Along The Fortune Trail (3 page)

B
ones had worked his way down between the coal car and the vault car and stood on the small platform at the front of the vault car, next to the heavy wooden door leading into it. The door had a portal opening at upper chest level that measured eight inches high by a foot and a half wide, making it nearly identical to the six other openings on each side of the car, proportionately spaced running the length. Other than these openings that served as rifle portals for defense, and the walk-in doors on each end of the car, the vault car looked very much like a freight car, with a large sliding door at mid-car where a ramp could be attached for loading big objects. The portals had slide coverings that were all presently open and created enough of a cross breeze to make the inside of the car almost tolerable on this hot, June day.

Bones felt the speed of the train slightly increase, and then came two short blasts from the train's whistle, signaling that Lonny was at the helm and the next phase was to begin. He took a few quick pulls on the cigar and lit the long fuse on one stick of dynamite that he'd separated from the bundle. Bones wheeled around facing the slat opening with his finger on the butt end of the stick and flipped it through the opening, propelling it ten feet inside the car, where it landed on the floor with a thwack. Two men inside were laid out napping on the floor at the back of the car next to four others who sat on boxes playing cards on a crate. The man who was seated facing the front of the car gave a startled “Hey!” when he saw the stick of dynamite hit the floor twenty feet in front of him.

In an instant, the stick of dynamite had the full attention of the others who were playing cards, and the two who slept awakened quickly when Bones's voice boomed through the opening. “You boys best throw that side door open and get the hell off this train—or your insides is gonna be outside your bodies real soon! And don't think about goin’ out that rear door. There's dynamite burnin’ right outside it, and one a my partners has a shotgun aimed at that door.” Bones had his pistol in the opening and popped off two shots as a man made a move, crawling for the stick of dynamite. The shots hit the floor right in front of him, splintering wood into his face. “I won't miss next time! Now get!”

The man backed up quickly while the others stood dumbfounded, unsure of what to do. Bones knew they wouldn't have time to consider the truth of his story, and it would be a lot tougher for them to hit him through the small opening than for him to hit them. Time was running out as the fuse sparkled away.

“Get that door open, Rusty!” one of them yelled to the man sitting closest to the slider. Rusty wasted no time. He threw the latch and pulled hard on the door, causing it to slide open. The hillside falling away from the door was not as steep as when the shoveler had jumped, but the train was going faster now that Lonny was at the controls.

“You boys can take your gear if you want, but you better move quick ‘cause there ain't no more ‘n ten seconds left on that fuse,” Bones yelled into the car, knowing that there was probably twice that amount of time left, but wanting to get this crowd moving fast.

Young Rusty grabbed his saddle and his gun belt, and was first out the door. The others were close behind. The next two moved quickly to the door and went one at a time, but the final three figured time was up and all jumped together.

E
thel Mckeever sat in the passenger car, daydreaming and gazing out the window at God's beautiful creation serenely rolling by, when she saw young Rusty hit the ground. He began rolling and kicking up a dust cloud as he and his gear naturally made the best of life's new course. As she realized what she was seeing, she uncontrollably exclaimed, “Oh my!” The other sixteen passengers in the car noted the direction of her attention in time to see an avalanche of men and gear tumbling down the mountain.

“What the hell is that?” a man yelled in a high-pitched tone. The rest of the passengers broke into nervous conversation, wondering why men two cars in front of them were abandoning the train.

“Maybe someone should go forward and see what's happening!” a woman said.

“That's a freight car right in front of us. There ain't no way to go forward save to climb over the top of it,” an older man replied.

“Well, me and my partner can sure do that,” said a young man nodding to his friend who looked equally fit. The explosion interrupted the conversation.

Bones had just cleared the top of the coal car and was lying spread eagle, face down, when the stick blew. He felt a sensation of being pressed into the coal and then separated from it, as if some spasm had coughed him up in the air. The momentary levitation had Bones wondering if the car was derailing. He slammed back onto the coal again and lay dazed. When his head cleared, Bones realized the car was still on the tracks, and in fact the whole train was still rolling smoothly courseward. He looked forward toward Derrick and yelled in a voice ringing with confusion and amazement, “If I'd thrown that bundle a four in there like Lonny had planned, we'd a-killed them boys all right, and we'd all be somewhere other ‘n on these tracks! We almost skipped ‘em on one stick!” He'd gotten all the words out before he realized that Derrick was no longer there.

Bones thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. His mind raced backward. He'd climbed up over the edge of the coal car just before the dynamite blew, and he'd seen Derrick face down near the side, his head slightly beyond the edge of the car. He'd seen him, hadn't he? The thought that Derrick had maybe gone over the side accelerated Bones's instincts. He figured the best hope for helping his friend now was to carry out the rest of the plan and get the train stopped fast.

Bones leapt to his feet, turned toward the vault car taking two fast, powerful steps and took flight, easily clearing the expanse between the two cars and landing on his feet. He moved down the length of the vault car, avoiding the ragged surface of the roof where the force of the explosion had done the most damage. The car swayed side to side under his feet as he maneuvered his way. He reached the end of the car and descended to the platform, then yanked hard several times on coupling ring before it broke loose. Bones took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, letting his muscles relax as the rear half of the train began to fall away, the separation growing greater with each second.

Bones's brief respite halted instinctively. He turned and ascended the ladder with long, easy movements, then ran forward along the top of the car to its end and leapt over the chasm and into the coal car.

Moments later, Bones looked down at the engineer's platform where Lonny stood with his hands resting on the throttle and his eyes searching the hillside for familiar landmarks.

“How much farther?” Bones yelled down at Lonny. Lonny wheeled around, startled by the break in his concentration. But he was now more interested in getting his own questions answered.

“Are we loose of ‘em?” Lonny shouted back.

“Yeah, we're loose,” Bones yelled, “But I think Derrick fell over the side when that dynamite blew … and he's got a busted leg … bad.”

“Well, what about them dudes in the vault car?” Lonny asked, as if he hadn't heard what Bones had just said about Derrick.

“They're all breathin’ and long since clear of this train. I wrangled ‘em off with a stick a persuasion. Where's the engineer?” Bones asked, not sure if he wanted to hear because of all the blood he could see on the platform.

“They all got off,” Lonny replied. After a brief pause of silence, Lonny continued, “I figure we got about two miles to go, so get on back and get that safe wired, you hear! We don't wanna be wastin’ time once we're stopped.”

“Which one you wanna blow first?” Bones asked.

Lonny froze, not sure if he'd heard Bones right or if Bones simply wasn't making sense. “There's more ‘n one?” Lonny blurted out in a disbelieving tone, his eyes large with anticipation as his mind processed the possibility of additional loot. Before Bones could answer, Lonny was already calculating, and fired the question at Bones loudly and directly, “How much dynamite we got?”

“Nine sticks left. I only used one stick gettin’ them boys off. Good thing too, ‘cause if I'd thrown that bundle a four in there we'd a-derailed for sure.”

Lonny let that go by, even though it had been his plan for Bones to throw a short-fused bundle of four sticks in and simply kill the guards. He knew they were out-gunned, so killing them seemed the least risky. “Hell,” Lonny said, “get movin’ and wire ‘em both.

Bones disappeared and Lonny returned his attention to the landscape, knowing that it wouldn't be long before they were at the rendezvous point.

C
ody Royals had rolled and smoked a dozen cigarettes over the several hours he had waited, most of which he spent sitting in the shade of a stand of cedars. It was getting on toward noon, and Cody was becoming impatient to hear the sound of the train coming. He'd told the horses all his best stories and conversed with them about all manner of things, pausing briefly after he'd ask the group a question about horse life, then continuing on as if one of them had filled him in. Tethered to different trees that naturally formed a sort of semi-circle to the tree Cody sat leaning against, the horses occasionally stamped and snorted, giving him the impression of an audience that stood mesmerized with all he had to say. But he had run out of conversation, and his tobacco pouch was beginning to dwindle, prompting Cody to think about rationing his smokes and turning his thoughts to how much longer he'd have to wait.

Cody had met Lonny a month and a half earlier at the Red Beaver Saloon. The nineteen-year-old had recognized Lonny as a co-worker at the mine and offered to buy him a drink, which Lonny gladly accepted at the price of listening to the lad ramble on. Lonny came to know the boy was just smart enough to be of some use in his plan, and so he befriended him.

Within a few weeks, a deal was cut. Cody would hold the horses at the rendezvous point for seventy-five dollars per man. Lonny knew it was a bargain, and Cody thought he'd hit the mother lode.

Cody decided he'd have one more cigarette and had just put the match to another perfectly-rolled smoke when he heard the train. “Well partners, guess it's time to burn some oats,” Cody proclaimed to the horses, who looked at him with blank expressions. “You just wait here a few minutes and enjoy the shade. You'll sure nuff be lathered up soon.” Cody carefully snubbed his smoke, put it in his shirt pocket, and began working his way down the hill toward the tracks.

Lonny pulled back hard on the handbrake with both arms, ratcheting all the clicks he could before he could move it no farther. He looked up the hill at the patch of boulders he had used as a landmark, feeling proud that he'd managed to stop the train right where he had wanted to. As he jumped off the train, he saw Cody coming down out of the trees. “Where's the horses?” Lonny yelled up at him in an impatient tone.

Cody stopped and stood dumbstruck a moment. “Well, damn yes, I guess I oughta bring ‘em now,” he finally blurted out and began marching back up the hill.

“When you get ‘em down here, stay with ‘em at the front of the train and keep ‘em tied good. I don't want that dynamite spookin’ ‘em loose, you hear?” Lonny yelled. Cody didn't look back, but nodded just before he disappeared into the trees.

Bones jumped off the front platform of the vault car as Lonny approached. “I got one wired and ready to go. Best to blow ‘em one at a time so's one don't foul up the other,” Bones proclaimed.

“Light it up,” Lonny commanded. Lonny turned facing up the hill and yelled with all the force he could, “Cody! Keep them horses tied up there until after it blows, you hear?”

“Yep,” Cody yelled back in a sharp report.

Lonny and Bones had just gotten to a safe distance when the dynamite blew. The concussion shook the ground and sent shards of lumber flying from the side of the car, causing Lonny and Bones to instinctively throw their arms up in front of their heads and fall back against the hill. “That shoulda got somethin’ open,” Bones said after a moment on the ground.

Lonny was on his feet and moving to the car, now pouring smoke from a ragged, new hole in the side. They wasted no time getting in and immediately had to use their hats to fan the thick smoke.

As the air cleared, they could see one of the vaults had toppled over and was pressed against the sidewall of the car. The one that Bones wired lay face-up near the back wall, its door bulging upward along the hinge seam. A sliver of an elliptical opening, several inches at the widest point, had been created by the blast. “That sure as hell ain't gonna be enough. Did you wire two at each hinge?” Lonny asked in an accusing tone laced with rising anger.

Bones shot Lonny a piercing gaze and spoke in a steady, even tone. “I sure wired it the way you said it should be wired—the way you planned it—a two bundle on each hinge with the same length fuse for each bundle. Looks like the top one went but the bottom didn't. You said even if they weren't timed right, one would set off the other. You were the dynamite expert here, as I recall.”

Lonny's temper held check. He knew Bones was worn thin and ready for a fight if Lonny wanted one. Lonny turned his attention back to the safe. The top hinge was gone, but the door and frame were warped together at the point where the hinge had been. “Get a breaker bar. Maybe we can pry this thing open. That's the only way we can save the rest of the dynamite for the second safe,” Lonny said with obvious disgust. Bones said nothing and was instantly gone.

L
onny removed his bandana, wrapped his hand, and knelt by the safe. The steel was warm but didn't burn Lonny's hand as he slid it into the opening several inches before his forearm stopped the progress. He rotated his hand in an effort to feel anything that might be within reach. He came up empty. Then he put his face to the opening and peered in, hoping to see some sort of riches waiting for him. In the dark interior, he could only detect several shapes. He fished in his shirt pocket and retrieved a stick match, struck it, and held it carefully while slowly slipping his hand into the opening. Lonny anxiously jammed his face to the slit and nearly burned his right eyeball.

Four medium-size heavy leather satchels were in the main chamber. Lonny felt a rush of excitement, sure that the satchels held the big loot he dreamed of. “Oh yeah, we're gettin these out where they need to be,” he whispered out loud to himself.

Bones reappeared with the breaker bar and promptly wedged the end into the opening near the hinge. He began to push down on the end of the bar with all he was worth. The steel began creaking and visibly moving, giving immediate hope that fueled Bones's effort even more. Lonny saw an open spot on the bar and joined the battle. They yelled and pushed and shouted and quivered, but soon became aware that there was no more creaking or movement.

“That son of a bitch ain't goin’ no more. We'll have to wire that second hinge again!” Lonny yelled.

Bones pulled out a blue and red-wrapped nugget of chewing gum and barely got the wrapping off before he popped it in his mouth and worked his jaws hard and fast to prepare the gum. Seconds later, he pulled the gum from his mouth and molded it into the trough at the nape of the hinge. Pulling two pieces of dynamite from his saddlebags, he twisted the fuses together and stuck the sticks together with another piece of quickly-chewed gum. Bones pushed the bundle against the trough of the hinge where it affixed to the gum. “It's ready to go,” he announced and pulled a couple of stick matches from his front pocket. “Looks like about a twenty second fuse.”

He lit the fuse and they skedaddled. The explosion rumbled the ground and shocked the air with thunder that reverberated up the canyon walls for several moments after the blast, lingering for a length of time. The duration of it made Lonny suddenly anxious, reminding him that time was not something he had much of.

Lonny shot into motion, walking briskly toward the vault car and yelling back over his shoulder as he walked. “You get that second one wired and fired right now! I'll get the haul outta this one!”

Bones instantly yelled back, “There's three sticks left! How do you wanna wire it?” Bones had already figured that wiring one hinge with the rest was the best shot. He was curious what Lonny would recommend.

Lonny stopped and turned to face Bones, looking him in the eye, but managing only a confused look for several seconds. Finally, in a slightly sedate but stern tone, Lonny said, “Strap the whole wad to the lower hinge. If we get that one, we can pry it open.” He turned and was on the move.

Bones was gratified to hear Lonny repeat the same strategy. Chances would be excellent of getting into the second safe if they could get a clean blow on one hinge. He popped more gum in his mouth.

The door on the first vault had been blown off and now rested in the front corner. Lonny's eyes grew big as he surveyed the open vault. Four large brown satchels were smoking, but intact, waiting to be retrieved by Lonny the Kid.

Bones set the dynamite as Lonny wrapped his hand and began pulling the satchels out with cowboy speed. “Grab those other two bags on your way out,” Lonny said as he hustled out the door with a satchel in each hand.

Moments later, Bones arrived at the front of the train to find Lonny throwing papers out of one of the open satchels while Cody stood wide-eyed, watching and instinctively knowing that the papers being thrown to the wind were not what this whole operation was about. “God damn! This ain't nothin’ but a bunch a bullshit files … paperwork and such,” Lonny said, the disbelief causing his voice to quaver and fluctuate as if something were caught in his throat.

Bones immediately dropped the two satchels he was holding, fell to his knees, and ripped each open. A sinking feeling washed over him as he realized the contents looked to be the same as that which Lonny continued to throw into the air with fury and disgust. “This ain't lookin’ no better here,” Bones said in a dejected tone.

Lonny had just thrown his first satchel aside and was pulling the second one wide open when the blast ripped the air. What Lonny saw inside the bag shut the explosion out of his mind. He was oblivious to everything except what his eyes were now feasting. The tight bundles of cash were piled several rows deep and rested next to triple-fist-sized leather pouches, each of which were neatly stenciled “Bank of Denver.” Lonny knew they contained some kind of loot, and there looked to be about ten of them.

The yell burst from Lonny's throat with uncontrolled jubilation, “Yeeeeeeehaaawwww! I reckon I got the right bag here!”

Bones and Cody crowded in close, peering down into the bag with open mouths as they took in the vision. “Will ya look at that,” Bones said, the wonder and marvel in his voice making it almost a monotone whisper.

Cody shook his head around as if he were trying to right his brain, then nervously said, “You could buy a heap a tobacco and boots with that!”

The comment brought Lonny out of the hypnotic haze he was in, returning his thoughts to the task at hand. “Damn, Cody,” Lonny said as he looked around and up at the boy with an expression that reeked with what an idiot he thought the lad was. “You're really lookin’ for the high life. Get them horses settled down before we all end up afoot. And Bones, you go look at that safe and see what we got. We can't be sittin’ here all day. I'll count the loot.”

Bones disappeared around the corner of the train and Cody moved over to the horses, petting each one and talking in a low voice, making clicking noises every few words. Whatever mental deficiencies Cody had, he sure knew how to handle horses. Within a minute he had them standing easy again.