*Author's Note: Sarah, I'm not sure if you will see this or not. I would not call this a Ruby story. Yes, she will be in the story, but it's not centered around her. Maybe you will come back, and maybe you won't. I really hope you do.
Chapter 4 The Train
For the next several days and nights, Lewis and Lenny would ride during the day and set up camp at night. During one of the days, Lewis managed to shoot a rabbit. The rabbit was roasted over a fire and thoroughly enjoyed by Lewis and Lenny. They did not waste one ounce of the edible part of the rabbit. What they didn't eat for supper, they would eat for breakfast the next morning.
"Where do you reckon we are?" Lenny asked as he finished his last piece of rabbit.
"Oh, I can't say for sure," Lewis replied. "But if I had to guess, I'd say we were close to Kansas." Lenny nodded. "Alright, let's get things cleaned up and go to bed. I wanna be riding at sunrise."
The sun had barely come up over the horizon, and Lewis and Lenny were already riding. Before leaving their camp, Lewis and Lenny finished the rabbit and filled their canteens. "I hope that rabbit holds ya over for a while. We're runnin' low on food."
At that time Lenny was satisfied. He nodded his head. "I'm pretty full."
"Good. Let's get movin'." Lewis gently squeezed the horse's ribcage with his calves to encourage it to move forward. Lenny did the same. The duo rode towards the east, further away from the life that Lenny once knew.
The sound of a train whistle bellowed in the distance. The sight of a steam locomotive could be seen ahead. Soon the screeching sound of the wheels on the metal track drowned out the sound of the whistle. The train, heading eastward, was stopping in the middle of the prairie.
Lewis took note of this and he began to calculate a scheme. He gently tugged on the reins, bringing his horse to a halt. Lenny followed suit. He wasn't sure why they stopped. They hadn't been riding that long.
Curiosity was starting to get the best of Lenny. "Why did we stop? I'm not tired or hungry. We can keep on riding."
"I'm sure ya could. Ya see that train up ahead?" Lewis pointed to the train that was less than a mile away. Lenny nodded his head. "My gut tells me it's heading ta Garden City."
"What makes you think that?" asked Lenny as he shifted around in the saddle.
"There's a train depot in Garden City and the train is headin' in that direction. Now, we're aimin' ta go ta Garden City. We keep ridin' these horses, 'n it'll be at least a day or two until we get there. We get a ride on that there train, 'n we'll probably be in Garden City by nightfall." Lewis scratched at his beard that had been growing since he had taken Lenny.
Lenny's eyes widened as Lewis's words began to sink in. "Are we gonna sneak on the train and steal a ride ta Garden City?" Lenny was hoping for a yes. If they got caught, that could be Lenny's ticket to being rescued.
Lewis was thinking along the same lines of Lenny in regards to getting caught. That's why he had no intentions of sneaking on the train and stealing a ride. "Of course not. I ain't gonna risk gettin' caught 'n being thrown in jail. We don't need no negative attention. You just follow my lead." A thought came to Lewis. "And don't you think of doing anything heroic to get yerself out of this. You know what'll happen if you do."
Lenny knew what would happen. He wasn't going to risk his real pa's life. He also wasn't going to risk another slap across the face. It struck Lenny that Lewis still had trust issues with him. Lenny would have to fix that. Inspiration struck as Lenny responded to Lewis. "I promise to follow your lead, pa." Lenny waited for Lewis's reaction to Lenny calling him, pa. It left a sour taste in Lenny's mouth. But if that's what it took to earn Lewis's trust, then Lenny would call him, pa.
The smile slowly spread across Lewis's face, while tears sprang to his eyes. He wanted to grab Lenny in a big hug, but sitting on their horses made that difficult. Instead he ran his hand up and down Lenny's arm. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Lenny, my son, hearing you call me, pa brings me such joy. We are gonna make a great team. I'm gonna raise you right. You ain't gonna end up in prison or on the end of a rope. Come on. Let's catch that train before it leaves."
Lewis and Lenny rode up to the front of the train and dismounted their horses. Lewis walked up to the conductor. Lenny followed. "Excuse me, sir. My boy 'n I noticed the train. Problems?"
The conductor studied the pair that had approached him. They seemed harmless. "Nope. We're just making a water stop. Anything I can do for you?"
Lewis scratched the top of his head and chuckled. "It's funny you ask. My boy 'n I have been traveling for quite a spell. We're probably a few miles away from gettin' saddle sores. I was wonderin' if ya had any passenger seats available for me 'n my boy. I'd pay ya for them." Lewis pulled some money out of his pocket.
The conductor reluctantly shook his head. "I'm afraid there aren't any seats available." He saw the look of disappointment on Lewis's face as Lewis started to put his money back in his pocket. "But I could probably have the two of you ride in one of the cattle cars, that's if you don't mind riding with a few cattle."
Lewis's mood had quickly gone from disappointment to good fortune. "We don't mind at all. I'm Lewis Price 'n this is my boy, Lenny. How much do I owe ya?" Lewis had his money ready.
"Well, seeing that you and your son aren't riding in a passenger car, I won't charge you full fare. Tell you what, give me two dollars and fifty cents. That's a dollar twenty-five for the both of you." The conductor held out his hand to collect the money and Lewis obliged.
"What about our horses?" Lenny inquired. Lenny had been a silent observer up until now. He wasn't sure if he should speak or not. He didn't want to say the wrong thing. However, Lenny did not see any harm in asking about the horses.
Lewis had briefly forgotten about the horses. "My boy brings up a good question. What about our horses? I'll pay ya more." Lewis reached back into his pocket.
The conductor put up his hand. "Put your money away. I have a place for your horses." He pulled out his pocket watch and looked at the time. "We'll be moving in about ten minutes. Take your horses to the second last car and secure them." Lewis and Lenny turned to get their horses. "By the way, where are you and your son headed?"
Lewis stopped and turned his attention back to the train conductor. "St. Louis. Me 'n my son aim ta start a new life in St. Louis."
"Well this train will take you as far as Garden City," informed the conductor. "Any further than that, you'll have to pay full fare to ride in a passenger car. Besides that, there won't be a train headed to St Louis for several days."
Lewis scratched at his beard. "I kinda figured that's where this here train was headed. Me 'n my son have been doin' enough travelin. A few days rest sounds mighty fine."
The conductor left with a nod of his head, while Lewis and Lenny continued on to their horses. Before taking the horses to the train car that was pointed out to them, Lewis and Lenny removed the saddles, saddle bags and canteens. They slung the saddle bags and canteens over their shoulders and carried the saddles to the cattle car. Reaching the cattle car, Lewis put his gear down and slid the big door open. Lewis and Lenny were greeted with the familiar odor of cattle.
Lenny scrunched up his nose. "It doesn't smell the best in there." He was not looking forward to traveling in the cattle car.
Lewis picked up his gear and heaved it up inside the car. Taking Lenny's gear from him, Lewis did the same. "I ain't gonna disagree with ya, but we'll get ta Garden City a heck of a lot faster this way. Alright, climb on up there." Lenny followed Lewis's order. After Lenny was in the car, Lewis climbed in. Lewis was about to pull the door close, when he heard the conductor calling his name.
"Mr. Price! Wait!" the conductor shouted as he ran towards the cattle car. When he reached it, he was slightly out of breath. "I took the liberty of gathering the leftover sandwiches and apples from the dining car. I thought the two of you might be getting hungry." He handed the basket of food to Lewis.
Lewis gratefully accepted the basket. "Much obliged." He looked over at Lenny who was subconsciously licking his lips. "And it appears my son is too."
"It would be mighty strange if boy his age weren't hungry," the conductor laughed. He strolled away from the cattle car and towards the engine. Several minutes later, the train started to trudge forward.
"When do you reckon we'll be in Garden City?" Lenny questioned as he eyed the basket of sandwiches and apples.
Lenny's staring of the basket of food did not go unnoticed by Lewis. He took a sandwich out for Lenny and one for himself. Lewis handed one of the sandwiches to Lenny, who eagerly accepted it. "Eat it slowly. There are two more sandwiches and four apples. We can eat two of the apples with these sandwiches 'n pack the rest of the food in the saddle bags. Ta answer yer question, I reckon we'll be in Garden City later this evening'."
Lenny listened to Lewis and slowed down his eating, taking small bites of his sandwich. He appreciated Lewis's answer. Dealing with the smell of cattle for several hours wasn't going to kill him. It wasn't like he had never been around cattle and their smell. He lived on a small cattle ranch with his real pa. Lenny closed his eyes as memories of his pa invaded his thoughts. What he wouldn't do to be with his pa again. Lenny didn't even know if his pa was dead or alive.
"Are ya tired, boy?" asked Lewis, disrupting Lenny from his reverie.
"Yeah," Lewis partially lied. He was tired, but that's not why his eyes were closed. Lenny hoped Lewis wouldn't realize he had been thinking about his pa.
"I'm sleepy myself," Lewis yawned. "Finish eating, 'n then unroll yer bed roll on the pile of hay over there. I'll do the same with my bed roll."
Lenny finished his sandwich and apple. Grabbing his bed roll, Lenny untied the string, unrolled it, and spread it out on the hay. Once Lenny had the bed roll situated, he laid down on top of it. Not realizing how tired he was, Lenny was asleep within a few minutes. A couple of hours later Lenny was awakened by Lewis's loud snores. In the time he had spent with Lewis, Lenny had learned that Lewis was in his deepest sleep when his snores could wake the dead. Lenny decided that bit of knowledge may be useful for him. He closed his eyes and did his best to go back to sleep.
TBC