“Oh, I have to pay for the engine too?” Kitty asked. “I didn’t know I had to pay for the engine. Isn’t that a regular part of the train?”
“Yes ma’am, it is if you just put three or four cars on where there’s other payin’ freight as well. But when you got that many cars, you’ll have to have a dedicated engine,” the dispatcher said. “And when that happens, you have an entire train to yourself, which means you’ll have to pay extra for the engine.”
“Oh,” Kitty said.
“Will that be a problem? I mean, if it is, maybe we can work something else out by, say, splitting up your shipment and putting no more than three cars on per train.”
Kitty paused for a moment, then sighed before she answered. “No,” she said. “That won’t do. I’m afraid I am going to have to have the entire shipment go as one. So schedule the train for me. How soon can we have the engine and cars here?”
“How soon do you want them?”
“I’d like them as soon as possible,” Kitty said.
The dispatcher moved some more papers around, checking inventory figures, then he nodded.
“We can have the cars and the engine here within three days,” the dispatcher said. “Will that be soon enough for you?”
“Yes, that will be fine,” Kitty said.
“All right. The train will probably get in sometime in the middle of the afternoon, on Wednesday. I can have it set on a side track, all ready for you on Thursday.”
“How soon can we leave after it is loaded?”
“Very soon afterward, I would think, but I’ll have to work out the track schedule,” Montgomery said. He chuckled. “We wouldn’t want your train runnin’ into another one now, would we?”
Kitty smiled. “No, that wouldn’t be good.”
“I’ll have the track schedule all worked out for you by Thursday. I expect you’ll be able to leave pretty soon after you are loaded. The engineer will have his orders by then, and he’ll know when to put aside to let the varnish have the high iron.”
“The varnish?” Kitty asked.
“The passenger trains,” the dispatcher replied. “They own the high iron. That means, they have the right of way on the through tracks. Freight trains are required to pull over and wait until they pass.”
“I see.”
“Well, you can understand, I’m sure,” Montgomery said. “Say if you were on a passenger train going to Chicago, you wouldn’t want to have to shift off the track to let every freight train pass now, would you?”
“No, I wouldn’t think so. Oh, and I am going to Chicago,” she added excitedly.
“When?”
“Why, Thursday, of course. I’m going on this train.”
“Mrs. Wellington, there are no provisions for passengers on this train,” Montgomery said.
“Well, can’t you make provisions?”
“What you are asking for is a private car attached to the train.”
“Can you order one of those?”
“Yes, but it’s going to cost you as much as the engine.”
“Another five hundred dollars?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“So, now we are talking about thirty-five hundred dollars.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m afraid so,” Montgomery said.
“I’m in the wrong business,” Kitty said. “I should own a railroad instead of horses.”
Montgomery laughed. “Railroads are the transportation of the future,” he said.
“All right, order the private car,” Kitty said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Can we get it as quickly as we can the stock cars?”
“Yes, ma’am, no problem.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Montgomery. You’ve been very helpful,” Kitty said.
“I am glad to be of service, Mrs. Wellington. I’ll draw up the contract and routing orders,” the dispatcher said.
While the dispatcher pulled out the necessary forms and began filling them out, Kitty walked over to look out over the depot platform. Matt, who had taken no part in the business negotiations, was already standing by the window. A passenger train was due shortly, and the platform was filled with people. Some were departing passengers, and a few were waiting to meet arriving passengers. But most of the people milling about on the platform were just citizens of the town to whom the arrival and departure of the trains was an exciting event. Matt had noticed also that, scattered through the crowd, were several men wearing the dark blue denim trousers, light gray shirt, and star of the Auxiliary Peace Officers’ Posse.
