Rascal guessed that the conductor would be too busy to begin a thorough search of the coaches again, and he was right. The conductor spoke to the Station Master (the guy who says when the train can leave the platform) for a short while but eventually, he had no choice but to make his way back into the coaches. The train, after all, had to leave the station on time.

The conductor grumbled dreadfully because he wasn’t allowed to delay the train’s departure. In a terrifying voice, he shouted down the corridor of the coaches, "Wherever you’re hiding, I’m going to get you once the train starts moving again!" and then, he went back to his work, muttering to himself.

A full ten seconds passed before two pairs of little eyes peeked out from inside an old suitcase in one of the overhead compartments.

"Well, that’s settled then", said Rascal. "He won’t be bothering us for a bit, so how about having some lunch?"

"Lunch?" asked Lemy. "You can’t be serious! That guy is sure to come back for us once the train starts moving again…"

"By then, we’ll have had our lunch and gone back into hiding. trust me, this man isn’t very smart," said Rascal. "Besides, I’ve done this dozens of times before on other trains and I’ve always escaped".

"OK", said Lemy, "I guess I am feeling a little hungry after all."

"Great", laughed Rascal, "you find your way to the kitchen coach while I look into the dining cars. There’s bound to be some food around."

The train had already begun its return journey, as both animals climbed down from the luggage compartment and went their separate ways. Rascal went towards the front of the train, in search of a carriage that would serve as a dining car for passengers. Lemy on the other hand, made his way to the back, looking for the kitchen coach which would be where meals were prepared before being served.

after 10 minutes, Rascal came back to the luggage compartment empty-handed. Lunch was not ready yet, and the dining car was empty. Lemy, on the other hand, came galloping back with a plateful of hard-boiled eggs. He threw the eggs up one by one to Rascal and then hid the plate under one of the seats before scampering up to the old suitcase where Rascal was.

"Eggs!!" exclaimed Rascal delightedly. "That’s every raccoon’s favourite food."

"Lemurs too," said Lemy. "The chef was very kind to let me have them."

"Really?" asked Rascal suspiciously. "Why would he give them to you?"

"Easy", replied Lemy as he reached for one egg and gobbled it down. "Nbrrfhh….heffr….bonrr!" he said with his mouth full.

"What?" asked Rascal chomping on his own egg.

"What I said was…I gave the cook the fright of his life" answered Lemy.

"That guy had just finished peeling these eggs when a mouse whisked past him across the floor. When he bent down to look for the mouse, I jumped down from above the shelf, squeaking for all I was worth. Landed right on his head, I did".

"The poor man had such a shock that he threw the eggs up into the air and fled," finished Lemy, "he must have thought a giant mouse had landed on him."

The two of them then laughed until they cried.

"Now," said Rascal, "we’ll have two people chasing us."

Just as he said this, the connecting door to the front compartment opened, and…the conductor’s figure covered the doorway. at the same time, the door to the compartment at the back also opened, and a very angry cook appeared.

"Now where are those animals?" bellowed the conductor (to nobody in particular)

"There’s a huge mouse in here somewhere", shouted the cook to the conductor. "I can smell my freshly boiled eggs!"

Lemy & Rascal quietly slipped behind the suitcase and flattened themselves against a sideboard. and then, an egg that had been left on the suitcase began to roll around as the train hit a bumpy rail.

"Oh! Oh!", thought the two friends quietly, "we’re in trouble now!"

Puzzle of the week!