What the Heart Keeps (17 page)

As
if in warning that everything had been going too easily, that night turned bitterly cold. In the morning there was no sun and the draught through the open doors was fierce enough to make them sit well out of range. Jim had told them that the weather could be unpredictable around this time of year, although a cold snap did not mean that mild days were necessarily at an end. Lisa found an extra shawl in her valise for Minnie, who was already draped in a borrowed jacket.

It
was early evening when the train stopped. Lisa had no idea where they were, but she hoped that by now they had covered some of the territory of the province recently established as Alberta. Although alert every time the train was at a standstill, she had begun to feel confident that in following Jim’s advice to keep as near to the front of the train as possible they had escaped any intrusion and would continue to be left in peace. Therefore it came as a great shock as the train began to move on again for the doors at the right hand side to shake against such a violent pull of strength from the outside that one of the props, perhaps not as secure as it might have been because of her fingers being chilled when she set it back into place, leapt and fell with a clatter. In the resulting aperture the ugly, unshaven face of a man appeared as he poised for entry. His eyes widened at the sight of Lisa, who had sprung to her feet, and he registered the flurry of another skirt behind her. Instantly he turned his head to bawl an announcement gleefully over his shoulder.

“
Women! In here!”

Lisa
did not hesitate. She snatched up the empty bucket by the handle and dealt him such a blow in the face with it that he fell back, a cut from the base rim opening above his eye. She slammed the door shut again and rammed the prop into place before she realised that she was trembling with fright from head to foot. The train was gathering speed. She leaned back weakly against the wall and managed a shaky smile at Minnie, who had rushed to her with a cry.

“
It’s all right. We’re safe now. Let’s forget that it happened.” She felt it was important to distract the child quickly. “What about something to eat?”

As
she lit the lantern, which hung for safety on a nail in the wall, Minnie went to the provision basket. They had allotted so much food and water for each day of the journey, and the amount was getting low. They soon finished their meagre supper and were putting what was left of the bread and some other items back in the basket when Minnie lifted her head, listening attentively.

“
Is that thunder?”

Lisa
listened as well. For a moment or two it did sound somewhat like thunder until there came a scraping sound. She felt the colour drain from her face. “That man is on the roof!” she exclaimed in horror. Minnie whimpered with fright, drawing close, and Lisa put protective arms about her as they stood listening.

Both
started in alarm as the doors that had been tried previously began to shake. Lisa realised he had climbed down to the side and would be hanging on to the vertical handrail as he tried his strength on the doors. He used short, sharp jerks, trying to dislodge whatever wedged them.

“
Quick, Minnie! Lean against one of the props for added support,” Lisa instructed. “I’ll take the other.”

While
the child did as she was told, Lisa paused only to un-wrap from its sacking the sharp knife that she kept on a convenient ledge from which it could easily be snatched up. Hardly had she put her weight against the other prop when the doors on the opposite side of the boxcar began to shake and jerk in a similar fashion. The would-be intruder had with him whomever he had addressed upon first sighting her and Minnie. Even as Lisa grabbed the knife and advanced to check the other props, one of them gave way, and the door shot open. The man who lunged in was not the one she had seen before. Red-haired and red-bearded, short and thick-set, he would have thrust her aside to gain admittance for his companion through the other doors if he had not seen the knife glinting at him, the point long and dangerous.

“
Get out!” Lisa ordered. “Go back the way you came!”

“
There’s no need to be hasty.” He showed his tobacco-stained teeth in a twisted smile, his hard eyes ranging over her in lustful appreciation. “We could have a fine little party here. I’ve some booze in my pocket and my pal outside has a bottle of good Scotch whisky.” His leering gaze went to Minnie, who had forgotten her task of leaning her weight against the prop and stood huddled in terror back in the corner. “How old are you, honey? Old enough I guess. You’ll get your turn.”

“
Keep away from my sister!” Lisa stepped swiftly between him and Minnie. She felt sick with loathing and disgust. His face, his threatening presence, the lantern that swayed with the movement of the train making their shadows dance, had combined into a situation horribly reminiscent of one that had occurred thousands of miles away in another country. In her racing mind she judged him stupid for having given away that he had only one companion outside, which meant she knew exactly the odds against her, and she felt that all the time she could deal with them singly she would have a good chance. “I’m not telling you again. Get out!”

In
fury she made a threatening gesture with the knife, intent on making him back out of the still open door. The blade came close enough to his face for him to dodge instinctively. It was also not the first time he had been menaced with a knife. His hand shot out in a slicing movement, catching her a sharp blow across the wrist that released her grip. As the knife clattered and spun across the floor, he added a kick to send it whirling outside into the speeding darkness. Grinning mockingly at her, he reached behind him and pulled the door shut.

She
stood defensively. There were still the scissors on the ledge near Minnie. If only the child would have the wit to remember they were there and dash them to her she would not be caught by his trick a second time. But Minnie was paralysed with fright, standing as if glued against the wall, eyes starting from her head. The man wagged a finger in her direction.

“
Listen to me, young ‘un. I’m keeping my pal outside a while longer. First come is first served in my reckoning. If you move out of that corner or make a squeak at what I’m going to do to your sister, I’ll throw her off this train and you’ll never see her again. Get that?”

Minnie
shrank still further into herself, looking almost as if her senses had been knocked out of her by the enormity of his threat. Lisa raged inwardly. If he had been in possession of all the facts about the child, he could not have said anything better guaranteed to crush her into terrified obedience. Minnie gave a nod, closing her eyes and turning her face away, her jaw shaking as if her teeth chattered in her fear. Still grinning, the red-haired man returned his attention to Lisa, beginning to unbuckle his belt. Outside his companion, in spite of the rattle of wheels and the rush of air, must have heard something of the voices inside, for he stopped jerking on the doors and thumped a fist for admittance instead. It gave impetus to the red-haired man’s actions, showing that he knew a lack of response would send the fellow up over the roof to try the other door. Lisa threw herself towards the only weapon of defence within reach, but before her outstretched fingers could grab the lantern, she was seized and brought crashing down in a tangle of her limbs and his.

She
fought wildly, hitting and struggling as his awful weight pressed her down on the hard floorboards. He swore at her vilely, finding her stronger than he had expected, and with a free hand he jerked her head upwards by a handful of hair and crashed it down again, stunning her almost into oblivion with pain. The resulting second or two of near unconsciousness lessened the impact of the strange sound he emitted that was more gasp than grunt as he was struck across the back of the neck. All she knew was that he had become quite motionless and his weight had increased to an extent where it threatened to impair her breathing.

“
I think he’s dead, Lisa,” Minnie’s voice uttered in high-pitched tones not far from hysteria.

Gripped
by fresh horror, Lisa pulled herself free and away from the man who lay with one of the displaced props across his shoulders. Minnie had forgotten the scissors, but she had thought of the prop. She remained standing where she had hurled it down, her hands drawn back and clasped together against her chest as if she had become transfixed after her timely action. Overhead boots slithered and scraped as someone came across the roof. Scarcely able to think, guided by an instinct for survival, Lisa turned out the wick of the lantern and grabbed up the prop.

“
Don’t make a sound,” she whispered to Minnie, giving her a swift thrust into the safety of the deepest darkness. Then she herself drew back, balancing the prop horizontally in both hands.

The
door was shot back. The new arrival was revealed in silhouette against the stars. “What’s the big idea —?” he began. Then, puzzled at there being no sound within and thinking for a moment of disbelief that maybe he was in the wrong boxcar after all, he peered into the blackness of the interior and spoke his companion’s name inquiringly: “Matt?”

There
was a rush of movement. The end of the prop caught him full in the chest and he went falling backwards to roll over and down and far out of sight as the train rushed onwards, the prop left askew by the side of the track. Lisa, who had barely saved herself from falling with it by grabbing at the door, reeled back out of danger.

Filled
with abhorrence, she forced herself to return to the prone figure on the floor. There was no pulse. She guessed the neck had been broken and knew what must be done. Using all her strength, she dragged the body across to the open aperture. There she dropped to her knees and with a final effort pushed it outside.

Shudder
after shudder went through her. Quickly she closed the door and had to wait until a feeling of nausea passed. Stumbling to where the matches were kept, she relit the lantern, her hands shaking so much that it became a difficult task. The fitful light revealed Minnie still in a state of shock, crouched down with her arms flung over her head. Lisa went to sit down beside her.

“
He wasn’t dead, Minnie,” she lied in a cracked and husky voice that echoed the strain of what she had done. Her main concern was that the child should not grow up with a man’s death on her conscience to plague her in years to come. “You had just knocked him unconscious.”

Minnie
lowered her arms, her face tear-streaked. “I ‘ate him!” she cried out wildly. “ ‘E ‘urt you.”

“
He didn’t hurt me as much as he might have done. You prevented that.” Lisa leaned her head back in utter exhaustion against the wall. She was scarcely able to lift an arm as Minnie fell sobbing against her, but she cradled the child’s head soothingly against her shoulder. All her plans to make a new start in Calgary must be revised. She had no idea if a police investigation would follow the discovery of the red-haired man’s body on the line. It would depend on whether his travelling companion lodged any sort of complaint, although that was doubtful considering the circumstances. Nevertheless the risk remained to combine with the ever present possibility of Mrs. Grant’s conducting an independent search for her and Minnie. The sooner the two of them moved on from Calgary, the better it would be.

They
arrived there in the afternoon. Lisa looked out of the boxcar before they alighted to make sure they would not be seen. Unexpectedly she found herself catching her breath with pleasure at the sight of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains making dramatic impact against the sky. Quickly they darted across the tracks to reach the shelter of some warehouses. Nobody had spotted them.

Calgary
was a thriving, bustling place with wide streets, where stables and saddle-makers and smithies gave a horsy aroma to whole areas. Architecturally it was a conglomeration of styles from the imposing sandstone banks and stores incorporating cornices and balustrades and Ionic pillars to the impressive mansions of the rich and the veranda-fronted houses that flanked wide streets. At a humbler level there were the log cabins on the outskirts, the sod-roof shacks from the city’s early beginnings, and the canvas shelters erected by those in the process of building their own simple dwelling place or merely passing through. Most people were going about their business in stout working attire, but the well-dressed women followed fashion in large-crowned hats and the low-busted sheath silhouette with the ankle-length skirts that would have been at home in Paris, London, or New York. Their prosperous menfolk were in stiff collars and natty suits, diamond pins sparkling in cravats, gold watch-chains sporting fobs for gold dollars. Streetcars rattled and automobiles bleeped horns and carriage wheels followed clattering hooves. The steps of the Hudson Bay Company appeared to be a meeting place for Indians, who sat there leisurely watching the world go by.

Minnie
was fascinated by a stuffed goat above the entrance to a meat market, which Lisa thought was a strange choice of trade advertisement. Yet she was glad that her charge was showing interest in everything, seeming to have recovered remarkably well from the experience on the train. Not for the first time Lisa felt that she and Minnie could truly have been sisters, for they were both survivors, each with a will that matched the other’s to get through everything somehow.