CHAPTER NINETEEN
When Smoke and Duff returned to the depot, Phil was talking to a customer, so Smoke waited for the conversation to finish.
But seeing him, Phil called out. “Hello, Smoke. I’m afraid there is still no word from the train.”
“No word means they haven’t gone back to Buena Vista, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. If the train had gone back, we would have been informed by now.”
“So what you are saying is that the train is still up there, possibly trapped in the pass so it can go neither forward nor backward.”
“That’s a possibility.” Phil nodded his head.
“That’s not good. If they are up there too long, they’ll run out of food, won’t they?”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about anything like that happening. A couple winters ago we had a train get snowed in up on top of the pass, and it was a week late getting here,” Phil said.
“A week without food?”
“It wasn’t anything all that significant. These trains carry enough food with them so that, by rationing, they could survive for two weeks or longer. I’ve no doubt, within two weeks enough snow will melt and the train will be able to proceed, or at worst be relieved by a rescue train.”
“All right, Phil, you’ve been through this before,” Smoke said. “I guess the best thing Duff and I can do now, is go back to the ranch and wait it out.”
“You may as well,” Phil agreed.
Smoke walked over to the telegraph office, where Eddie sat in the corner, reading. “Eddie, when the train comes in, I want you to meet a man named Matt Jensen. Tell him to wait here for me, and I’ll come get him.” Smoke gave the boy a five-dollar bill. “Then, I want you to come tell me that he is here.”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Jensen!” Eddie smiled broadly as he took the equivalent of a week’s pay.
Down the street, Hannah brought one of her girls into the parlor. The girl was in her early twenties, but looked younger. It was early in the day and she had not yet painted her face and lips, nor had she donned the garish costume of her profession. The dissipation of the trade had not yet worked its evils on her, and she looked like any young woman you might see on the street or in a shop.
Ironically, Ward found that much more appealing than if she was in full garb. It made her look innocent, and he was aroused by the idea of taking a young girl’s innocence. “How much?”
“It will be three dollars, sir,” Hannah said.
“Three dollars?” Ward replied. “What do you mean? There ain’t a place in Colorado where you can’t get a whore for two dollars.”
“This isn’t just anywhere in Colorado. This is Hannah’s,” the owner said proudly. “If you want one of my ladies, it is going to cost you three dollars. If you think I am charging you too much, you might try one of the saloons.”
Ward ran his hand through his thin, blond hair and looked at the girl. She had dark hair and large, brown eyes.
“How long can I stay?”
“You can stay all day if you want. At least, until we get busy tonight.”
“Yeah? Well if I leave to go get somethin’ to eat, can I come back?”
Hannah smiled at him. “Why would you have to leave to get something to eat? We have a kitchen.”
Ward chuckled. “So, I can stay here all day and eat here besides? All for three dollars?”
“I told you, there is no other place in Colorado like Hannah’s.”
Ward took out three dollars, handing the bills to Hannah. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“This way,” the girl said, turning and walking away from him.
Returning to the sleigh, Smoke and Duff drove back to the ranch house. When they arrived at the house they were met by a smiling Sally, though the smile faded when she saw that Matt wasn’t with them.
“The train never made it to Big Rock,” Smoke explained. “Or, perhaps I should say the train hasn’t arrived
“What happened to it?”
“It’s probably hung up in the pass somewhere, blocked by snow . . . from coming through and maybe even from going back.”
“Oh, my, Smoke! Do you mean those people are trapped up there?”
“It’s not as bad as all that. Phil says this has happened before, and the train probably has enough food for them to survive.”
“Probably? That doesn’t sound all that good.”
“We may be imagining the worst. The train may yet get here today. If it does, Eddie will come tell us.”
“Oh, I certainly hope it gets here before Christmas.” Sally looked out the window at the depth of snow.
“We have a few days yet. We’ll just wait and see.”
By late afternoon everyone was beginning to get hungry. One of the dining car porters came hustling into the rear car with a message for the conductor.
“Troy!” Bailey called out. “I thought you were trapped in the dining car!”
“Yes, sir, I was. But the men with guns let me go so I could bring a message.”
“What is the message?”
“Don’t be mad if I say a bad word in front of the ladies, but it’s the message they told me to say.”
“Go ahead,” Matt said. “We know it’s not your words.”
“Yes, sir.” Troy nodded and took a deep breath. “Here is the message. The men with guns say, send them the whore, and they’ll let the rest of the folks on the train have some food.”
“What?” Luke shouted angrily.
Troy drew back. “I tol’, you, sir, that’s not my words. That’s the words of the men with guns.”
“And that’s what they said?” Bailey asked. “Send them the whore and they’ll give food to the rest of the passengers?”
“Yes, sir, that’s what they said all right.”
“Just who is the whore they would be talking about?” Bailey asked.
“I don’ know, Mr. Bailey. All I know is what they said.”
“We all know who the whore is.” Daniels looked directly at Jenny.
“Jarred!” Millie scolded.
“I’m just saying what everyone else knows,” the senator insisted. “They’re talking about you, miss.” He pointed to Jenny.
She was sitting in a seat with Luke. He put her arm around her, drawing her close to him.
“It’s up to you now,” Senator Daniels continued. “You could do something good with your life. If you go to them, we’ll all get to eat.”
“No,” Jenny said in a quiet, frightened voice.
“What do you mean,
“You don’t understand.” Once more, Jenny tried to explain. “You have the wrong idea about me. I’m
