"I'm not a thief," Tristan said exasperated. He didn't give her his name, but he did close his suitcase and followed her, after having one last good look around. God, does she stop talking, he thought, irritated. "Look," he said, gesturing at the tracks when they reached there. "There's nothing there." His head was starting to hurt, and still he wasn't going to lose a small fortune today. He had already lost too much today.

He wore his irritation on his sleeve, but that didn't bother Vigga at all.  Tristan wasn't the first to get annoyed by her and certainly wouldn't be the last.  The young woman was a bit surprised that he followed her toward the tracks.  She clicked her tongue at him when he gave up so easily.  

"How can ye see anyting from up here?" Without a care in the world, or seeming to notice that another train was coming down the line in just a few moments, Vigdis jumped down onto the line.  "Ye gotta get down here to find the good stuff.  In only a moment, she found a farthing.  Giggling at her luck, she plucked it up and tossed it to him.  "See!  Prolly one of yer other lost coins, huh? Ye sure ye counted right?"  She turned her attention back to the tracks and started walking down them.  Vigga wasn't the idiot that she was portraying herself to be.  She walked specifically on the track themselves to feel the vibration.  The young woman had played chicken with the trains before.  She had a plan.

Tristan was sure he nearly suffered a heart attack when she jumped down on the tracks. He could feel his stomach flutter with anxiety. He did not want to watch a person hit by an incoming train. "Are you out of your mind!" he shouted at her. He looked around for the railway police or the station master. Several people were watching, and a lady shrieked.

He caught the farthing, but barely paid attention to it. "Get off the tracks!" he shouted at her, and he rushed over and held out his hand to help her climb up. "Please, Miss."

Tristan reacted exactly as Vigdis thought he would. Some others around them seemed to take up interest, but most were indifferent. That was the beauty of crowds. Everyone expected someone else to care, so they didn't. Vigdis chuckled to herself. These people didn't know how to live! Or they simply weren't adrenaline junkies like herself. They were so cozy in their petticoats and hats and societal rules that they forgot how to live... to explore and actually enjoy life!

The train was getting closer. It was almost time to go. Looking back over her shoulder at Tristan, she saw his hand outstretched but had no intention of grabbing it. She gave him a big smile and a wink as she jumped over to the other side of the tracks away from him. "Maybe we'll meet again, mate," she sang out. With ease of someone who grew up swinging from ropes and masts of ships, she lifted herself up onto the platform opposite of Tristan, and just in the nick of time as the train came through. With the locomotive now blocking sight of him from her, she used the opportunity to slink out of sight from others as well. Wasn't difficult to do in these kinds of crowds.

By the time the train cleared, she'd be gone from sight.

(Exit Vigdis?)

Tristan felt sick when he saw and heard the train approaching. "Get off the tracks, you bloody fool!" he shouted at the young woman. But she did not grab his hands but hopped away. Tristan stepped back and saw her climbing up on the platform at the other end just in time.

He found a bench on the platform and sank down, sighing a sigh of relief.

Then he remembered he had lost two pounds.