they’re here.”
“I don’t know how much longer,” Ward said. “Until I need them.”
“Here’s the thing. You see them two horses there? They belong to Smoke Jensen and Duff MacAllister, and they’re wantin’ to leave them here while they go up to rescue them folks on the train. I reckon you heard about that, didn’t you?”
“I heard about it,” Ward said. “You mean they ain’t goin’ to go up on horseback?”
Ike shook his head. “There ain’t no horse that can get up there now, and more ’n likely, no mountain goats either. The only way a body could get up there now is to climb the mountain. And that ain’t goin’ to be easy. Not with all this snow. But I reckon if anyone can do it, Smoke can.”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard someone say. They talk about Smoke Jensen like he is some kind of a hero or somethin’.”
“Well, sir, you might say that he is,” Ike said. “And that brings me back to them six horses you got boarded here. Would you mind if I sort of put some of ’em together? Like say, three stalls, with two horses in each stall. It would help me out, and you’d be savin’ money.”
“That’ll be fine,” Ward agreed. “But I need some of my tack, first.”
“Sure, what do you want?”
“I want a poncho, blanket, and my rifle.”
“Look here, mister, it sounds like you’re goin’ huntin’. If that’s true, be awful careful ’bout where you shoot your rifle. You could cause an avalanche, and you for sure don’t want to get caught in one of those.”
“I’ll be careful,” Ward insisted.
“All right. You can come on back and get your tack.” As they passed one of the stalls, Ike pointed. “I reckon you heard about the murder. Billy found ’im lyin’ right there. He’d been stabbed.”
“I read about it in the paper,” Ward said.
“There’s your tack, all there as you can see. Your stuff is safe here. Yes, sir, in all the years I been runnin’ this livery, ain’t never been nothin’ stole from it.”
“Just somebody murdered,” Ward mumbled.
“What? Oh, yes, sir, I guess that’s right. I sure ain’t proud of it, but I guess it is right.”
Ward pulled his rifle from the tack. Reaching down into his saddlebag, he opened a box of ammunition and scooped out a handful of extra rifle rounds, which he put in his pocket. The poncho and blanket were rolled together in a tight roll. He put the roll over one shoulder, let it fall diagonally across his body, and tied the two bottom ends together. This allowed him to carry the blanket and poncho while keeping his hands free.
“I appreciate you lettin’ me put your horses together,” Ike said. “That’ll free up three more stalls.”
Ward nodded, then stepped into the street in front of the livery. He looked toward the market, where, a few minutes earlier he had seen two men loading a sled. The men were gone, and he felt a moment of apprehension that he had lost them. Then, looking up the track, he saw them plodding along, pulling the sled behind them.
The wire from the telegraph line had been run through the window of the car so Bailey could send and receive messages from the relative comfort of the car. Newspapers and pieces of carpet were stuffed into the open section of the window to keep as much cold air out as possible.
Some of the passengers had asked that he send messages back to let their family know that they were still alive. Senator Daniels asked if he could send a message to the Denver newspapers.
“All right,” Bailey agreed.
Senator Daniels cleared his throat, then began to speak. “My fellow citizens. I am addressing you by the magic of harnessed lightning, to tell you that I am safe, though I, and the others with me, are being held hostage by a convicted criminal, Michael Santelli. He and other brigands with him have taken control of the dining car, wherein is stored all the food on this train. The result is four days of starvation and want.
“I want all my constituents to know that I, and the others herein exposed to such danger and privation, are doing all we can to fight against this evil, and it is my belief that we will prevail. But, I ask—no, I demand—the Denver and Pacific do whatever is necessary to come to our rescue.
“It is unthinkable that in this day of mighty steam engines and powerful, steam shovels, of telegraph and telephone, that a loud and resounding hue and cry has not gone out over all the land to cause a mighty mobilization of forces, sufficient to overcome any such barriers as may stand between us, and our eventual rescue.
“I further demand that—” Senator Daniels stopped in mid-sentence and looked down at Bailey. “You aren’t sending this.”
“Senator, I can’t send all that. I can’t send more than twenty-five words in each message.”
“Why not?”
“Because this is not a regular Western Union station. We have what is called emergency access, which allows us but limited use of the line. If I attempted to send everything you just said, we would be cut off. And I feel that it is vital we keep this line open.”
“Hrrumph,” Senator Daniels grumped. “Very well, very well.”
“If you have something you can send in twenty-five words or less, I would be happy to send it.”
“All right, send this to the
“That’s twenty-seven words, Senator.”
“Change ‘we will prevail’ to ‘I will prevail’ and sign it Senator Daniels.”
Bailey sent the message, along with several other messages. Then, after a few minutes of quiet, the telegraph key began clacking. Bailey responded, then listened.
“Mr. Jensen,” Bailey called. “There is a message coming in for you.”
“For me?” Matt asked, surprised by the announcement.
“Yes, sir.”
“What does he say?”
The machine clattered again, and Bailey recorded the message. Then he chuckled. “I’m sure this has some meaning for you.”
“What?”
Bailey read aloud what he wrote. “Will pull your behind from snow again. Hang on. Rescue soon.”
Matt smiled, broadly. “Yes, sir, it has a lot of meaning for me. It means Smoke is coming to get us. And it means that we will be out of here sometime within the next twenty-four hours.”
“Smoke? Are you talking about Smoke Jensen?” Senator Daniels asked.
“Yes.”
“I am well aware of the exploits of Smoke Jensen. However, he is but one man, and I don’t see how one man can possibly come to our rescue. I mean, even if he gets here, what can he do? He can’t free the train, and he is no more capable of taking the dining car back than we are.”
“Never underestimate Smoke Jensen,” Matt warned. “If he says he is going to rescue us, that is exactly what he is going to do.”
“It must be refreshing to have such childish confidence in a person,” Senator Daniels said sarcastically.
“Oh, there’s nothing childish about it, Senator. As I am sure you will see soon enough.”
The telegraph began clicking again, and once more, Bailey recorded the incoming message on a tablet. When finished, he reread the message. “Well, I’ll be.”
“What is it?” Matt asked.
Bailey showed him the message, and a big smile came across his face after he read it. “Luke, you might want to hear this message,” Matt called.
Luke was sitting in the seat just across from Jenny, who was still holding Becky’s head in her lap. He turned to Matt. “Yes?”
“This message pertains to you,” Matt said.
Luke came over to Matt and Bailey, his face reflecting curiosity and a slight bit of anxiousness.
Matt read aloud from the paper. “Sheriff Ferrell killed robbing stagecoach. Judge Briggs indicted for collusion. Removed from the bench. Shardeen’s charges dropped. Governor vacated sentence.”
