aving, and all shouting the same
thing--'Stop, stop, stop!'"

Then Toad fell on his knees among the coals, and, raising his clasped
paws in supplication, cried, "Save me, only save me, dear kind Mr.
Engine-driver, and I will confess everything! I am not the simple
washerwoman I seem to be! I have no children waiting for me, innocent
or otherwise! I am a toad--the well-known and popular Mr. Toad, a
landed proprietor; I have just escaped, by my great daring and
cleverness, from a loathsome dungeon into which my enemies had flung
me; and if those fellows on that engine recapture me, it will be
chains and bread-and-water and straw and misery once more for poor,
unhappy, innocent Toad!"

The engine-driver looked down upon him very sternly, and said, "Now
tell the truth; what were you put in prison for?"

"It was nothing very much," said poor Toad, colouring deeply. "I only
borrowed a motor-car while the owners were at lunch; they had no need of
it at the time. I didn't mean to steal it, really; but people--especially
magistrates--take such harsh views of thoughtless and high-spirited
actions."

The engine-driver looked very grave and said, "I fear that you have
been indeed a wicked toad, and by rights I ought to give you up to
offended justice. But you are evidently in sore trouble and distress,
so I will not desert you. I don't hold with motor-cars, for one thing;
and I don't hold with being ordered about by policemen when I'm on my
own engine, for another. And the sight of an animal in tears always
makes me feel queer and soft-hearted. So cheer up, Toad! I'll do my
best, and we may beat them yet!"

They piled on more coals, shovelling furiously; the furnace roared,
the sparks flew, the engine leapt and swung, but still their pursuers
slowly gained. The engine-driver, with a sigh, wiped his brow with a
handful of cotton-waste, and said, "I'm afraid it's no good, Toad. You
see, they are running light, and they have the better engine. There's
just one thing left for us to do, and it's your only chance, so attend
very carefully to what I tell you. A short way ahead of us is a long
tunnel, and on the other side of that the line passes through a thick
wood. Now, I will put on all the speed I can while we are running
through the tunnel, but the other fellows will slow down a bit,
naturally, for fear of an accident. When we are through, I will shut
off steam and put on brakes as hard as I can, and the moment it's safe
to do