would certainly lead to promotion. It was a job only a truly loyal man would do. He would not fail!
He leaned the bun
dle with the sword against the wall of the shed, and fished out the keys to the padlock. Just as he unlocked it, though, something large and forceful -- like a sack of flour -- struck him from behind, and he bounced violently against the wall of the shed, and fell to the ground unconscious.
Episode 35
The High Commissar Arrives
"The relief train has arrived," said Tralkulo, as she met Rozinshura in the front hall. "And the car is back from the mountain."
Rozinshura sent her to fetch the car and the sergeant. The station was not far, but it was up hill, and with his limp, it would be slow going. Besides, he needed to talk to them both as they went.
The sergeant reported that they had accounted for more names. All of the missing crew members were dead, as was one of the four missing foreigners.
"Winston Argoss?" asked Rozinshura.
"Yes, Kinchin Captain. It appears he was shot by the bandits while he ran away. He was found in the woods."
"I want to hear from whoever found the body. I want to know of anything unusual found in the area. Also, if anyone has found lost clothing."
"There's a lot of clothing in the debris, Captain."
"I mean away from the debris. Something... dropped. Anything that does not belong in the woods." He paused. "We must find out about this Cussar girl Pookiterin arrested. Is she from a village, or did she come across the river?"
He glanced at his sergeant. The man was exhausted, and in despair over the additional orders.
"Never mind; She's long gone. We may find her later," he said. "For now, everyone to the kitchen to eat, and rest and help Niko."
Rozinshura pulled out the book, and once again considered the note. He had no one to explain it, so this was all the information he would get: A coup. A bomb to kill High Commissioner Vshtin, tomorrow. And a list of names.
If