The Iron Horseman (27 page)

The
locomotive pulled forward with the remaining passenger and freight cars
reattached.

“Levi,”
Cadence turned back to look at him, still slightly breathless and rain
streaming down her hair and into her face, “my father is still on that train.”

“I
know.” Levi cinched a little closer. He reached out and caressed her cheek with
the back of his fingers. “It’s going to be all right.”

Click.

There
was no mistaking that sound.

Cadence
looked up to see a young man aiming his rifle at her, motioning for her to
relinquish her gun. His face was covered in smudges and water poured from the
brim of his hat.

“I’ve
got a couple over here!” he yelled. “Hand it over,” he said to Cadence. “Nice
and easy like.”

There
was nothing she could do.

Blasted
all.

“Mr.
Redbourne is that you?”

Levi
breathed out a sigh of relief that the kid’s face was a familiar one.

“Billy,
what is going on here?”

“We
just want what’s owed us, sir. We haven’t been paid in near four months and we
decided it was time to take matters into our own hands.” He lowered his gun.
“You gotta understand. This is nothing against you. You’ve always been real
decent to all of us and we respect you, but…”

“But
you still need to get paid.”

“Yes,
sir.”

Levi
cursed Thomas Durant for his many unethical and oily business practices. He
reckoned the man would cheat his own mother out of her home if it would get him
an extra dime.

Two
bright flashes of light split the stormy sky followed by a deep rumbling that
seemed all too close. Time was not on their side and neither, did it seem, was
the weather.

“What’s
going to happen down at Devil’s Gate Bridge, Billy?” Levi didn’t think these
workers had anything to do with the supposed attack, but he had to make sure.

“I
don’t know nothing about the bridge, Mr. Redbourne. Honest. We just want our
fair wages. I have a wife and baby. They’re hungry and I can’t feed them with
Mr. Durant’s empty promises. As soon as he pays us, we’ll let him and all of
the others go.”

“I
understand, Billy, but what makes you think Durant will give in? You realize
he’s going to try to call in soldiers from Fort Bridger to come in and take
control of this situation.”

“Not
with Jinx working the telegraph. Every unauthorized message in or out gets
intercepted. Besides, Durant wants to win this race, right? Well, we figured
now would be the best time to get his attention while the whole world waits on
him.”

Levi
hated to admit it, and he certainly did not condone these tactics, but they
were right. The only way to get Thomas Durant to follow through with promises
that would separate him from his money was to dangle a carrot too big to
ignore. His own pathetic life and the completion of the railroad were two very
big carrots.

The
engine whistle blew.

“It
sounds like they’ve cleared the stack of ties off the tracks.”

“Billy,
you need to listen to me very carefully, all right? I need you to give Miss
Walker back her gun.”

Suspicion
crossed the young rail worker’s face, but without questioning, he reluctantly
reached out and did as instructed.

“Good.
There is going to be an attack at the bridge and all those people on that train
are going to be in serious trouble if we can’t stop it.”

Billy
nodded.

“We
need to get back on before the engineer leaves.” Levi pointed to the cars
starting to pull forward on the tracks. “Now.” Any longer and they would miss
their opportunity.

“Can
I trust you, Mr. Redbourne?”

“You
have my word, Billy. I’ve never lied to you before. We just need to get to that
bridge before anyone gets hurt. There are a lot of innocent people on that
train.”

“You’d
better hurry. Looks like it’s pulling out.”

“Thank
you!” Levi said as he reached down and pulled Cadence to her feet.

Without
letting go of her hand, they dashed toward the departing train. It had started
picking up speed, but Levi couldn’t see anywhere to grab hold that would keep
both he and Cadence out of harm’s way.

She
grasped the hem of her dress while they ran, but the mud was deep and sticky,
effectively slowing their escape. The caboose was upon them, if they weren’t
able to catch it, they’d lose their one chance left to board. Moving his hand
to the area just above her wrist, he tightened his grip, reached for the
railing, closed his fingers around one of the bars, and jumped, pulling Cadence
up along with him.

His
booted foot planted firmly on the platform and he immediately wrapped his arm all
the way around the rail. Cadence’s toe glanced off the balcony and she slipped.
He squeezed tighter around her wrist and caught her before she could fall to
the ground below, but now she dangled dangerously just above the track. Levi
quickly glanced around for something he could use as leverage as he was losing
his hold on her. The rain wasn’t helping.

“The
ladder,” he yelled to be heard over the hum of the wheels.

There
was a metal ladder that had been built into the caboose leading to the roof. If
he could just swing her enough that she could use the rung to support her
weight, he could crawl over the railing to gain better leverage to pull her all
the way onto the train.

With
all the strength he could muster, he swung Cadence high enough that the heel of
her boot caught on the inside of the rung and she was able to pull herself into
an upright position. She gripped ahold of one of the higher rungs and let go of
Levi’s hand.

“Aaaaah,”
he ground out in pain. He felt the stitches in his arm pop and he glanced over
to see small red splotches seeping into the sleeve of his shirt.

He
closed his eyes briefly in thanks that they’d made it.

Once
Levi had collected his bearings, he quickly climbed over the railing, which he
in turn used to ground him as he reached out for Cadence. She held out her hand
and carefully moved her foot across the open space to the edge of the platform.
When her foot was securely situated on the ledge, she jumped. Levi slipped his
arm all the way around her waist, holding her firmly against the railing. In
the next breath, he lifted her up and into his relieved embrace.

Cadence
snuggled into his chest, her arms curling up around his shoulders.

“It’s
okay. You’re going to be all right.”

She
pulled away from him. “All right?” she asked incredulously. “You almost dropped
me,” she accused, wiping sodden locks away out of her face and tucking them
behind her ear.

“But
I didn’t,” he keenly reminded her, appreciating the fire in her eyes. Even now,
she was beautiful.

“No,”
she said with softened voice and a reluctant smile, “you didn’t. Thank you.”

They
stared at each other for a moment without saying a word.

“You’re
hurt.”

Levi
looked down at his arm again. It was still sore, but the bleeding seemed to
have stopped. “I’m sure some of my stitches just came undone. It’ll be fine.”

“My/Your
father,” they both said simultaneously.

Levi
thrust open the door and waited for Cadence to pass before he entered the
caboose.

They
passed through each car, making sure no one had been hurt. When they reached
Eamon’s sleeping car, he was nowhere to be found.

“Where
would he have gone?” The worry in Cadence’s voice was evident by the high
pitch. “Please tell me he didn’t try anything in Piedmont.”

“We’ll
find him, Cade. Don’t worry. A lot of those men back there know your father
too. They won’t hurt him if he was left behind.” Levi spoke with more
confidence than he felt.

Whenever
an angry group of men got together and took a stand, there was always a chance
of innocent casualties. He just hoped that Eamon had not gotten off the train
with fanciful ideas of being the hero—even though he was a hero in every sense
of the word, he was hurt and his pride was going to get him killed.

When
they approached the last of the passenger trains, the dining car, Levi spotted
Eamon through the small door window sitting at a table holding a handful of
cards. Relief washed over him.

Cadence
strode into the car and casually made her way over to her father’s table and
sat down next to him. She didn’t say a word, but after a moment, she laid her
head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

“Gentlemen,”
Eamon said to the two male passengers sitting across from him, “this is my
daughter, Cade Walker.”

A
wide grin spread across Cadence’s face. She popped her head up, kissed her
father on the cheek, and stood up. “It was nice to meet you. Now, if you’ll
excuse us.”

Eamon
winked at Levi.

He
knew how much it meant to Cadence for her father to see her all grown up and
not as the little girl who used to follow him around the house with toy wooden
pistols. Levi had heard the stories a hundred times over.

“Let’s
go talk to that engineer,” she said, cool determination returning to her
demeanor.

“Let’s.”

Echo
City provided a junction for the train to be able to switch directions. It was
also the closest town with a telegraph where word could be sent when it was
time to return to Piedmont to retrieve Durant and the others. In the meantime,
the passenger and freight cars would be uncoupled and left overnight. Most of
the people on the train had a sleeping room and the dining car was fully
stocked.

It
didn’t seem as if this rain would ever end, but Cadence tried to remember that
there was probably a group of farmers somewhere who were grateful for the
water. She stepped down off the train dry, at least for the moment, and watched
from beneath the umbrella as Levi and a few of the others worked to lower the
side of the livery coach. Her rifle was gripped comfortably in her hand.

“Whoa,
boy,” Levi called as Apollo pranced down the ramp.

She
imagined that the animals were just as fidgety as the people on board. At least
now, they’d be able to stretch their legs. The abandoned Pony Express station
would serve as temporary shelter.

Before
long, the stock car was closed back up.

“You
want to rest a while before heading out?” Levi asked, guiding an already
saddled Apollo and the sorrel mare toward her.

“We
don’t know how much time we’re going to get,” she told him, removing the
satchel from across her shoulders and handing it to him. “For all we know, the
bridge could already be out. We need to get there and the sooner, the better.”

Cadence
had to believe that Annie and the other two Pinkerton agents left behind in
Piedmont would be able to protect the people on board those three coaches. It
now fell to her and Levi to make sure that nothing bad happened at Devil’s
Gate. If the bridge was out, they could at least warn the engineer before it
was too late. She just hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“That’s
what I thought you might say.” He handed the sorrel mare’s reins to her.
Cadence slipped her rifle into the holster in the side of the saddle. Levi
picked up her bag and secured it to her horse.

Devil’s
Gate was just under a day’s ride from here. If they pushed it a little, they
might even arrive before nightfall. She hoped they’d be able to find some
shelter from the rain, or at least a place that would stave off the chill. She
wasn’t looking forward to the ride, but they just didn’t have the time it would
take to get there by wagon.

“Here,
I thought you might want this.” He handed her a buckskin jacket. “To keep out
the cold for as long as possible.”

Cadence
pulled the jacket over her shoulders, admiring the workmanship. “Where did you
get this?” she asked, pulling her hair up into a ribbon behind her. He hadn’t
been out of her sight since he’d started unloading the car with the livestock.

“It’s
mine. Rafe made it for me a long time ago. It will keep you dry, and warm…at
least everywhere it covers.”

So
many questions invaded her mind at the revelation.

Rafe
sews?

“You
mean you’ve had this the entire time and haven’t used it?”

Levi
didn’t respond, just lifted a large canvas bundle and draped it across Apollo’s
back. “Are you ready?” he asked as he cinched up the rope.

“You
two be careful.” Her father stepped out onto the platform at the top of the
staircase.

Cadence
looked up, smiled, and with the reins of the sorrel still in her hand, she
closed the umbrella and quickly climbed the stairs. She knew he was worried.
“You too.” She stood up on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You need
your rest.” She squeezed his arms, then turned around. When she reached the
bottom step, she pulled the reins toward her and she mounted.