Canadian Red

by R. W. Stone

  As he looked out, taking in the panoramic view, a rumbling noise began and grew louder to his left across the valley. Startled, Lucas looked over, and to his horror he saw an avalanche come crashing down on the tracks around a curve still some distance from the train, but in its path. The Mountie knew instinctively that at the speed the train was traveling, its engineer would never be able to stop the train in time. He wouldn’t even see the huge mound of snow because of its location on the far side of a curve in the tracks.

  Lucas’ heart began to pound. He knew this was a passenger train, and if it hit the massive snowbank with any kind of speed, there would be a derailment and certainly a loss of lives. The problem for him was how to signal the train from his location way up on the crest of the hill. Shouting or even shooting wouldn’t be heard over the sound of the train engine, especially at this distance, and even if the engineer did hear the gunfire, he wouldn’t know that it was a warning.

  Donovan looked down into the valley. The slope he was on was practically vertical, so it would be impossible to run a dog team straight down it. There was simply no way dogs could run straight downhill with all that weight behind them. The sled would pick up too much speed, overtake them, and because they would not be able to free themselves, they would be dragged and tossed about, and more than likely end up being killed. The Mountie shook his head as he scanned the land, trying to come up with a way to stop the train. Then it came to him—just what had to be done, even though it was a risky—and Lucas quickly unhitched the team and pushed the sled to the brink.

  It would take far too much time to travel all the way around the hill and down into the valley with the dogs. What he had in mind would probably be suicidal, but he knew it was his best chance at stopping the train. There were lives at stake, so he had to do something, and he couldn’t come up with any other ideas. He unharnessed the excited dogs, and then stowed the equipment on the sled to give it weight. He gestured for Red to follow the trail with the other dogs and hoped he would know what to do once he saw the sled take off.

  Climbing aboard the sled, Lucas took in deep breaths, then shook his head as he looked down the slope, recalling the foolish stunt he had tried as a young boy which had nearly cost him his life. Lord knows, he’d come close to death several times over the years. In lieu of a prayer, he said aloud: “I may be joining you soon, Brother, so if you can put in a good word for me with the boss, I’d surely appreciate it.”

  Someone once said that courage is being afraid, but saddling up anyway, and now Lucas Donovan was about to saddle up.

  The young Mountie knew that Red would find a safe way down into the valley and he would bring the other sled dogs with him. What he didn’t know was whether or not he would still be alive when they finally found their way down to him.

  Lucas let out a yell and pushed off. The dogs started barking.

  The momentum of the sled increased so quickly it took Donovan’s breath away. It felt to him as though he were flying straight down the slope. Donovan had to force himself to keep his eyes open, since he needed to watch out for any obstacles along the way—even if most were buried under the snow. At this angle and speed, even a small rock or branch would send him flying into the hereafter.

  Flattening himself out, Lucas used his body to rock the sled, making small adjustments in direction as he plummeted downward. Twice the sled went airborne, but luckily both times it landed upright on its rails as it continued on its downhill trajectory.

  “Lordy mercy, Mother Mary, and all the saints in heaven!” Lucas yelled as the sled flew downward. Slowly the land began to level out, but the sled maintained its speed like an unstoppable projectile, shooting across the valley floor. When it finally hit the railway tracks, the sled flipped end over end and across to the other side of the embankment. Lucas was thrown more than ten feet into a nearby snowdrift.

  Miraculously, the Mountie wasn’t hurt. Dazed for a minute, he forced himself upright, cleared the snow from his face, and tried to steady himself. His knees were still trembling, and he was trying to catch his breath and gather his thoughts as he swallowed down an urge to vomit. It was then that the sound of the train whistle brought him back to his mission.

  Lucas stumbled over to the sled, threw off his bag, and dragged the sled onto the tracks. He grabbed the Sharps rifle and a few other items from the pack and tossed them out of the way. Then he opened his traveling medical pouch, removed a small bottle of alcohol and proceeded to wet a patch of the sled. Lucas couldn’t locate his fire starter as he dug through the pack, but fortunately he had a small matchbox in his front pocket. Still shaking from the downhill experience, Lucas tried to light a match. The first one wouldn’t light; the second was blown out by the wind. All the while the train was rapidly approaching.

  “Come on, Lord, a little help right about now would be nice,” he said in exasperation, just as the last match in the box took hold and started the alcohol ablaze.

  As the train approached, Lucas stood up and started waving his arms back and forth as the flames from the burning sled grew taller. Soon smoke began to billow around him, but as the train engine kept bearing down on him, all he could do was yell at the top of his lungs: “Stop, damn you! Stop!”

  Almost as if on cue, the engineer pulled back on the air brakes, and the wheels reversed themselves, bringing the train to a halt less than a hundred yards from Donovan’s position on the tracks. The young Mountie sighed with relief before collapsing to his knees.

  Chapter Eleven

  The engineers and the railroad personnel appeared slowly, jumping down from the train cars to investigate the crazy man on the tracks. Donovan was helped up by the conductor, and, after his heart slowed down, he explained in a hoarse voice why he had stopped them. The men surrounding him, at first angry and suspicious, were now relieved to learn how they had been spared from a sure disaster. They clapped him on the back and couldn’t stop thanking him. As he stood talking with the head conductor, an older man named Herman, a few crew members headed back to the train to retrieve shovels.

  Then Lucas heard the barking of Red and the rest of the sled dogs. He could barely call out Red’s name, but soon the team came bounding down the hill and across the level ground. Red almost bowled over his master in his joy at having found him.

  “That’s a damned big dog you got there, son,” Herman remarked, as he smiled and ruffled Red’s head.

  Lucas had to push Red back to stop him from licking his face. “You’re right about that,” he replied, “but there isn’t a better sled team leader in the province.” Looking over his shoulder, he shook his head and shrugged. “I sure hope you have a lot of shovels on the train. It’s a big mound of snow.”

  “Shovels we got. Now the question is, how long is it going to take to clear the tracks and get out of here?” Herman asked, scratching his head.

  The passengers who had emerged began to form a circle around the strange snow-covered man who had saved them and the train. “How about it folks?” Lucas asked. He held up his badge and waved it around for all to see. “I’m with the NWMP. What do you say … can we count on your help to dig out and clean off these tracks, so we can get this train moving again? It may take a while, even with everyone pitching in.”

  A young woman pushed through the crowd and looked deeply into the eyes of the Mountie. Lucas couldn’t help but feel a tightening in his chest. She had the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Her eyes seemed to sparkle and were an unusual shade of violet.

  “Before anything gets started here, I think something needs to be said,” she announced, still staring at him as if she were sizing up a prize bull for sale.

  Oh, great, Lucas thought to himself. This is where I get blamed for delaying the train.

  “I think we need to thank this man for saving our lives,” she said, smiling. The passengers who had gathered outside broke into applause and several cheered. Donovan blushed, which
clearly did not go unnoticed by the young lady with the violet eyes. “And please, for heaven’s sake, don’t tell us you were just doing your job,” she added.

  The Mountie laughed, trying hard not to fixate on her eyes. He forced himself to look away, adjusting his hat as he turned to the train crew. “How about we start distributing those shovels?”

  Passengers who could not shovel, for whatever reason, insisted on staying outside. Several men returned to the train and located a couple of axes. Within no time, several small trees were felled and cut up, and fires were started near the train and over at the avalanche area. Blankets were brought to help fend off the cold by anyone who needed them. The able men grabbed up the picks and shovels they could find and began the long and arduous job of clearing passage for the train.

  They attacked the mountain of snow in shifts. Passengers and crew worked the rest of the afternoon, through the night, and most of the next morning before the train could make its way down the tracks. As the men worked, many of the women passengers helped make and distribute hot drinks as well as pass out and share whatever meager snacks they could locate on the train or from their personal belongings.

  At one point in the night, when Donovan was taking a break, the young woman who had spoken out earlier passed by with a tray of crackers and a pot of hot tea. Donovan had since learned that her last name was Marston.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Lucas said as she poured him a cup of hot tea.

  “Vicki,” she replied.

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “My name is Victoria Marston. My friends call me Vicki.”

  The Mountie nodded. He had known other women before, but none had ever had the ability to make him feel so inept and tongue-tied. “Thanks,” he managed to finally get out. “I’m Lucas. Corporal Lucas Donovan at your service.”

  The woman laughed aloud. “Pardon me,” she said, a little flustered. “But I’m always tickled by how polite all you Canadians are.”

  “You aren’t from around here?” Lucas asked, surprised.

  She shook her head. “Yankee, born and bred.”

  Donovan just smiled and shrugged his shoulders, trying hard to think of something to keep the conversation going. “So, how’d you come to be on the train? I mean, that is, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Why would I?” Vicki replied, smiling. “After all, you just saved my life, and, as far as I know, I’m not under investigation by the North-West Mounted Police.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that. I could start questioning you right now …,” Donovan declared with a smile, starting to feel a little more comfortable.

  “Well, well, so, he’s finally coming out of his shell,” she remarked with a sly grin. “If you must know, I was visiting my sister-in-law. Now I’m returning to my home back in the States.

  “Sister-in-law,” Lucas repeated, admittedly a little let down. He gulped down the tea.

  “My brother’s wife,” Vicki explained. “I was staying with her while he was away on a job.”

  “Oh, your brother’s … um … so … good. So, well … I’m heading down to the States myself,” Lucas offered, relieved that she might not be married.

  “Well, maybe we’ll get a chance to learn a little more about each other on the trip,” Vicki replied encouragingly. She held out the tray, so he could place the empty cup on it. “If we ever get going again, that is.”

  “I’d like that,” Lucas said, then his mind went blank for several moments. As she started to step away, he said rather too loudly: “And thanks for the tea.” Again, he was at a loss for words, so he smiled, picked up his shovel, and stated the obvious: “Well, I guess I’d better get back to it. The snow isn’t going to shovel itself.”

  Vicki looked back at all the men shoveling snow off the tracks. “You are absolutely right, Corporal Donovan.” She smiled at the young Mountie, and then headed off to the shelter of the train.

  It was near noon when the engineer and the crew agreed that enough snow had been cleared from the tracks and that they had enough steam to get the train rolling again. The crew and passengers returned to the train, and the sled dogs were put in one of the spare cars.

  Several hours later they arrived at the next station, where there would be a two-hour layover before the train headed south again, down toward the border crossing.

  Lucas arranged with the stationmaster to shelter his dog team, and then sent word to the fort that the team was ready to be picked up the next time someone with the force was in the area. The stationmaster was able to accommodate the animals in the dog houses at the back of the building. Donovan also reported that the railroad’s stationmaster had assured him that, given the circumstances, the railroad company would be happy to make good on a replacement sled and anything else of importance that had been destroyed.

  With that, Donovan boarded the train with the red and white malamute by his side. He moved from the first passenger car to the next, hoping to find Miss Victoria Marston with an available seat beside her.

  Chapter Twelve

  With all the snow, it was a full two-day trip down to the border crossing, but as far as Corporal Lucas Donovan was concerned, time seemed to be going by much too quickly. Red didn’t seem to mind the journey. If he wasn’t asleep in the middle of the aisle, blocking the flow of passengers, he was playfully pacing back and forth among the passengers, wagging his tail and enjoying the attention he received as he moved from one end of the car to the other.

  As was to be expected with two young and attractive people, both Lucas and Vicki passed the time together, making small talk—mostly having to do with the landscape, the weather, or general news of the day.

  Eventually, Victoria inquired about his family, whether he had any brothers or sisters. Lucas became solemn and looked out the window. Immediately she knew she had said something wrong or asked something too personal. “I’m sorry …,” she stuttered, “if I … you don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.”

  “You needn’t apologize. It’s just that I recently lost my brother and I miss him.”

  “I am so sorry, Lucas,” Victoria said, placing her hand tentatively on his arm. “Sincerely, I am. If it’s not too painful, and you feel like talking about it, I’m a good listener.”

  Lucas looked at her and tried to smile. “Painful? What was painful was how we lost him. But my memories of Jamie are all good.”

  “What was he like?” she asked.

  “Well, for one thing we were identical twins, so obviously he was incredibly handsome,” he joked, trying to make Vicki feel comfortable. And to make himself feel better, too.

  “No doubt,” Vicki responded, then smiled.

  “We were different in many ways. He was older than me by twenty minutes, something he never let me forget. He was more of a thinker, if you know what I mean. He always wanted to study things, think carefully and methodically before moving ahead. And he was a better tracker than I was.” Lucas paused and smiled. “You could always count on him to be there when you needed him. No matter what was going on.”

  Vicki looked into Lucas’ eyes. “I suspect if he were asked, he would have said the same thing about you. So how did he die?”

  Lucas fidgeted in his seat and took a deep breath and decided he would tell her. “He was a Mountie, too … like me. The two of us were on the trail of an evil man in the back country, and Jamie and I were bushwhacked. You know, shot from hiding. I was hit, too, but just grazed. He was buried with full honors a few days ago.” Lucas realized he didn’t want to talk about Jamie’s death, especially with a virtual stranger, even if she was a very beautiful stranger. “I’m sorry, but can we please change the subject?”

  “Of course. I understand completely,” Vicki said.

  They both stared out the window, watching the falling snow. Donovan fell asleep for an hour. When he awoke, Vicki was still sitti
ng beside him.

  When she realized he was awake, she said very quickly: “So tell me about Red. Where in the world did you find such a noble beast?”

  At the sound of his name, the big malamute let out a bark and trotted over. The pair both started laughing, even though they didn’t really know why.

  * * * * *

  At least as far as Lucas was concerned, the time he spent with Vicki Marston was much too brief. But her presence was creating a dilemma for him. His opportunities to spend time with the female persuasion had been few and far between since grade school. He knew what he had to do, but he wanted to do something else. That something else was to follow Miss Marston, wherever she was going.

  When Lucas got off the train with Red, he gave a hand to the young woman who had made a big impression on him in a very short time. As he prepared to say goodbye to her, she said she wanted to get off the train and walk around for a bit.

  “I have to say I have enjoyed our time together, Miss Marston,” Donovan said.

  “Canadians … always so polite,” she said, shaking her head. “I told you to call me Vicki, remember?”

  Lucas nodded back with a grin. “Vicki it is then.”

  “So, I take it you’re not continuing on by train?” she commented.

  “No, sadly I’m not. I need to get some provisions here in town, and then I’ll be traveling cross country by horse. But, as I was about to say, I would really like to see you again sometime. I don’t know if that would be possible, but it’s what I would truly like.”

  Miss Marston tilted her head in an almost coquettish manner and smiled. “Really?” she asked.

  Lucas blushed a second time in her presence. Red looked up at him curiously and barked. “I mean, um … yes, of course I would like to continue our acquaintance. It’s just that I have pressing obligations that may take me … well, I don’t actually know where,” he stammered.