Robert Parker - Ironhorse

Jenny looked at me then looked to the governor.

“Ernest C. didn’t provide a sine or confirmation to the wire,” Jenny said. “Sine is an operator’s signature.”

“Which is unusual,” Sam added.

“It is,” Jenny said. “Normally all railroad- and depot-dispatched transmissions are retyped in complete with sine. That way depot communications maintain a high degree of accuracy for zero confusion and safety. Right after I received this wire I replied with a received confirmation but got nothing back. With the Express not arriving in Tall Water Falls and everything that has happened this morning, compounded with the nature of this note, I knew something was wrong.”

“What are you saying?” the governor said.

“I believe Ernest C. is under watch or something of that nature,” Jenny said.

“So there is no telling where the note really came from?” I said.

“There is not,” Jenny said.

“Have you had any other communication with Tall Water Falls?” Virgil asked.

Jenny shook her head and said, “No. The last contact we had was prior to this note, and that was last night, right before I closed.”

“Which was what?” Virgil asked.

“I received word the Express out of Paris did not arrive at the scheduled time in Tall Water Falls,” Jenny said.

“You tell anybody about this?” Virgil said. “Last night?”

“Pardon?”

“When you got that news about the Express, you tell anybody else?”

“I left and alerted Sam right away,” Jenny said.

“Nobody else?” Virgil said.

“No,” Jenny said. “Well... except when I was closing the office there was a man who came just as I was leaving, asking about the next express to Fort Smith.”

Virgil looked at me, then back to Jenny.

“Tall man,” Virgil said. “Silver hair?”

Jenny looked back and forth between Virgil and me and said, “Why, yes. He was a tall man, silver hair.”

Virgil looked to the governor, who was looking at Hobbs.

“Goddamn Lassiter,” the governor said.

“What did you tell him?” Virgil said.

“I told him I was not certain when the next northbound would come through.”

“You tell him why?” Virgil said.

“You mean did I explain to him why I was uncertain?”

“Yes.”

Jenny thought for a moment.

“Well, I believe I said because there was trouble with tonight’s Express not arriving in Tall Water Falls. I told him he would have to check today for the next scheduled train, but that was it.”

“He ask you anything else?” Virgil said.

“No, sir.”

“He send a wire himself?” I asked.

“No,” Jenny said. “He did not.”

“The son of a bitch liar,” Hobbs said. “He told me he wired to alert the authorities.”

“Yep,” I said. “Told us that, too.”

Virgil looked to Sam.

“You said you got a number of messages about what happened on the track?” Virgil said.

Sam crammed her hands into her front pockets. She looked to the clock on the wall for a moment before she looked back to Virgil.

“Yes, sir,” Sam said. “We got us a bad situation here, Marshal.”

Sam fidgeted a bit, looking at Virgil and the governor.

“Go on,” Virgil said.

“Them telegraph lines started buzzin’ with everything goin’ on,” Sam said. “From every direction. Jenny?”

“The Express not arriving in Tall Water Falls,” Jenny said, “started the normal, or I should say necessary, transmissions for a situation like this.”

“We’ve never had nothing like this happen, ever,” Sam said.

“Section gangs already figured out a lot about what happened last night,” Jenny said. “First, the main terminal stations in both — Paris to the south, and Division City to the north — were alerted of the situation so the train and the schedules would be put on hold.”

“There was one Southbound Express already en route out of Fort Smith,” Sam continued, “but it was delayed until the foul cars are removed. Section gangs were dispatched to survey and report their findin’s first thing this mornin’.”

“Which were?” I said.

Sam shook her head.

“Well, last night there was some serious bad business I can tell you,” Sam said. “Nobody would have ever expected nothin’ like what has happened here. Some of it I ’spect you already know about. Some of it I ’spect you don’t.”

Sam stopped talking and looked to the governor.

“Go ahead,” the governor said.

Virgil offered a short nod.

“There was a robbery on the evenin’ Express out of Paris, which resulted in folks gettin’ killed. All along the track, from the top of the rise here at Half Moon all the way up through the woods of the Kiamichi, there have been a number of men found dead. We found these cars here with the burnt Pullman, and at the top of the rise, north of town here, we found another coach and a body of a man with his throat cut on the track. Along with the dead, Standley Station, the next way station up, also found an abandoned coach on the track. That car was full of passengers.”

Sam stopped talking. She looked at Jenny and bit her lip. Then looked to the governor.

“That it?” Virgil said.

Sam shook her head.

“No, sir. Next up. Crystal Creek gang found the engine and first coach stalled out.”

Sam swallowed hard.

“Apparently, where the engine was stopped on the track just north of Crystal Creek, riders showed up.”

“Riders?” Virgil said.

“The pickup riders,” I said.

“No doubt,” Virgil said.

“Evidently, they stayed diligent heading north,” I said.

“Evidently, they did,” Virgil said. “Go on, Sam.”

“All this was a wire from Crystal Creek... which also said shots were fired and two women were pulled from the coach,” Sam said.

The governor looked out the window, then looked to the floor.

“Where’s the engine now?” I said.

“The section gang is removing the engine and coach from the main line to a set out on the wye track,” Sam said. “Never seen or heard nothin’ like this, ever.”

The governor remained looking at the floor.

“That it?” Virgil said.

“Yes,” Sam said. “Well, other than the scheduled South Express from Fort Smith had to stop in Division City and wait. Once the track is clear it will get on its way down. I figure them stranded passengers will board the Express when it’s up and runnin’ again.”

“Nothing else from Tall Water Falls’ section gang?” Virgil asked.

“Nothing,” Jenny said. “Just this, this telegram, but nothing else.”

Virgil looked to the governor and pointed to the telegram the governor was holding in his hand.

“Need to reply,” Virgil said.

The governor looked at the telegram and nodded.

The telegram was for certain cryptic but clear enough to understand.

TO:The Great Governor of Texas — exchange engendered upon payment, 500K. Promptly comply for instructions or swift terminus will be guaranteed. “So wise so young, they say do never live long.” — RICHARD III

Jenny pulled up the chair and sat at the desk in front of the key and readied herself. The governor looked to Virgil, thinking for a moment about what to say.

“Um... how about, ‘Compliance agreed... Describe how, when, and where you wish to proceed’?”

Jenny held a steady gaze on the governor before looking to Virgil.

Virgil looked to me.

“Sounds right,” I said.

Jenny got a nod from the governor and scribbled the message on a piece of paper.

“‘Compliance agreed,’” Jenny said as she wrote. “‘Describe how, when, and where you wish to proceed.’”