'Er...well yes we do appear to be having problems with something. We have no idea what it is though.'
The Doctor
simply smiled and put his hand into one of his pockets. From it he
produced a large-looking nut and bolt. He handed the nut and bolt to
George who took it, a puzzled expression on his face.
'We can't have the demonstration going wrong can we, George?'
Stephenson was
perplexed. Who was this man and how did he know what the problem was
with the engine? How did he get here? 'Well, err...thank you sir. Thank
you very much - you seemed to have saved the day. I only hope that this
will do the trick.' he said, indicating the nut and bolt.
The young woman
seemed to be trying to attract the man's attention, so George prepared
to get to work on Locomotion, pausing only to ask him a question 'Excuse
me for asking, sir, but who exactly are you?'
The man smiled
and simply said, 'I'm a friend, a friend of the Doctor.' He turned to
his companion and motioned her to go back up the hill. 'We had better be
off now,' he told George, 'Goodbye, George.'
'Erm, goodbye, sir and thank you very much! May God bless you.'
The friend of
the Doctor was already away up the hill and George was heading back to
make an announcement to the waiting crowd. He had forgotten about the
Doctor until this chap appeared. Without the contribution of the Doctor,
George would probably never had seen today. He smiled happily, lost in
his memories.
A little while later the Doctor and Ace watched contentedly as Locomotion One began it's return journey to Stockton-upon-Tees.
'You knew that the engine would break down here didn't you, Professor?' asked Ace.
The Doctor
looked at her and said, 'Oh I wouldn't say that I knew exactly, Ace. I
just came prepared for any eventuality. Today is recorded in history as
happening, so I had to make sure that it did. Nobody will ever know of
my involvement here.'
'Apart from George Stephenson you mean,' said Ace.
'Yes, Ace. Apart from George. Now come along, there's plenty more work to do you know.'
They both smiled
to each other and headed off back to the TARDIS - a majestic piece of
space-conquering technology from the future - just as the first piece of
space-conquering technology puffed off into the distance.
written by
CHRIS ORTON
copyright 1996 / 2008
artwork by
COLIN JOHN
copyright 1996 / 2008
the first trainspotters page 2
he
pair reached the top of a not so very high hill, and surveyed the scene
before them, three hundred yards away in the valley below. There was a
small crowd gathered in one spot, eagerly waiting the demonstration.
There were lots of Victorian-looking gentlemen in black suits and top
hats and a few ladies in posh frocks and ludicrously large hats.
