As they were approaching the front of the train, flashlight in hand, it soon became apparent that they were not going to be able to speak with the conductor and crew. Two armed guards stood watch outside their car and were illuminated by a lantern on the floor beside either of their feet. They stiffened to attention when they first saw them and one of them pointed his rifle in their direction, causing them to halt immediately and Murdoch to reflexively bar Julia's path.
"You best be on your way now," said the masked man not holding the gun up. He had a southern drawl.
"Have you hurt the conductor and crew?" inquired Murdoch.
"Oh, they're right as rain," said the man, "but they're a bit tied up at the moment."
Murdoch could almost hear the smirk that surely was spreading across his face at that instant. "Why have you turned the heat and power off?" he asked. "Surely that wasn't necessary?" Then he frowned and said ominously, "There are children aboard."
"Necessary, no, but unsettling and attention grabbing, hell yes!" Then he laughed a bit. "I'm sure the little tykes will think of this fondly when they're older. It'll be a little adventure for them to tell their friends and family about."
Neither Julia nor Murdoch responded to that.
"Now really, mister, I must insist that y'all get on out of here."
Neither of them budged.
"Let's not make this more unpleasant than needs be. Think of this as a business transaction and y'all are our clients. If we work together, the job gets done mighty fast. If we don't, well, that's neither here nor there. Now go on, get, before I start to get angry. I'd hate to harm a hair on such a tasty biscuit's head."
Julia scowled at that and Murdoch led her away from there. When they were out of earshot, she quietly fumed for several seconds. And then it was back to business, the uncooperative kind.
"I don't suppose there would be an armoury on this train?" she said.
He shook his head. "I doubt it very much, Julia. This is a passenger train, there wouldn't be any need for one." She was about to retort to that when he said, "But it's possible that someone has a weapon here that hasn't already been confiscated. If we can find it, maybe we can turn this situation around."
Julia nodded her agreement and then they began going door to door, asking if anyone had a gun. Murdoch started introducing himself as a detective and flashing his badge, hoping that would help matters and get people to trust him. Finally, they succeeded in the task. An elderly lady had a small handgun hidden on her person and gladly handed it over to them as she had been too afraid to use it herself. Murdoch felt ridiculous with it in his hand, like he was holding a toy gun. Just to make sure it was indeed real, he popped open the clasp and saw that it was loaded with real bullets (there were only two mind you but it was better than nothing). Doubt allayed, he closed it back up and slipped it into his pocket.
Now he had the difficult job of getting the drop on the two guards. If he approached directly, they would simply see him again and stop him like the last time. The only way he would be able to manage this by himself would be if he attacked from behind. And the only way in which to do that was to go outside and climb on top of the cars until he was passed their location. So that is what he attempted to do, leaving Julia behind and feeling guilty about it.
Even with his leather gloves on, the cold was seeping through and numbing his hands, making it difficult to grab hold of the ladder. Once he managed to get on top of the first car, he almost immediately fell off for it was slick with ice. After he steadied himself, he surveyed the area with his flashlight and saw six horses off to the side of the train, tied up to nearby trees. Even they seemed to be getting chilled in the night and Murdoch felt badly for them but there was nothing he could do about them at the moment. He was also able to ascertain that they were stopped in the middle of nowhere or at least it appeared that way. It was hard to tell as there were tall trees surrounding them from all sides. He hunched over and slowly tip toed along until he was certain that he was where he wanted to be. He lowered himself down and looked behind him to find several men tied up on the floor and gagged. They started making noises when they saw him so he put his finger to his lips and they quieted down. Murdoch was about to begin untying them when he heard loud voices on the other side of the door. He crept up closer so that he could hear just what they were saying through the thick door. Luckily this wasn't a glass door like all the others that connected to each individual car, for it were, he would have already been apprehended.
"... tarnation do you mean it's not there!" yelled the man with the drawl. "It has to be there!"
"We've already checked everything twice and none of them were it." This was the man that Murdoch first encountered.
"Why don't y'all check again then?" Silence for a few seconds. "Oh fine, give me the bags and I'll check." It was quiet for a minute and then, "Oh for Christ's sake! You bone heads must have done a piss poor job of searching the place!"
"That's not true!" whined a third unfamiliar voice. "We searched everywhere already!"
It sounded like a bit of a scuffle had broken out and Murdoch heard someone being slammed into a wall. "When Mr. Hughes tells us something is here," shouted the southerner, "it damn sure is!Look again! And you better find it this time or there will be hell to pay!" He heard several men walking away and then the southerner spoke again, presumably to the man who had pointed the gun at them earlier. "I'm gonna go check on the fellas on the other side of this here door. If anyone gives you a lick of trouble, shoot them."
"Yes, sir," said a man with a gravelly voice.
Murdoch dashed off to the side of the door just as it was being opened and stood where the southerner wouldn't be able to see him.
"How's it going boys?" he asked them. "Nothing to say? Well, that's a shame," he said, laughing, "cause we're gonna trespass on your hospitality for just a little longer. What are y'all looking at?"
The man turned around just in time to see Murdoch step out of the shadows with the gun pointed at him. To Murdoch's annoyance, he simply laughed again.
"You sure you wanna do that mister? Especially considering that there toy you're sporting."
"I am detective William Murdoch of the Toronto constabulary and I demand that you desist in your actions."
"Toronto, huh? We're a little out of your jurisdiction I'd wager."
"Nevertheless, I have a duty to perform and I intend to do so, no matter what."
"Well, that sure puts us unlawful men in a right pickle. We'd be fools to stand in your way." Laughs again.
Ignoring him, Murdoch said, "Drop your weapon and put your hands up." The man did as he was told. "Now walk towards me." The southerner didn't budge. "Do as I say."
"I don't think I will, detective. You're gonna have to shoot an unarmed man."
As Murdoch cursed silently and moved towards him, he heard a sound behind him and whirled around to find the other guard standing there, rifle cocked and aimed at his head, not two inches away.
The southerner was then upon him and grabbed the pistol out of his hand.
"You won't be needing this anymore fella." Then he nodded to the other man and he knocked Murdoch out with the butt of the rifle.
When he came to, he found himself in the dining hall, Julia cradling his head in her lap. He looked around and it appeared that all the passengers were crammed into the space. In one respect this was a good thing because all the body heat was having a warming effect on those present. He noticed Ben and his mother amongst the crowd, as well as several other children. Murdoch didn't like the implications of this situation and he stirred hastily, feeling dizzy as he did so and passing out briefly again.
"William," said Julia softly, "are you all right?"
"I'll be fine, Julia. Just give me a moment to steady myself." He slowly sat upright and said, "Why are we all in here?"
"I don't know, they just forced us in here and left again."
Before he could say anything else, the door to the car opened and the southerner came through, with the other men in tow.
"You're probably wondering what's going on. Am I right, folks?" There were some murmurs of ascent. "Well, I guess it's about time I told y'all. Seems we're having trouble locating something and well, we'd be mighty grateful if y'all helped us find it."
"What is it?" shouted someone from the back.
"I like your attitude mister! Straight to the point!"
The southerner retrieved a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it around. When it got to Murdoch, he saw that it was a sketch of a rather ugly looking piece of jewelry. He couldn't fathom why anyone would want it. He passed the paper along and when it reached Ms. Wexler, she reacted ever so slightly. Unfortunately it was enough to alert the southerner to the fact that she recognized it.
"Why ma'am, by all means, speak up! Don't be shy now!" She looked away and didn't respond. "I'm starting to get impatient ma'am. Bad things happen when I do. Still nothing to say? Grab her boys and see if we can't do something about that."
They moved towards her and several nearby men tried to intervene, that is until they pointed their guns at them.
"Leave my mommy alone!" shrieked Ben as they pulled her away from him.
"It's okay Benjamin," she said in a shaky voice, "everything will be just fine."
