“Yeah? Well, who says that? Not the people who have to do or die, that’s for damn sure,” Beans replied.
“You’ve done a good job keeping the steam up.”
Beans smiled. “I wasn’t keeping the steam up, I was keeping myself warm.”
Inside the depot, Jenny and Luke were still engaged in conversation.
“Nobody in town thinks you are guilty,” Jenny said. “I’ve heard them talking.”
Luke smiled. “Unfortunately, none of the people who thought I was innocent were on the jury. The men on the jury thought I was guilty.”
“No, they were just too frightened of the sheriff and the judge to go against them, that’s all. That’s why they said it was involuntary manslaughter instead of murder.”
“It wasn’t even that. It was self-defense. The two men who accosted me were armed. Sheriff Ferrell and his deputy, Gates, tried to rob me.”
“Ha!” Santelli had been listening in to their conversation. “People like you are never guilty. Why don’t you own up to it? Take my advice. If you’ve done somethin’, admit it.”
“Santelli, the last thing I need is advice from you,” Luke remarked.
“All right, don’t pay me no never mind, I’m just tryin’ to be helpful, is all.”
“Would you like to move closer to the stove?” Luke asked Jenny.
“Yes, that would be nice.”
Luke stood, then reached down with his handcuffed hands to help her up.
“Where do you think you’re goin’, Shardeen?” Deputy Proxmire asked.
“To get warm,” Luke replied “You may have noticed, it’s cold outside, and I left my coat on the train.”
“Just don’t try and run away.”
“Where would I go without a coat on a night like this?”
Luke and Jenny found a place to sit near the stove that also afforded them a modicum of privacy.
“We have something in common,” Jenny said with a smile.
“You mean because we are both under Proxmire’s watchful eye?”
“Well, yes, I suppose there is that, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m told that you used to be a sailor.”
“Aye. That I was. I’ve crossed the Pacific eleven times. Wait, are you telling me you were a sailor?”
“Of sorts.”
Luke laughed. “How can you be a sailor of sorts?”
“The difference is in the water we sailed. You were on the Pacific; I was on the Mississippi River. I worked for my uncle. I was a hostess on board the
Luke nodded and smiled. “You’re right. River, ocean, it makes no difference. We were both sailors.”
“How long have you been in Pueblo?” Jenny asked.
“Three years. And you?”
“Not quite a year. I started teaching school, but when the school board learned I had been married to a gambler, they decided I was a bad influence on the children.”
“Why, that’s ridiculous,” Luke said. “I can’t think of anyone who would have a better influence on the children than you.”
“Thank you,” Jenny said with a small smile. “That is very nice of you to say.”
“It takes no extra effort to tell the truth,” Luke insisted.
“You are a very nice man. It makes me wonder why we couldn’t have—” Jenny interrupted her comment in mid-sentence.
“You mean why we couldn’t have met before this?” Luke concluded.
“It doesn’t seem fair.” Jenny’s eyes welled with tears. “I finally meet someone nice and where do I meet him?” She managed a weak laugh through the tears. “I meet him when we are both under the care of a deputy sheriff, you, going to jail, and I being run out of town.”
Luke reached up with his manacled hands and, sticking a finger out, caught a tear as it slid down her cheek.
“It was almost different,” Luke said.
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“I had heard about you. I went to the Colorado Social Club, just to meet you.”
“Really?” Jenny had a questioning look on her face. “I don’t remember meeting you. I’m sure I would remember.”
Luke smiled. “You didn’t meet me, because I didn’t stay.”
“Oh.”
“I wish I had stayed.”
“No, I’m . . . I’m glad you didn’t stay. I don’t think I would have wanted to meet you that way.”
“I understand. I think that is probably why I left. But at least we have met now,” Luke said. “And I’m thankful for that.”
“Yes,” Jenny agreed. “At least we have met.”
“All right, folks!” the conductor called. “Let’s get back aboard!”
Luke stood first, then helped Jenny up. They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, then, with a smile, Jenny spontaneously gave Luke a kiss on the lips.
Luke raised his arms, then realized that, because his hands were cuffed together, he couldn’t easily embrace her. “That’s not fair. You took advantage of me when my hands are cuffed, and I can’t put my arms around you.”
“Under the circumstances, it is probably best,” Jenny said.
Those passengers who had come into the depot house hurried through the brutal cold back onto the train. Fortunately, the cars had been kept warm.
Walking toward the back of the car, Matt shook off the chill. His coat was still drawn over the sleeping daughter of Senator Daniels. He stopped and asked Mrs. Daniels, “How is she?”
“I’m worried about her.”
Matt reached down to feel her forehead. “It feels as if she has some fever.”
“Yes. I wish we had stayed in Pueblo so she could see a doctor.”
“There are some fine doctors in Red Cliff. At this point we are much closer to Red Cliff than we are to Pueblo.”
“Yes, I was thinking that as well. Do you want your coat back?”
“No, I’m doing just fine. Let her keep it. She needs it more than I.”
“Thank you. That is most kind.”
During the entire conversation, Senator Daniels had been sitting in the seat facing his wife and daughter, staring out the window at the bleak and empty depot platform. He paid no attention to the conversation between Matt and his wife.
The train started forward with a jerk so severe Matt reached out and grabbed a seat back to keep his balance, then moved quickly to his seat and sat down. He had told Mrs. Daniels they were closer to Red Cliff than to Pueblo, and in terms of distance, that was true. But Trout Creek Pass was between them and Red Cliff, and though the consensus of the conversation he had overheard was that the pass was open, in the final analysis they had proceeded on toward the pass based upon the stationmaster’s belief that the pass was open and the conductor’s call to proceed.
Matt wasn’t all that convinced.
Across the aisle from Matt’s seat and in the very front, Jenny sat quietly, looking down at her hands folded on her lap. She was thinking of Luke Shardeen, and trying to analyze her feelings for him.
She wasn’t feeling the same way she had felt about Nate McCoy when first she’d met him. At that time, she
