Gordon likes to tease Edward for being old and unreliable. One day, he mistakes a pair of red trousers for a red flag and gets stuck on his hill. Edward manages to push him over, though Gordon does not even say "thank you". Fed up with his attitude, Edward and Thomas put together a plan to teach him a lesson.

After hearing an eerie whistling noise, Salty tells Thomas a story of some flatbeds which he called the "Flatbeds of Fear." Thomas tells the story to Henry and Emily. Henry hears the noises whilst taking some pipes to Vicarstown, and refuses to budge, leaving Emily to take over, who is determined to find a sensible explanation.