anticipated the joy she would experience in giving her a shawl that she had knit with her own hands.
The coach slowed considerably, and the passengers could feel it going uphill. The change in motion and sound awakened the others.
“Oh, great,” Calhoun said irritably. “I suppose we’ll have to get out and walk again.”
His observation was born of the fact that twice previously, the driver had asked the passengers to get out and walk in order to reduce the weight the animals had to pull up the hill.
“No, we’ll be all right for this hill,” Evans said. “I’ve made this trip dozens of times. We’ve never had to leave the coach for this hill.”
Smoke, convinced that Sally’s recovery was well underway, left again on his quest to find Dinkins and his group of outlaws. His horse was in the stock car, and he sat looking out the window of the train as the terrain rolled by.
Rugged hills and sage covered meadowland, but he wasn’t seeing it, so occupied was his mind with thoughts of Sally. He had nearly lost her. He had never fully recovered from losing Nicole. He didn’t know what he would do if something like that ever happened again.
The train stopped, and a young cowboy who was wearing an ivory-handled pistol, a fancy vest, and a hat with a silver hatband came aboard. He swaggered back and forth through the car a few times, as if trying to make himself the center of attention, but Smoke paid little attention to him.
At the next stop a very pretty young woman came aboard the train. She smiled prettily, shyly, at Smoke as she took her seat near the front of the car. Politely, Smoke nodded to her, then turned his attention back to the scenery outside. The swaggering cowboy moved quickly to sit next to the young girl and Smoke smiled, wondering if he had ever been that young and that eager around pretty girls. He put the cowboy and the girl out of his mind, then leaned his head back and tipped his hat down over his eyes for a little nap.
Smoke was asleep when the conductor tapped him on the shoulder. “Mr. Jensen, I thought you might want to know we’ll be coming in to Parlin in about fifteen minutes or so.”
“Thanks. Oh, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go forward to be with my horse,” Smoke said.
“I thought you might. Just be careful stepping across the platform going from car to car.”
“I will, thanks.”
When Smoke got up from his seat, he saw that the young girl and the cowboy were gone. He thought nothing more of it until he stepped outside where he saw the two of them standing on the platform between the cars.
“Please,” the young girl was saying. “I want to go back into the car.”
“No ma’am, you done played fast and easy with me, and I intend to see the elephant.”
Smoke was just about to go into the next car when he heard the exchange, and he stopped and looked back at them. He didn’t like butting in where it was none of his business, but the expression on the girl’s face indicated she was not a willing participant in what was going on. Still, what could happen to her on a train? He reached for the door to go into the next car.
“What are you hanging out here for, mister?” the cowboy asked irritably. “What’s goin’ on here ain’t none of your business, so you just get on now.”
Smoke sighed. He had already decided that what was going on was none of his business, but he didn’t appreciate this young polecat pointing that out to him.
“Now, get on out of here before I throw you off this train,” the cowboy said.
“What? What the hell did you just say?” the cowboy asked.
“It seems pretty obvious to me that the young lady doesn’t want to be out here. I’m merely offering her my protection.”
“Haw! Your protection?”
“Yes, such as it is,” Smoke said. “I haven’t made a mistake, have I miss? I did hear you say you wanted to go back into the car, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but please go. I don’t want you to have any trouble because of me.” The tone of the girl’s voice betrayed the fear she was feeling.
“There will be no trouble, miss,” Smoke said.
“You better listen to her, mister, and leave while you are still in one piece,” the cowboy replied.
“Come with me, miss,” Smoke said. “Don’t be afraid of him.”
“I warned you!” The cowboy stepped across the vestibule and took a wild swing at Smoke. Smoke leaned back, easily avoiding the swing, then, capitalizing on the momentum of the young man’s swing, gave the young cowboy a swift kick in his behind.
The cowboy might have yelled, but so quickly did it happen that by the time he hit the down slope of the berm, the train had moved forward enough so that he couldn’t be heard.
Smoke leaned out and looked to the rear to see the young cowboy regain his feet and look on in utter shock as the train continued down the track without him.
“Oh!” The young girl put her hand to her mouth. “I hope you didn’t kill him!”
“Take a look,” Smoke invited. “He’s all right.”
The girl started toward the edge of the platform, then stepped back. “I’m too frightened to look.”
