Chapter II: The Journey

MR. and Mrs. Gray, with Willie, Lucy, and nurse, stood on the platform at the station, waiting for the train to come up. Lucy clung tight to nurse's hand, almost wishing herself at home again, and too much afraid of all the noise and bustle to feel very happy. Willie tried to cheer her up, but she only hid her face in nurse's dress, and then Willie grew a little cross, and told her she was "very silly."

"Hush, hush, Willie," said Mrs. Gray gently. "Lucy is not silly, but she is a very little girl, and does not know any better. Another time she will not mind the train, but now it is all new to her, and it frightens her."

"It doesn't frighten me, mamma."

"No, because you are older than Lucy, and you are a boy too. Boys never ought to be cowards, and I hope some day Lucy will not be one either. See here comes the train."

Brave as Willie thought himself, he could not help stepping close up to his mother's side, when there was a shrill whistle, and the great train rushed up, with its snorting puffing engine, going slower and slower till it quite stopped.

Mr. Gray took Lucy in his arms, and Mrs. Gray gave Willie her hand, and in another minute they were all seated safely in the train. They hardly had to wait at all, before there was another whistle and they moved off, gently at first but more quickly every moment.

Willie looked out of the window for some time, and could hardly help laughing to see all the fields and houses and trees looking just as if they were running away. After a while, he grew rather tired of the window, and began glancing about the inside of the carriage where they were—at the seats, the lamp, the old gentleman in the corner, and the two ladies near him. He was rather puzzled to think what the lamp could be for, and was just going to ask his mamma, when there was a loud sharp whistle, a rushing noise, and they were in perfect darkness, except for the glimmer of light from the roof.

Willie was half afraid, but he felt his mother's hand on his shoulder, and he could see a smile on her face, though the noise was too great to allow of talking. Mr. Gray leaned forward, and said very loud,—

"This is a 'tunnel.'"

And Willie made up his mind to ask by-and-bye what it all meant.

When they came out again into daylight, poor little Lucy was crying in nurse's arms, so Mrs. Gray took her on her lap, and gave her a biscuit. Then Willie had a game of bo-peep with her, but at this, the old gentleman in the corner looked very cross, and said something about "noisy tiresome children!" to the lady by his side. Mrs. Gray told Willie not to laugh quite so loud, and Willie did as he was told, but he thought the old gentleman as tiresome as the old gentleman had thought him.

"I'll ask mamma why he should mind my laughing," he thought. "That's 'two' things I want to know."

By-and-bye they stopped at a station, and Willie thought this a good time to ask the first of his questions.

"Papa," he said, "what is a tunnel?"

"Did you ever see a hill, Willie?" asked Mr. Gray.

"Oh, yes, papa—numbers of hills."

"Not so very many, my boy. Still you know what a hill is. Now suppose I wanted to make a railroad from my house to Mr. Brown's, how should I manage when I came to Heath Hill?"

"Make the train go round, papa," said Willie.

"But that would take it so far out of the way. Think of some other plan."

"Couldn't the train go over the hill?" asked Willie.

"No, uphill will not do. The path must be nearly if not quite level—that is, flat—for the train. Heath Hill is very steep."

"Is a tunnel made under the ground, then?" asked Willie slowly.

"That is right, Willie. You have found it out now. I should make a tunnel under the hill for the train to go through. Do you not call that a good plan?"

"I do not know. It makes such a noise, papa," said Willie, rather gravely.

"Who was it that I heard this morning, saying, 'Oh, a noise won't hurt you, Lucy'? You are not so brave now as then, Willie."

"Yes, papa—I'm not afraid," said Willie, sitting up straight. "I won't mind the tunnel next time at all. I did not this time so much as Lucy."

"Lucy is too young to know any better yet. But you are old enough to learn what a tunnel is, and not to be timid about it."

"Are people never hurt in a tunnel?" asked Willie.

"Sometimes they are. And sometimes people are hurt when they are driving, and sometimes when they are walking, and sometimes when they are sitting quite quiet in the house. No one can be hurt anywhere, unless it is the will of God; and if it is, then we shall be hurt wherever we are."

"Then no one ought to be afraid," said Willie.

"No one, Willie, who can feel that God is his Father and will take care of him."

The train was now moving on again, but the cross gentleman and the two ladies were gone, so Mr. and Mrs. Gray, and Willie, and Lucy, and nurse were alone.

Willie could not help saying, "I am glad he has gone, mamma. He didn't like to see me playing."

"He did not like to hear my little boy's noisy laugh," said Mrs. Gray, with a smile.

"But, mamma, I wasn't near him."

"Near enough to disturb him in his reading, I suppose. Always try, Willie, not to disturb grown-up people by talking and laughing too loud when they are busy. If you do, they will be sorry to see you come, and glad to see you go. You would not like that?"

"No, I should like them to be glad to see me, mamma."

"So they will be, Willie, if you are a gentle polite boy, and think more of what other people like than of what you like yourself. Noisy, rude, tiresome children are always in the way."

"But you don't mind my laughing, mamma?"

"Not unless I am busy, then I like to be quiet. Perhaps the old gentleman in the corner was busy. At any rate, you should always be quiet when you are asked, Willie. Don't forget that, dear."

"I'll try not, mamma," said Willie, rather gravely.