Posted by Brad Henry on September 30, 2003 at 23:25:48 from 132.181.31.1 user REGY102.
In Reply to: Re: Coots in The North (was Buchan novels - John Macnab) posted by John Nichols on September 29, 2003 at 14:29:33:
John, I have reread the relevant portion of CITN. Yes, the notes preceding the text of the chapter "It's Gone!" do indeed mention the railway station. I had gone over that at least a couple of times before, of course, but must have overlooked it.
The plot requires the boys to be separated from the lorry for a sufficient time for it to be out of the way by the time they arrive at Rio and the notes mention such a separation and suggest it as somewhere near the railway station.
However, the numbers just do not add up! My AA Book of Road Maps tells me that it is 276 miles from Norwich to Kendal and so Horning to Rio must be around 300. The lorry leaves Horning mid evening (still light in the sky) and we are told it travels at 30 - 40 mph. Allowing time for comfort stops and even an early breakfast it would still easily reach Rio by 9:00 am the next morning.
We know that the boys reach Rio at dusk the next day and a passer-by informs them that the lorry and boat had been there that morning. So the boys were at least and probably more than 6 hours behind the lorry. They could have walked a considerable distance in that time - a lot further than the station to Rio. I still think that Kendal is a good bet (and I do have a feeling it is the market town mentioned in WH).
I wonder how the boys did get away from the lorry - we are not likely to find out.
As a matter of interest, I have read recently that there are more illustrations to CITN and which were not in the original publication. I hope we get a chance to see them some time.