by Sharon Drane
Chapter Seventeen
Aboard the Pacific Railroad
“Mama, my eye hurts!” Dougie wailed loudly, overtaking the sounds of the clacking wheels on the track and the giant bellows of the wood fired engine.
“Let Mama see your eye.” Amelia wrestled with the squirming boy until she found the problem. She dampened her handkerchief and cleaned his eye. “You had a cinder in it.”
Mariah looked concerned. “Miz Wil— sorry, Miz Hawthorne, should I close the window? The ashes are pretty bad in here.”
“Yes, please close the nearest one. My eyes have been smarting from the ashes blowing inside, too. We’ll just have to deal with the smoke from the cigars and cigarettes.”
Dougie twisted and tried to get off the hard wooden bench. “I want Unca Josh!”
Amelia pulled him back up onto the seat. “Uncle Josh has gone back to the last car to check on Ranger.”
“I wanna see Ranger, too!” Dougie attempted another escape, but his mother anticipated the move and held him fast.
“If you’re very good, maybe Uncle Josh will let you help him tend Ranger at our next stop.” Amelia smiled at him and held him close. “You like Uncle Josh’s horse, don’t you?”
“Yeah!”
“Yes, Ma’am,” corrected Amelia, patiently.
“Yes’m. I like Unca Josh, too.”
She rested her cheek on Dougie’s curls. “We’ll see if Uncle Josh will let us help him with Ranger, all right?”
“Umhmmm . . . ." The little boy’s eyes drifted shut as the excitement of the day and the rocking motion of the car caught up with him.
Amelia watched the countryside speed past the windows. She never imagined riding on the railroad. Indeed she never imagined most of the recent events of her life.
Dougie snuggled in her arms, his deep breathing slow and rhythmic. He was finally asleep. She moved her son to a more comfortable position, stretched out on the bench with his head in her lap.
It was near twilight when Joshua took Amelia and Dougie him to the last car on the train where the livestock was housed for the journey. A chunky, red headed sergeant jumped to his feet beside Ranger. “Major Hawthorne,” he gave a smart salute. “Ranger is doing right well on the trip.”
“Glad to hear it. Sergeant O’Doyle, this is my wife, Amelia, and my new son, Dougie.”
“Pleased to meet you, Ma’am,” O’Doyle doffed his hat.
“Thank you Sergeant.”
He bent down to smile at the boy. “It’s good to meet you, too, lad.”
Dougie moved behind Joshua and peered up at the red-headed sergeant.
“You’ll have to excuse Dougie. He spent the war in the south. He’s still getting used to us Yanks.”
“Well, you’ll be seeing a lot more of us when we get to Fort Leavenworth.”
“How are the rest of the horses faring on the journey?”
O’Doyle looked around the car at the stalls. “They’re doing fine, although I know most of them will be happier when we reach the fort.”
“No doubt, they’d be happier running in open country.” Joshua smiled.
“I didn’t think there would be so many of them,” Amelia looked at the animals lined up with military precision.
“They’re replacements, Mrs. Hawthorne, just like the new recruits.”
Joshua swung Dougie up in his arms. “Thank you, Sergeant, for taking care of Ranger for me.”
“No problem, Sir, Ma’am.” With a final salute and a nod, O’Doyle turned back to the horses.
“Let’s go outside and take a stroll in the fresh air, shall we?” Joshua extended his free arm to Amelia. When they emerged from the back of the train, a small crowd of passengers milled around the whistle stop.
Joshua handed Dougie to Amelia. She kissed her son’s downy cheek. Then she turned to Joshua. “I’d kiss you, too,” she whispered, “but it might shock these people.”
“I don’t mind if you don’t,” his eyes gleamed as he grinned down at her.
Amelia moved toward him, drawn in spite of the impeccable manners drilled into her so long ago by Madame Dumond.
Dougie kicked and pumped his legs. “Where’s the monkey, Mama? Where’s the monkey?”
Shaking her head with a rueful glance at Joshua, she asked, “What monkey? I don’t see a monkey.”
She put down her son and managed to hold onto his hand.
Dougie pulled her along with him, pointing toward a stranger disappearing into the throng. “That’s the man with the monkey.”
Amelia looked at the man standing before them. “I’m sorry if he disturbed you, Sir.” She turned to her son. “Douglas, this isn’t the man who had the monkey at the park.”
The stranger had a jovial smile. “No, indeed, I’ve never had any wild animals.”
“I wanna see the monkey!”
“Is there a problem here?” Joshua moved beside his wife.
“Dougie has mistaken this gentleman for someone he’s seen before.” Amelia worried her lower lip and whispered to her son. “This man doesn’t look like the one we saw in St. Louis. That man had dark hair and a long mustache. He’s not the same man.” She straightened and inclined her head to the blond stranger. “I am so sorry. He’s tired out from the trip.”
“I understand. It’s a long journey from St. Louis.”
“Yes, it is. If you will excuse us, I’ll take him back to the train.”
Joshua offered his arm to his wife and led them back to the passenger car.
The stranger doffed his hat and watched them go.
Amelia could feel him behind her. Something about his eyes reminded her of someone. Oh well, I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m tired from the journey, too.
No wonder she felt a tiny forewarning wiggle down her spine. She shook her head. I’m certain I would remember a gentleman with long golden hair. She sternly led her reluctant son back to the train.
When they returned to the benches they occupied, Mariah was there waiting for them. She held a paper wrapped parcel that teased Amelia with a delicious scent.
Amelia felt her stomach rumble. “Whatever you have there smells wonderful.”
“There was a lady selling meat pies, Miz Hawthorne. I got some for us.”
Amelia put her son on the bench. “Sit there and we’ll eat in a minute.” She moved to the middle of the bench.
Joshua sat beside her. “Those pies smell good, don’t they Dougie?”
The three-year-old lost all evident interest in the monkey. “I’m hungry,” he proclaimed loudly.
Accompanied with the belching noises of the lurching train as it picked up speed, they ate their meal. Soon, they each drank some water, also purchased from the vendor at the whistle stop.
Amelia wiped her son’s face. “That was good, wasn’t it?” She ruffled his hair.
“Thank you, Mariah.”
“The train man said there weren’t any places to eat at the stops. He said there would be some folks selling things. I thought I’d better get what I could. No telling what we’ll find down the tracks.”
“I suppose none of the places along the route are big towns. Although that one stop had a saloon, it wasn’t much of a town.” Amelia took her son onto her lap.
The prairie grew dark beyond the windows, as they watched the sun slip beneath the western horizon. The conductor came through with lanterns and hung them from the ceiling. Conversations waned in the passenger car. Even the gamblers grew quiet, the glow of their cheroots faded as everyone settled in for the night.
Army replacements traveled to Ft. Leavenworth aboard the train. No trouble was anticipated, no need to worry.
Amelia settled against Joshua, his arm around her shoulders. His breathing slowed in matched cadence with that of her son. On the opposite bench, Mariah began to softly snore. Similar sounds came from all around their little family, drifting over one by one.
After a while, Amelia knew she was the only one still awake in the car. She shut her eyes and hoped to fal
l asleep. Sleep eluded her as she sat there. Her eyes popped open. She couldn’t sleep. That pesky feeling of unease wouldn’t let her relax. What’s wrong with me? We’re all together and all right. Joshua is right beside me, for heaven’s sake. Nothing can happen to us. I trust him.
Even as the thought formed in her mind, she knew no man was invincible. Joshua could get shot or worse. Her breaths grew shallow. She felt below the bench for her carpetbag and found her reticule right inside where she left it. She breathed easier when she found the Deringer. There, that’s better.
At last, her fingers resting comfortably on her gun, she snuggled against her husband’s chest and slept.
