“No, he didn’t!” the voice of the old prospector replied. “Here I am, right over here.”
“He’s on my lap, Max!” 99 reported.
“If you’re going to ride in this compartment, you’ll have to sit in the seats!” Max insisted. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
The old prospector and Madame DuBarry moved from Max’s and 99’s laps. The prospector sat alongside 99. The mule lay down on the floor between the seats. At the same moment, the train started moving.
“All ashore who’s going ashore!” Max said. “It was very nice of you to come to the train to see us off, but you better leave now. This train is on its way to Washington.”
“Yup!” the old prospector said. “Us, too. Me and Madame DuBarry.”
“Oh, no!” Max said glumly.
“Yup!” the old prospector said again. “After all these centuries-”
“Decades,” 99 corrected.
“No, it hasn’t been that long,” the old prospector said. “It’s seemed like it, though, sometimes. Anyway, as I was saying, after all these centuries of living the lonely life, searching for that long lost gold, we decided to kick up our heels and do a little livin’. So, we’re moving to the city.”
“There’ll be a lot of problems of adjustment,” Max said, trying to discourage them.
“We figure we’ll just stick by you and do what you do,” the old prospector said. “ ’Till we get the hang of it, that is.”
“And where will you stay?” Max said. “There aren’t many landladies in Washington who will rent to a ghost and a mule. Now, if you had an elephant with you- But a mule, these days, uh-huh.”
“That won’t be no problem,” the old prospector replied. “We figure we’ll just bunk with you. You got a place, haven’t you?”
“Well, yes, but-”
“Tit for tat,” the old prospector said. “We shared our long lost mine with you, so we figure you’ll be just as happy as all get-out to share your home with us. ’Cause you’re folks.”
“Well, yes, I guess we are, but-”
“Oh, Max!” 99 said. “It’s not the best way to start married life, sharing an apartment with an old prospector and a mule, both ghosts.”
“Look on the bright side, 99. It could be worse.”
“How, Max?”
“It could be a relative.”
99 tried hard not to look the way she felt.
