Amanda reaches the ground and collects her bag. She hears Agnes enter the room and walk across it to face the constable. “No, it’s not safe, is it? Hello Tucker. Good to see you again. How’s your father?”
“Yes, hi ma’am. Good … good thanks.”
“You know I tried to tell him that it wasn’t safe. He just won’t listen.”
“Agnes, please,” Elmer tries to interrupt with fake exasperation.
“I did! I said it wasn’t safe, didn’t I? And when I couldn’t talk you out of doing that silly test, I said to at least move it out of the barn. But no … had to do it where you wanted to do it.”
They argue for over two minutes, with the constable looking back and forth between them, flustered and trying to get a word in.
Outside, Amanda realizes this is the diversion she needs, and she runs toward the barn.
In the front hallway the constable finally places a hand between the husband and wife, separating them. “Mr. and Mrs. Quincy! Please! Can we just get back to the question? Is that woman here or not?”
Elmer coughs a raspy cough. “I said I’m not sure!”
Agnes takes the constable aside. “You know Elmer’s not well. He forgets things. I don’t think his judgment is the best right now.”
“Then why don’t you answer for him! I asked is that woman here?”
“Oh. Well, yes, I guess I could.” She realizes she’s nearly out of time. “She is upstairs. I guess I could go wake her up.”
“Please do. She has a lot of explaining to do.”
“I really didn’t realize all we were getting into with her ….” She catches Elmer’s eye and tilts her head toward the kitchen before going upstairs.
“How did you get involved in this, Elmer?” the constable asks.
“Well, don’t rightly know. I don’t think she’s a bad woman though, Tucker. I don’t think that at all. It’s her husband who’s the bad one, from what I can see.”
“Well, we need to let the law decide that. You know that very well, Mr. Quincy.”
Agnes waits several moments, then calls to the constable to follow her upstairs. As soon as he climbs up, Elmer limps to the kitchen and picks up a sack before slipping out the back door.
“Agnes made you a bag of sandwiches,” he tells Amanda, who is already sitting in the driver’s seat, studying the levers and trying to remember the previous day’s driving lesson. “And your silverware is in here too. You need to get out of here fast, dear. And I mean fast!” After a quick hug and words of encouragement, he shoves open the barn door.
“I’ll miss this old contraption,” Elmer shouts. “You take care of it, you hear?”
“Thank you, sir,” Amanda smiles at him. “I do appreciate your generosity.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Here. You’ll need these.” Elmer hands her a set of thick goggles, leather at the edges and with cloudy glass in the center. One lens is slightly cracked.
“The old wind whips up pretty good when you’re on the straightaways. These old goggles are the only thing I have to block it.”
She takes them and puts them on, then pushes them back onto the top of her head. She nods toward the puzzle box, which sits on the floor beside her. “Say, if I get stuck trying to open the rest of this box, do you remember where that antique dealer is? The one you said collects and sells them?”
Elmer thinks for a moment. “Somewhere near the edge of Beacon Hill. The first street at the foot of the hill where a group of shops can be found. I can’t say exactly where. Chinaman runs it. Now get moving!”
She leans back against a tall bench that Elmer had nailed in place behind the steering levers. She feels like she’s captaining a ship. The wagon hisses as Amanda pulls the big lever. It jerks too quickly as she releases the clutch. The mistake shoots her out into the yard and scares the constable’s horse. It runs off into the Quincys’ side field.
Amanda grips the steering levers with white knuckles and manages to weave her way across the lawn, much faster than she intended. The wagon slides sideways as she turns onto the road. She overcorrects and feels the rear platform waving like the tail of a horse. Stay calm. Remember the lessons. Lip pinched tightly between her teeth.
Pulling slightly on one lever and pushing hard on another, she fights to realign the clattering cart. Eventually it straightens and she’s able to accelerate up the road.
Behind her the screen door slams, and the constable runs out into the yard. “What the hell was that?”
“Blasted girl slipped out of her room and came down here! She stole my damn wagon!”
Agnes joins them in the darkness beneath the trees. The constable squints at them both suspiciously. When he turns to look for his horse he realizes it’s run away.
“God damn it! All right, Elmer. Look here. Our families have known each other for a long time, so I’m going to let this one slide. I shouldn’t, but I know you’re sick, and frankly I don’t much care for the man who filed this complaint. But the only way I’m going to ignore what happened tonight is if you loan me one of your damn horses so I can get back to town!”
“Certainly, certainly. I’ve got one right over here.” He steers the constable toward Duncan, neglecting to mention that the horse has a lame hoof.
A mile or so down the road Amanda’s heart still races. The wind draws tears from her eyes, and she remembers the goggles. Pulling them down, she feels like a small bug perched atop a swooping dragonfly. Deep breath.
She steps through the sequence that allows her to ramp up the steam wagon’s gears. The ever-thoughtful Elmer has tied a lantern to the front of the water tank. Its circle of light extends only about twenty-five feet. Luckily there is half a moon. Eyes now adjusted to the dim light, she can see the road fairly well. After a mile or two, she smiles a slight smile and tosses a few more lumps of coal onto the fire.
“Good wagon,” she finds herself saying, treating it like she might treat a horse. She pats the top of the seat. “Let’s get us there, okay?”
Small dots of hot orange trail back from the top of the smoke stack. A bump in the road prompts a small hiss from the tank as the water sloshes side to side.
She adjusts the gears again, preparing to slow the rig as she approaches a curve. “I don’t know where we’re heading exactly, wagon, but you need to get us there. I’ll take care of you if you take care of me. Is that a deal?”
Wind against the goggles. Cool night air against her cheeks. Coming out of the curve, she clicks a couple notches back up on the speed lever. West toward Sandwich and Sagamore. Then northwest through Plymouth and beyond.
She roars on into the night, hissing and clanking and smoking. Amanda heads back toward the glow of the big city, with sparks trailing behind her like dying moths.
Wreck of the Gossamer Page 16
