'It's good to meet you at last, Inspector Colbeck,' he said. 'Your reputation goes before you. But I fail to see why you made the effort to get here. What we need are doctors, nurses and stretcher-bearers, not a couple of detectives, however distinguished their record.'

'We were summoned by the company itself, Captain Ridgeon.'

'Then you must feel free to look around – as long as you don't impede the railway policemen. They can be very territorial.'

'We've found that in the past, sir,' noted Leeming.

'I've had occasional difficulties with them myself.'

'I have to admire the way you got here so promptly,' observed Colbeck, weighing him up with a shrewd gaze. 'I didn't expect you to turn up before morning.'

'This was a dire emergency,' said Ridgeon, taking in the whole scene with a gesture, 'and I reacted accordingly. As luck would have it, I was staying with friends in Worthing so I was able to respond quickly when the alarm was raised. Had I still been in Carlisle, where I investigated an accident at the start of the week, then it would have been a very different matter. Before that, I was in Newcastle.'

'You're very ubiquitous, Captain Ridgeon.'

'I have to be, Inspector. Accidents occur all over the country.'

'That's my complaint,' Leeming put in. 'There are far too many of them. Step into a train and you put your life in peril.'

'Part of my job is to eliminate peril,' said Ridgeon. 'I only have powers to inspect and advise but they are important functions. Each accident teaches us something. My officers and I make sure that the respective railway companies learn their lesson.'

'Then why do accidents keep on happening?' Leeming saw two men vainly trying to lift a section of a wrecked carriage. 'Excuse me,' he said, moving away. 'Someone needs a helping hand.'