er. He was trembling, too; the children
could see his big hairy hands shake from side to side, "with quite
extra-sized trembles," to use the subsequent words of Peter. He drew
long breaths. Then suddenly he cried, "Thank God, thank God you come in
when you did--oh, thank God!" and his shoulders began to heave and his
face grew red again, and he hid it in those large hairy hands of his.

"Oh, don't cry--don't," said Phyllis, "it's all right now," and she
patted him on one big, broad shoulder, while Peter conscientiously
thumped the other.

But the signalman seemed quite broken down, and the children had to
pat him and thump him for quite a long time before he found his
handkerchief--a red one with mauve and white horseshoes on it--and
mopped his face and spoke. During this patting and thumping interval a
train thundered by.

"I'm downright shamed, that I am," were the words of the big signalman
when he had stopped crying; "snivelling like a kid." Then suddenly he
seemed to get cross. "And what was you doing up here, anyway?" he said;
"you know it ain't allowed."

"Yes," said Phyllis, "we knew it was wrong--but I wasn't afraid of doing
wrong, and so it turned out right. You aren't sorry we came."

"Lor' love you--if you hadn't 'a' come--" he stopped and then went on.
"It's a disgrace, so it is, sleeping on duty. If it was to come to be
known--even as it is, when no harm's come of it."

"It won't come to be known," said Peter; "we aren't sneaks. All the
same, you oughtn't to sleep on duty--it's dangerous."

"Tell me something I don't know," said the man, "but I can't help it.
I know'd well enough just how it 'ud be. But I couldn't get off. They
couldn't get no one to take on my duty. I tell you I ain't had ten
minutes' sleep this last five days. My little chap's ill--pewmonia, the
Doctor says--and there's no one but me and 'is little sister to do for
him. That's where it is. The gell must 'ave her sleep. Dangerous? Yes, I
believe you. Now go and split on me if you like."

"Of course we won't," said Peter, indignantly, but Phyllis ignored the
whole of the signalman's speech, except the first six words.

"You asked us," she said, "to tell you something you don't know. Well,
I will. There's a boy in the tunnel over there with a red jersey and his
leg broken."

"What did he want to go into the blooming tunnel for, then?" said the
man.

"Don't you be so cross," said Phyllis, kindly. "WE haven't done anything
wrong