The Return of the Freedom Thief

by Mikki Sadil

  “General MacPhee sent me.”

  “Yeah? And just what did this General MacPhee tell you about us?”

  Ben shrugged. “Not much. Your names are Sam, Joe, and Finn. You’re supposed to do something to a supply train headed for Sharpsburg, and I’m supposed to help you do whatever it is you’re going to do.”

  The men looked at each other. One said, “Okay, that sounds about right. I’m Finn, and I run this outfit. The guy with the beard is Joe, the one with the hat he never takes off is Sam. What should I call you?”

  “I’m Ben.”

  “Pull up a seat and sit down, Ben. Let’s talk about this.”

  Finn spread out a map on the table. “Okay, this is what’s going to happen. The train stops here, people get off and get on. We get on. Then,” he pointed to a stop further north on the map, “this is another stop. Here is where Confederate supplies are loaded on, and most of the people get off. The few that stay on are plain clothes detectives with their own personal arsenal of guns. They have a lot, and they’re there to see to it people like us don’t interfere. The important part of this is that they all stay together in the one passenger car. That make it easier for us to work the rest of the plan.”

  “And what’s the rest of the plan?”

  Sam with the hat spoke for the first time. “Hey, you don’t need to know nothin’ more ‘til the time comes.”

  Ben shook his head. “No, I’m not going into this blind. I know nothing about trains, and I told the General this. He still sent me here. So you tell me what the whole plan is, or I’m leaving right now.”

  Finn looked at the other two men, and shrugged. “Okay, this is exactly what we’re going to do. The supply trains are notoriously slow. It will take hours for this train to get to Sharpsburg once it’s loaded. Okay, here,” he pointed to a place on the map, marked with a red X, “the train’s going to stop, and another engine is going to be hooked up to the rear car. When…”

  “Wait a minute. Why is that going to happen? I don’t…”

  “If you wouldn’t interrupt, I could tell the whole story. Just shut up and listen. This place is called a ‘turn-around.’ When a train is loaded down, the engine can’t pull it up this hill that you see here.” Again he pointed to a place on the map, marked with a large arrow. “This hill is just a couple of miles outside of Sharpsburg, and is really steep. Another engine will be waiting at the turn-around, and will be fastened on to the last car. Now the train will be both pulled and pushed up the hill. Our job is simple: when the train gets to the top of the hill, we unhook the front engine, and gravity plus the weight of the cars will send the train crashing down the hill. It’ll take out the back engine, and explode. No more artillery supplies for the Confederates, and the railroad itself will be unusable for a long time.”

  Ben sat and thought about this for a while. “Okay, so what is my part in all of this? I couldn’t unhook a train engine. I don’t even know how they fasten to the cars in the first place.”

  “Your job is to make sure the detectives don’t get out when the train starts to move backwards.” Finn sighed, and shook his head. “Never had to explain every little detail before. Okay, when everybody gets off, there’s about a ten minute stop while the supplies are loaded on. While that’s being done, there’s another member of our group who will put a couple of heavy boards down on the front and back vestibules of the passenger car. When that’s done, you and Joe will get up on the roof of the car, and wait. Sam and me will be getting on the front flatbed behind the engine. Soon as the train gets moving up that hill, you and Joe will board up the front and rear doors of the passenger car. When we unhitch the front engine and the train starts backwards, the detectives will try to get out and can’t, if you and Joe do your job right.”

  “Let me get this straight: Joe and I board up the doors where the detectives are so they can’t get out when the train moves backwards. You mean they are all going to die when the train crashes? And where will Joe and I be when that train starts going downhill?”

  The three men looked at each other and laughed. Finn said while fighting chuckles, “It’s easy to see you’ve never done anything like this before, right? Okay, the detectives can jump out the windows, if they’ve got any sense, that is. As for you and Joe, I’d expect the two of you to get off the train before it starts its downhill run.” He laughed again.

  Joe stopped chortling long enough to say, “Yeah, young feller, we be getting’ off that train faster than a skunk can let go his stink. But I ain’t stayin’ around to help ye, so ye better know how to jump. Ye break a leg, boy, and ye’re on yer own,”

  Finn said impatiently, “Aw, let it alone, Joe. You know dang good and well you’d not leave him. Now let’s…”

  “Just a minute. If Joe and I are on top of the last car, that means you and Sam unbuckle the front engine. So do you two just jump off then, too? And what happens after we jump? Where do we go?”

  All three stared at Ben in disbelief. Sam and Joe shook their heads, while Finn opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. Finally, Finn said, “You know, Ben, we’ve been doing this spy thing a long time. Gotten to know some others who work against the Rebels. But I’ve never known anybody who wanted all the details before they did their job. What happens after we’ve done our job, and gotten this dang train to slide backwards remains to be seen. Now, are you with us or not?”

  “Yeah, I’m with you. As for the cars sliding back downhill, though…what about the back engine? It won’t be able to keep on pushing the cars uphill to prevent the crash?”

  Finn tapped his fingers on the table. “I guess you really don’t know anything about trains. Ben, the Southern trains are in bad shape. I don’t know why, except you Southerners never seemed to see the value of the railroads. All the engines need parts and a lot of work to keep them in shape. Union trains run at about twenty-five to forty-five miles an hour, depending on their loads. These engines here are in such bad need of repair that they get up to only about twenty miles an hour, and that’s only with a few passenger cars. Going up this steep hill, the train with both engines will still be doing only about ten miles an hour. With the front engine gone, those heavy cars and flatbeds with the artillery are going to pick up speed going downhill, and they’ll run over the back engine. That will cause the derailment, and the explosion of the ammunition on board.”

  Ben nodded. “Okay, I can see that. Just never realized our trains were so bad. I’ve never even been on one. We didn’t have many in Kentucky. Most everyone relies on horses and wagons and carriages.”

  He looked around at the three men. “Now what?”

  Finn pointed to a spot on the map. “This is where we do our thing. A mile north will be some others with our horses. Once we’re off the train, we skedaddle out of there fast as we can. We don’t stick around to see what happens, understand? Also, you keep that pistol of yours handy, just in case any of those detectives decide to come after us. You do know how to use that thing, right?”

  Ben nodded. “It’s just…I’ve never had to shoot at a person before.”

  Joe snorted. “Well, ye better give up on that notion. If one a them lawman’s shootin’ at ye, he be shootin’ at alla us, and I fer one ain’t afraid to shoot back. If it’s me or them, ye be dang sure it ain’t gonna be me.”

  Sam looked at Ben, and drawled, “If you can’t bring yourself to save your own life, just don’t get in the crossfire. I look out for number one if I have to draw my gun, so don’t get in my way.”

  Ben was very uncomfortable. He didn’t want these men to think he was some kind of coward, he just wanted them to understand he had never had to defend himself in any kind of gun battle.

  Finn spoke impatiently. “Enough claptrap about shoot-outs. Those lawmen aren’t gonna be thinking about anything but getting themselves off that train all in one piece. And then hightailing it away from there. Time to be getting out of here. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  A Tra
in and a Job Well Done

  The train whistle came screeching through the early evening air. Loud and eerie, it sounded to Ben like the scream of a dying animal. He shivered, but as he looked around, none of the few people waiting on the wooden platform even seemed to notice. I guess they don’t pay any mind to the trains. If all of them sound like this, don’t think I could get used to it very soon.

  A few minutes later, the train pulled up and stopped with another screech of its brakes, causing the cars behind it to each shake a bit as they came to a halt. Since the locomotive was the only car to have brakes, stopping was not a smooth process. Ben watched as two crewmen jumped out of the cab and raced to a spot at the end of the station walkway where there was a huge stack of wood. The men started taking pieces of these short but heavy logs back to the small tender at the back of the engine. It was backbreaking and time-consuming work, and Ben thought about going over and helping. As he started in that direction, a hand came from behind him and clasped his shoulder.

  “Time to get on the train, Ben. There’s only the one passenger car, so sit up as close to the front of the car as you can. We’ll be getting on one at a time. No reason to make anyone suspicious at four men getting on together.” Finn’s voice was quiet.

  Ben nodded, and walked back to the passenger car. He waited for two women and a young child to climb aboard first. When he entered, the first thing he noticed was a group of eight men sitting silently at the very back, four in facing seats on each side of the car. They were dressed in the tell-tale garb of the detective: grey or black pants, matching coats with leather inserts at the elbows, plain white or grey shirts, black ties, and black hats. It wasn’t necessary to see the weapons at their waists or the rifles laid neatly on the floor to know they were lawmen.

  He took the second seat from the front, which put him right behind the women and little boy. He watched two other men board and take seats closer to the back, two more women who sat about mid-car, and then Finn, Joe, and Sam came aboard, one at a time. Each took a separate seat, but as close to the front as they could. Finn took out a newspaper, Joe looked out the window, and Sam seemed to slide down in his seat as though preparing for a nap. Ben slid closer to his window, and risked turning his head towards the back of the car. None of the detectives appeared to be paying any attention to anyone in the car, but Ben knew that didn’t mean anything. If they were worth their salt, they already knew what each person looked like, including the child, and could probably describe them for a “Wanted” poster.

  The train blew its weird whistle again, and began moving slowly away from the station. Ben looked out and saw the plume of thick black smoke curling towards the sky. It was soon apparent that the train was moving at the pace of a large snail, so Ben settled back on the hard wooden seat, and closed his eyes. He didn’t believe he could sleep with all the chatter from the passengers, all talking loudly to be heard over the rumble of the train, but soon all thoughts left his mind…

  He came awake with a start, as a child’s voice said, “Mister! Hey, Mister, you better wake up. We gots to get off this train, right now, don’t we, Mum?” The little boy in front of him was leaning over the back of his seat, and banging a wooden toy against the seat.

  Ben sat up quickly and looked around. As slow as the train had been going, it was now even slower, and again, the weird screech of the whistle rent the early evening air.

  One of the women turned around, and pushed the little boy down and away from the back of the seat. She looked at Ben, and smiled. “I’m sorry he woke you up. But he’s right, we will all be getting off in just a few minutes. He was worried you’d be left on the train. You know how children are.”

  Ben didn’t really know much about children, but he nodded. “It’s all right, I’m glad he woke me up. Do you ladies need help getting off the train?”

  She smiled again, and turned around. “No, but thanks anyway.”

  The train came to a shaky and noisy stop, then blew its whistle again. Being inside the car made the sound even louder and more screechy than before, and it made Ben’s ears ring. He shook his head, and waited for people to start moving towards the door. The two women with the little boy got off first, and then Finn walked past. When the other two men who looked to be businessmen of some kind walked past Ben, he stood up and followed them out the door. He hesitated on the platform, not sure what to do next. Sam and Joe came out, with Sam going towards the front of the train, while Joe lingered on the platform long enough to give Ben a barely discernable nod. Then he sauntered off towards the rear of the train.

  Ben followed him into the darkness. At the end of one of the supply cars, he made out a shadow, which he hoped was Joe. As he walked towards him, he heard the soldiers yelling back and forth, and knew they were preparing to load the flat cars with weapons, ammunition, and supplies. Joe climbed up on the flatbed he was standing next to, and motioned for Ben to follow him. They hurried across the flatbed, stepped cautiously down on the coupling, and climbed the ladder to the passenger car. As soon as both were on top of the car, Joe squatted down.

  “Sit ye’self down for a bit. We won’t be doin’ nothing’ ‘til the train starts to move again. Soon as it starts up the hill, that’s when we be doin’ out job.”

  Ben was uneasy. He knew there were three flatbed cars the soldiers were now piling high with Confederate Army supplies, but the passenger car was still there. Would anyone else be getting on to go to Sharpsburg? If so, he was getting off right now. He had no intention of being a part of any kind of espionage that included killing innocent people.

  “Joe,” he whispered. “Is anyone else getting on this car tonight, going up to Sharpsburg?”

  “Naw, there’s nobody gonna be in this car but them detectives. Finn made sure of that before we planned this. He don’t take to havin’ women and little children hurt. This here train only takes a few passengers to this stop.” He looked at Ben in the gloomy light from the one lantern on the platform.

  “It’s okay, sonny, we ain’t aimin’ for nobody to get hurt. Even them lawmen have plenty o’ time to get out when this here train starts runnin’ backwards.”

  Ben just nodded, not wanting Joe to think he was some kind of softie. He knew he could use his weapon to defend himself or others close to him, but when it came to innocent people being involved, that was a different story.

  They sat on the roof of the train car in silence. They heard the back engine being hooked up to this car then the only noise in the darkness was that of the soldiers piling the flatbed cars high with weapons and supplies. In only a few minutes, that noise stopped. The Captain in charge yelled a few orders, and the soldiers dispersed into the night. The train’s engineer and brakeman climbed back on board, and the train very slowly began to move. The eerie whistle sounded once more, then the only sound was that of the train moving sluggishly up the hill.

  The next hour passed as though it were an eternity. Once in a while, the screech of the whistle flew through the night, startling both the night birds and the other forest creatures on both sides of the track. Ben and Joe were silent, and occasionally when Ben looked over, Joe appeared to be sleeping. He wondered how anyone on this kind of dangerous mission could actually sleep before the action began.

  Joe sat up suddenly. He looked ahead of the train, and turned to Ben.

  “Okay, we’re almost at the top of the hill. Finn and Sam will be getting’ ready to uncouple the engine, an’ it won’t take even a minit for them cars to start slidin’ downhill. Ye take the front door, put them boards in place, and then jump. Jump high and far, ye miss them tracks or we be findin’ pieces of ye. Unnerstand? Any questions?”

  “No, I know what to do. When do we meet up?”

  “When Finn and Sam catch up to ye. Don’t worry none, nobody’s be leavin’ ye behind. Now get goin’.”

  Ben stood and walked up the roof to the front of the passenger train. He climbed carefully down the ladder, and crawled beneath the window in the door. On the o
ther side of the door were two large boards. He peeked into the window, and saw the lawmen at the back of the car where they had been all along. Only now, they were obviously alert, sitting up straight, and all of them had their rifles in hand. They were ready for trouble.

  He picked up one board and stood with it in his hands. Just as he started to slide it into the first handrail on his side of the door, the train lurched. He fell back against the siding with a loud thump. At that moment, he felt the car begin to move faster than it had been, and he realized Finn and Sam had already uncoupled the engine. The heavily laden flatcars were beginning their downslide.

  He steadied himself, but just as he slid the first board through one handrail, across the door and into the one on the far side, a face appeared in the door’s window. The Marshals had heard the noise when he fell against the siding.

  “Hey, there’s someone out here! Get him!”

  The Marshal slammed his rifle against the window, splintering the glass into shards, and fired just as Ben shoved the second board across the door. The bullet missed him by a hair. The lawman fired again, and Ben fell onto the three steps that led from the car to the ground. As he tried to right himself, he saw the ground speeding by, and knew the flatbed cars were gaining speed as they went into their downhill slide. If he didn’t jump now, it would be too late.

  He heard glass crashing everywhere in the car, and shouts coming from all the Marshals. They obviously had tried to get out the back door, and couldn’t. The Marshal fired again from the smashed front window, but Ben didn’t wait to hear anything more. He stood on the bottom step, said a quick prayer, and launched himself away from the now speeding train. He hit the ground hard, and began rolling down the hill. A tree stopped his movement. He lay against the tree, stunned, scratched, and bleeding. Minutes passed. He heard glass breaking and the lawmen yelling, and then the noise of the fast moving flatbed cars diminished as they flew by.