“You’ll have solid-gray hair, Robert Fortune, just like your father.”
“And Sammy. He’s been gray since he was twenty-five.” Robert took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “We haven’t all lived in the same place since … since Mama died.”
Jamie Sue stretched her arms out and could feel stiffness and pain at the base of her back after several days on the train. “I predict you’ll make a quick adjustment.”
“How about you?”
“I’m looking forward to settling in. But I’ll have to get used to it,” she admitted. “I’ll be only one of many Mrs. Fortunes. Rebekah is the queen. Abby’s the one with stunning looks, … and Dacee June … well, there is no one on earth like Dacee June Fortune Toluca.”
“The whole family is defined by our relationship with Lil’ Sis, aren’t we?” Robert concurred.
“Yes, and I’m just not quite sure where that leaves me.” She stood and rested her hands on her lower back. “Where do I fit in?”
Robert pulled her over toward his knees, tugged her around, then began kneading his thumbs into her lower back. “You’re my darlin’ Jamie Sue, the original heartthrob of the Black Hills. There wasn’t a prospector in ’75 who didn’t stare at that handbill of yours and dream,” Robert grinned.
“That was a long, long time ago.” She flinched. “Just a little higher.”
“Not for me, it wasn’t,” he replied. “It seems like yesterday that I came through that blizzard on the prairie and you bushwhacked me. How’s that?”
“Bushwhacked you? You wrestled me to the ground, and we hadn’t even been introduced. Oh, yes … right there … oh my, I think I’m in heaven,” she moaned as he continued the massage.
“Wrestled you to the ground? You tried to bust my skull!”
She sat on his knee as they laughed.
“We’ve been bushwhackin’ and wrestlin’ ever since, haven’t we?” He slipped his arms around her.
She leaned her back against his chest. “Are you bragging or complaining, Robert Fortune?”
“I am continually amazed that a woman of your beauty and charm ever wanted to put up with the likes of me.”
“Are you trying to sweet-talk me like you do the twins?” she pressed.
“Did it work?”
“Yes, it did.” She turned her head back and kissed his narrow, slightly chapped lips. Then she scooted over on the log next to him and surveyed the crowd until she spotted her daughters. “But I’ll never know how in the world you three Fortune boys turned out to be such smooth talkers growing up with Daddy Brazos’s rough, blunt ways.”
“Ah, Jamie Sue, you never knew our Mama.”
Some of the passengers had pulled out dinner baskets and were picnicking on the hillside by the time the sheriff and his men drove up. They brought a doctor, two train officials, a buckboard wagon, and several outriders with them.
Robert spent a half-hour explaining the entire capture scene to the lawman and officials of the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad. Soon after, the engine was stoked, the whistle sounded, and the livestock and passengers, including the Fortunes, were reloaded.
“His name is Harold McGinnis, but everyone calls him Curly Mac,” Veronica reported, her lace-up boots dancing with each word.
Patricia bit her lower lip. “He’s almost as old as Little Frank.”
“He used to live in El Paso.”
“And Las Cruces.”
“And Santa Fe,” Veronica added.
“And Durango,” Patricia blurted out.
“And Denver.”
“And Ft. Laramie.”
“And Custer City.”
“But now he’s going to Central City,” Patricia declared.
Veronica untied the lacy bow at her waist, then retied it. “And he’s going to visit his aunt in Central City.”
Robert glanced over at his wife. “I presume we’re talking about the blond-headed boy.”
“No doubt.” Jamie Sue squinted at Veronica. “You have a smudge on your chin.”
Both girls wiped their faces.
“He can’t tell us apart,” Veronica added.
“Very few people can.” Jamie Sue studied her daughters. How can that same wisp of hair fall out of their hats at the same time and droop in identical fashion across their foreheads?
“Veronica pinched him and then said she was me,” Patricia reported.
“You did what?” Jamie Sue gasped.
“He was showing us his muscles and he …”
Robert felt his neck stiffen. “His what?”
“The muscles on his arms, Daddy. He bet I couldn’t even pinch him there he was so strong. So I pinched him.”
Patricia chewed on her lower lip. “Veronica made him cry.”
“I did not. He said some dust got in his eyes.”
“Well, why did you tell him you were me?”
“I was afraid he would get mad.”
“Did he get mad?” Jamie Sue asked.
“No, but he did quit bragging about his muscles,” Veronica announced.
“Well, you shouldn’t have touched him. Touching could produce sinful thoughts,” Jamie Sue warned.
Veronica grinned. “In me, or in Curly Mac?”
“The only thought in his mind was pain!” Patricia added.
Jamie Sue tapped Veronica’s bouncing knee. “You are not building a ladylike reputation, Veronica Ruth Fortune.”
Veronica stopped bouncing her knee. “That’s OK,” she smirked. “He thought I was Patricia.” Her toes began to tap.
“Trisha and ’Nica should have come down with me to look at the racehorses.”
“We are not allowed out of Daddy’s sight!”
“Veronica!” Jamie Sue scolded.
“Sorry.”
“Did you know that dark chestnut is over sixteen hands?” Little Frank continued. “I bet he’s going to win the race!”
“You will not wager on the horse race.” Jamie Sue sighed. “Robert, your children have lived around too many forts and too many soldiers.”
As the train picked up steam and resumed full speed, a man with a dark brown wool suit and leather vest strolled into the car and down to their seats. “Mr. Fortune, may I have a word with you?”
Robert turned to Jamie Sue. “This is Mr. Vanborg, a railroad supervisor.”
The man with a thick gray mustache tipped his round hat. “Actually, I’m the vice-president of the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad. I just happened to be in the Rapid City office when we got word of the attempted holdup. Mrs. Fortune, I want to thank you and the children personally for assisting in capturing the train robbers.”
“Mr. Vanborg, I confess I thought only about protecting my children, not your railroad.”
“I completely understand. Thank you for your courage, anyway.” He leaned closer to Robert Fortune. “I thought perhaps we could step to the back of the car where we could have some privacy.”
“Why don’t you just sit down on the seat across from us?” Robert suggested. “Jamie Sue and I have never kept anything from each other. This way I won’t have to repeat what you say word for word.”
“Well … yes … certainly …” Vanborg perched himself on the edge of the leather seat across the narrow aisle. “Mr. Fortune, I believe in getting to the point. I’d like to hire you to go to work for the railroad.”
Robert didn’t even look back at his wife. “Thank you, Mr. Vanborg, but I’m not looking for a job.”
“I’m glad for that. The unemployed are not always the most stable workers. But I do have an offer I’d like you to consider.”
“What do you want my husband to do?” Jamie Sue asked.
“As you probably know, this route is new, just completed right after Christmas. I’d like to hire you to be in charge of train security between Deadwood and Rapid City. It’s our most troublesome division of the line, and often we have shipments from the mines. We need to be able to tell the mine owner this is the s
afest stretch of railway in the West.”
“I suppose today’s adventures will not help your reputation for safety,” Jamie Sue offered.
“Yes and no,” he replied. “Thanks to you folks, not one penny was lost, not one passenger hurt. We can’t do anything to stop people from trying to rob our trains. However, we can do a lot to see that they don’t succeed.”
“And it would help you to hire the man who stopped the robbers today?” she asked.
“Precisely.”
“You want me to ride shotgun for a train full of gold?” Robert asked.
“It’s much broader than that. I see you as running the security operation. I’d want you to hire two men. Then you would set up a schedule where one of the three of you is on every train, providing the first line of defense against attacks.”
“It sounds dangerous,” Veronica added.
Vanborg glanced at the children. “It’s no more dangerous than any lawman’s job. I think once the word of what happened today gets around, there will be very few who want to take on the man who stopped the Wild Bunch.”
“The Wild Bunch?” Patricia quizzed.
“That’s what they like to call themselves.”
“I never heard of them,” Robert admitted. “They’ve actually been successful?”
“Mainly in Nevada and Wyoming,” Vanborg reported.
“I understand your need, but I’m committed to helping out in a new family business,” Robert declared. “I don’t believe I could consider backing out without discussing it with all of them.”
“Let me make the full proposal, then you and Mrs. Fortune and any others can think and pray about it for a while.”
“Why did you say, ‘pray about it’?” Jamie Sue quizzed. “Are you a Christian, Mr. Vanborg?”
He pulled off his hat and nodded, “Yes ma’am, I am. I sensed that about your husband as well. That’s what makes me even more convinced he is the right man for the job. I don’t need a violent man. I need a compassionate man that won’t tolerate violence.”
“I appreciate your explaining it that way,” Jamie Sue said.
Vanborg pulled some folded papers out of his suit pocket. “Here’s my offer. You would get an office in Deadwood and could share our office in Rapid City. It’s very modern with a typewriting machine and all. That way you’ll have one at either end of your run. Like I said, you would be able to hire any two men you want to work with you to rotate duty on every train that runs through the Black Hills. In exchange, we will pay your total expenses, furnish guns, ammunition, room, and board while away from home … plus …” he glanced over at the three children.
“It’s alright, Mr. Vanborg, we don’t keep secrets from our children either.”
Vanborg cleared his throat. “I would like to offer you $350 per month and $250 a month for each assistant.”
Jamie Sue sat back in the seat. “That’s a lot of money.”
“It’s an extremely important position, and we need to hire the best man available. Plus, you and your family would have a free pass to ride on the Elkhorn, Fremont, and Missouri Valley Railroad any time you please,” Vanborg added.
“That’s a generous offer, Mr. Vanborg,” Robert insisted. “But I do have a commitment to my family in Deadwood. It’s not something I could back away from easily, even if I wanted to.”
“Mr. Fortune, the mines in the Black Hills are some of the richest left in our country. We would like to be able to guarantee that gold is safe on the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley. But even more important to me, I don’t want any women or children ever threatened or in peril as yours were today.” Vanborg stood and replaced his hat. “I saw the results of your quick thinking. Anyone else will be pure speculation. I believe you are the exact person for the job. May I contact you in a few days in Deadwood?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure I’m your man,” Robert replied.
“Where can I find you?” Vanborg asked.
Robert glanced over at Jamie Sue. “I’ll either be at Fortune & Son Hardware … Fortune and Troop Lumberyard, or S. Houston Fortune’s Telephone Exchange.”
The nobby dressed, gray-haired man pulled out a white linen handkerchief and wiped his forehead. “My word, it sounds like your father and brothers run the whole town.”
Robert leaned back against the stiff, slick leather rail car seat. “Oh no, Daddy and my brothers just own the businesses. It’s my sister and my sisters-in-law that run the whole town.”
CHAPTER TWO
Patricia, Veronica, and Little Frank had their faces pressed to the clear glass window as the train slowed down entering Deadwood.
“I don’t see them yet,” Veronica whined. Her straw hat tumbled off the back of her light brown hair as she scooted away from the window. She retied the green hat ribbon under her chin.
Little Frank tapped the baseball bat against the side of his worn brown boot. “Maybe they are all on the other side.”
Patricia chewed her lower lip. “How many do you think will be waiting for us?”
“Everybody will be here. I just know it!” Veronica reached under her long white dress and tugged up her white socks.
Patricia checked her own socks and pulled at them even though they didn’t need it. “I had a dream that everyone was waiting for us and there was a big parade for us down Main Street …” she began.
“… and we were riding on top of a stagecoach pulled by …” Veronica interrupted.
Patricia waved her hands as she continued the dream, “… six white horses and Grandpa Brazos …”
Veronica bounced up and down on the heels of her shoes. “… was driving it and …”
“I was sitting right next to him!” Patricia triumphed.
“You were not. I was sitting next to him and you were next to me,” Veronica insisted.
“Whoa!” Little Frank interjected. “You two even share the same dreams?”
Patricia and Veronica glanced at each other and blushed.
“Eh, sometimes …” Patricia murmured.
“Anyway,” Veronica glanced out the window at brick buildings slowly passing by, “I’ll bet everyone in the family will be waiting for us.”
“Not everyone,” Robert cautioned. “Remember, there are businesses to operate. They aren’t going to close down the stores just to greet us at the train. We aren’t coming for a visit. They’ll get to see us most every day from now on.”
Jamie Sue folded her lap blanket and stuffed it into the brown satchel. “I would guess Uncle Sammy, Aunt Dacee June, maybe Rebekah, and some of the older cousins will be there.”
“How about Grandpa?” Little Frank pressed. “I bet I’m taller than him now.”
“If he gets any more stooped, we’ll all be taller than him,” Jamie Sue offered. “If he’s feeling well, he will certainly be here.”
“Grandpa will,” Veronica said.
“Grandpa is always the first to greet us,” Patricia added.
Robert pulled various satchels out from under the seats. “Remember, we’re three hours late. They have other chores to do, I’m sure, besides sit on a depot bench and wait for a train. So don’t be disappointed if only a couple of them are waiting for us.”
A whistle pierced the air. Steam flew from the sliding wheels and the steel tracks rattled as the train rumbled to a full stop.
“But the railroad telegraphed ahead and told them we were delayed.” Veronica stared across the passenger-clogged aisle of the train.
Little Frank stared out the window toward the west. “Daddy, how come there is so much smoke in the gulch?”
Robert glanced at the buildings on Main Street. “Perhaps it’s drifting down from the mines.
“It’s not like living in the clear, clean air of the desert.” Jamie Sue rubbed her eyes. She could feel the taut, dry skin of her cheeks and forehead.
Little Frank was last down the aisle, his baseball bat slung over his shoulder, a satchel clutched in his hand. “I don’t remember this much smoke oth
er times we’ve been here.”
“Perhaps there is a fire.” Veronica fingered the silver necklace draped around her neck.
“Most of the downtown buildings are now built of brick.” Patricia seized her bag with both hands. “Grandpa told me fire wasn’t as big a worry as it used to be.”
Robert motioned back toward the seats. “Make sure we gathered up everything, then let’s go find the Fortune family welcoming committee.”
Jamie Sue, Veronica, and Patricia sat on the dark green painted wooden bench in front of the depot. Little Frank leaned against a street lamp pole when Robert stomped back from the baggage car.
“What’s the matter, Daddy?” Veronica called out.
He rubbed his beard, then propped his hands on his hips. “Our trunks and suitcases are not on board the train. I can’t believe the inefficiency of such an outfit. If I had a quartermaster do this to me, he’d be a private by now!” Robert fumed.
“At ease, Captain Fortune,” Jamie Sue cautioned.
“This is no light matter!” he grumped.
“And there is absolutely nothing we can do about it,” she countered.
“You mean, they lost all of our belongings?” Veronica gasped.
“I don’t suppose they are lost.” Jamie Sue’s voice was soft. “They just aren’t on this train.”
“I can’t believe this! Everything in my satchel is dirty and wrinkled,” Patricia wailed.
Jamie Sue glanced around the platform and tried to smooth down the white lace yoke on her dress. “I’m sure our things will arrive on the next train.”
“Do you see Uncle Sammy or Aunt Dacee June or anyone?” Little Frank pressed.
Robert surveyed the depot. “There doesn’t seem to be a Fortune in sight.”
In the distance, the rattle of fast-rolling wagons and the shouts of men could be heard.
Patricia rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. “This isn’t the way I thought it would be.” Veronica began rubbing her nose too.
Robert plucked up a satchel in each hand. “Let’s walk over to the hardware. We can’t expect they would just sit here all day long.”
Thick clouds of gray smoke drifted down the Whitewood Gulch. They gathered up suitcases and string-tied cartons, then hiked toward Main Street. They waited at the curb as a water wagon rumbled by them. Robert tugged down his hat and led the troupe across the empty dirt street.
Friends and Enemies Page 3