“Which one is that?” B.W. asked.
“Travers Southern Railway,” Morgan said.
They looked at each other. “I’ll be damned,” B.W. said. “It is still runnin.’”
“We okay with this?” Rance said, looking at B.W. and Tommy.
“Don’t think I want to give up my guns,” B.W. said.
“That’s the only way I’m goin’ to do it,” Morgan said. “Can’t take any chances. You behave yourself, you’ll get ‘em back. Take a while to get to Pinefield.”
“Don’t have much choice, do we?” B.W. said.
“Nope,” Morgan said.
“Guess we’ll take it,” Rance said. “Beats ridin’ anyways.”
“Alright, we’ll drop a walk plank on the second car for the horses, nothing but calves in there,
shouldn’t be any trouble. Give me the money and the guns when you get on. I’ll give you a receipt for the money and weapons and we’ll be on our way soon as the tank’s full.”
They untied the horses and led them into the cattle car. The calves backed up to give them room as they moved in. Morgan took their guns and money and handed Rance the receipt. He walked down the plank to the platform.
Two of the men with the rifles slid the walk plank in the car, closed the door and locked it. They could see them walk away through the railings.
“Be glad when we get there,” B.W. said. “I feel naked without my guns and tomahawk.”
“Not completely,” Tommy said, and lifted Julie’s Colt out of his saddle bags and handed it to B.W.
“Smart move, boy, adds some comfort.”
The whistle blew, the engine moaned and black smoke drifted by the cattle cars as they pulled away. The rumbling sound of the locomotive got louder as it picked up speed. The train was soon at full-throttle, the locomotive churning out a stream of black smoke, the cattle cars bouncing and swaying.
B.W. and Rance stretched a lariat across a corner of the car and tied their horses to it to keep the calves off them and sat down in the corner. Tommy fell asleep as soon as he laid down.
After riding for hours the sun was long gone and the train moved deeper in to the night. The calves bellowed their displeasure and the horses stomped their feet every now and then. Shadows of trees and rocks whizzed by and the moon threw streaks of light through the railings into the cattle car.
Sometime in the early morning, they felt the train slowing down and saw the flicker of lights in the distance.
B.W. woke Tommy and they waited for the train to pull into the station.
When the train stopped, the engineer appeared and unlocked the car, and two of the guards opened the door and slid the walk plank in place. They led their horses out and then Morgan gave them back their weapons.
“This where we catch the train to Texas?” Rance asked.
“Passenger train but no cars for the horses,” Morgan said. “Leaves at ten in the morning.”
“No way to ship the horses?”
“Nope. Best you sell ‘em. Livery will buy ‘em. Get you some more when you get to Texas.”
“I ain’t sellin’ my horse,” Rance said. “I raised him from a colt and we survived a war together.”
“Don’t think I want to do that, either,” B.W. said and Tommy also shook his head no.
“Long ride to Texas. Good luck. Got to let the army know we’re here,” Morgan said and walked away.
“Now what?” Tommy said
“Don’t know,” Rance said.
“Here, Tommy.” B.W. handed him the Colt. “Put that back up, might need it again. ” Tommy put the gun back in his saddle bags.
“Looks like town’s just ahead,” Rance said.
13
Willie Preston sold his horse, packed a bag and was sitting on a bench in front of the Wells Fargo stage office in Milberg with a bottle of whiskey, his shotgun propped against the wall next to him, waiting for the stage to arrive. Charlie Campbell came walking up to Preston and sat down on the bench beside him.
“Howdy, marshal,” Charlie said.
“Ain’t the marshal no more, Charlie.”
“Yeah, I know. Habit, I guess. That’s why I came to see you ‘fore you left, tell you I was sorry for lettin’ them get away.”
“I’ll find them.”
“Colonel’s got a man coming in from Abilene to replace you. Supposed to be here tomorrow.”
“What’s his name?” Preston said.
“Don’t know. Don’t really won’t to work for anyone else anyway. Thought I might go with you. I got a score to settle with that one-arm Johnny Reb for taking my new Colt.”
“Don’t have enough money for the both us,” Preston said.
“I got my own, I can carry my own weight.”
“Don’t have any authority anymore except as a bounty hunter. Most places think worse of bounty hunters than the outlaws.”
“I know, but I want to go anyway,” Charlie said. “Don’t have no one here to hold me.”
“Well, if you’re hell-bent on goin’ I could use the help,” Preston said. “You got ‘bout an hour ‘fore the stage gets here to be ready. Gonna have to change stages three times and catch a train to Texas in Pinefield, Arkansas. It’s a long ride, but better than a horse.”
“You know whereabouts in Texas they went?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah, place called Traversville, ‘bout fifty miles from Texarkana. That’s where the boy’s mama was from, accordin’ to her former boss in Whiskey Gulch. They’re takin’ him home. I’m gonna beat ‘em there.”
“I’ll get my things.”
Charlie showed up as the stage was pulling in with a suitcase, a carbine and a Navy Colt.
The stage driver pulled the horses to a stop, jumped down and opened the door on the stage and held the hand of a pretty young lady as she stepped down.
The shotgun rider sat down his shotgun and helped her take her trunk off the stage. Preston and the other men followed her with their eyes as she sashayed down the street to the first saloon she came to and went in, the two men following with the trunk.
“Guess we know what her occupation
