by CJ Quincy
Penny just laughed. “You look nervous,” she said.
“Just a little. Can you tell? It’s more excitement than anything.” Samuel smoothed his hair with his sweating palm. “I want this to be a success.”
Penny tilted her head toward the window, which showed the line for boarding still extending. “Look out the window, Samuel. That line looks like a success to me.” She smiled, her white teeth gleaming from behind her read lips.
Samuel looked out the window at the line, which bent around the train depot and out onto main street. He gave a slight smile as more patrons began to enter Penny’s car, slowly forcing the two to wedge closer together.
“It sure looks like one, doesn’t it?” Samuel asked softly, not realizing that he was speaking barely above a whisper.
Penny leaned in and brushed the back of his hand with her knuckles. “I’d say so, sir.” The graze of her skin sent shivers all through Samuel, and he drank in her confident smile like crisp, cool water.
*
When the train had reached capacity, Samuel walked to the front of each car to give a brief speech to welcome them on their journey.
“Everyone!” he held his arms out full spread each time, as if to embrace each smiling face who stood before him. “You are about to take part in a monumentous event! The very first trip of The 777!”
Without fail, at that moment he was met with thunderous applause from the car.
“As you know, we will be taking a one and a half hour trip to Silverton, so take your time and indulge in games, spirits, and excellent company till your hearts’ content. If you have any questions or problems, come talk to myself, Benjamin, or send one of our exemplary staff members. Now…enjoy!”
And with the command for enjoyment, each quiet car exploded into life. Cards and chips slapped the tables, roulette wheels clattered at full speed, dealers called out winning hands, and bartenders bellowed drink orders as the train shuddered to life and the rhythm of the tracks was all that could be heard above the tumult. The only semi-calm place on board was the passenger caboose filled with mothers and children picnicking as the train rolled up the steep mountainside, and even from there delighted laughter rang out into the hills.
*
Samuel wound his way to Benjamin through the mass of people and approached his friend with hearty laughter.
“Can you believe this?” he yelled as he waved his arm out to showcase the revelry before them.
Benjamin slapped Samuel’s back, sending a welcome sting between his shoulder blades. “I told you, Samuel, look at this train!” his eyes glittered over his rosy cheeks. “It’s brimming with satisfied customers, and I’ve got a satchel full of money for you!” Benjamin held out a rough sack bulging with bills and coins.
“This looks to be around $200!” Samuel exclaimed. He was shocked at the weight of the bag, and when he took it from Benjamin it nearly tugged his arm downward. Samuel shook it a little, listening to the soft hiss of the paper and tinkling of the coins.
“Now, multiply that by six days a week, Sammy boy!” Benjamin play punched the bottom of the bag, as if he were training for a prize fight in a gym.
“I like this kind of mathematics.” Samuel said.
“Me too. I can’t wait for my first week’s salary,” laughed Benjamin.
“You’ve earned it, Ben.” Samuel said, getting serious for a moment. He put his free hand on Benjamin’s elbow. “Without you this never would have happened. I’m truly grateful to you, my friend.”
Benjamin’s wide grin softened, and his voice lowered. “I am to you as well.” The infectious energy of the car electrified the two before the serious moment lasted too long, though, and soon they were making their way toward the back again, laughing with patrons and shaking hands of new employees in a fervor of self-congratulation.
*
The train only took a twenty minute break in Silverton, just long enough for the patrons to breathe in some crisp mountain air, let it wind around their dampened bodies from the press and heat of the cars, and count their chips in the blaze of the sun. The sounding of the whistle drew them back in for the return ride back to the Durango depot, where trouble waited.
As the inaugural ride came to an end, Samuel gazed out the window of the train. He noticed from a distance the girth of Mr. Kingsley practically casting a shadow over slouching Thomas at the platform. A small, flickering glare from the Sheriff’s badge, though, is what really caught Samuel’s eye and dried his mouth out like a desert expanse.
Samuel was up like a shot, bolting from car to car and almost losing his footing right before he found Benjamin and Elizabeth chatting at the bar of the foremost casino car. The train ground to an unusually jerky halt, and Samuel’s abdomen crushed against the smooth mahogany bar, knocking a little wind out of him.
“Ben, to the platform,” Samuel said through gritted teeth, “we’ve got some trouble it looks like.”
Ben nodded and gave Elizabeth’s hand a squeeze before following Samuel out of the train. Samuel didn’t know yet what he was going to say as he approached Kingsley’s smug face with clenched fists, but he wasn’t going to be bullied again.
*
Kingsley watched the crowd of people flow out of the train and surround their small and contentious group. He examined the onlookers past Samuel’s narrowed eyes and Benjamin’s sinewy neck, bulging with tension, and felt what could only be described as elation.
“What can I help you with, Sheriff?” asked Samuel.
“You can close down your little gambling operation, son.” Kingsley injected, resisting the urge to grab Samuel by the lapels and hurl him into the side of the train.
“Close it down? I bought this land, the mine, and the train. I’ll run things as I see fit.” Samuel’s shoulders squared as he glared at Kingsley and Thomas.
Kingsley bristled at his arrogance. “Not according to our agreement. Check out the deed once again to refresh your failing memory.” Kingsley held the deed, signed by Samuel, practically up to Samuel’s nose. His breath caused it to flutter before he slapped it away.
“I’m afraid he’s right, Samuel.” The sheriff said. “The deed states – this land is to be used for silver mining, silver trade and silver related business only. And you signed right there.”
“You son of a bitch!” Samuel lurched toward Kingsley, but was immediately held back by the sheriff and two of the onlookers.
Kingsley relished every moment of his triumph. “Don’t get so angry, son – I’ll gladly let you keep operating this train…” he smiled and held his palms up to heaven “… for 70% of the raw profits.”
Samuel tugged again against his captors. “You won’t get another damn cent from me!”
Kingsley wiped a few flecks of spittle from his nose and cheek. His elation, though, dissolved into bitterness and bile when Penny stepped off the train and locked eyes with him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. Her voice was hard and cold, and it cut through Kingsley like an ice pick.
“Why I’m just retaining the integrity of this land, darling.” Kingsley smiled, holding his hand out to Penny like he used to, when she would take it and draw herself into him like the dutiful niece she once was.
“Don’t you ever call me darling, you fucking bastard!” Penny swung a fist in his direction, the breeze of her hatred caressing his cheek, and two more onlookers held her by the shoulders.
Kingsley was finished with nostalgia and niceties. “I’d say it looks like you’re the one doing the fucking,” he laughed as he looked from Penny to Samuel and raised his eyebrows. He lowered his voice to nearly whisper his poison to her. “You little tramp.”
“Now that’s quite enough!” the sheriff responded. He turned to the crowd and waved them away. “There’s nothing more to see here, folks! Move on along!”
The sheriff turned to Samuel, Benjamin, and Penny and gave them all a sympathetic look that riled Kingsley up. “As of today, The 777 is no longer operational in this capacity. If you’
d like to use it for silver, Samuel, that is your right, but as this deed states, that’s the only way this train can be used. I don’t want to see gambling patrons on this train again.”
No matter the sympathy they received, they couldn’t profit off his land or his train any longer. Kingsley let out a self-satisfied huff and turned to Thomas to share in their victory, but his soft-natured assistant only stared at his shoes.
“Come, Thomas,” Kingsley said, “since you like staring at the ground so much, you can clean the floors of my office.” Kingsley laughed mockingly. “Hell, you can clean the whole damn mansion.”
Kingsley turned to Samuel one last time and got close enough to see the pores of his nose. “And if you try to pull anything funny, sir, we will be back. And that time the sheriff won’t be so accommodating. ”
*
As Kingsley and Thomas walked off into the distance, Samuel gave the sheriff one last, pleading look out of desperation. However, the sheriff wouldn’t even meet his eyes, and without a word he walked away, in the opposite direction of Kingsley.
Samuel was gutted. The men who had been holding him back let go and stepped away, and he could still feel their ghostly grips tingling in his shoulders. It was as if they had been all that was holding him standing, because once he was free his knees sagged and he slumped against the side of the train, sitting down hard on the boarding steps.
Penny stifled some sobs and knelt beside Samuel, folding her hands on his knees. Benjamin put his arm around Samuel’s shoulder.
“I did it again: my idea – my failure. This is my fault, Samuel.”
Samuel couldn’t bear to look his friend in the eye. It seemed as if the sharp pain in his chest somehow made his head weigh one hundred pounds. He lowered his head in his hands but didn’t reply. Benjamin patted his shoulder and began to walk down Main Avenue with Elizabeth following closely behind.
After an interminable silence, Samuel finally spoke.
“It’s over.”
Penny rubbed his knee and sighed. “It’s okay. This was a valiant effort, and you may have lost in business, Samuel, but you still won my heart.” He glanced at her just in time to notice her soft smile.
“Let’s go back to the Strater,” she said.
Samuel nodded in response, still feeling choked by defeat, rage, and hatred. Kingsley didn’t know how to appreciate a good niece, a good person, or a good friend. That man, Samuel was convinced, didn’t have one thread of goodness in his entire body.
Chapter XV
The following morning Samuel was snatched from the warm darkness of sleep in Penny’s arms by Benjamin’s banging on the hotel room door.
"SAM! Get up!" Benjamin bounded into the room, sprinting past the beds and flinging open the drapes. The sun seared Samuel’s eyes as he and Penny sat up and rubbed their faces.
"What do you want Ben?" Samuel pulled the covers over his face.
Benjamin grabbed hold of the sheets and tugged them lightly, pulling Samuel’s begrudging hands away from his eyes. "Get up. Get all of The 777 employees back to work.”
Samuel sighed in exasperation, “What are you talking about Benjamin? The sheriff will put us in jail.”
“This is not the Logan Bridge this time. I need you to follow me, trust me, on our friendship.”
Samuel looked at Penny, who gave him a slight smile and nod of approval. However, he remained confused and bleary; the rush of Benjamin’s excitement was only just beginning to cut through the just woken haze, and he wanted to make sure he had everything straight.
“But Ben, we’ve already been threatened with jail…”
“I know, but I have a plan this time, a foolproof one!” Benjamin cut Samuel’s worries off. “You just have to trust me, and we can make this happen. That bastard Kingsley will have nothing to say to us. We can’t let one devious porker destroy all that we’ve worked for.”
Penny stood and put her hands on her hips, highlighting her slender waist in her thin night robe. “He’s right, Samuel. You’ve both put far too much into this already. My uncle is like a poison, but he can be flushed out!” Penny raised her voice at the end of her words and her cheeks were flushed. Benjamin’s conviction had animated her to the very picture of perseverance and bravery, and her confident and firm posture inspired Samuel.
“You’re both right,” he said, “Kingsley’s wreaked the last of his havoc.” Samuel glanced at Penny’s eyes, to her still visible bruises, and back to Benjamin’s grin.
“That’s it, Sammy boy! Get those employees back, and tomorrow morning we will continue business as usual!”
*
It hadn’t been hard for Samuel to convince his employees to return. Everyone’d had such an enjoyable time working the first trip, and everyone needed the salary so badly, that they’d nearly have pushed the train up the mountain if he’d asked.
On the morning of their second, secret, trip, everyone was in place well before the patrons began to form another long line through the depot. Samuel felt a lightness return to his gait and heart as he did a final check of the cars for cleanliness and order before allowing everyone to board. The train was spotless and gleaming and tinged with Penny’s sweet citrus scent. Kingsley be damned; this was Samuel’s dream. He didn’t know Benjamin’s plan yet, but he trusted his friend unconditionally, and he knew that Kingsley didn’t have a chance in the face of their dedication.
As the patrons began boarding, a wave of whispers and rumors spread through the train since many of them had heard that The 777 was no longer in operation, by order of the law. However, if anything, this seemed to trigger even more excitement and patronage; everyone wanted to be a part of the train that would defy Mr. Kingsley’s heavy-handed decree.
Just before they were ready to depart, Benjamin lugged a large, burlap satchel onto the train. His face was beaded with sweat, and he walked huffing and puffing with it slung over his hunched back. Samuel gave Benjamin a questioning look as he passed, but all Ben did was wink.
The bustling crowds kept Samuel separated from Penny, Benjamin, and Elizabeth throughout the entire trip to Silverado and back. For only a few fleeting moments he was able to lock eyes with one of his friends and exchange a shared fear and trepidation, for they all knew what potentially awaited them at the Durango depot. However, every time Samuel neared Benjamin, his friend exuded such confidence and seeming joy that the very sight of him was a soothing breeze cutting through the oppressive fear that surrounded Samuel’s mind.
*
Kingsley was breathing in the warm smoke of his celebratory cigar, reveling in his additional victory over the upstart city slickers, when Thomas rushed into his office. The wan face of his meek assistant was quickly becoming Kingsley’s least favorite sight.
“The train is operating, sir!” Thomas blurted, nearly out of breath and leaning on his knees. The smoke in Kingsley’s lungs transformed from a smooth comfort to a burning ache when he coughed in disbelief and rage.
“Operating again? Get the sheriff and meet me at the depot.” Kingsley stood and slammed his fist onto his desk, rattling his papers and trinkets.
Thomas turned on his heel and rushed back out of the office, before he’d even truly caught his breath. When he was gone, Kingsley took a deep breath of clean air, set his cigar in an ash tray, and opened his top drawer. From it, he retrieved his silver-plated revolver and loaded it with six bullets, one for each of the city slickers and their little harlots and extras for anyone who got in his way. He admired the gun before holstering it, noting the irony that Samuel could soon die by the very metal that he’d never find again in the walls of that mine. He exited his mansion and walked through the streets of Durango with no jacket, keeping the holster in plain sight. As the townspeople pointed and whispered, some cowering when he passed, Kingsley kept his face hard as stone and his eyes fixed in the direction of the depot.
*
When Kingsley reached the depot, he saw Thomas waiting with the sheriff, who looked quite uncomfortab
le. The sheriff shifted from foot to foot and incessantly cracked the knuckles of his left hand; Kingsley knew he was reluctant to arrest Samuel, but one way or the other justice was going to be done today.
The sheriff shot a glance toward Kingsley and pointed at his holster. “I will handle the business at hand, Kingsley – I want no bloodshed among the people of Durango.”
Thomas nodded, letting the sheriff know that at least he understood. Kingsley held his gaze for a moment, offering no more than a slight twitch upward of his eyebrows before turning his attention back to the track. He squinted into the distance. The tree line merged into one large mass of green that almost imperceptibly shifted in the breeze. He strained his eyes and furrowed his brow, willing the billows of smoke from The 777 to emerge.
The three stood silent, the only sound between them being the occasional cracking of the sheriff’s knuckles, for approximately twenty minutes. It may as well have been an eternity. Finally, though, the smoke plumes crested over the horizon and Kingsley’s heartbeat quickened. He watched the train approach with wide eyes, feeling his bile rise at the sight of the worried faces of Samuel and Penny peering out of the window of the foremost passenger car.
*
The 777 then came to a halt, the arrival whistle blew and the foursome stepped off the train together. Kingsley hollered at the Sheriff.
“Arrest him Sheriff, take him to jail!”
The Sheriff and his deputy walked over to Samuel, put his arms behind his back and began to arrest Samuel. Penny and Elizabeth did not say a word, as Benjamin hopped quickly back into the train. Even Samuel was silent, his strange confidence was causing Kingsley to get even more angry.
“Nothing to say, son? I’ll be taking ownership of this property as of today, you violated the deed for a second time, you’ll be spending your time in the Durango jail. Maybe you should consider going back to New York when you get out, after all we all know that you’re a horrible businessman.” Kingsley finished speaking and tossed an arrogant smile in Penny’s direction. Penny stared back right through him.