A "when they were boys" fic :)
The Escape
by Allie
"My boys!"
"These are your boys, sir?" The matron of the orphanage looked honestly perplexed. She frowned a little at the tanned, bewhiskered man who looked a little scruffy, but nonetheless wore a clean shirt and had recently had a haircut. "They were admitted as orphans."
"Yes, but I was out west, prospecting! I didn't know they was taken as orphans when their poor maw died." He wiped a hand under his eyes and sniffed. "Their poor maw. Why, she'd roll over in her grave, if she knowed about these two good boys being in here, when their paw was able-bodied and could support them. I done all right prospecting, too. I ain't rich, but I worked steady and hard." He looked at the matron expectantly.
She frowned. "I suppose you have credentials?"
"Yes ma'am, right here." He dug out a piece of paper that proclaimed him, in spiraling, beautiful penmanship, one EVAN HEYES, PROSPECTOR.
She frowned at it doubtfully a moment, then handed it back. "Well, how do you account for the fact that the boys look nothing alike—and one of them is named Jed Curry?"
The miner laughed. "Aw, that ain't anything, ma'am. Little ol' Jed's just playing with that name 'Curry.' Didn't the boys tell you? That's just a nickname. As for looking alike, well, the one boy takes after me, the other after his maw. His poor, poor maw…"
"And which is which?" said the matron. She eyed the two young boys, who were standing respectfully at attention. Hannibal had an easy, friendly-looking smile, and Jed was grinning, with the tendency to wriggle in place. His friend—brother?—elbowed him, and he stopped.
"You'll have to excuse him, ma'am. It's just we haven't seen our father in awhile," said the dark-haired boy.
At this, Jed rushed forward, exclaiming, "Daddy!" and flung himself into the man's arms. Mrs. Armstrong thought she heard the adult whisper, "Don't overdo it." But that had to be her imagination.
The older boy also walked over and flung his arms around the both of them. The miner strained a little, under the weight of lifting both boys, and he quickly put them down again. When they let go, he dusted his shirt off, tugging it back into place, gave them each a rather awkward pat on the head, and then turned to smile at her again.
"Well, I guess we'll be going then."
She looked at the three of them a moment—the miner's slight discomfort could have been from facing authority. She certainly could be intimidating sometimes; it was part of her job in caring for the orphans. And the boys did seem legitimately happy.
"Well, if everything's in order. Boys, why don't you go pack."
While the boys were away, she questioned him a little more closely. Sure enough, he seemed hot under the collar at the need for more documentation—but he had it. Letters addressed to him, from a Mrs. Heyes. Letters from a distant relative telling him about how the boys had been sent to an orphanage. The letters were suitably aged and with crooked handwriting and coffee stains on them. They certainly looked real.
#
"I told you, Jed. I told you I'd get us out of here," whispered the dark-haired boy, leaning towards the light-haired younger boy as they hurried stuffed their few belongings into sacks.
"I know, and I'll never doubt you again."
"I did a great job on those letters. I hope she looks at them."
"You did a great job with everything! Oh boy, I can't wait to be out of here…"
#
Jed was almost running as they headed out the door. Hannibal grabbed the back of his shirt to slow him down, and gave the matron a nice smile on the way out. He ducked his head to her politely. "Ma'am."
"G'bye, ma'am!" The younger boy almost shouted.
"Take your hat off indoors," she told him again, for the last time.
Sure enough, he didn't listen this time, either.
Both boys disappeared into the bright sunny day, to join their father outdoors. She shook her head slightly. It was nice to see a happy ending, but she hoped he'd be able to keep them in line. Even in the time they'd been here, they'd showed themselves to be real handfuls. Somebody had to keep those boys in line. She hoped their father would do a good job.
#
"Here's your five dollars."
"And the two bits for my haircut. I didn't need no haircut." The drifted spoke in a querulous voice, and held his hand out. "Oughta get paid more than that just for havin' to take a bath!"
"It did you good," said Hannibal, and handed over the two bits. "Now get out of town before she recognizes you somewhere. We have to, too, Kid." He grabbed Jed's collar and hauled him back. He'd been starting towards a dark alley with a fascinated look in his eye.
"But we never get to explore…!"
"Well, now we can explore all we want, just not in this town."
Jed perked up. "Really? Where we going?"
Heyes looked around silently, till his eyes fell on a train. "Hey, Kid, you ever wanted to ride a boxcar?"
"Wow! Do I ever! Let's go."
"Not yet. We've got to buy some supplies, and then get out of here before she figures it out."
"Where do we go after we get out of town?" asked Jed, looking at his 'brother' with a trusting, eager gaze.
Heyes laid a hand on his shoulder. "Kid, anywhere you want!"
Jed's face just about split, grinning. "Oh boy! And we'll sleep under the stars, and never go back inside again!"
Hannibal smiled wryly. He put an arm around his younger friend's shoulders. "You know, we might just want to go back indoors sometime."
"Not me!" Jed bounced a little as he walked. "We'll be real cowboys and everything!"
"Maybe," agreed Heyes.
The younger boy sobered a little as something occurred to him. "You think she'll find out we're the ones who took that money?"
"Probably," said Hannibal. "But remember, our second-cousins gave her that money to look after us with. That's all we took. We haven't been here long enough to use up much, and it's really ours. If our second-cousins taken us in like family ought to, we'd never have ended up in here in the first place."
"That's true," said Jed, looking a little relieved. "But I still somehow can't help feeling like we're criminals."
"Well, whether we're criminals or not, we've got to get out of town, and fast, or we'll end up back in that orphanage." He started walking purposefully down the street, Jed hurrying after him.
"Han?"
"Yeah, Kid?"
"Can I get a gun?"
Heyes turned and gave him a brow-wrinkled smile, almost laughing. "What? What do you need a gun for, Kid?"
Jed scuffed a foot in the dirt, frowning a little. "Just figure every good outlaw oughta have a gun…"
"Wait till you're a little older. Besides, we're not really outlaws. We're just on the run from the orphanage."
"We're gonna be on the run for a long time, though, aren't we? Nobody just lets kids live on their own."
"Maybe," admitted Hannibal. "But don't worry, I'll look after you."
"Yeah. I'll look after you, too. That's why I need a gun," Jed said reasonably.
Hannibal suppressed another smile. "Maybe when you're bigger."
"I'm big enough!"
Hannibal smiled at him. "C'mon, Kid. Let's talk about this later. Right now, we have to go buy some supplies and hop a boxcar."
"Okay." Jed nodded, but with a stubborn look in his eyes that indicated he hadn't given up.
From down the street, they heard a distinctly furious and far-too-familiar shriek of rage. Both boys' eyes widened and they took off at a run. Jed reached up to keep his hat from falling off his head.
"Forget the supplies—let's get out of here!"