Chapter 3

Working On The Railroad

Have you ever been in a situation where everything seemed hopeless and all was doomed for eternity? If you have, you would know what the Bourne orphans felt like right now. Every morning when they got up, Sir Walton would be waiting for them in the foyer of his huge stone castle-like home. He would say, "Morning, Bournes," in a casual way, giving them a cheery wave, but they knew he was just as false as his silly little wave.

He set them to work every morning, cleaning the floors, doing the dishes, washing the windows, cooking meals, taking out the garbage and making his bed. They would set the table, start the fire, dust the shelves, and clean his abnormally large spectacles. He laughed as they worked, as if it were a game, and they were pawns in a nice little game of Checkers. He had a horrible friend, Jade Shifty, who came down to visit every Saturday. She would laugh at them and say things like, "Look at those silly orphans."

But one day, while Shifty was over, she said something completely revolting. Alex, who was dusting a particularly cobweb-full corner this morning, came out covered in dust and soot. Shifty laughed and said, "See the boy, how stumbles as he walks? Probably got that from his parents. Maybe they were drunks-"

"MY PARENTS WERE NOT DRUNKS!!!" Alex exploded, dashing over to where Shifty stood. He rammed right into her, using his elbow to bash her stomach. She fell into the wall, her head crashing against the solid stone and knocking her unconscious.

"Alex!" His fellow siblings came running to Alex, who had no regrets on what he just did. He felt triumphant, for the first time since he had beaten Cassy at chess many years ago, at doing something that upset that darned woman. "Alex, what happened?"

But before Alex got the chance to answer, Sir Walton was at his throat.

"You idiot! How are you do this, you fowl, wretched, stupid orphan!" he shouted. And then he struck Alex straight across the face. The middle Bourne fell to the ground without a sound: not even a small yelp of surprise. When he had crashed against the stone, Sir Walton gave him several sharp kicks to the ribs. At every hit, Alex groaned loudly.

"Stop this, you madman!" shouted Cassandra, shoving the Count away from Alex. She knelt down next to him, Valentine still clutched in one of her arms. "Alex?"

The boy groaned again but allowed his sister to pull him into a seated position. "Are you alright?" asked Cassy, who rested her palm against his forehead. "That was a nasty blow."

Sir Walton was tending to Miss Shifty in the corner and kept glaring at the orphans every few minutes, which made the Bourne sisters jump. "He is mad," said Cassy crossly. "He should be arrested and thrown in prison, and then throw away the key!"

"You will be punished for this, mark my words."

The Bournes jumped to find Sir Walton standing directly above them. He had a sly, evil grin playing onto his face. Whatever it was, he had thought hard about it. "Tell me, do you simpletons know how to cook?"

Cassy considered the question carefully and came out with only one possible answer. "Yes, we do," she said confidently, standing up to meet her sinister new guardian.

"Good," he said. "Because I'm not feeding you for a week, so unless you really can cook, I see a possible problem for your little orphans." And with that, he strode away laughing, carrying Miss Shifty back to her house.

The Bournes' hearts sank. They couldn't cook, the only thing Cassandra had ever learned to cook was scrambled eggs, which she usually overcooked and turned black. The orphans didn't know if Sir Walton even had scrambled eggs in his fridge. So Cassy went to check. He didn't.

Why must I open my big mouth? asked Cassy in woe to herself.