Robert Parker - Ironhorse

“I’m a retired veteran of the Army,” the dandy said. “I’ve killed before, and I’m not afraid to do it again.”

“What’s your name?” Virgil asked.

“Cavanaugh,” the dandy said. “Captain Lowell Cavanaugh.”

Virgil pointed to Dean.

“Do the same, Captain,” Virgil said. “Point that short-barrel at him. He makes a move, pull the trigger.”

“That I will do,” Cavanaugh said.

“Hear that, Dean?” Virgil said.

“I do,” Dean said with his nose to the door. “I ain’t moving.”

The locomotive was working hard, chugging up a long, gradual grade. Virgil reached down with one hand, grabbed the collar of one of the dead robbers. He dragged him out of the doorway and slid him off the side of the platform. I followed suit, and a big elderly man gave me a hand. We dragged the dead men out of the doorway and discarded them off the side of the platform and onto the hardscrabble earth passing by.

Virgil stood tall, looking at the passengers.

“Everybody just remain calm. My deputy and I will be best suited if you stay seated and don’t fret.”

Abigail and Emma were standing together in front of the first row of seats, holding hands. Abigail was still shaking. She took a deep breath.

“Marshal,” Abigail said. “What about our mother and father?”

Her voice was much different from her sister’s. It was husky, yet she sounded like a little girl.

Virgil tipped his head to the seat.

“Why don’t you and your sister have a seat,” Virgil said.

Abigail did as Virgil asked and lowered herself onto the seat with her shoulders held back and her chin up, as if she were royalty. Emma stayed standing for a moment, then sat next to her sister.

“We’re gonna do everything we can to get everyone off this train safely,” Virgil said. “Including your mother and father.”

“Thank... thank you,” Abigail said with a trembling voice. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I... I’m just frightened.”

“I know,” Virgil said. “But me and Everett are here now, and we’re not.”

Abigail lowered her chin. The small move made her eyes appear bigger than they already were as she looked up at Virgil.

“We have been doing this kind of work a long time,” Virgil said. “We are good at it. It’s what we do.”

Emma looked at me.

“These men have broken the law,” Virgil said. “Going against the law is the same as going against me and Everett. We don’t take kindly to notions like that. Understand?”

Abigail dipped her head slightly.

“Also,” Virgil said, “I don’t like them. None of them. Neither does Everett.”

Virgil tipped his head for me to move toward the door. I followed him out to the platform. We stood just outside the doorway, where we could talk out of earshot of the others.

“What do you allow, Everett?”

“They’re rough company.”

“They are.”

“We’ve shot ’em up pretty good, though,” I said.

“We have.”

“Got more to go.”

“We do,” Virgil said.

“The hand that made it out the back will be spreading the gospel of what went down.”

Virgil shook his head a bit as he looked back into the coach.

“Most assuredly he will,” Virgil said.

“They’ll be buzzing ’round like wasps,” I said.

“Yep,” Virgil said. “Chewing on their next move.”

“What do you figure that’ll be?”

“Shot up like they are,” Virgil said, “I’d imagine they’re more than interested how they’re gonna get off this train.”

“They might jump.”

“Don’t think so,” Virgil said, shaking his head. “Not in the dark with no horses.”

“They’re well aware the train didn’t stop for their horses.”

“That they are.”

“They’re none too happy about that,” I said.

“Nope,” Virgil said. “Don’t expect they are.”

“What do you think the riders will do?”

Virgil shook his head a bit.

“Hard to say.”

“Don’t think they’d stay where they were going to meet up.”

“No, don’t think they would.”

“You shooting that getaway rider might have got the other two riders running the opposite direction.”

“Might,” Virgil said. “Or keep on riding north to the next water drop?”

I pulled out my watch.

“That’d be about an hour twenty from now,” I said. “Standley Station.”

We thought about that for a moment.

“One thing for certain Vince and them know and don’t like,” I said.

“That you and me are on board?”

“That, and the fact they lost control of the engine,” I said.

“That’s right.”

“What do you think their move would be if this train don’t stop at the next water drop?”

“They got two choices,” Virgil said. “Come at us, or wait till the engine runs dry and the train stops.”

“This train passes the next drop,” I said, “they’ll come at us.”

“More than likely,” Virgil said. “Vince has got bargaining chips, too.”

“The governor.”

“Yep,” Virgil said. “And his wife.”

“We could stop at Standley Station and play it out there,” I said.

Virgil thought about that, then shook his head.

“Better off with them sequestered on this train,” Virgil said.

“’Spect that’s right.”

“Is,” Virgil said.

“Don’t want them spread out,” I said, “holding the governor and his wife as hostage.”

“No, we don’t.”

I stepped on the grab-iron ladder toward the edge of the coach. I took a few steps up and edged up just a little, looking back over the top of the train. It was dark, but there was enough light to see there was nobody coming at us. I dropped back to the platform.

“Keep lookout for me,” I said. “I’ll make sure the engineer keeps us on the move, get my eight-gauge while I’m at it.”

Virgil nodded and climbed the ladder, looking back over the coach with his Colt at ready. I climbed the ladder on the tender and made a fast trip to the engine cabin.

Virgil came down from the coach ladder when I returned with my eight-gauge. The train was now in a full crescent bend, moving slowly upgrade. The cars were stretched out behind us, trailing off to the left in a semicircle, and the lighted windows of the cars shined brightly in the dark night. We could see all the way back to the caboose.

“There’s more to this,” Virgil said.

“What are you thinking?”

“Don’t know exactly,” Virgil said, shaking his head slowly, “but this ain’t Vince, Dean, and the others’ territory.”

“No, it’s not.”

Virgil looked at the cars circled behind us.

“Think Dean’s lying?” I said.

“Yep.”

“’Bout what?”

“Don’t know,” Virgil said. “It’s all he knows how to do.”

“Reckon it’s hard for him not to.”

“Been doing it so long,” Virgil said, “he’s grown particular to it.”

“He’s not very good at it.”

“No,” Virgil said. “He ain’t.”

I looked to Dean, and thought about what Virgil was saying.

“I suppose it’s just a matter about how much he’s lying about,” I said. “And about what.”

“That’s right.”

“What do you speculate?” I said. “You think they are down here for something else?”

“They knew the governor was on board,” Virgil said.

“Think they targeted the governor?”

“They’re after something else.”

“Vince and the bunch are a back-shooting bunch,” I said, “capable of doing bad things, but I wouldn’t figure they’d have the smarts for doing an ambitious job that requires too much thinking.”