Trayne stood waiting impatiently by the barn twirling his cane while the men removed the barrier and cautiously opened the doors. They entered the barn guns drawn. Trayne grunted with disgust when he saw the coffin had been pried open and Artemus was lying propped up against the back wall. He snapped his fingers and motioned to the men. They crept over to the coffin and looked in.
Jim's hand rose up out of the coffin grabbing the first man. His fist flew up to meet the chin of the man closest to him while the other man jumped back. Jim pushed the unconscious body of the first man out of his way and rose up out of the coffin diving toward the other man knocking them both to the ground. The report from the pistol momentarily stopped Jim and he turned to stare at Trayne.
"Really Mr. West was all this necessary? I always come out the victor. Just have a seat over there next to Mr. Gordon and we can get down to business."
WWWWWWWWWW
Jeremy and Orrin jumped when they heard the shot. Jeremy grasped Orrin's arm to keep him from rushing in. Telling him they might get them killed calmed the engineer and they planned their attack.
The crewmen would surround the barn making sure all possible exits were covered while Jeremy and Orrin stormed through the main door hoping to catch Trayne off guard. Soon they were all in position with Jeremy and Orrin taking their places, their backs pressed against the barn. They listened to the conversation that was taking place inside to determine when to make their move.
"What do you want Trayne? You've killed Artie isn't that enough?" Jim spat at their unwanted host.
"Hemlock poisoning isn't nearly as fatal as it used to be Mr. West. There is still a slight chance to save your friend." Trayne sneered.
"Hemlock…" Orrin whispered a shocked look on his face. "Mr. Pike if Mr. Gordon's been poisoned with Hemlock he needs help and fast."
"I know that Orrin but we have to be careful or we'll all be needing medical attention quickly." They pressed tightly against the barn and continued to listen to the conversation that was taking place inside.
"Hemlock? You are the lowest form of life, Trayne. Only a sick, twisted and sadistic mind would come up with something like that." Jim spat as he inched closer to the door.
"It was good enough for Socrates…that should be more than good enough for the likes of Mr. Gordon." Jim had had about enough of that smirk on Trayne's face.
"Tell me something Trayne," Jim stalled for time although he was not sure why.
"Anything you want to know I'll try to tell you." Trayne smirked.
"Why didn't you leave when you had the chance? You had me and Artie out of the way…you could have left for New Athens and no one would have been the wiser." Jim eyed the distance between Trayne and himself hoping to draw him a bit closer.
"Just to have you out of the way isn't enough. I have to be certain you are in no shape to pursue me. One down one to go…not bad for a mornings work." Trayne swung his cane as he paced back and forth in front of the agent.
"You can't have that much hatred for New Athens, Trayne. They don't have enough money in that town to pay for breakfast at the United States Hotel…"
"No they don't but I was mistreated and that I will not stand for. They need to be taught a lesson Mr. West. They need to be taught what it means to tangle with Mike Trayne." Just a little closer, Jim thought, just a little closer.
Jeremy listened to the conversation trying to find some way of letting Jim know they were there when he noticed Orrin had disappeared.
"Now where did he go and what does he have in mind?" Jeremy sighed.
He peeked around the corner of the barn and saw Orrin inspecting the pile of items next to the house. Orrin had placed a box on the ground in front of him and was quietly placing items into it. When he seemed satisfied Orrin scooped up the box and quietly ran back to stand beside Jeremy.
"What's with that stuff?" Jeremy asked.
"Just some things I think we can use but I hope we won't need." Orrin replied. Jeremy hoped he was right as they returned their attention to the inside of the barn.
Trayne's pacing slowed until he was standing in front of Jim his cane swinging and twirling between his fingers absently. Jim kept his eyes trained on the cane waiting for the mistake he knew Trayne would make.
"You've taken Artie out why not stop there? By the time I get him to St. Louis you'd be long gone." Jim ventured.
"Oh but you would still be alive Mr. West and once you alerted the authorities of my plans they'd be on New Athens before I could complete my task. No, I think you both need to be disposed of and this quaint little out of the way place seems to be about as good a place as any." Trayne leered and Jim returned it with a scowl.
Trayne again began his pacing and Jim watched and again measured the distance with his eyes. He risked a glance over to his partner not sure if it was a good sign that nothing seemed to have changed. Jim concentrated on steadying his breathing as Trayne neared him. As he passed for yet another trip across the barn Jim lashed out with his feet soundly kicking Trayne behind the knees.
Trayne fell to his knees, quickly jumped back up and swung his cane in Jim's direction. The other two men advanced, forming a semi circle that was closing in on Jim. Jeremy took that opportunity to storm the barn.
The havoc that ensued was as if a full force tornado had struck inside the barn. Jeremy and Orrin threw themselves between the men and Jim, Orrin quickly glancing in Artie's direction. Jeremy leveled his pistol at the men but that didn't seem to stop their progress. Trayne stepped to the side and nodded to the men who continued to advance.
Trayne reached out with a swift sweep of his cane and knocked the gun from Jeremy's hand. The men took the opening and threw themselves at the engineer and the agent. Fists flew in a flurry of activity. Jeremy ducked the first punch as he brought his fist up and landed a blow to his opponent's midsection.
Without hesitation Jim sprang up and pulled his partner away from the fray. Turning back he saw one man hit Orrin, knocking him to the ground. Jim used Orrin's back as a springboard and vaulted himself at the man, feet first. When his feet connected with the man's chest he fell backward gasping for breath.
Orrin waited while Jim used him for leverage then charged like a wild animal that had been wounded and cornered. His fist connected solidly with the jaw of the man in front of him. Orrin's head snapped back as the man returned his punch with one of his own. Wiping blood off the corner of his mouth spurred Orrin into even more aggressive action.
He grasped the man by the collar of his shirt with one hand and used his other hand as he soundly rained blow after blow to the ruffian's head and shoulders finally stopping when the man lost consciousness.
Jim picked himself up plowed into him, knocking the man into the bales of hay scattering it everywhere some fluttering down from the air as if feathers from a bird. Out of the corner of his eye Jim noted Trayne trying to sneak away. Turning his full attention to his opponent Jim threw several furious punches to the stunned man and grabbed him with one hand pulled back to hit him again. Jim released his hold and the man stared at him dazed and confused then his eyes rolled upward and he fell to the barn floor.
Jim let the man fall as he lunged toward Trayne. He grabbed Tryane's legs as his momentum carried them through the doorway and out into the barnyard. Trayne tried to pull his cane up but Jim was well aware how deadly a weapon it was and he pulled the cane from Trayne's grasp and threw it across the yard.
Trayne brought his foot up and was bringing it down onto Jim's throat when Jim put his hands up and stopped him. They grappled, each jockeying for position, until Jim finally managed to push Trayne's foot away from his throat. Jim heaved and Trayne fell to the ground.
That was the opening Jim was looking for and he jumped on Trayne and began to pummel him with his fists. All Jim could see or think about was his partner lying in the barn quite possibly dead or very near to it. Jim's fists pounded Trayne's form like pistons and there was little Trayne could do to block the blows. Jim pulled his hand back and his arm was abruptly jerked away from his task.
"Jim…Jim! Stop, he's not worth it." Jim turned and found himself looking up into the face of Jeremy.
"He killed Artie!" Jim spat as he pulled his arm free of Jeremy's grasp.
"No he didn't…at least not yet. Come on, Jim…let the deputies handle Trayne and his men. You have a partner to save."
Jim shook his head and realized Jeremy was right. With a final shove to Trayne's already battered face, Jim rose and ran back inside the barn. He slid to a stop beside Artie, watching as Orrin laid him out and began to check him over. Orrin had loosened his collar and removed his poison stained jacket, having tossed the offending garment aside. He was checking Artie's pupils and shaking his head.
"How bad is it?" Jim voiced the question no one else dared.
"Bad enough. He's not getting enough air into his lungs." Orrin replied as he was rummaging through the items he had brought from the house.
"Mr. Pike can you find me some sort of tubing about this big around?" Orrin held his hands up making a ring with his fingers.
Jeremy ran outside and to the house looking for anything he could find. When he returned he had a small collection of objects. He entered the barn just as Orrin was scooping up the items and returning them to the box. He took the things Jeremy had brought. He was sure he could use these.
"We need to get him to the train as soon as possible. I think I can work on him there better." Orrin said as he looked around the dirty barn then took in Jim's worried look.
"Don't worry Mr. West…it's just that what needs to be done shouldn't be done here. It's not sanitary enough here in this barn."
They rounded up the prisoners and began the short trek back to the train. Jeremy was glad it was only about a half mile…that meant they could get Artie treatment sooner. Jim and Jeremy chose to walk back, carrying the stretcher they had rigged for Artie. As soon as they entered the train Henry offered to operate the train allowing Orrin to work on Artie so they could get him to St. Louis quicker. Orrin dismissed him with a nod of his head and he went to Artie's room.
"Can one of you send a wire to St. Louis? If you know of a doctor there that would be a big help." Orrin quickly wrote down what he wanted them to ask and he turned his attention back to Artemus.
Jim snatched the paper from Orrin's grasp and ran into the parlor car, glad that he could do this much. It worried him that Artie was not receiving any medical treatment yet. Jim quickly sent the wire and waited impatiently for the reply.
It was some twenty agonizing minutes later that the reply came. Jim turned from his pacing and hurried over to tap out the acknowledgement. He smiled when he wrote the message out. They had indeed been able to get in touch with Dr. Geoffrey Oliver. He told Jim to have Orrin begin the treatment he had described as that would be the best chance Artie would have and the treatment needed to begin as soon as possible.
Jim tapped out his reply that Orrin would begin immediately and he dashed back to his partner's room with the news. Orrin read the telegram and nodded his head at the instructions from Dr. Oliver. He turned to his patient wishing for all the world that he was in his engine where he felt comfortable.
Orrin reached into the pan of boiling water with the tongs and began retrieving items he had placed in there to prepare them just in case he was given consent to start treating Artie.
"What did the doctor mean by getting air into his lungs as soon as possible? Artie's breathing isn't he?" Jim asked.
"I need to fashion something that will blow air into his lungs…help clear out all the bad air and the poison he took in." Orrin replied absently as he rummaged in the box.
"Hand me that funnel you found Mr. Pike." Orrin put his hand out and Jeremy immediately placed the funnel into his out stretched palm.
Orrin took in the funnel and shook his head. He asked Jeremy to head to Artie's lab and cut the small end off the funnel and file it down. While he was doing that Orrin quickly pulled the bellows from the box and inspected them. They hadn't been used in several years but there didn't appear to be much soot left on them. He took out his pocketknife and scrapped off what soot he saw and turned away from Artie.
Placing the bellows on the floor he gave it a few test pushes. The first few times he pumped his foot on the handles nothing happened and both he and Jim feared the bellows were broken. Frowning Orrin pick them up and looked into the opening. He took a long thin brush from the box, glad he had picked it up as an afterthought, and used it to pry something out of the opening.
Placing the bellows back on the floor Orrin tried again to pump the bellows with his foot. This time they were rewarded with a hiss of air and a small puff of dark smoke. Orrin picked the bellows up and poured some water and vinegar down inside the bellows. Jim had stood patiently to the side watching all the activity but he couldn't help but wonder if all this was necessary.
"Orrin…is all this necessary? Can't you just do whatever it is you need to do? Artie needs help and fast." Jim pleaded.
"Sir, I am going as fast as I can. Now this is going to be used to pump air directly into Mr. Gordon's lungs…do you really want to risk blowing bad contaminated air into him?" Orrin replied as he continued to clean out the bellows.
"No not at all. I just want Artie to…" Jim let the sentence trail off.
"I know Mr. West. We all want Mr. Gordon to make it through this." Orrin turned back to his work.