Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Vol. 125, No. 3 & 4. Whole No. 763 & 764, March/April 2005
- Автор: Dean David, Dempsey Timothy F.
- Год: 2005
- Язык: английский
- Год: Dell Magazines
- ISBN: ISSN 1054-8122
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Vol. 125, No. 3 & 4. Whole No. 763 & 764, March/April 2005». Краткое содержание книги:
“I might have been.”
“You’re a cowboy, aren’t you? I’ll wager you have a brace of pistols in your saddlebags.”
He smiled back at her. “You’d lose that wager. I have only one. But tell me what’s taking you all the way to Ogden. That’s a two-day journey.”
“Why should I tell you? I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Ben Snow. Ever hear of me?”
“No. Ever hear of Samantha Gaines?”
“I’ve heard the name mentioned often.” His reply startled her, wiping the sly smile from her face. Her change of expression made him laugh. “No, no, I’m only joking. That’s you, I suppose.”
“It is.” She’d turned stern, but he knew that wouldn’t last for long. “And if it’s any of your business, I’m traveling to Ogden to protest the killing of buffalo by trainloads of Eastern sportsmen.”
Ben nodded, aware of the problem. Railroad and business executives, often with their wives, organized hunting parties with officers from frontier army posts. With an escort of soldiers to protect them from Indians, they traveled west by special trains to the areas where herds of buffalo still grazed near the tracks. The carcasses of their prey, shot from the trains, were often hung from the caboose on the return trip.
Before he could reply, the conductor came through collecting their tickets and money. He was a bony man wearing a brass-buttoned jacket and a flat peaked cap with a nameplate that read Central Pacific. “First trip on the Eagle?” he asked.
“For me it is,” Samantha admitted.
“This is one of the best trains on the Central Pacific line,” he told them. “See these high ceilings and fresh varnish? You won’t find that on those old Union Pacific cars east of Ogden. These new cars are airier, and you don’t need bed boards for sleeping. Our seats draw out and join in the center. We have this upper tier of berths that are closed by day but open at night.”
“That’s good to know,” Ben agreed.
“Here’s a little map of our route, with the stops indicated. We stop for breakfast in the morning, dinner between eleven and two, and supper sometime between five and nine. At all other times you can purchase fruit, lollipops, and cigars from Jimmy the newsboy. You’ll see him coming through the train. He also sells books and newspapers. My name is Bill Wallman, if you need anything else.”
“How many cars are on this train?” Ben asked.
“It varies. Today we have seven. There’s the engine and coal car, followed by the baggage car and the Chinese car. On the westbound trips with emigrants we sometimes need two or three baggage cars. Then there’s this car for men and women traveling without families, followed by the family car and the caboose.”
“Why are the Chinese kept separate?” Samantha asked Ben after the conductor had moved on. “Wasn’t it Chinese labor that laid most of these tracks?”
“They work cheaper than American labor. Somehow that makes them a threat.”
It wasn’t long afterwards that Jimmy arrived to introduce himself and show his wares. He was a bright smiling lad of sixteen or seventeen, carrying his products on a wooden tray supported by a strap around his neck. “I also have soap, towels, and washing-dishes for the mornings,” he explained.
“I’ll be leaving the train this afternoon at Carson City,” Ben explained. “My horse is stabled there.”
“Sorry to see you go,” the boy replied. “It’s great country across northern Nevada. We pass through lots of old mining camps.”
Samantha had noticed the conductor paying special attention to a well-dressed man a few seats ahead of them. “Who’s the white-haired gentleman?” she asked Jimmy. “He looks important.”
“He is! That’s Hiram Killcanon, the California state senator. He rides the Eagle to Ogden every few months. Meets up with a trainload of Easterners for some buffalo hunting. He’s so good at it his friends call him King Buffalo.”
“Do they, now!” Samantha exclaimed. “I just might need to have a talk with him.”
After Jimmy had gone on his way Ben tried to calm her down. “I don’t think you want to confront him on the train like this.”
“Oh, don’t I? That’s the reason for my journey to Ogden, to protest against this buffalo slaughter!”
She left her place and moved down the aisle to the seat where the white-haired senator was chatting with a woman Ben couldn’t see. Samantha spoke to him and he glanced up. She said something else Ben couldn’t hear and suddenly Killcanon was on his feet. “See here, young lady—” The woman reached out a restraining hand, but not fast enough. He slapped Samantha across the cheek.
There were gasps from the other passengers who’d witnessed the altercation, and Ben ran down the aisle to her side. “That was uncalled for, sir,” he told the politician.
“Perhaps you didn’t hear her foul language,” Hiram Killcanon replied.
Ben was about to strike the man, but Samantha said, “He didn’t hurt me. It was nothing compared to shooting a harmless buffalo.”
Ben turned with some reluctance and led her back to their seat. He’d had only a glimpse of the senator’s companion, a middle-aged woman with black hair and thick eyebrows, wearing a soft felt hat. “Was that his wife with him?”
“With King Buffalo, you mean? I don’t know. Probably his mistress.”
“Calm down. At least you let him know how you felt.” He noticed that the moustached fellow across the aisle had been watching it all with interest.
Before long, a young man who’d been seated across from Killcanon and the woman made his way back to Samantha’s seat. “The senator has asked me to apologize for the earlier incident. He’s deeply sorry he struck you.”
“Who are you?” Ben asked.
“Ralph Munsey. I’m Senator Killcanon’s personal aide.” He looked the part, clean-shaven with a dark suit and string tie. “He would like to buy you dinner when we stop in Carson City.”
“That won’t be necessary,” she replied somewhat coolly. “But I accept his apology.”
“I wish—”
“Please,” she said, holding up her hand. “It is a dead issue with me.”
Munsey retreated, and Ben said, “You handled that well.”
“I certainly wasn’t going to have dinner with him! It would probably be buffalo meat!”
The senator’s female companion came back past their seats but ignored them, edging by Jimmy with his tray of sundries. “I have some nice apples,” the newsboy pointed out.
Ben took some coins from his pocket. “Give us two.”
“Want me to slice them for you?”
Samantha shook her head. “They’re more fun if you munch right into them.”
The apple tasted good to Ben, too. “Do you just ride the train all week?” he asked the youth.
“My run is from San Francisco to Ogden and back again. When the passengers switch to the Union Pacific line I turn around. They supply their own newsboys. The round trip takes four days and I usually get a day off between trips.”
“You’re from San Francisco?” Samantha asked.
“Yeah. I live there with my mom.”
“How’d you land a job like this?”
Jimmy’s smile turned momentarily somber. “My dad worked for the state. He was killed in an accident and they wouldn’t give us any compensation for it. I had to quit school to help support my mom. I was lucky to land this job. You get to see all sorts of people on trains.”
Ben had to agree with that. Up ahead, he could see the conductor arguing with a short Chinese man attempting to enter their car. Finally Bill pushed the man bodily through the door to the Chinese coach. “What was all that about?” he asked Jimmy.
“The Chinese car is crowded. That’s Wu Khan. He’s traveled with us before and he asked me if he could sit in here where there are empty seats. I told him he’d have to ask the conductor.”