Chapter 11

Well, that wuz half the job. Now, all we had ta worry 'bout wuz the attack on the express car. When the conductor showed up from the baggage car, I told him what had happened. I also told him that I wanted ta post Ezra an' Bill in the express car at the next water stop. Meanwhile, we'd haul the six bodies we already had inta the baggage car ta git them away from the payin' passengers. By now, the valuables had been returned ta the passengers, soz there wuzn't any more reason fer us ta stay in the passenger cars.

Hester didn't mind bein' left behind while we men all adjourned ta the baggage car ta wait fer the next attack. 'Bout all we accomplished fer the next few miles wuz ta demolish the coffee supply, but the conductor didn't complain as long as we wuz huntin' train robbers while we wuz doin' it.

I kinda figured it wuz gonna happen that way: the rest of the gang wuz waitin' fer us at the next water stop. One man jumped inta the cab with the engineer while the fireman wuz up on the tender gittin' more water. The rest of the gang, five men, converged on the express car. "OPEN THE DOOR!" wuz hardly shouted afore my people piled out of the baggage car an' started shootin'. Ezra's shotgun wuz mighty effective, he knocked down three men an' one horse with his two barrels. The rest of us accounted fer the last two bandits at the express car.

I don't know ifen he wuz a fool or not, but the bandit in the engine cab jumped out an' tried ta run away. It wuz almost funny, in a macabre way, ta see a body jump so many different ways at once as everybody took a shot at him, an' the bullets hit. There wuzn't any question but what he would hang ifen he surrendered, so, maybe, he wuz jus' takin' the easier way out. We never got a chance ta ask him.

There wuz very little extra delay at the water stop, since none of the train crew wuz hurt. We tossed the dead bandits inta the baggage car, an' I appointed Eddy an John ta take the hosses inta town ta sell them. There wuz twelve hosses, so that wuz more than one man could easily handle. The rest of us piled back onta the train an rode it inta Eagle Pass.

Hester an' I headed fer the office where I dictated an' she wrote up a report fer Asa Blackman. We put it in the mail that afternoon, an' I expected a bank draft fer $4,752.31 ta be on the next train ta reach Eagle Pass after Asa read the report. Three or four jobs like this a year would keep us in business fer a long time.

We didn't git much demand fer Jim an' Andy's accountin' skills, but they wuz happy ta become regular field agents, soz that wuzn't no problem. Everybody in the office, includin' Hester, developed a likin' fer poker, soz there wuz a game goin' on the whole time there wuz enough people in the office. The stakes never got very high, but it wuz enough ta keep everybody entertained when they wuzn't out on a case.

One afternoon I came home ta a wonderful surprise. Ann announced that she wuz knocked up! She attributed it ta one of our trips ta the swimmin' hole; I didn't care when it happened, but I did wonder how she could be so shore. Anyways, I wuz as thrilled as I could be, but Ann said that I should calm down, cuz it wuz gonna be a while, yet, afore she even started ta show. She could say fer me ta calm down as much as she wanted ta, I still felt like king of the world, an' it wuz days afore I returned ta normal.

Did I say train robberies wuz becomin' fashionable again? Well, that wuzn't the half of it. It wuz less than a week after the T&G case wuz resolved that I got a telegram 'bout a problem the A&W wuz havin'. It wuzn't exactly like the T&G case, cuz they wuzn't botherin' the passengers. The bandits wuz jus' goin' after the express car. I took the train inta Austin the next day, an' I reached an agreement ta hunt down the bandits. I returned ta Eagle Pass with a signed contract, so we immediately went ta work.

The A&W only ran an express car once a week, so our workload wuz lower than what wuz needed ta keep everybody on that job. Hester wuz no gunfighter, though she could take care of herself when the need arose, soz I didn't include her in the rotation of agents what wuz assigned ta this job. I put four men on the job at one time, two in the express car an' two in the baggage car.

We had been on this case fer a week when a man came inta the office an' spoke ta Hester, "Howdy, Ma'am? I'm in need of some detective work, an' I don't know where ta turn. The marshal can't handle it, an' the sheriff don't seem ta be all that interested."

"Good day, Sir. Please tell me some of the details an' I may be able ta tell ya ifen we can be of assistance."

"Yes, Ma'am. Well, it's kind of complicated. My sister wuz kidnapped a week ago, an' I ain't heard a word. I wuz in Austin on business on the night when she disappeared. Everythin' wuz fine when I left fer the train, an' she wuz gone the next day when I got home. I can't imagine why anybody would want ta kidnap her, an' I ain't received a ransom note, but I can't figure out why she would run off, either. It jus' don't make sense ta me."

"Mr. Hopkins is not in the office right now, but he should be in within the hour. This is not the kind of job we normally take, but he may be able ta he'p ya. Please give me yer name, Sir, an' I'll give him yer information."

"OK, I'm Jasper Winslow. I'll wait in the saloon down the street, an' I'll be back in 'bout an hour."

'Bout a half-hour later, I wandered inta the office an' asked Hester ifen there wuz anythin' I should know about. She said, "A man named Jasper Winslow wuz in here a little while ago an' should be back soon. He wants he'p ta find his sister, what he says wuz kidnapped about a week ago. I told him it wuzn't the type of job we usually take, but ya might be interested ifen he talked ta ya. He promised ta be back in 'bout 20 minutes from now. Do ya want ta see him?"

"Yeah, I better. We need ta branch out inta all kinds of detective work ifen we hope ta make a success of the business. Bring him ta me when he comes in, ifen ya please."

I sat down at my desk an' shuffled some paperwork fer a few minutes. Hester brought a man over ta my desk, an' I stood ta greet him. We wuz introduced ta each other, an' he sat down. By doggies, it jus' dawned on me that I need ta git a private office an' some comfortable furniture ifen we are gonna git more drop-in business.

Anyways, Winslow told me his story, an' I told him that we would look into his case, but it would cost him $10 a day, plus expenses, with the first two days payable in advance. He didn't quibble, but dropped a double-eagle on my desk an' looked mighty relieved. We talked fer a while longer, an' I asked ifen he had a picture of his sister, as that would make thin's a lot easier. He said that he had a picture of her at his ranch, the Lazy J. I agreed ta send out one of my men ta look the place over an' pick up the picture sometime later that day.

He left, an' I went ta talk ta Hester. "Hester, ya did the right thing with Jasper Winslow. He's paid me $20 ta take his case; here it is. Save it aside, I may want ta frame it. Also, please look inta closing off a private office fer me an' gittin' me some fancier furniture. We want ta impress clients like him, an' we need a fancier place ta do it."

"OK, I'll git on it this afternoon. Who ya gonna put on the case?"

"I think I'll give it ta Eddy. He's had some experience with his bounty huntin' at bein' a detective."