LONGARM AND THE TRAIN ROBBERS
By Tabor Evans
CHAPTER 1
Deputy Custis Long stared past his manacled prisoner through the Union Pacific train's window and saw a pair of elk hurrying down from the western slopes of the Laramie Mountains to escape an advancing snowstorm. He looked up at the lead-gray underbelly of an ocean of deep, rumbling clouds, and could feel their Union Pacific railroad car being buffeted by the icy northern winds.
'We're going to get a real sonofabitch of a storm,' Eli Wheat said, fogging up the window with his hot, fetid breath. 'I'd guess that we might not even make it over the Laramie Mountains. Be a damned shame, wouldn't it, Deputy?'
'Yeah,' Longarm said drily. 'A real shame. Might mean that we'd have to delay your necktie party a few extra days.'
'I sure wouldn't bitch about that,' Eli said, his dark features shaping into a twisted grin. 'Might be that I could even find a way to delay things a bit longer than expected.'
'You try it,' Longarm said, 'and all you'll get for your trouble is another good pistol-whipping.'
'You like to use that gun barrel of yours to part a man's hair, don't you?' Eli challenged, his voice turning nasty.
'Just shut up,' Longarm snapped.
But Eli wouldn't shut up. He could see the snowstorm moving down from the Laramie Mountains, and that their train was charging right into its face. He could feel the train losing speed as it began the steep ascent into the rugged mountains, and every second that the mountains and the storm delayed the train was to his advantage.
'Could be,' Eli said, voice growing loud so that all the passengers could hear, 'that this is a real blizzard that we're facing. Could be that we might derail or something up there and all of us freeze to death.'
Longarm noticed several of the other passengers pale. A pretty, auburn-haired young woman in her twenties just a few seats up shot a glance back over her shoulder, and Longarm could see that she was upset. It was growing colder in their car, and Longarm made a mental note to upbraid their conductor for not keeping the coach's wood-burning stove hot.
'Yes, sir!' Eli Wheat crowed. 'I guess if I got to die, I'd sure rather it be by freezin' than having to dance at the end of a rope while a crowd of-'
Longarm reached across his body with his left hand and clamped it on Eli's throat, cutting off the man's words. His powerful fingers bit into Eli's windpipe, and he held his grip like a steel trap while Eli tried to smile and show that he was tough. A full minute passed and the killer's face grew bright red. His eyes bugged and he began to make gagging sounds.
'Let him go!' the young woman demanded, jumping from her seat. 'You can't choke him to death like that!'
Longarm released his grip. Eli began to choke and suck for air. He was trembling and gagging and having an awful time. Other passengers, no longer able to ignore the disturbing sounds, turned, and their eyes said that they too did not approve of Longarm's method of silencing his prisoner.
'You ought to be ashamed of yourself!' the pretty young woman scolded, coming to stand beside Longarm. She was shaking with fury. 'What kind of a monster are you anyway? That man must be terrified.'
'Terrified?' Longarm took a moment to curb his own anger. 'Miss...'
'Noble. Martha Noble.'
'Well, Miss Noble,' Longarm said, 'I can see that you are a sympathetic young woman. One possessing high- minded purpose and ideals.'
'I wouldn't choke another human being just to prove how big and strong I am,' Miss Noble said. 'I wouldn't do what you just did to that poor man any more than I'd choke a kitten or a puppy.'
Longarm heard several of the other passengers muttering in agreement. Eli was still choking and coughing, but it sounded forced to Longarm.
'This man is no kitten or puppy, Miss Noble,' Longarm said, trying to explain, although he thought no explanation was due or even deserved. 'Eli Wheat is a cold-blooded killer of men, women, and even children.'
Miss Noble took a step back. She blinked and looked at Eli in disbelief. He made an attempt to smile. There were tears in his eyes and he looked beaten and submissive.
Miss Noble said, 'I... I doubt that.'
'Why?' Longarm asked. 'Because he looks harmless? Of course he does! He's handcuffed and wearing leg manacles. But the man is a notorious stage and train robber. Eli, how many trains have you and your gang robbed?'
'Not a single one!'
Longarm snorted with derision. 'That's a bald-faced lie. Eli and his friends have robbed at least four that we know of, and probably many more. They've derailed trains and ambushed dozens of stagecoaches. Their favorite method is just to shoot the driver, the guard, and a lead horse all in one volley. Needless to say, the safety of passengers concerns them not a whit.'
Miss Noble started to say something, but Longarm wasn't finished educating her. 'Less than a week ago, Eli broke into a sod house and murdered an entire family. A good wife, a fine husband, and their two sons.'
