This is the life! It was so easy to choose one of the luxury High Speed trains that run from Mumbai to Calcutta (Kolkata) where I am due to catch another steam ship. I will be arriving in only a day and a half! In the meantime, I can just sit back, relax and watch the scenery flash past. Northern India looks amazing.
If all goes well, I will be arriving in Kolkata 2 days ahead of schedule. This trip around the world lark is so much easier than it was in Jules Verne’s day!
I had just settled back for a nice nap, when the train drew to a stop. Through the darkness I could just make out the name of the station, “Agra.”
It turned out we had stopped to take on a passenger. Soon we were speeding along again towards the next major junction at Allahabad.
I had just settled back again for another nice nap when the train stopped for a second time! But we were not at a station, we seemed to be miles from anywhere. I flagged down one of the train staff who told me the engine had broken down! But not to worry as a replacement engine was on its way from Mumbai.
But this meant I would now be late getting into Kolkata and I would miss the steam ship “Rangoon.”
There was another train from the junction at Allahabad, but that was 50 miles away. How was I going to get there? No train, no car and too far to walk.
There was a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around to see Kay Seven!
“Hello, Fido,” he said cheerfully, “How are you?”
“Hello Kay, what are you doing here?” I asked in surprise.
“I caught the train at Agra,” he explained (conveniently expanding on an earlier plot point), “The fluff trail is a global issue. Kay Six was onto something but Arth Invader is not the architect of the fluff racket. We think there may be links with the Far East.”
I told him about how it looked like I was going to miss the steam ship from Kolkata, and we sat in thought for a while. Both of us staring out of the window at the approaching dawn.
Fido: 80 Days Around the World 