Anton and Cecil, Book 2 by Lisa Martin

Author:Lisa Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 2015-08-05T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

One Moonlit Night

Anton heard Cecil’s shout and then the murmur among the human passengers who sounded amused by what they had just seen. His heart sank and he pressed his back close to the trembling wall of the carriage as the train picked up speed. They were not, evidently, about to arrive at the next stop. Anton thought that Cecil had probably survived the expulsion; he was good at falling into and out of trouble. He recalled his brother’s tale of swinging on a rope from one ship to another with a little bag containing a valuable stone clamped in his jaws. But even if Cecil was fine, how would he manage to get to the next stop? He wouldn’t have trouble finding it—just follow the tracks—but suppose it took days and there was nothing to eat?

Anton longed to get out from under the seat and look out the window, just to have some idea what was going by. Was it towns or just the endless fields of grass they’d seen in the early stages of their journey? He reasoned that it might not be a good idea to get himself thrown off as well, especially as the train seemed to be moving from a pleasant jogging trot to a full-out gallop. The whistle blew, the walls vibrated, and the rattling of the metal connections between the carriages sounded like they might just come apart. Anton closed his eyes tight, made himself as small as he could, and waited for whatever came next. He hoped the train stopped someplace with food and not so many hot, jostling, constantly talking humans.

He dozed, his tongue out, the pads of his paws sweating from the heat, and when he woke it was because the passengers were moving about, taking down their hats and jackets from the hooks overhead, milling in the aisles and exchanging pleasantries. They sounded as eager as Anton was, stuck under a bench, for this train to arrive at a destination. When the whistle blew, the train began to slow down and the door at the end of the carriage was thrown open by a man who shouted something. Yes, Anton thought. This is it. Just wait until all the passengers were out and then make a dash for it.

It didn’t take long before the boxes and bags had been hauled away and the last boots had exited at the end of the car. Anton ran to the doorway using the benches for cover, his senses alert to determine which way to turn for the nearest shelter. The Captain was standing on the planks outside, speaking to a lingering passenger, and didn’t even see the small gray streak run back alongside the train, then leap across the track and dash into some low grass on the far side. Once hidden from view, Anton crouched low and looked back at the scene. No one had seen him, and the humans were dispersing, going into the wooden building behind the planks or heading toward a line of horses and carts that were waiting to take them away.

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