by CJ Quincy
“I want to give my heartfelt thanks to you all for coming out here and spending the day applying. Without you, this wouldn’t have been a possibility.” A scatter of applause rose from the group, and even some of the unfortunate who weren’t chosen joined in.
Samuel cleared his parched throat and continued. “For those of you who weren’t chosen, you won’t be forgotten. If we have an opening, you’ll be the first I turn to!” The applause erupted again. “And for those of you who are my new employees, welcome to The 777! Your first assignment is to come up and receive your position on the train.” Cheers rose from the crowd, and Samuel grinned while holding out his hands for quiet.
“We’re not done yet!” said Benjamin, laughing.
“I ask that we all work together to make our patrons as happy as possible while they are on our train, participating in gambling and revelry. But that doesn’t mean I will let my employees be abused. If any passenger should be giving you trouble, please let Benjamin or myself know about it.” He gestured to his friend and colleague, who demonstrated his serious “Benjamin means business” face to the laughing onlookers.
Samuel pointed to the train itself. “There are five casino cars behind the engine and we’ve left the caboose as strictly a passenger car with rows of seats, for those travelers who want to enjoy the Colorado scenery without participating in games or spirits. Friday will be our inaugural trip, and we will operate six days a week, each of us taking the Lord’s day off. Does anyone have any questions?”
“What kind of clothing should we wear?” asked Kenneth, who was an obvious selection to be hired to work on the train.
“Good question,” Samuel pointed in the general direction of town, “tomorrow you will be fitted for your uniforms; the tailor on 5th Street is expecting to see each of you for sizing. He’ll be working vigorously over the next four days to get these uniforms completed.”
“How do we know which car we will be assigned to?” asks Penny with a smile.
“There will be one bartender, one waitress and three dealers on each car, Benjamin and I will be roaming from car to car to ensure that everyone is happy.” Benjamin gave the crowd a thumbs-up, which elicited a ripple of good-natured laughter. “If there aren’t any other questions, we will see you at first light on Friday! Please tell your family and friends about The 777, and together we can all make this train a success.”
As the crowd dissolved into the train back to town and the engines returned to life with a roar, Samuel’s chest swelled with pride. He looked down at his hands, fingers cracked, dry, and stained with paint and pencil graphite, and marveled at what they had made.
*
Penny made sure her dress was pulled well over her shoulders and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she and Elizabeth waited for the crowd to part. The girls stood on their tiptoes to see if they could spot Samuel and Benjamin, who were shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with some of the miners. Soon, though, they were no longer occupied, and Penny squeezed Elizabeth’s hand as a signal to approach.
“So, do you rail barons ever have time for some fun?” Penny asked as she playfully swished her wide and cumbersome skirt, triggering a smile from Samuel and the added benefit of a soft breeze against her legs.
“We might be able to break away from business for a few hours,” replied Benjamin, looking at Samuel. Penny’s stomach fluttered as she exchanged a hopeful glance with Elizabeth.
“Could we request the pleasure of your company, for dinner, at the Strater Hotel restaurant – say around 6 p.m.?” asked Samuel.
“We’d be delighted,” both Penny and Elizabeth hastily replied at the same time,
speaking over each other. Penny’s cheeks flushed hot and she gave Elizabeth an annoyed glance.
“Six it is.” Samuel said with a nod.
Penny nodded in return, and she and Elizabeth engaged in a brief curtsey before turning to leave. “Are you gentlemen sure it’s okay that the staff indulges in dinner with their employer?” Penny bantered back towards the men, while walking away.
“Just this one time,” Penny caught a wink from Samuel when she turned to look.
Elizabeth stopped walking and turned back to Benjamin. “What kind of clothing should we wear?” she said, mocking the miner who asked the same question earlier.
“Well, I doubt you ladies have to see the tailor for tonight’s attire.” Benjamin laughed.
“We’ll see if we can come up with proper dress on such short notice.” Penny said, and she and Elizabeth giggled. They both turned and boarded the train swiftly, leaving the men no time to respond.
They pushed their way to the back, creating a large barrier between themselves and their new employers. Penny’s heart pounded against her ribs and she took short little breaths, straining against her corset. Her bruises ached, and she slowly massaged a particularly nasty one on her left shoulder, relishing the fluctuations between relief and throbbing pain as she fingers marched across its surface. So much had changed for her so rapidly, and when she and Elizabeth settled into the passenger car she wondered what lay ahead.
Chapter XIII
Samuel scraped his razor across his Adam’s apple when Benjamin appeared suddenly behind him in the mirror, giving him a start.
“Jesus, Ben. I nearly beheaded myself.” Samuel chided.
“Sorry, Sam,” Benjamin laughed, “I just can’t sit still waiting on you to finish grooming, and my clothes are already laid out.” Benjamin paced in front of the mirror. “I’d say our luck is beginning to change, Samuel! Do you still want to go back to New York?”
Samuel felt as if he’d been socked in the stomach. He hadn’t thought about those bleak thoughts since he’d had them. “Not tonight, Ben, not tonight!” He grinned and cupped some water in his hand to rinse the stray whiskers off his neck.
“Did Penny say she’d left Kingsley’s place, and was on her own?” Benjamin asked.
Penny’s bruises surfaced in Samuel’s thoughts and he shuddered. “Apparently, but I am not sure he let her leave without a struggle. If he weren’t her family, you can bet we’d be paying him a visit.”
“I’ll pay him a visit,” Benjamin picked up his revolver, and mocks a quick draw, getting the barrel of the gun tangled in his belt.
Samuel laughed. “Ben, I’d say your quick draw skills are still lacking.”
“I’ll master this, you’ll see. I’ve been going out to the wooded area near the Animas River and shooting bottles from twenty yards. My shot is improving.”
“Oh, so that’s where you’ve snuck off to. I always assumed it was the casino.” Samuel finished scraping his razor along his chin and neck leaned in to examine himself more closely in the mirror. “Well, hopefully you won’t be walking off paces with any scoundrels on Main Avenue anytime soon.”
Samuel let his lighthearted demeanor mask the rage that throbbed in his chest when he thought of anyone laying hands on Penny. As he rinsed his face for the last time, he half-wished Benjamin were as good with a gun as he wanted to be. He’d love to see the look on old Kingsley’s face with a barrel between the eyes.
*
The tips of Penny’s ears burned as she and Elizabeth wound their way through the tables leading to the bar in the Strater Hotel. They spotted the backs of Samuel and Benjamin upon entering, and it seemed that the eyes of every man there were on them aside from the men they were actually there to see. Penny wished she’d been able to talk Elizabeth into wearing more toned-down dresses, but her friend had insisted upon their Sunday best. As they neared the bar, Penny felt Elizabeth bristle under the attention, and she shot her a “told you so” look.
The rustle of their skirts alerted their dates to their presence, and their warm smiles of
greeting were welcome after the hard and lascivious sea of eyes they’d just waded through.
“Looking lovely tonight, ladies.” Samuel said in a near whisper. His wide eyes beheld her with the same wonder as if she’d just glided down from
the clouds above.
“Stunning.” Benjamin agreed.
Penny’s cheeks warmed and her knees weakened. “Thank you gentleman, we are looking forward to your company tonight.” Suddenly the room felt quite warm.
“Shall we take a table?” Elizabeth asked as she dabbed her forehead with the back of her hand. Penny figured she was feeling it, too.
Once they’d all sat down, Penny hoped that the dim lighting would help keep her bruises shadowed. However, as Benjamin and Elizabeth launched into deep conversation over their chicken roasts, Penny noticed Samuel’s eyes glancing down at her chest and shoulders and every time he looked there he set his jaw square and hard.
While their company engaged in raucous laughter and flirty banter, Samuel and Penny shared but a few words. It was a comfortable silence, and for Penny it felt like the most natural thing in the world for her to look up from her plate to meet Samuel’s soft eyes and share smiles with him over the silly jokes being made by their friends. Samuel seemed like he had always been there, just feet away and beaming through the darkness.
*
Samuel’s stomach was stretched with food when the group decided to take a late-night stroll down Main Street. A cool summer breeze grazed his skin, and he walked closely enough to Penny to almost feel her shiver. Benjamin and Elizabeth stayed about fifteen paces ahead, and the breezes carried snatches of their laughter and conversation to the more subdued couple.
Even though they hadn’t said much to one another over the course of the evening, Samuel had felt drawn closer to Penny by her warm eyes glowing through the enveloping darkness of the hotel bar. He wanted to touch her, to just feel her warmth against his skin, but she’d already been through so much and he was scared of frightening her off.
Slowly, gingerly, he reached for her hand. At first, she drew her fingers back, as if she’d touched something hot. Samuel cleared his throat and put his hands in his pockets, glad she couldn’t see the burning redness he felt creep up his neck and onto his cheeks. However, his heart almost stopped when he felt a light touch on his elbow and looked up to see Penny smiling at him. He removed his hand from his pocket, and she slipped hers in his.
“Are you okay?” Samuel asked while looking once again at his feet as he walked. “I don’t want to pry into your family business, but….”
“That man is no longer my family.”
He was taken aback by her rapid and cold response. “I understand.” He nodded.
Penny sighed. “My family was my mother and father, both whom I lost way too young. My mother passed just a few months after my birth, so I never really knew her, and my father raised me into my teenage years.”
“How did he die?” Samuel’s stomach tightened. He wanted to know, but he was nervous about over-stepping his bounds.
“Cave in. There was a collapse in the mine, and the miners searched for days, but there was too much bedrock to get through. They finally gave up.” Penny sniffed and wiped her eyes with her free hand. “I dug for two full days after everyone had moved on, and when I returned, my uncle was the only one there to raise me. I wish I’d had someone else, but it was my father’s wish, and I had nowhere to turn.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.” He instinctively gave her hand a gentle squeeze and was surprised that she squeezed back.
“Your father passed before you came to Colorado?”
“Yes, if it wasn’t for his inheritance and fine business sense, I’d never have the capability to be here in the first place. He was a very keen businessman.”
“So are you.”
“I’m not so sure.” Samuel shrugged, feeling the chill of his father’s shadow creep over his spine once more.
“Samuel,” Penny squeezed his hand with more force and stopped walking, tugging Samuel to face her, “what you’ve done with that train has reinvigorated this town. I think you are going to have more patrons that you can imagine.” The sincerity in her eyes disarmed him.
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.” She smiled, leaned in, and kissed Samuel. Her lips were as soft as rose petals against his own, and he pulled her to him in a tight embrace as Benjamin and Elizabeth meandered further away down Main Avenue.
Their embrace was warm, firm, and soft simultaneously. It was also very quick. They both laughed a little under their breath as they separated and resumed holding hands while they followed the direction of their friends, who had long since disappeared over the horizon.
“I swore I’d never go on those passenger cars again,” Penny whispered after a moment of silence.
“Those are no longer the same cars, and I’m not the same city slicker.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am.” Samuel lifted her hand to his lips and relished the soft smell of citrus that seemed to permeate her skin.
*
When Samuel reached the door to his hotel room, the smell of Penny still lingered on his clothing, as if he’d been gently spritzed with lemon juice. When he crossed the threshold, he half expected to hear Benjamin’s rattling snores but instead he was greeted by the image of Benjamin and Elizabeth scrambling to sit up on the bed.
“Uh, Sam, I thought you were with Penny?” Benjamin said as he smoothed his hair with his hands.
“I was,” Samuel laughed, “I was ready to retire for the night, and I assumed you were, too?” He smiled in amusement as Elizabeth straightened her dress and stockings and Benjamin buttoned the top button of his shirt.
“I was just leaving,” Elizabeth said, taking one last tug at her stockings. She gave Benjamin a peck on the cheek.
“See you tomorrow?” Benjamin asked.
“It’s a certainty,” smiled Elizabeth as she sashayed out the door, her fine dress crumpled and crinkling as she went.
Benjamin cleared his throat and pursed his lips, suddenly taking on a serious demeanor when the two were alone.
“No need for modesty, Ben.” Samuel said. “I saw how you two hit it off tonight. Elizabeth’s a lovely girl.”
Benjamin turned to Samuel and smiled a smile infused with a deeper understanding, almost reverence, from his normal beaming grin, “That she is, Sam.”
Samuel sat on his bed and for a moment, the two friends listened to the night in quiet. Samuel stared at the shadows dancing on the ceiling and reveled in the prospect of his relationship with Penny. He raised his arm to his nose and breathed in her faint smell. Maybe they’d be successful after all here. Maybe, just maybe, they were home.
*
Kingsley kept his eyes on the letter he was composing when Thomas barreled into his office.
“What is it, Thomas?” he asked, already bored with whatever had excited his assistant this time.
Instead of an answer, The Durango Herald landed on his desk, right on top of his letter. Kingsley opened his mouth to rebuke Thomas, but instead arched an eyebrow at the article that lay before him. The headline read: “Rumor of Casino Train Winds through Durango.”
He looked up at Thomas, and was mildly alarmed at the frenzied look in his eyes. “A casino train?”
Thomas leaned forward on the desk. “It’s the engine from the mining train, sir,” he took a few deep breaths to steady himself, “coupled with those old passenger cars.”
Kingsley curled his hands into fists and dug his nails in his palms. “Goddamn. Those cars are bringing me trouble, once again.”
“So are the city slickers.” Thomas huffed. “Townsfolk have spotted Samuel courting your niece.”
Kingsley growled, trying to stifle the twinge of pain that shot up from his belly at the reference to Penny. “That little wench is no niece of mine.”
“Sorry, sir.” Thomas wiped his glistening face with his handkerchief. “What are we going to do? If this train succeeds, we’ll never get the land back for quartz.”
Kingsley paused and considered their predicament. Samuel was far wilier than he’d given him credit for. He’d half expected him to be
either still blasting the mountain or his brains out by now. “It can’t succeed, Thomas. We will be greeting this ‘casino train’ as it returns to the depot on Friday, along with the sheriff.”
“But what will the sheriff do? He’s as law abiding as they come.”
“That makes it even easier for us.” Kingsley smiled. He settled back into his letter writing, confident that he would get his land back and reap the benefits of Samuel’s success before it even began.
Chapter XIV
Samuel’s muscles were tight with adrenaline as he watched the throngs of passengers line up to take the ride to Silverton on the inaugural trip of The 777. He thanked his stars that it was an unseasonably temperate summer day so the train wouldn’t be crammed with sweating passengers. Cooler temperatures always made for cooler tempers, his father used to say, and this was something desperately needed when gambling was involved.
Benjamin stood at his post, greeting every single person with his characteristic grin as wide as the ocean. He efficiently collected and tallied the money for transport and gambling chips, only briefly glancing and nodded at Samuel when he walked past.
The thrill of the moment seemed to strain the very walls of the cars, and Samuel’s ears rang with the chatter of the patrons, all admiring the décor, ordering drinks, or beginning to plan what tables they’d try their hands at first. As he pushed through the milling crowds, sweat began to form under his arms, between his shoulder blades, and on his lip. As temperate as it was outside, the crush of human bodies provided a natural furnace inside. However, no mild discomfort could lower Samuel’s spirits, and he walked from car to car shaking hands with and greeting all of his new employees.
When waving at Elizabeth across the car, Samuel quite literally bumped into Penny from behind, only realizing who she was when her citrus scent met his nose.
“Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry,” he stammered as he stepped back and made sure she was balanced.