The Night of the Victorian Plot – Part 2
Welcome to America
Chapter 7
What Happened Next
By the time Jim had told Artie everything he wanted to know, and all his questions had been answered it was late evening and Jim noticed that his friend showed all the signs that he had a headache, in fact a bad one. Mindful of Artie's convalescent state he bundled him off to bed and knew he must have been right about Artie not feeling too good when he received no argument. Left to his own devices Jim now lit a cigar and made himself comfortable while he puffed on it lazily and went through in his mind how he thought they should tackle the task of capturing the diminutive German and taking him back to Washington with them to reside in the Federal prison there.
It wasn't long before Jim took himself off to bed. He checked to see that Artie was sleeping peacefully was and not in any obvious discomfort before undressing and slipping into the surprisingly comfortable bed next to his. They would reach New Mexico in a couple of days and they both needed to be fit and rested before then. He said a short prayer that Artie would miraculously have regained his memory by the morning.
Both men were awake early in the morning and to Jim's keen eye Artie was looking better than he had since the accident.
"More coffee?" Jim asked, as they sat at the small table in the parlour car, eating their breakfast. He had listened to what Nate had to say about making coffee and the pot currently sitting on the table contained a brew that was far superior to his first attempt but was still not particularly pleasing to the palate.
"No, I'm fine," Artie said, swilling the liquid in his cup around, not quite having the nerve to swallow it. He wouldn't tell Jim that because it would probably offend him.
"In that case I'll clear away the breakfast things," Jim said, standing up.
"Do you have anything planned for this morning?" Artie queried.
"As we're stopping here to load on water and fuel for the engine and food supplies I thought of taking Nightfall for a run," Jim replied, "He's my horse," he added at the quizzical look on Artie's face. "You have a mare named Ariadne. You can join me if you want."
Artie shook his head and then winced. "I think it might shake my head up too much," he said. "Besides which I don't want to have another riding accident."
Jim nodded. "I understand," he said.
"I think I'll go and lie on my bed for a while. I might even manage to do a little reading. I found a book on chemistry in my luggage. I don't know how good my knowledge of the subject is but I might find something interesting in it to help us with our assignment."
"Don't overtax yourself," Jim said. "We're going to need that brain of yours."
Artie smiled and left the parlour to make his way to the sleeping car while Jim left the train and went around to the stable car. He undid the fastener and lowered the side of the car then he climbed the ramp and began to put a harness and a saddle on the gelding.
Jim mounted Nightfall and rode him out of the rail yard and over the tracks. Then he gave the horse his head and galloped him over the nearby grassland. After about twenty minutes they reached a creek. Jim got down and led his horse to the water so that he could take a drink. He checked his pocket watch and realised that he would have to set off back to town in the next few minutes if he was to be on the train in time for its departure. Removing his hat, he wiped his brow with his sleeve and knelt down on the bank. He cupped his hands and used them to bring a refreshing mouthful of the water to his lips.
He tensed as he heard a noise behind him and he turned sharply, going for his gun. There were two men standing in front of him; one was over six-foot tall with a full beard and was grinning, the other was shorter with a scar down the left side of his face. Before he could take in any more of their appearance the short one threw a small, round object at his feet and Jim found himself enveloped in a thick cloud of green smoke. His last move was to fire his gun, but he missed his target by a good few feet. He managed to utter, "What the….?" before he blacked out and hit the ground with a thump.
One of the men tied his hands together and the other did the same to his feet. Then they hoisted him over the back of his horse and led it over to a stand of trees where their own mounts were waiting patiently.
"He's not going to be happy that we didn't bring back the other one as well," the taller man said as he climbed into the saddle.
"Ah well, beggars can't be choosers, Mike," the shorter man replied with a shrug.
Mike wasn't sure the saying applied in their situation but even if it did they would still be in trouble with the boss. However, there was nothing they could do about it now so they turned their horses and led their captive back to their hideout.
Back at the train Artie's chemistry text book was lying abandoned on the bed covers and he was avidly reading the "Cowboy Thrill Magazine". Jim had made him aware of their need to pass as Americans where possible and he found the book really interesting. He had convinced himself that it was a text book of sorts so that he wouldn't feel guilty wasting time reading the stories it contained.
Artie was so engrossed in noting the differences in language that he didn't realise how late it had become until suddenly there was a knock at the door and Otis came in.
"I'm sorry to disturb you but I was wondering if Mr West told you what time he was coming back."
"No, he didn't. Is it time to depart?"
"Ten minutes ago, Mr Gordon. Nate held on because he was expecting Mr West back any minute but we're going to miss our chance to leave today if we wait much longer."
"Did Jim know the departure time?"
"Yes, Sir."
Artie frowned. He hardly knew his fellow agent but he was aware of his background and he would have expected him to be punctual especially when they were on assignment and their timetable depended on it.
"Well we can't leave without him," Artie said. He didn't want to worry the other man unduly but action was obviously needed. The fact that he himself had been injured in a riding accident meant that they were possible if not likely, added to which he and Jim were not familiar with the country which put them at a disadvantage.
"It's probably nothing serious," Artie said. "Jim's horse probably threw a shoe or something. I'll saddle up my horse and go and look for him. By the way, did you happen to see which direction he took?"
"He went across the tracks and headed due west."
"It looks like he wanted to keep the sun at his back. I'll calculate what route he would have taken to avoid having the sunlight in his eyes and I'll track him down."
"I'll let Nate know," Otis said.
Inevitably there came a time when Jim had to regain consciousness. Much like Artie, he assumed at first that his headache must be from drinking too much alcohol, especially as he felt quite woozy and his mouth was incredibly dry. Then he remembered the two men and the green cloud. The bed he was lying on was extremely comfortable and even though he was only capable of opening one eye to begin with he could confirm that he was not onboard the Traveller. The bed was much larger than his cot on the train and there was flower-patterned paper on the walls. When he managed to open the other eye as well he looked around him and noticed that there were no windows which made him realise that he was probably underground.
He sat up warily and noticed a glass of water sitting on a table next to the bed. Gambling from his experience so far that his captor wasn't trying to kill him he drank the contents of the glass and felt a lot better for it. He got to his feet and walked towards a door on the same wall as the bed, which he had not noticed before. He tried the handle and was not surprised to find it locked. He walked around the room examining everything but there was nothing that would help him escape. Then he remembered that he had a lock-pick hidden under his lapel. He was just about to reach for it when the door opened and the tall man with the beard entered followed by the diminutive Doctor Loveless.
"Well Mr West, we meet again," he said in a passable American accent.*
To be continued
*If you want to hear Michael Dunn speak with a German accent (apart from 'The Night Doctor Loveless Died') then watch the film 'Ship of Fools'.
