The Tunnel

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Suraj is waiting to watch the midday steam train come out of the tunnel. He is not at a station and he is not catching a train. He has cycled from town, left his cycle at a village, and walked to the …

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The tunnel becomes pitch dark after about twenty yards. Deep inside, very little light enters, so Suraj has to look back at the opening to feel sure that daylight still exists outside.

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A tunnel is a passage made through a hill or mountain for a road or railway line. In this story, the railway tunnel is dark inside and is watched carefully because trains pass through it regularly.

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A railway embankment is a raised strip of ground or a stone wall that carries the railway over low ground. In the chapter, heat waves shimmer along it as the train line cuts through the jungle.

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A cutting is a narrow valley cut through a hill to make space for a railway line. The tunnel and the cutting make the railway line pass through the hillside and the jungle.

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Suraj compares the steam engine to a dragon because it snorts, puffs, roars, and throws sparks as it comes out of the tunnel. The engine seems powerful and magical, like a beautiful monster from a dre…

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Suraj hears a sound like distant thunder coming from the tunnel. This tells him the train is very close even before he can see it.

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Suraj sees a bat flying past and a lizard scuttling between the lines when he walks through the tunnel. These details show the tunnel as a real, dark, living space where small creatures move about.