Toad accepted eagerly and hopped up on the engine. They got up steam and set off. They were soon thudding away down the track, with a trail of white smoke and a whooping whistle.
Suddenly the engine driver looked back. "There's another train following us down the line!" he cried. "It's full of people -policemen with truncheons - plain clothes men with bowler hats and umbrellas - prison warders with sticks - all shouting STOP! STOP! STOP!"
Toad fell on his knees among the coal and begged for help. "I am not a washerwoman at all," he confessed. "I am the wefl-known daring criminal, Mr Toad. Please help me."