"Excuse me, can you tell me what kind of sound is that"
"That?" asked a puzzled passerby.
"Yes"
"Kid are you pulling my leg"
"No sir, I've never heard that kind of whistle."
"It's a train! I reckon you've never seen one, have you? Go in that direction and you will find the station"
Heath barely thanked the nice man and ran in the direction of the whistle. He didn't know what a train was and he was curious to find it out. When he arrived he stopped abruptly: here in front of him there was a monster who seemed moved by magic. Attached to it there were several covered wagons. When it stopped several people descended from them, so it wasn't dangerous as people used it. He stared at it for several minutes open-mouthed. He observed it more closely and found out that in front of it and as well under it there were a set of tracks. 'So it's the same as the wagons in the mine, instead of the mule they use that thing to pull the wagons,' he thought.
He stayed there until all people had disembarked from the wagons, then he dared himself to touch the black machine. At first he touched for a second with a finger then when he realized that he wasn't hurt he placed his hand. The surface was smooth, and in some parts, it was still hot. He was so mesmerized in his observation that he didn't realized that someone was approaching from behind.
"She's really a beauty, is she?" boomed a voice from behind him.
Heath was startled by the booming voice, he slowly turned around and slowly raise his head: in front of him there was one of the biggest man he'd ever seen. He was wearing blue overalls and a strange hat, his face was darkened by coal dust.
"Hey squirt what are you doing here by yourself"
"I's looking at the train. I never seen one"
"It's mighty big, isn't it? You wanna peek inside"
"It's possible?" asked an hopeful Heath.
"Yes kid, you know I'm the engineer"
"I ain't a kid"
"I'm sorry, I reckon you are only a midget then." said the man, teasingly.
"No I's eight." replied Heath trying to look bigger.
"In my eyes you are still a kid, and I'm telling you a secret. I allow only eight years old kids to visit Betsy." He said smiling.
"Oh, who's Betsy"
"I named the locomotive Betsy, come on I will up inside. My name is Hank and yours"
"Heath Thomson, sir"
"Heath where are your parents, do they know where are you"
"Mama died two years ago and I have no pa"
"Oh, I promised to show Betsy and I always keep my promise…okay let's start from"
For the next several minutes, Hank talked how the locomotive worked, he found in Heath a very receptive listener who asked few question but all of them very poignant.
"And Heath what do you want to do when you are old"
"I dunno maybe a soldier or a cowboy, I like horses a lot or maybe I can drive a train, you said you can go very fast with Betsy."
"Faster than a horse. You are very bright boy, and maybe when you will finish the school you will drive a pretty fast locomotive."
"Maybe." he replied unsure, he didn't want to let know Hank that he was too stupid for school and that anyway he wasn't allowed to attend one.
Hank looked at his clock and he found out that in a few minutes he had to leave to load coals and water.
"Listen Heath, do you remember that the locomotive moves thanks to water and coal? I must move Betsy to the storage so I can load them for the next trip." Heath was going to step down when Hank stopped him.
"I shouldn't do this, it will be our secret. You can stay here and maybe you can help me"
Heath reply was a big smile that could shallow a watermelon.
"Thanks, Mr. Hank." Was all he was able to say.
Even though the trip lasted only few minutes, it was a memory Heath would cherish for all his life. He even helped Hank to move some coals into the furnace. When the train stopped he profusely thanked Hank for the experience and bid goodbye from him. For the next several hours he simply sat near the station: this was one of the best days of his life.
It was near sunset when decided to move from the station, and started to scrounge for food. There were so many restaurants and saloons to chose from that he wasn't sure where to start from. First of all he decided to find a place where to spend the night, after a brief search he found some wooden boxes in a alley and from the state they were it seemed that they were abandoned they were big enough to accommodate his small body.
He waited for the dark and after a visit to the back alley of a fancy restaurant he was able to put enough scraps in his bag and then he filled his cup from a nearby pump. He wolfed down everything he was starving since he didn't have any lunch. He curled himself in a tiny ball inside a box and covered himself with his tattered blankets. Just before falling asleep he thought that Mr. Barkley would treat him nice and not everyone was mean as his uncle.