At that moment Proxmire returned. “All right, I have the tickets here. We can board as soon as—” He stopped his comment in mid-sentence and frowned.
Santelli was sitting with his head thrown to one side, his mouth open and his tongue sticking out. He was totally unconscious.
“What happened to him?” Proxmire jerked his head toward Santelli.
“Oh, he went to sleep,” Luke said.
The deputy stroked his chin. “He went to sleep, huh? Did you help him?”
“I might have sung a lullaby or something to him to get him in the mood,” Luke suggested.
Jenny choked back a giggle over Luke’s comment, and his smile showed that he appreciated her reaction.
“I don’t know what’s going on here, but it’s not going to go any further. Luke, you sit on the other side of the girl, I’ll sit on this side of her, and Santelli will be on the other side of me. That ought to keep the two of you apart.
Santelli came to a moment later and he stared straight ahead as if trying to orient himself. He reached up to touch his black eye and winced.
“What happened?”
“You fell out of your seat,” Proxmire said. “You should sit up straighter.”
It was obvious that Santelli didn’t remember being hit by Luke, and when Jenny saw him adjusting his position in the seat so as “not to fall out again,” she couldn’t help chuckle a second time.
“Say,” Luke said. “When I come back here four years from now, would you like to have dinner with me?”
“Oh, I”—Jenny started to say that she had no idea where she would be in four years, but found the idea of having dinner with Luke Shardeen a very pleasant one—“would be glad to have dinner with you.” Besides, it would obviously make him feel better if he had something to look forward to, whether it ever happened or not.
“Good. Now, don’t you be backing out on me. I plan to hold on to that thought for the next four years. That’s what’s going to get me through it.”
State Senator Jarred Daniels stood before the checkout desk at the Victoria Hotel.
“We’ve been just real proud to have you as our guest, Senator,” the desk clerk said. “Yes sir, being as you were one of the people most responsible for getting the Colorado Mining Museum here, why, it’s an honor to have served you.”
“Thank you. My wife and I sent our luggage down a while ago. Was it transported to the railroad depot?”
“Yes sir, it was, and it’s all checked and ready to go onto the Red Cliff Special.”
“Good man.” Daniels paid the bill, then walked over to an upholstered sofa where his wife Millie and their daughter Becky were waiting for him. Millie was holding her hand to Becky’s forehead.
“What is it?” Daniels asked.
“I don’t know,” Millie replied. “She feels as if she has a slight fever.”
“It’s probably from the heat here in the lobby. It’s very cold outside, and I think they go overboard a little on the heat. How do you feel, Becky?”
“I don’t feel good, Papa.”
“Well, you’ll feel better after we get out of this lobby. A little cool air will do you good. Come on, the trolley will be here directly.”
Millie made certain her daughter was well bundled up, then they stepped out into the frigid night air. It was so cold it nearly took Millie’s breath away. She put her arms around her daughter and pulled her closer as they watched the approaching trolley, sparks flying from the wand connected to the overhead wires.
The trolley stopped and the motorman opened the doors. He smiled when he saw the statesman, who was easily recognizable because of his girth and his muttonchop beard. “Senator Daniels. Welcome aboard my car, sir.”
“Thank you.” Daniels turned to help his wife and daughter onto the car.
“Where are you going on this cold night?” the motorman asked. “I would think on a night like this, one would want to stay home before a warm fire.”
“That might be true, young man. But, like you, I have work to do, work that calls me out on cold nights.” Daniels sat next to Millie as the trolley started forward.
“I’m worried about her,” Millie said. “She’s being very quiet. You know she isn’t normally like this.”
“Naturally you are worried. You are her mother, and mothers tend to worry. But I’m sure there is nothing wrong with her. Once we get on the train she’ll be warm, and she can sleep. Why, I’ll bet she is fit as a fiddle come morning.”
“I hope you are right.”
“I know I’m right. You’ll see.” Daniels reached over to pat his wife on the knee.
Millie put her arm around her daughter and pulled her closer.
Just down the street from the depot, Parker, Compton, Kelly, and Morris were having a beer in the Lucky Strike Saloon.
“Are you sure he is going to be on this train?” Compton asked.
“That’s what we were told,” Parker answered.
“Besides which, it’s in the newspaper today,” Kelly added. “I seen the story myself.”
“Yeah, but newspapers ain’t always right.”
“He’ll be on the train,” Parker said.
“Do you really think Santelli has enough money to give us five hundred dollars apiece?” Morris asked. “That’s two thousand dollars.”
“Ward says he does. And he prob’ly has a lot more ’n that,” Parker insisted. “There’s no tellin’ how much money he has stole over the last three or four years. I would be surprised if he didn’t have four or five thousand dollars hid away somewhere.”
“Which ain’t goin’ to do him no good if he’s hung,” Kelly added.
“Exactly right,” Parker replied. “So as soon as we get him away, he’ll take us to where he’s got the money hid.”
“What if he don’t do it?” Morris asked.
“You heard what Ward said. If he don’t do it, we’ll kill ’im.” Parker snorted.
“Yeah, that’s what he said, all right,” Morris agreed. “But what if he just told us that to make sure we come in with him?”
“It’s a little late to be thinkin’ about all that now, ain’t it?” Parker asked. “I mean we’re already here. The train will be comin’ tonight, and I say we go through with it. Unless five hundred dollars don’t mean nothin’ to you.”
“No, no, I didn’t say I wasn’t goin’ to go through with it.” Morris quickly changed his tune. “I was sort of thinkin’ out loud, is all.”
“Well, don’t think,” Parker instructed. “There’s no need to be thinkin’. Ever’thing’s already been thought out for us.”
“It’s gettin’ pretty close to time,” Compton reckoned. “I expect we’d better get on down to the depot.”
As soon as the four men left the saloon, they were hit by an icy blast of wind.
“Damn, that’s cold!” Kelly shivered as they walked to the depot.
“Feels like it’s goin’ to snow,” Morris surmised.
“What difference does it make how cold it is?” Parker asked. “We’ll be on the train. They got heatin’ stoves in all the cars, and they keep the cars nice and warm. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have nobody ridin’ the trains in the wintertime.”
Once inside they moved to the stove for a moment, then stepped up to the ticket window.
“We want four tickets to Big Rock.”
“Yes, sir, four tickets to Big Rock,” the ticket agent said.
