by Drew Herdman
CHAPTER 3
JOURNEY’S END
As the travelers headed away from the harbour, the road took them along the side of the Inner Harbour, where boats of all shapes and sizes lay. There were the freighters that brought so much of the Islands needs, down to the string of rowing boats that the holidaymakers hired by the hour.
At the top of the harbour, the road passed the entrance to the Railway Station. Not for the Island people the modern, fast, and comfortable trains. These were old steam engines, with tall black chimney, and polished brass dome glittering and gleaming in the sun. A small cloud of smokes gently drifting up into the still air.
Mother slowed down as they passed, and at that moment they heard the shrill whistle sound, followed by the rattle and bang of the buffers as the train got under way.
Leaving the town behind, they were soon following the road south, and could, at times see the railway line. The train was hurrying along, dragging a long plume of white smoke, which drifted away over the fields. The sound of its passing sending sheep scattering in all directions. Now both car and train were running almost side by side. Faster and faster they went, with people on the train waving from the windows. The twins waved back, but all too soon, the road turned away from the tracks and the train disappeared down a tunnel, leaving a cloud of smoke drifting away into a nearby wood.
On and on they drove, down roads much narrower than those in the city, with high banks on either side. The sun was still shining, and it was so warm that they wound the windows down, and the inside of the car filled with the scent of many different sorts of flowers that grew in the hedges that sided the road
They swooped down a hill, where the road twisted over a grey stone bridge, and passed a sign that said 'Fairy Bridge'. "Say Hello to the fairies” said Mother, and this they did, because not to do so would bring bad luck. A few twists of the road later, and Mother stopped the car by a white painted bridge. They got out, and looked over the edge. The railway line passed underneath, and soon they heard the train coming. As it came round a bend, they could see it swaying from side to side, with the driver and fireman looking out from the cab.
When they saw the group on the bridge, they waved, blew the whistle, and thundered underfoot, to reappear on the other side in a cloud of smoke and steam. After it had gone by, and the smoke had cleared, all they could hear was the rattle of the wheels, getting fainter in the distance.
They drove on, passing through small villages, up and down hills, until they came to the coast again. Many of the bays were covered with golden sand, and the waves broke gently on the few rocks that jutted up here and there.
All too soon they came to a crossroads. A school stood on one corner, and an old smithy on another.
"That was my old school” said Mother. "Amy and I used to go there a long time ago. The smithy was working then, and the farmers used to bring their horses for shoeing".
They drove on past the sign that said 'Port Erin', and when they reached the grey stone church, they turned left down 'Droghadfayle Road', turned right and stopped just by the old railway station outside the gates of 'Beech Tree Cottage' where a notice said 'B and B’.
Mother tooted the horn, and in a moment there was Auntie Amy. She and Mother hugged each other, then Amy, with her hands on her hips, stood and looked at the twins.
"Well." she exclaimed, "How you've grown. Its a long time since I've seen you, but never mind that, come on in". The car scrunched on the gravel drive, and stopped by the front door. Robin and Robina shut the gates, and as they did, Robin saw a small notice that said, 'B and B'.
"I didn't know Auntie Amy did bed and breakfast". said Robina. "Mother didn't say anything about it. I hope there aren't many guests".
As they were taking their cases from the car, and up to their rooms, Robin managed to ask Mother, in a whisper, why the sign on the wall was so small.
"Surely" he said. "If you want to get people to come to stay, you'd have a large sign".
"No", replied Mother, "Amy only needs a few guests to come during the summer. It pays for her Christmas holidays, when all the summer visitors have gone from the Island. Don't say anything, because Amy is rather proud, and it would embarrass her if you mentioned it".
"OK". the twins promised, and off they went to unpack their things.
Rhes, meanwhile, just after the car had stopped outside the house, and everyone had gone in, had slipped away from the dinghy, and was looking for a handy place to live in. Luckily he found just the right place. At the back of the house was a stable, but because it was summer, the horse that wintered there was out in the field where the grass was lush and green. He climbed into the loft, and there among the sweet smelling bales of hay, he made a very comfortable bed. By opening the small loft door, he could see out into the yard, and with his super hearing could hear anyone coming long before they could catch a glimpse of him.
He settled down, and took a small box from a pocket attached to his belt. When he opened it, a low pitched buzz sounded. He turned the box over, and a fly fell out onto his outstretched palm. He gently turned it over, and it stood on its tiny legs, looking at him. No ordinary flies this. It was a tiny flying TV camera. When Rhes lifted his watch, and pressed a button on the side of it, the dial vanished, and whatever the fly was seeing, was shown on the watch face. Also in the box, was a tiny control stick. Rhes could control where the fly went.
He flew it out of the loft, around the house, and gently into the lounge through an open window. He flew it up to the ceiling, and settled it there. Now he could see and hear everything that went on in that room. At that time Amy had no guests in the house, and wasn't expecting any, so the twins had the run of the place. They were surprised when, after tea, they went looking for Rhes, and found him waiting for them down in the garden.
What a garden it was. Over the years, when their grandfather had had the house built, he had planted hedges to form walks that led to secret suntraps. There were tall trees, with lovely flower beds everywhere, and all around everything was a high stone wall, with just the big white gates that led up to the front door, and next to them a smaller door that went to the back. The stone wall was covered with a climbing fuchsia that had grown thick and heavy over the years
Along the drive that led to the front door, was a group of trees, behind a low wall. Grass covered the ground. In the spring this grass gave way to a carpet of bluebells intermixed with daffodils. Now, of course, later in the summer, all these flowers had gone, but all over the garden, other flowers were in full bloom. The air was soft, and full of the scent of honeysuckle, and feathers flashed as almost unseen birds flew from one place to another.
For the twins and Rhes, the first few days slipped by unnoticed. They explored all the gardens, sheds, and the village that lay outside the walls. Whenever Rhes went out with them, he put on his cloak of invisibility.
One morning, Mother walked the twins to the harbour. There they were introduced to the Harbour Master, a middle aged man who limped out of his house to meet them. His house stood overlooking the pier, so that he could see the boats coming in and out.
After shaking them warmly by the hand, he took them down a rather steep set of steps, which had a rail set in the wall, to hang onto. On the sand was a rope, the two ends tied together. Holding the knot, he said.
"This will be your mooring. Your Auntie Amy asked me to put it down for you".
The twins were baffled. How did it work they wondered. The Harbour Master saw this, and with a deep chuckle said.
"I can see you are used to a harbour where the tide does not go in and out, but here it does, and your boat will be high and dry between each tide. That's all right if you want to go sailing just as the tide is coming in, and your boat is afloat".
He untied the knot, and stood with an end in each hand. On one side the rope ran up to the harbour wall, then back again past them, through a link in a chain lying on the sand, and back to his other h
and, making a huge loop.
"Pretend I'm your boat", he explained, "All you do is stand on the harbour wall, pull on the rope that is tied to the front of your boat." He waggled the rope until it snaked up to the wall. "Then climb into the boat , untie the ropes from each end, tie them together, and off you go. When you come back, just do everything the other way round."
How simple it seemed after he had shown them how.
"If you want to wait here". said Mother, "I'll walk back to the house and bring the dinghy back for you to moor".
She walked away back across the sand, and vanished along the road that led to the shops. The Harbour Master told them that if they needed any help, they had only to knock on his door, as he was there all the time.
After he had limped away, the twins stood and looked around the harbour. The main pier stretched out from the land. It had a high wall on the seaward side, with a deep stone ledge on the inside, at just the right height for sitting on, to protect the boats sheltering on the inside. At the end stood a lighthouse. Not a big one that needed a keeper, but a small one that stood on three legs, and marked the end of the pier at night. Further back, around a steep walled corner was an inner harbour, which was only flooded for about two hours when the tide was in. People who only used their boats occasionally were parked there.
Robin suddenly burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" she demanded.
"Look at your feet", replied Robin, still laughing. Robina did so, and found that there was wet patch under them.
"So what" she said, then saw that next to hers was a patch that seemed to move on its own. At that point she remembered that Rhes had been standing next to them, without moving while the Harbour Master had been talking, and his feet had been slowly sinking into the wet sand.
They stopped laughing when they heard the car horn. Mother drove down a long concrete ramp at the top of the inner harbour, and onto the sand. She pulled up to them and stopped. The trailer had a hinge in the middle, and when Robin pulled out a steel pin, they were able to let the dinghy slide back until it was sitting on the sand.
Robin untied the mooring rope again, and tied the ends to the back and front of the dinghy, as he had been shown. Mother drove off quickly, because the tide had turned, and was now coming in. They all went back up the steps, and sat there in the sunshine, just watching the water creep in.
At first it didn't seem to be moving at all, but a little trickle would wind its way up a low patch, stop for a moment, then in a flash, there would be a small lake rapidly filling out on all sides, then on it would go again. Time after time this happened, and the waterline went up and up the beach until the harbour was full. Moments later the SANNOX was afloat, and riding to her mooring.
Robin looked at his watch.
"Tea time" was all he needed to say, and off they went. They heard the slap slap of Rhes' footsteps, and saw the wet outline of his shoes on the dry pavement. They vanished as quickly as they came, because the sun had been shining, and the pavement was hot.
Along the promenade they walked, past the cafes facing the bay, then up the hill that led through the centre of Port Erin. They passed shops on either side, and then came to the Railway Station. A train had just come in, and the platform was crowded with people pushing their way out.
Minutes later the place was empty. They walked on again, and by going along the platform and then along the lines, they soon came to the level crossing that stood by the wall at the bottom of the garden. The railway lines ran on outside the wall, and vanished in a straight line towards Port St Mary, the next station. Turning left, a short walk brought them to the gates.
After tea, the twins and Rhes sat in the garden, on a seat hidden behind high hedges, where gravel paths would scrunch when someone walked on them. This would give Rhes plenty of warning, time enough for him to slip away unseen. He asked many questions about life on earth. His life had been so different on his home planet. Everything was so new and wonderful, that he never tired of seeing new sights, and learning about new things.
The twins felt that this holiday was just the best thing that had ever happened to anybody. They were so happy, they could have burst with joy. As they sat there in the evening sun, with the rest of the holiday stretching away in front of them, they thought that nothing could happen to spoil it, even for a while.
How wrong they were. Little did they know how soon things were to change, and how much they were to do so.