Percy and his staff could get very little information on the location of either train. The replies to their enquiries from the telegraph clerk at Wellow (who was only fifteen, and trying to do the work of the stationmaster who had gone for a drink in Midford) were vague. Those from the clerk at Radstock were apparently deliberately obtuse.
Percy and his team struggled to gather information about the train's location. The telegraph clerk at Wellow (who was just fifteen years old and trying to manage the stationmaster’s responsibilities after he had left for a drink in Midford) provided vague responses. Additionally, the clerk at Radstock seemed deliberately uncooperative.