Free 1931 The Grand Punk Railroad: Local by Ryohgo Narita Page A

frightened you, didn’t it!”
    “Huh? The R-Rail Tracer? Wh-what’s that?”
    Maybe because he’d instinctively sensed that it was something scary, Jacuzzi’s expression and tone abruptly changed to those of fear.
    “What, you don’t know about it, Jacuzzi? You see, the Rail Tracer is…”



“…And so, if you tell this story on a train…it comes to that train, too.The Rail Tracer!”
    “Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!”
    At Isaac’s story, Miria gave a fake-sounding scream.
    “~~~~~~!”
    Meanwhile, Jacuzzi gave a wordless shriek, while the rest of the group wore expressions that seemed to say,
Yeah, that’s a pretty common story
.
    “Th-th-th-that’s awful! We’re gonna disappear! Wh-wh-what do we do?!”
    As if advising Jacuzzi—who was actually scared—Isaac slowly began to tell the end of the story.
    “Relax, Jacuzzi. There’s just one way to keep the Rail Tracer from coming!”
    “Yes, only one!”
    On hearing this, Jacuzzi’s face lit up.
    “R-r-really? T-t-tell me what it is! Hurry! Hurry,
hurry
, hurryyy!”
    “Sure thing! Listen, in order to be saved, you… Uh, in order to be saved— Hmm. In order to be saved, see…”
    Dark clouds began to gather over Jacuzzi’s hope.
    “In order to be saved… What was it you had to do, Miria?”
    “Who knows? I’d never heard that story before, either!”
    You mean you chimed in like that when you didn’t know the story?
Nice and the others quipped silently.
    Of course, for Jacuzzi, this was no time for smart remarks.
    “N-n-n-noooo! Th-th-th-th-this is terrible! I-i-if you don’t hurry up and remember, then—! If you don’t, we’ll all die, we’ll disappear!”
    Jacuzzi was trembling in earnest, and his teeth were chattering loudly. In contrast, Jon the bartender muttered in a very calm tone:
    “I’ve heard that story before.”
    “R-r-r-really? What do we do?! What do we need to do?!”
    “Nah, I forget what you’re supposed to do, too.”
    “Whaaaaat?! Don’t
do
this to me, Jon!”
    “Now, hang on. Calm down, Mr. Customer. I heard it from the conductor on this train, so just ask him. There are two of them on board; the young one’s the one to ask.”
    No sooner had he heard those words than Jacuzzi clambered down from his chair and took off.
    When he’d gone a little distance, Jacuzzi turned around, forced his lips to curve, and yelled to Isaac and the others.
    “I-it’s okay, Mr. Isaac! I’ll hurry and go ask! J-just leave it to me!”
    He was probably doing his level best to set everyone at ease, but when said with tear-filled eyes, it had the opposite effect.
    That said, besides him, the only ones who believed the Rail Tracer story were Isaac, Miria, and Mary.
    Weaving his way between tables, Jacuzzi ran toward the rear of the train. Nice got up from her seat at the counter, intending to go after him.
    “Um, please excuse him! He isn’t a bad person! He’s just a little cowardly…”
    As Nice defended her friend and broke into a run, Mrs. Beriam smiled softly.
    “Yes, I know. I think Jacuzzi is kinder than anyone else.”
    Mrs. Beriam had noticed: Jacuzzi truly believed in the Rail Tracer, and he was seriously frightened. Even so, under the circumstances, he’d never once blamed Isaac.
    Isaac and Miria had picked up on this, too.
    “Say, Miria. Jacuzzi’s a really swell guy, isn’t he?”
    “Yes, really and truly!”
    “We’ll have to let him win later, too!”
    “Yes, we will!”
    “Later on, then, I’ll apologize to him with everything I’ve got! Twice or so!”
    “Then I’ll apologize once, too!”
    At that point, smiling, Isaac made a declaration:
    “I see! In that case, Jacuzzi wins three times!”
    “He’s the champion!”

    “Aah, what’s wrong, Jacuzzi? Why you panic?”
    Right outside the dining car, he’d run into Donny and the others, who were just on their way in. The two friends Nice had chosen and brought along were behind the big, swarthy man.
    “Oh, uh, it’s terrible! This train might