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In "The Secret of a Train," G.K. Chesterton recounts a mysterious and unsettling experience he had while traveling. On a dreary autumn day, he decides on a whim to walk part of the way to London instead of taking the train from Oxford. After a long, rainy walk, he reaches a desolate train station and boards a dark, unlit train heading to London. During the journey, the stoker informs him that there is a dead man on the train. Though Chesterton continues the journey, he feels a deep sense of ritual and reverence, instinctively discarding his cigar out of respect for the dead. Upon arrival at Paddington Station, he sees officials guarding part of the train, hiding the mysterious burden. The essay leaves the reader with a sense of unresolved mystery and the haunting atmosphere of the experience.