‘Stop this at once!’ I started to rise. ‘I’m getting out of this thing right now. I won’t-’
There was an ear-splitting boom that echoed all around the cave. Something ripped my ridiculous blue hat from my head, and it smashed against the wall. I had just enough time to see the large hole in the middle before it rolled out of my field of vision. My incredulous eyes flicked from the place where my mutilated hat had lain, to the entrance of the tunnel where, in a patch of torchlight, I saw a soldier standing, his rifle raised. Others were appearing around him, shouting and yellin
g curses. Not bothering to consult my mind again, my legs dropped me to the floor.
‘Um… all right. Maybe I’ll stay in here after all.’
‘How gracious of you, Mr Linton.’
The cart was gathering speed now; we were almost at the slope that would carry us away. Mr Ambrose shoved harder and harder, scarcely breathing heavily at the effort. I would never have thought that there was this much raw power in that cold, hard body of his. He looked focused and determined, as if he had been pushing mine carts all his life.
‘Hold on, Mr Linton,’ he hissed. He gave a last shove, and then jumped into the cart behind me. The force of his jump carried us forward another few feet, just far enough to reach the edge of the slope. We started to gather more and more speed. Wind rushed against my hair and tugged at my brown locks, making them fly all around me. Behind us, I could hear more shouts, and then there came another shot.
The car reverberated with a sound like a bell, and a scream tore from my throat. They had hit the car!
‘Keep your head down!’ Mr Ambrose hissed.
‘Thank you for the valuable advice, Sir,’ I growled. ‘I’d never have thought of that!’
Another shot, and another. Stone dust rained down on us as it hit the ceiling above. The light around us dwindled fast as we gathered speed. The torches of the cave were only a distant glimmer by now, while the dark before us was a gaping maul waiting for a scrumptious meal of Ambrosia and Lilly. Somewhere out of the half-light behind us, I could hear the creak of more metal wheels, and knew what it meant.
They’re following us!
Then, all thoughts disappeared as we shot around a corner and down, down, away from all light, down into the darkness.
The Tortoise and the other Tortoise and no Hare
Our race into the darkness ended rather abruptly when, after a few dozen yards, the rails levelled out, and our cart rolled to a halt.
Having expected a thrilling race through the dark tunnels of the mine, this was something of an anti-climax. It was also quite worrying, considering a bunch of bloodthirsty soldiers, armed with rifles, sabres and God only knew what else, were not far behind.
‘Now what are we going to do?’ I demanded. ‘Get out and push?’
‘Not quite,’ he said drily, and in so calm a voice it made me want to strangle him. ‘Climb over there. Quick.’
Jumping over the front wall of the cart, he landed on something solid - wood, not the stone of the tunnel floor, I could tell from the sound his shoes made. He gestured for me to follow. Looking over the edge of the cart’s metal wall, I saw that it didn’t actually end at what I had taken to be the front wall. There was a flat, wooden extension, a kind of platform, attached to the front, and in the middle of the platform there was a construction that looked like a strange sort of metal see-saw.
The only difference from a see-saw was, it didn’t have seats at the ends. Instead, it had wooden handles, one of which Mr Ambrose was already holding.
‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ he asked. ‘Grab hold, and let’s get going!’
‘Get going with what?’ I demanded, though I already had an inkling.
‘Grab the other handle and start moving it up and down,’ he ordered. ‘This isn’t just a mining cart. It’s a draisine.’
‘A what?’
‘A draisine. You move it by it by moving the handles up and down.’
‘You mean you want to try and escape the murderous hordes that are chasing us by pumping up and down?’
‘Essentially, yes.’
‘You must be joking!’
He considered this. ‘No,’ he stated. ‘In fact, I’m quite at liberty to be serious. Which I am in general, and in particular at the moment.’
‘You don't say.’