by TOMMY DAVEY
"Thank you," both Ted and Sheila said.
"Have you noticed," Mrs. Bronwyn said, "that strange man in the dining car? He is never without that silver briefcase of his. It's as if he’s guarding it with his life."
"Yes," Ted said. "We did notice that. I have yet to see him without that case in his hand."
"Willy offered to store it for him," I added. "But Mr. Sloane snapped right back at him, told him to stay away from it."
"Sloane? Is that his name?" asked Mrs. Bronwyn. "Very strange, if you ask me. Very strange, indeed. I wonder—no, that couldn't be him."
"What?" asked Sheila. "What were you going to say?"
"Well, this is almost too much to believe, but I was just reading in the paper last week of a spectacular diamond that was sold at an auction for an unbelievable sum of money. It was called the Diamond of Madagascar, and it’s said to be worth millions of dollars. The person who bought it has remained anonymous, but is believed to live somewhere in the mountains. Since it was only sold a few days ago, it would make sense if that man, Mr. Sloane, as you called him, is transporting the diamond from the city to the mountains."
"You mean he’s delivering the diamond to its new owner?" asked Ted.
"Precisely, yes," she said. "Of course, I’m only speculating. I don't know anything about the man, but it does seem to be at least possible, doesn't it?"
"It certainly sounds like it," I said. "Could he really be carrying the Diamond of Madagascar on this train?"
"Why not?" she asked. "The train is the most direct route to Topaz Mountain."
"My goodness," Sheila said. "To think that such an expensive diamond is right here with us on this train. It's almost too much to believe."
"Well, now," Ted said. "Let's not get out of hand. We're just guessing. We don't know anything about that man or what’s in his case. For all we know, that case is empty."
"Yes." Mrs. Bronwyn laughed. "I suppose you're right, we mustn't get carried away."
"Still," I said. "It sure is fun to think about!"
Just at that moment, Mr. Sloane came into the car, followed a few seconds later by the large man with dark glasses.
"Oh," Mrs. Bronwyn murmured. "We shan't speak of this any longer."
The man with dark glasses came close to us and sat down on a chair next to the window. He picked up a small paperback book that had been resting on the table beside the chair and thumbed through it. Mr. Sloane, on the other hand, stayed near the door of the car, still clutching his silver briefcase.
"So much responsibility he has, transporting that diamond to Topaz Mountain. I don't know how he does it. I would be a nervous wreck!" said Sheila.
"I have to agree with you there," added Mrs. Bronwyn. "I can't say I would like to take on that responsibility. If it were ever lost on the trip, I don't know what I would do."
"Big companies like that have insurance. They would cover anything that might happen," advised Ted. "He wouldn't be responsible for the loss."
"But his company would still hold him responsible," I pointed out. "I don't think his bosses would be very pleased with him."
"No." Mrs. Bronwyn reached over and scratched Calvin behind the ears. "They certainly wouldn't."
I sat with my new companions and watched the sun set as we sped toward our destination. I couldn't believe how quickly the first day had ended. It wouldn't be long before I joined my uncle in the mountains.
"Well," said Mrs. Bronwyn, "I'm afraid it's time for me to go to sleep. It is past Calvin's bedtime!"
Everyone looked down at Calvin, who was comfortably nestled in my lap, content and sound asleep.
"Oh, please, don't disturb him," I pleaded.
She smiled at me. "I'm afraid I must, Cora, darling. I can't fall asleep without my little Calvin next to me. It just wouldn't be the same without him."
Mrs. Bronwyn bent down and gently scooped up her slumbering dog and cradled him in her arms. Her tender motion did not disturb Calvin one bit.
"Well, goodnight, everyone," she said. And with that, she turned and walked out of the lounge car, slamming the door just as loudly as she had when she came in.
The crash of the door was loud enough to wake the man with dark glasses, who had fallen asleep reading. "What the…?" He looked around, startled. "Oh," he said, realizing he had dozed off. "Pardon me."
Although he had only spoken a few words, I thought I heard a trace of an accent in his voice. He sounded Italian, much like my grade five teacher, Mr. Giordano. The man with dark glasses put his book down and rose from the chair before turning to address the group.
"Excuse me; I will be retiring for the night. Pleasant dreams," he said.
"Good night," I said.
"Good evening," added Sheila.
After the man left, Ted couldn't help but make an observation. "It was nice of him to say goodnight to people who haven't even said a word to him all evening."
"Yes, it was," I agreed.
"We must make a point of talking to him in the morning," suggested Sheila. "Perhaps he can join us for breakfast."
"Yes," said Ted. "Perhaps. Well, Cora, I'm afraid we must be off to bed ourselves. I don't imagine it will be easy to fall asleep in those seats tonight. I want to try and get as much rest as I can!"
"I guess I should, too." I yawned. "It is quite late."
I made my way out of the car accompanied by the honeymooners, leaving Mr. Sloane alone. I said, “Good night,” to Ted and Sheila at their seats and continued to my seat before grabbing the little bag of toiletries my mother had packed for the trip. I made my way to the washrooms at the front of the sleeper car and proceeded to get ready for bed.
As I returned from the washroom, I couldn't help but notice Mrs. Bronwyn was not at her seat.
Perhaps she's in the other washroom, I thought. I picked up my cell phone to call my mother before bed and noticed right away a message on the screen that read, "NO SIGNAL". It must be difficult, I supposed, to get a signal in the country. I decided to text her instead, as I knew the text message would send once we had a signal. My text read, "Mom, ther is no sgnl nw. will call u 2moro."
With that, I tucked my phone in my pocket and reclined my chair as far back as it would go. I pulled the blanket that had been left on my seat, probably by Willy, up to my neck and closed my eyes before falling asleep.
CHAPTER FOUR
I woke up in the morning feeling refreshed, which surprised me considering how bumpy the train was. The view out the window surprised me. Honestly, I had expected to see farmland and lots of open, flat space. Instead, before me lay a beautiful lake with many trees and flowers. Way off in the distance, I was certain I could see the mountains.
"Good morning!"
Startled, I turned to the aisle and saw Willy standing between me and a still-asleep Mrs. Bronwyn.
"Good morning, Willy. Is that Topaz Mountain I see in the distance?" I asked.
He looked out the window before saying, "It's the start of what will eventually be Topaz Mountain. It's all part of the same range, but we've got a little ways to go yet. First we have a stop in the town of Pecan River to pick up a few folks. Then we'll be on our way."
"Not much longer now!"
"Not much longer. That's right," he agreed. "You'll be there before you know it. When you're ready, head down to the dining car for some breakfast. We have French toast today."
"Yum! I'll be there soon."
Willy excused himself before continuing along to invite the other passengers to breakfast. Everyone but Mrs. Bronwyn and Calvin, of course, who were still fast asleep.
I remembered the text message I had attempted to send the night before, so I pulled out my cell phone to check if there was a signal. Eureka! There was! A text message from my mother read, "Okay. Have a good night. Call tomorrow." I tucked the phone away after making a mental note to text her later.
After washing up and changing into my new clothes—a carefully picked outfit specifically for the occasion of meeting my uncle
—I made my way to the dining car.
Along the way, I ran into Ted and Sheila, who were busy folding their clothes and putting them into their small suitcases.
"Good morning!" I said.
"Hello there," said Ted.
"Good morning, Cora.”
"How are you today?" I asked.
"I'm great. I slept like a baby. Ted, on the other hand, didn't have a very good night."
Ted stretched his shoulders. "She's right. I had a lot of trouble falling asleep in these seats. My back is quite sore today, I'm afraid."
"Oh, no," I consoled. "That's terrible. Will you be all right?"
"Oh, I'll be fine," he said. "I just need to stretch it out a bit. And I think some food will do me some good."
"I'm just going to breakfast now. Would you like me to save you a place?"
"That would be wonderful," Sheila said. "We'll be along in just a few minutes."
I left the newlyweds to their packing, pleased with myself for making so many friends on such a short trip. While walking down the hall of the compartment car, I couldn't help noticing the door to Mr. Sloane's compartment was slightly ajar. Curious as anyone would be, I slowed down a little and made sure to look inside to see if there was anything interesting. There, sitting on a table, was the silver briefcase. Mr. Sloane appeared to be dialling the combination lock on the front of the case in an effort to open it. Just as he was about to pop the lid of the case, he turned his head toward the door.
"Oh!" he yelped.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I was just passing by." My voice was nervous and quick, and I was flustered at being caught.
"This is private!" he snapped, shutting the door with a bit less force than a slam.
Embarrassed can hardly describe how I felt at that moment. And to make it worse, I was horribly upset that I did not get a chance to see what was in the case. I was so curious to find out if Mrs. Bronwyn was right, and if in fact he was carrying the Diamond of Madagascar.
I guess I'll never know.
Inside the dining car, the girl in her twenties was sitting alone at a table for two, quietly reading a book and munching on some dry toast.
The nervous man, who was compulsively polishing his glasses, was also already seated. He had a full cup of coffee in front of him, which I couldn’t imagine was a good idea. As nervous as he appeared to be, the last thing he needed was caffeine. He was staring at the door of the car, as if he were waiting for someone to arrive. Perhaps he had made arrangements to eat breakfast with someone else on the train.
Soon after settling at a table for four, Willy stopped by and offered me something to drink.
"Just an orange juice, please."
"Did you want anything to eat?"
"I'm going to wait," I told him. "Sheila and Ted will be joining me soon. I'll just have the juice until then."
“All right, then.” Willy went to get the juice.
The door slid open and the large Italian man with the dark glasses came in and surveyed the room. He walked down the same side of the car I was sitting on and made to sit at a table for two.
"Excuse me," I said. "Would you like to join us?"
"Us?" he said, clearly noticing I was alone at the table.
"Oh, my friends are coming in a minute. The newlyweds, from the lounge last night."
"I would be happy to," he said with an accent. "But what about your older lady friend, with the dog?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her. She isn't even awake yet, so there’s an empty seat at our table. We would love for you to join us."
"Well, then, in that case, how can I refuse?"
He plopped down at the table with a big smile. Across the small room, the nervous man watched our exchange closely. I wondered if he was offended that I hadn’t offered a seat to him, but dismissed the thought when the Italian man introduced himself.
"My name is Rudolpho Dabruzzi."
"Hello, Mr. Dabruzzi. I'm Cora Flash."
"It was very nice of you to invite me to join you. It's not always much fun to travel by your self, so I am always pleased when someone is as courteous as you."
"It's my pleasure. We should have asked you to join us last night in the lounge."
"I'm afraid I would not have been very interesting company last night," he said with a chuckle. "I fell asleep not long after I sat down!"
We chatted about our journeys, and I told him all about Uncle André and visiting him for a week. Mr. Dabruzzi, I learned, was a watch salesman, on his way to a convention in Topaz Mountain. He traveled quite a lot, and always by train.
"The train, you see, is quite peaceful and has traditionally been thought of as romantic. Although I have yet to meet a special lady, there is always hope for the next trip!"
"That's exciting," I said. "I love old movies where characters are on trains, but there are usually murders and mysteries, not many romances."
"Ah, yes, murder and mystery has always been a popular subject for the motion picture people."
Just then, the door to the dining car opened and in walked Sheila and Ted. They looked pleased to see me sitting with Mr. Dabruzzi.
"Good morning, everyone," said Ted.
"Hi, Ted!" I said enthusiastically. "This is Rudolpho Dabruzzi."
"Well, hello, Mr. Dabruzzi. I'm Sheila Houseman, and this is my new husband, Ted."
"New husband?" said Mr. Dabruzzi. "Oh, how wonderfully exciting. Congratulations. I am pleased to meet both of you. But please, and Cora this applies to you as well, do not call me Mr. Dabruzzi. I insist you call me Rudolpho."
"All right then, Rudolpho, we would be happy to," said Ted. And with that, Sheila and Ted at the table. "So, what’s on the menu for this morning? I am starving!"
"Then I have come just in time," said Willy. He always had a knack for entering the picture just at the right time. "Good morning, folks!"
We all wished him a good morning before he proceeded to tell us about the specials for the day. "As I mentioned to Cora this morning, we have French toast on the menu today. A bit unusual for us, so I would recommend you take advantage of it, because it might not be here for your trip back."
Sheila, Rudolpho, and I ordered the French toast, and Ted ordered bacon and eggs, sunny-side-up. I had heard the expression "sunny-side-up" before, but I was not entirely sure what it meant. I was excited to find out!
"Did anyone notice," said Sheila in a hushed tone, "that Mr. Sloane's door was open this morning?"
"Yes!" I cried. "I did! He saw me looking in the room, though. I didn't get a chance to see if he had the diamond in his case."
"Excuse me," said Mr. Dabruzzi. "Do you mean to suggest the funny little man with the silver briefcase is carrying the Diamond of Madagascar? On this train?"
"You know about the diamond?" I asked.
"Most certainly. It was in all the papers just before I left. I heard that someone in Topaz Mountain had won the auction, but I did not realize it would be traveling by train. Especially this one!"
"Well," said Sheila, "we don't know for sure that it’s on this train, but wouldn't that be just fantastic!"
"But that diamond is worth millions of dollars. Why wouldn't it be taken on a special plane?" asked Ted.
"Planes can't land in Topaz Mountain," I said.
"That's right," agreed Mr. Dabruzzi. "And don't forget about that incident where they were transporting all that gold by plane and then it was hijacked. The gold was never seen again."
"I had forgotten about that," said Ted. "That was an absolute scandal."
"So maybe they wanted to avoid the attention of flying the diamond. It is much more discreet to ship the jewel by land," said Sheila. "No one would expect it."
The door slid open and in walked Mrs. Bronwyn, carrying little Calvin. "Good morning!"
"Good morning!" I replied. "Mrs. Bronwyn, this is Rudolpho Dabruzzi. He has joined us for breakfast this morning."
"Hello, Mr. Dabruzzi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Josephine Bronwyn."
"It is my pleasure to meet you," said Mr. Dabruzzi, rising out of his chair to greet her.
"I'm so sorry we did not save you a seat," said Ted. "We weren't quite sure what time you would be able to join us."
"Oh, that's quite all right," she said with a pleasant tone. "I'm not offended in the least. I tend to sleep late, so you were right to offer a seat to this gentleman. Look, there’s a table right beside you that’s empty. I'll just seat myself there."
With that, she sat down and rested Calvin on the floor near her handbag. "There, you see? It's practically the same table."
Willy came out carrying a large tray with the first four orders. He presented us the three orders of French toast and one order of bacon and eggs, sunny-side-up.
"Ah!" I said, mostly under my breath. "That's what it means." I was surprised, and frankly a little disappointed, to see that sunny-side-up meant just plain old regular egg, the way that it always looked in pictures. Lots of white with the yellow yolk in the middle. So simple! And boring.
Mrs. Bronwyn, upon seeing the orders of French toast, said that she knew in a minute she had to have that. "Oh, and please hurry. The smell of their orders is going to drive me insane with hunger!"
"This is the best French toast I think I’ve ever had," said Sheila. "It tastes so fresh and wonderful."
"I think I have to agree with you there," said Mr. Dabruzzi. "It is quite savoury."
As they marvelled at how magnificent their meal was, Calvin's little head kept poking up at the table, and he sniffed anxiously at the plates of food that he was forbidden to taste.
"Oh, Calvin," said Mrs. Bronwyn. "That is not for you. Now get down, and stop being so greedy. I just fed you."
"It's amazing," said Mr. Dabruzzi. "Dogs and cats seem to always behave like they have never eaten before. Always hungry, always looking for more, more, more!"
We laughed at Mr. Dabruzzi's observation until we were interrupted by the slamming of the dining car door. Everyone immediately grew silent as Mr. Sloane burst in and exclaimed, "There's been a robbery! Someone has stolen the Diamond of Madagascar!"
CHAPTER FIVE
"What?" we shouted in unison.