The Devils Express
The Fifth Somerset Adventure
By Susan Waterflower Bell

A midsummer heat wave was inflicting pain and suffering on the people of Somerset. Things where so bad, the local sawmill was forced to close its doors in the noon hours, and all the papers encouraged the people to drink more water, to seek a doctor if they where feeling faint and to avoid the sun between noon and five ‘o clock, when the heat was at its strongest.

Many of the merchants cursed the heat wave, since the heat kept many of the people away from there sales room floor, thus cutting a noticeable hole into there sales. A few, chiefly the ice Merchant and the owner of the local ice cream parlor welcomed the heat wave with open arms, there sales shot through the roof.

Indeed many people where choosing to spend there evening in the cool of the ice cream parlor, including two young girls. Rachel and Sunflower, both where enjoying what remained of there Summer Holidays.

“You know.. I’m hearing more and more rumors of a ghost train being spotted in the rail yard down town. My older brother who works as a night watchmen came home last night, swearing up and down he saw the fable train.” Rachel said as she reached down and taking a sip from her milkshake.

“I think you’ve been reading to many of those R.L Stine stories.” Said Sunflower smirking as she took a nice long sip from her own milkshake. “I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m really digging his Fear Street Sage.. I just like the Hobbit more.” She said leaning back with a sign.

“Point.” Rachel said taking a deep breath. “But come on sun, it’s the middle of summer, Dies Caniculares is upon us, the days are long and hot, the nights short and humid. This is perfect ghost hunting weather.” She said signing as she took another deep sip from her nice cold shake, the smooth chocolate seemed the only respite from the oppressing heat.

Sunflower blinked and titled her head to the side, “Daies Caniculares? And I thought the rectors daughter should be attending Evening Prayer and not chasing ghost.” Sunflower said winking a little as she took another sip from her shake.

“Latin for ‘Dog days of Summer’ and… point..” Rachel said with a sigh as she settled down in her chair. They where even now. Sunflower had scored a point and she had also scored a point.

“Though… I guess maybe I could sneak out of the house this evening. Mum and dad are going to see a picture show, and well.. Maybe would could meet up at the main-street school. I can catch the tram at ‘Grand Halt’ and ride the rails to the school.” Said Sunflower at last.

“Sounds like a plan, I’m no more than five minutes walk from my house to the school. Moms down with the heat and dads working on this coming Sundays sermon.” Rachel said with hint of a sign.



“Another lector on Angelical encounters through out history?” Said Sunflower titling her head to the side again. Truth be told, Rachel slept through most of the sermons and readings. Maybe that was the reason Mrs. Holly had taken her out of the weekly rotation of  acolytes.

“I’m afraid, it might be about two naughty little girls who where caught sneaking into the train yard, hopping to catch a brief glimpse at the ’Devils Express’ by the pale light of the moon. You know the whole ’Honor thy mother and Father’.” Rachel with shake of the head.

“You know.. You kind of take the fun out of a lot of things with that sense of humor of yours… beside where not going to get caught. Who would think to search a old abounded station for two teens. And beside, its not like where vandalizing anything.” Responded Sunflower.

“Bite me.” Rachel smirking a little as she stood up and headed toward the door. Once she had pushed the door open, she turned around and stuck out her tongue and gave her friend a teasing look.

“Brat!” Bellowed Sunflower quickly turning a deep crimson shade of red as she reached down and collected her paper cut. Before she could catch herself she was rushing toward Rachel.

“And proud of it.” She said reaching down to smack her friends bottom once she passed her. A few patrons, including one of the local couples looked up from there meal and there frozen treats and titled there head to the size as the observed the antics of the two.

“Hush!” Sunflower said, a sudden blush came across her cheeks as she felt her friend smack her bottom, sending a crashing wave of sting through the thin fabric of her sun dress. Quickly she turned upon her heel and delivered a counter smack, with a broad smirk she landed a good solid hit upon her friends bottom, sending a devastating smack right into her rear though the equally thin fabric of her skirt.

Both girls then fell into a fit of wild giggles and teasing remarks. There little teasing war lasted till they reached the parting of the road.

“So see you at five?” Asked Sunflower turning toward her friend with a look that was both hopeful and teasing gaze.

“See you at five sis.” Said Rachel, turning upon her heel to wave her goodbye before vanishing into the shadow cast by the setting sun.

For a minute, Sunflower stood there lost both in words and in mind. A chill was running down her spine, a spine tingling feeling to be more precise. Something deep within her heart was telling her, she was in the process of embarking upon a grand adventure, one fraught with dangers. Still a little adventure never hurt anyone, what was the worst that could come from sneaking into the rail yard, beside a fright from the appearance of the ghost train, if said phantom proved to be real.

The hours of the day started to slowly tick away, Sunflower busied herself doing some odd and end chores around the house, her mother raised a queer eyebrow at her daughter as she rushed around the house, sponging down the walls, scrubbing the floorboards, and going beyond the call of duty by dust mopping before and after mopping the floor.



“Your doing a wonderful job honey.” Her mother said inspecting her daughters handy work. “If you keep this up, you might just justify the five shilling raise in pay.” She said smiling as she ran her finger upon the surface of the dinning room table. Her smile only grew as she peered toward the tip of her finger, not a speck of dust could be seen. Seemed the guides where really teaching her daughter how to clean.

“Thank you mom.” Sunflower said taking a deep breath as she stood up and smiled. Sunflower felt a since of pride as her mother praised her efforts. Indeed much to her surprise she did find a extra five shilling in her last weeks pay. Five shilling was a pretty good bit of money.

“You know, you could make a good bit of pocket money if you started to clean houses. Its hard work and it builds character.” Her mother said smiling softy as she reached over and ruffled her daughters long blonde locks of hair.

“But mom.. I thought doing housework was ‘A job not befitting are social class and statues as women of one of the leading families.’ and all that good jazz.” Sunflower said throwing a dusting rag into her bucket. Most of the leading families in the parish had a maid and a cook. They had a cook, but the house cleaning seemed to be divided between her and her mother.

“Learning to balance a bank account of only a dozen or so pound sterling is no different than balancing a bank account of a thousand or more.” She said with a smile as she reached down and picked up the bucket. “And he who does not learn the value of money is doom to become a slave to it, indeed money becomes your master.”

“Come again?” Sunflower said taking a deep breath as she titled her head to the side as she reached up and losing the band on her ponytail.

“Man invited money, and money became mans slave.” She said with a little smile. As she reached over and patted her little girl on the shoulder. “Learning the value of a shilling, will help you tame the power of money and will serve you well when you’re the head accounted of a household of your own one day.” She said with a wink.

“Wait what?!” Said Sunflower taking a deep breath and stepping back from her mother, a deep blush colored her cheeks and her cunning nature seemed to fail her as her mother laid the teasing on nice and thick.

“When you married, you will be expected to balance and monitor the family ledger, one day you might have a daughter of your own coming to you, asking for a extra shilling or two. Then you’ll have to see if you could grant the young ones request, while making the books balance, and if so you’ll have to draw up a list of fresh chores for your little one.” Isabella said with a small smile as she reached down and patted her daughter on the head.

Sunflower just stood there and blushed and whispered something very nonsensical, her mother though for her credit just smiled and kissed her daughter upon her widows peek. Then without saying a word she reached up for her shawl and quickly she wrapped around her neck. Then without a word being spoken, she vanished into the evening.




“Bloody hell..” Sunflower said shaking her head in hopes of removing the blush, “I’m only fourteen, and the bloody women is already trying to marry me off.” Sunflower said taking a deep breath as she reached over and quickly taking her house key from the key rack.

Quickly she locked up the house and skipped down the brick paved walkway to the cobblestone paved sidewalk. Smiling to herself she skipped down the sidewalk, the late evening sun was castling long shadows upon the streets and the gas powered streetlamps where starting to glow a brilliant white yellowish hue. It took only around five minutes for her to reach the halt, and after a minute or two of waiting, the ringing of the trams bell could be heard as he snaked the tracks bedded deep within the bricks that paved the road.

The tram came to a stop in front of her, smiling she greeted the driver and dropped a three pence into the fee box. Once she was seated the old street car once more roared to life as it started to rattle down the rails. Taking a deep breath she pressed her face to the glass windowpane and with eager eyes she observed the passing landscape.

As the streetcar wounded rocked back and forth and took a sharp right turn around the east side of the goose egg park, blushing a little Sunflower felt herself gently being thrown into the window, before the carriage slowed down. It was then only five more minutes of enduring the rocking before the tram came to a halt, this time she did the proper thing and pulled down upon the cord that ran the breath of the car. A loud dinging sound filled the space and the old driver quickly threw on the brakes.

Without a word of mirth or wormwood passing her lips she stood up and walked toward front, in the span of a breath she found herself touching down upon the pavement of the road. Collecting her thoughts she sprinted across the roadway till she reached the safety of the walkway. Pausing she looked up and crossed herself.

“About time you showed up, thought you might have chickened out on me or something sis,” Came a voice from behind her.

“Sorry mom sprung a last minute heart to heart on me.” She said turning around only to be greeted with the smiling face of her sister or maybe for a better usage of words, her sister from another mother.

“I know that feeling, mum still down with the heat, though she wants us to do something before the weeks out, she kind of looking forward to you coming over next weekend. She been going through old photo booklets, man.. Are folks where dork when they where are age.” Said Rachel smirking a little as she reached down and took Sunflower by the hand.

Sunflower blushed as she looked down at Rachel. Quickly her eyes traveled down to the pastel pink satchel resting easily upon Rachel’s hip. Taking a deep breath she looked up and gave her friend a puzzling look.

“Mind telling me what you have in there sis?” She said pointing toward the satchel.

“Oh nothing more than a flashlight and camera, and some snacks too in case we get hungry and a bottle of mineral water too. Really Sun, your in the same troop as I and you’ve brought nothing save the clothing upon her back?” Said Rachel with a shake of her head.

“I thought we where sneaking into the abounded station house, not going on some backwoods adventure in the brush.” Sunflower said, blushing a little under the scolding her friend was piling up on her head.

“You never know Sun, but enough chatting we make tracks,” Rachel said as she let go of Sunflowers hand and turned upon her heel. A half of a span later she was quickly making tracks toward the train yard.

“Hold up!” Cried Sunflower as she dashed to catch up with her friend. After a good minute or two she finally managed to catch up with Rachel, taking a deep breath she reached over and took the girl by her arm.

“You know, you could give a girl a little warning.” She said taking deep breaths, the brow of her head was now dotted with tiny sweat drops and her light cotton blouse was now clinging to her form. Throwing her head back she signed as she peered toward the bright orange ball slowly sinking behind a cluster of nearby hills. Between breaths she prayed for a sudden gust of evening wind to fresh the air.

“Sorry.” Rachel said as she turned her face from Sunflowers gaze, “But hey you know me, when adventure comes knocking I’m the first one to answer the call.” She said in a proud tone of voice as she poked out chest and tossed her head back.

“Maybe that the reason your mother made you that paddle?” Sunflower said smirking a little as she peered toward her friend.

“Okay point..” Rachel said, before flushing a bright crimson red.

Sunflower and Rachel walked for a good mile and a half, both lost in there own little worlds, Rachel’s mind was wrapped around trying to snatch a photo of the phantom train and send said photo off to ‘Weird Magazine’ a weekly publication her older brother loved to read. The tabloid was know for its well written and researched articles on the supernatural, and best of all it paid its readership for photos and stories sent in to be published. A genie pictograph of a phantom locomotive pulling a dozen or so carriages was bound to fetch the top bounty of fifteen quid.

Sunflower on the other was thinking about Richard, sure she had only had one or two official dates with the boy, but she had written dozens upon dozens of letters to the boy, she had poured out her hopes and dreams to him, thought hard about there future together, she had plotted out a dozen or so dates, of what she’ll wear and where they would go. Signing slowly she shook her head, her young mind had even sworn one day she’ll wear his ring upon her finger.

But her dozen or letters had remained unanswered, and only one in six received a small dripping of ink to quench her burning heart. The last one hinted that Richard had found another girl to chase after, his letter hinted a raven hair beauty from St. Claries of Jerusalem Academy, a private Roman Catholic girls school.

Sunflower shook her head as she once more tried to think through the problem. Sunflower had been born to Anglo-Saxton stock, her mother and father where life long members of St. Mary’s Anglican Church, she had been christen and raised in the Anglican church. And Rachel and her where both St. George girls..



“Rachel, have you heard anything through the grapevine?” She said taking a deep breath as she peered over at her best friend. Slowly she moved in a little closer, once she rubbing her shoulder she said, “About Richard?” Sunflower was not the one to go around collecting rumors or peeking into the small circles that formed during there break period.

“I’m sorry Sunny.” She Rachel reaching over and wrapping her arm around her friends shoulder as they left the sidewalk and started to climb down a steep hill, the sour smell of rotting and waterlogged vegetation became stronger and stronger with each step they took.

“Sorry about what?” She said blinking as she took baby steps down the hill, smell of a near by ditch filled the air, and caused her to cough and lifted her blouse to her nose in hopes of shielding her from the horrible gut wrenching smell filling the humid summer air.

“I think your Richard, is starting to flirt with Cathleen Glen, the raven haired starlet of St. Claries, or so my older sister tells me, and she a teacher’s aid. And loves talking about town drama more than me.” She said reaching down to take hold of Sunflowers hand.