01 The School at the Chalet (29 page)

If there had not been such appalling possibilities at hand, Madge could have burst out laughing. As it was, she flung a hasty ‘Stay where you are! Don’t dare to move!’ at the terrified girls and dashed to the rescue.

The scene was becoming ghastly. The big engine and three of the long carriages lay on their sides in a narrow gorge-like way. The foremost carriage was already wrapped in flames, and their roaring rose above the screams and cries of the people still imprisoned in the other carriages. The three remaining on their wheels had disgorged all their passengers, and already men were tearing along, working madly to save those in such deadly peril. Madge Bettany contrived to take in all these things as she made that frantic scramble on to the side of the carriage, where a terrified fat woman, with grey hair streaming wildly round her, was struggling madly to get free of the window-frame, which held her gripped as in a vice.

Through all the horror of it the English girl contrived to keep her head.

‘Steady!’ she said, as she took the gripping hands, and though the language was a foreign one and a hated one, her voice brought self-control to the maddened woman.

‘I cannot get free,’ she panted in German. ‘Fräulein–’

‘Keep still a moment! Now! Ready! Then, as hard as you can!’

Certainly Madge’s slight form gave no evidence of great strength. She said afterwards that she was possessed at the moment. However that may be, there was a struggle, a sound of rending and tearing, a sudden gasp, and then the other woman suddenly shot out over the wheels and on to the heap of stones, her clothes in shreds, but otherwise safe. Madge sprang down beside her, and then she felt the world turning black, and she fainted. When she came to herself she was lying on a coat in a field. Joey was kneeling beside her, crying vehemently, and a big fair man whom she did not know was holding something to her lips. With an effort she pulled herself together and pushed it away.

‘No, no,’ she said.

‘Oh, Madge!’ sobbed Joey. ‘O-ooh! I thought you-you w-were dead!’

‘Hush!’ said the man. ‘She’ll be all right in a minute, kiddy. It’s only whisky-and-water I’m giving you, Madam. Better take a little to buck you up!’

‘No; I’m all right!’ With an effort she sat up, pushing the hair off her face. Joey promptly flung her arms round her, hugging her tightly. Juliet and Grizel seemed to have vanished.

‘Oh, Madge darling! Oh, I had such a fright! Oh, Madge!’

‘There! That’ll do,’ said their benefactor. ‘You’re not helping her, kid. Let her alone for a minute or two to come round. It’s quite all right-the other kids are safe enough, and-oh, you plucky girl! It was one of the bravest things I’ve ever seen!’

‘It was nothing,’ returned Madge, who was rapidly coming to herself. ‘Joey! Don’t strangle me, child! Let me get up!’

She contrived to get on to her feet, but was glad enough of the arm the stranger flung round her as she swayed for a moment.

‘There!’ he said rather roughly. ‘Come over here and sit down a minute! You can’t do everything at once!

I’ll send the other kids along, and you’ll be all right in a minute.

No, there’s nothing you can do. Everyone got clear but the driver. He fell on his head, poor chap! Even your fat rescue is recovered enough to fuss about having no skirt on–’

‘Yes; and oh, Madge, who do you think it is?’ interrupted Joey, with considerable lack of both manners and grammar. ‘It’s Frau Berlin!’

‘Oh, goodness!’ And Madge began to laugh weakly.

‘Isn’t it rum? And we left Paneirimo because of her and Grizel, and then you save her life! Yes, you did.

The carriage got on fire just as you slithered down. If it hadn’t been for you, she’d have been burnt to death!

She was only bumped a bit, and she wanted to kiss you, only that man came and hiked you off into this field, and she suddenly found her clothes were all torn, so she wouldn’t follow us! Grizel and Juliet are over there.

They aren’t hurt, and nor am I. Do buck up, Madge!’

Thus Joey, in a breathless, hurrying tumult of words.

‘That man’ stood to one side, smiling, as the elder girl managed to take it all in. Then Grizel and Juliet appeared, and all the excitement began over again. At length he interfered.

‘Now then, you kids, let’s go and see what we can do about getting on. I know this place, and we’re about ten miles from anywhere, Besides, Miss–?’

‘Bettany,’ supplied Madge. ‘These are my sister Joey, and two of my pupils-Grizel Cochrane and Juliet Carrick.’

‘Ah, thank you,’ he replied. ‘My name’s Russell-James Russell, at your service. Well, as I was going to say, Miss Bettany, you had better get somewhere where you can lie down for a bit. There’s a main road goes past here somewhere, and, with luck, we ought to get a lift in something. If you will take my arm, I think we can get there all right, and we can’t do anything here.’

There was common sense in what he said, so they set off, Madge beginning to realise how very shaky she still felt. The girls were upset too, and it took them some time to make the high-road. Luckily, just as they reached it, a peasant came past with an empty hay-cart. Mr Russell quickly came to an arrangement with him, and a couple of hours later they were safely in the Gasthaus of a tiny village, Madge beginning to realise that the headache she was enduring was well on its way to beating anything of the kind she had ever suffered, while the three girls were stiff and aching. They stayed there all night, their new friend going on to Innsbrück after leaving his card with Joey and getting the Châlet address, so that he could wire to Miss Maynard not to expect them for another day. The morning found them all very tired and worn out, but Madge wanted to get back to Tiern See and home, so they set off, and finally arrived at the Châlet, where they were rapturously welcomed by an anxious Miss Maynard, who had been feeling very worried. Mr James Russell had been better than his word, for he had gone up to Tiern See and given her a full description of what had occurred.

‘I’m thankful you’ve all arrived safely,’ said the young mathematics mistress. ‘I couldn’t feel sure you wouldn’t have another awful adventure.’

‘I think I’d rather keep out of adventures for some time to come,’ laughed Madge rather shakily. ‘Teaching and school generally will be enough for me for the next three or four years, I can assure you.’

‘Oh, I expect we’ll have some more adventures presently,’ said Joey.

And so they did. But that, as Mr Kipling says, is another story.

The End.