Chapter 3

 

“CLARENCE TOLD ME we’ll be arriving in Eagle Rock tomorrow.” She picked at her food and haphazardly moved it around the plate. She really didn’t have an appetite tonight. Her stomach felt rock hard.

“You must be excited to finally get off this train.” Betty sipped her coffee and then dabbed her lips with the napkin.

“Yes, I suppose I am.” She put her fork down and rubbed one hand down her leg and chewed the thumbnail on the other.

“You don’t sound very convincing.”

“I just don’t know what to expect. To be honest, I’ll admit to being slightly afraid.” She fidgeted further, picked up and gripped her fork so hard her knuckles went white.

“I’m sure everything will work out just fine. Despite your supposed sins, I’m sure your parents wouldn’t purposely put you in a dangerous situation.” Betty reached into her bodice and removed a small wad of money. She flaked off several bills and put the remainder back from where she’d gotten it. She folded the others into a small square and reached across the table with it. “Take this. It’s not much. But if you find yourself in a bind, you may find you have a good use for it.”

Mayme shook her head. “No, I can’t take that.”

Betty shook the money at her. “I won’t take no for an answer. Tell you what. If in a year you find you don’t need it, send it back to me.”

“But how would I find you?”

Betty smiled at her compassionately. “You’d find a way. I know it.”

She took the money and looked at Betty helplessly.

Betty nodded toward her bosom, indicating where she should put it.

Mayme looked around and discreetly slid it into her brassiere, which wasn’t much because she had little to fill it with. “I guess that’s as safe a place as any.” A rush of warmth covered her face. She knew she wore a huge blush and gazed into her lap to hide it.

“It’s as good a place as any.” Betty chuckled. “That’s where I keep all my worldly possessions.”

Mayme realized Betty was referring to her well-endowed chest. She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

SHE WOKE EARLY and changed into her nicest dress. There was no telling what awaited her when she got off the train, but she was determined to look her very best.

She entered the dining car for breakfast and was disheartened to see her dining partner hadn’t shown up yet. Normally Betty was sipping her second cup of coffee by the time she walked in. But her chair was vacant.

She sighed and slid into her seat. A few moments later the waiter placed a plate with a slice of ham and scrambled eggs in front of her.

“Thank you. Have you seen the lady I normally eat with this morning?”

“Yes, madam. She dined very early and promptly took her leave.”

“Oh.” She tilted her chin down and frowned. “Okay. Thank you.”

“She did ask me to give you this, however.”

She looked up. He held a folded piece of paper. She took it between her thumb and index finger and mumbled, “Thanks.”

She held it in her lap until after he left. Her name was written in beautiful cursive. She unfolded it carefully and began to read:

 

April 8, 1886

My dearest friend Mayme,

Please forgive me for my absence at breakfast. I had full intentions of sharing a final meal and bidding you farewell, however I have unfortunately been detained. There are times we just can’t control the consequences of a destiny chosen. This is one of those circumstances.

Promise me that when you disembark from this train, you will follow your dreams and not a path others have chosen for you. The west is a dangerous place, but if you have trust in yourself to move forward, you will be safe. You are a strong young lady and I hope you will eventually find someone deserving to own your love.

All the best,

Betty

p.s. Don’t forget your safest asset.

 

She smiled sadly and carefully refolded the note. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and slipped it into her bodice. During the week she’d been traveling, Betty had made the time go faster even though they’d only seen each other at meals. Suddenly the loneliness she’d felt when she first boarded the train returned. It wasn’t as if she expected Betty to hold her hand when they arrived in Eagle Rock, but her self-confidence might’ve been given a boost had they been able to say goodbye face-to-face.

Although she’d lost her appetite for breakfast, she discreetly wrapped the slice of ham in the napkin and slid it in next to Betty’s note. She’d rather be more safe than sorry if her next meal was long in coming.

She returned to her assigned car and double-checked that she had gathered and packed everything. Satisfied, she turned her attention to the much-changed landscape outside. The dull flat prairies had transformed into rolling hills to the south and a high snow-covered mountain range to the north. The train crept up upon and eventually passed a stagecoach. Six bay horses pulled the four-wheeled coach at a hard run. White froth oozed from under their harnesses and streaked down their sweaty hides. The driver leaned forward on his bench seat, snapping the long whip above their backs, as if he was racing the iron horse.

“We’ll be arriving in Eagle Rock in an hour,” Clarence said from the aisle.

She turned and met his kind eyes. “Thank you. I packed early so I’m pretty sure I’m ready.”

“I wish you the best of luck.” He reached into his pocket and with a sly smile, removed a parcel very much like the one he’d given her the first day on the train. “I want you to take this with you. Just in case.”

“Oh, Clarence. You don’t have to do that.” She rose from her seat and moved into the aisle.

“Do you know where you’re going when we get to the train station?”

She frowned. “No. I’m afraid Father arranged everything and neglected to tell me.”

“Then, please, take this. You have no idea where your next meal will come from, do you?”

She shook her head and smiled. “You are too kind. Thank you. I wish I could repay you in some way.”

Clarence handed her the food and placed his other hand on top of hers as she grasped it. “Just stay safe and be well.”

She nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

She spent the remainder of the trip scanning the landscape and glancing at the door where she hoped Betty would miraculously appear to say a proper farewell. The countryside changed but not a single soul passed through the door.

The train’s whistle rose to a deafening pitch as it neared its destination. She reckoned everybody for miles knew of its impending arrival. Horse-drawn wagons and people on horseback traveled the roads in all directions. The constant traffic caused a low layer of dust to hover just above the ground.

The train slowed. Its break with momentum pushed her forward in her seat. She put her hand on the seat in front of her and braced herself. With a sudden screech of wheels, the joints of the eight cars banged together and the iron horse came to a full stop. White steam puffed out and engulfed the immediate area around the train. Once it dissipated a crowd of people suddenly came into view. Several exchanged hugs or handshakes and then lugged their baggage through the train station, where she suspected the carriages were parked on the other side.

She sighed deeply. She didn’t recognize a soul and hadn’t expected to. Her gut felt hollow with the uncertainty of what was to come.

She waited for the majority of people to depart before she took hold of her bag and left her seat. She took one last futile glance into the next car, searching for Betty, and stepped down onto solid ground.

Horses neighed, people yelled to one another, and dogs barked. The train puffed slowly as if recovering from a long run. The noise and commotion were nearly overwhelming. The smells of coal, horse manure, unwashed bodies, and the ever-present dust, mingled in the air. Not knowing what else to do, she sat down on a bench located near the ticket booth. From that vantage point, she hoped to catch the eye of whoever was supposed to be her porter.

Things eventually quieted as the crowd dispersed. They took their horses and dogs with them and an eerie silence settled around her. She looked around and realized she was one of only six people, and four of them were railroad workers wordlessly readying the train to continue on toward who knew where.

The men carried shovels to what looked like a short railroad car filled with coal. It was identical to the one she’d seen in Chicago except this one was attached to a hand-cranked platform so it could be moved from train to train, she suspected. In unison the men started shoveling coal into the car attached to the train.

This station was a little larger than the one in Chicago. Two other steam engines, each black and silently imposing, faced different directions on separate tracks. She briefly wondered if any of them could take her to a better place than where she was headed. She hated not knowing the plans Father had arranged for her. He could’ve at least told her where she was going and what she’d be doing. He’d been angry with her. There was no doubt about that. But it hardly warranted sending her this far away. She thought her parents had loved her. Apparently they loved their reputation and family name more so and had no room for a daughter they perceived as a disgrace.

“This is ridiculous. Someone must have been notified I’d be coming today.” She took the suitcase by the handle and gruffly stood up. She spotted a shadowy movement in the ticket office and decided getting information from there might be her best bet.

She strode to the counter and waited a few moments. No one appeared promptly, and she knocked on the window. “Excuse me. Could somebody please help me?”

Footsteps signaled the approach of someone.

“Can I help you, young lady?” A man whom she assumed was the ticket agent, had a lean face, pitted and scarred, with very thick eyebrows. A light growth of whiskers shadowed his face. He wore a spindly pair of round wire glasses that accentuated the deep grainy circles of black under his eyes.

“I hope so. I’ve just arrived on this train and it appears there’s no one here to meet me.”

“Do you know who was supposed to greet you?”

She let out an impatient snort and crossed her arms over her chest. “I wish I did.” At this point she couldn’t hide her frustration, nor did she care.

He stared at her for a moment. “May I ask what your business is here?”

“I wish I knew that too. My father just handed me the ticket and didn’t tell me anything.” She didn’t trust her mood. Another wave of irritation flowed through her. What difference did it make anyway? She felt like reaching in, grabbing the man by the shirt collar, and shaking him. But it was hardly his fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault, except her own for ignoring the school headmaster’s demands. She cast her eyes downward. The past continued to sneak through the back door of her thoughts. If she’d only listened she wouldn’t be in this predicament. She was alone and without a single thought of where to go or what to do.

“If you walk all the way through town, you’ll find a white-washed two-story house on the left. There’s a sign out front that says Waywards. I’m pretty sure that’s where you’re supposed to go. Mrs. Randall runs the place. Tell her I sent you.”

“Mrs. Randall? I don’t understand. How can you be certain?” She blinked and shook her head slightly. She glanced around to see if there was someone else she could ask.

“Young lady, you’re not the first to get off a train and not know where to go. There’s been dozens of girls just like you. Now do as I say. Mrs. Randall will take good care of you.” He slid the window closed and disappeared deeper into the office.

She bit her lip and gave in to the futility of it all. She needed someplace to stay. There was no getting around that fact while she figured out what she was going to do. Hopefully this Mrs. Randall would take her in.

With suitcase in hand, she walked through the station, past the hitching posts, and out onto the now deserted road. To the left was nothing but vast hummocks covered in silver prairie grass. The breeze dawdled through the stems and lazily swayed them to and fro. Large shadows moved across the steppe as clouds scudded over the blazing sun. Thermals undulated above the horizon causing a mirage-like image.

A short distance away and to the right, a row of buildings lined both sides of the road. Trees peppered the little oasis of a town, giving a green tinge against the gray sidings of the structures. She shrugged and pointed her feet in that direction. Each step raised a tiny cloud of dust that followed her. Every once in a while, the wind swirled the dust up into her nose and made her sneeze.

She stopped near the edge of where the settlement began and gathered her bearings. At first glance it seemed nearly every building had a sign in front of, or attached to it. There was a hotel on the corner and a church immediately opposite it across the street, a mercantile, saloon, livery, doctor’s office, another church with a very high steeple and various houses interspersed along the street. The bawling of cattle drew her eyes to a stockade near the livery. People with indiscernible faces walked along the rutted road like ants on a mission, dodging men atop horses and numerous wagons of all sizes.

“Here goes nothing. Welcome to my future.” She stiffened her shoulders, gathered her resolve, and became one of the ants.