Chapter 5

I was torn fer a minute 'bout what ta do. I could he'p Jubal, who was kinda my friend—he shore was gittin' me a heap of money, or I could stop the train afore it jumped the track an' maybe killed somebody. I thought I heard the train in the distance, so I made up my mind real fast.

I yelled at Jubal ta hang on, I'd be back fer him. I dropped my end of the lasso an' raced my hoss as fast as I could fer the train. I was lucky an' got there in time ta flag the train down. I told the conductor what had happened, an' that I was afeared that Jubal had messed up the track bad enough ta make the train jump the track. I told him where I had seen Jubal messin' with the track, soz he said he would look inta it when he got that far.

I said I would leave my hoss where I had seen the sabotage, an' he could tell from the hoss where he had ta be careful. I also told him about capturing Jubal, but the man had a broken leg, soz I wanted ta ride the train inta town where I could git a doctor ta look after it. He agreed, so I rode back ta where Jubal had been workin' with the track.

Quick like, I hobbled my hoss at the spot an' jogged over ta where Jubal wuz still lyin' on the ground. He said, "Howdy, Sam. I knew ya would be back fer me, soz I jus' lay back an' waited."

"Let me see how bad ya're hurt, Jubal. Ifen I kin, I want ta set yer leg afore we ride inta town on that there train."

"Thank God! I don't know ifen I could hold up ta a trip ta town on a hoss, right now. I'll jus' sit here an' let ya do what ya think best."

Between the two of us, we got his leg set an' splinted afore the rail wuz fixed good enough that the conductor wuz willin' ta trust his train on it. We managed ta git Jubal an' the two hosses inta the baggage car, an' I rode in there with 'em. We got ta town an' got Jubal an' the hosses off the train. It went on its way while I hunted up a doctor. The doctor said that there wuzn't nothin' more he could do, so I bought a small bottle of laudanum from him fer Jubal's pain an' tipped him two bits fer his trouble.

I sent a telegram ta Asa Blackman, askin' fer somebody ta meet us at the next train into Laredo. I said I had Jubal, but he was hurt. I could tell from the tone of Asa Blackman's telegram that he wuz sorry that Jubal wuzn't dead. Oh, well, ya can't have everythin' in this life.

I bought a couple of first class tickets soz Jubal could ride in as much comfort as possible, under the circumstances. He still had his bottle of laudanum, so he wuzn't too bad off. We had a pretty fancy car ta ride in; why, the car even had them new-fangled so called paper wheels what softened the ride a lot.

We pulled in ta Laredo, an' Asa Blackman actually met the train. He even had the $2,000 with him, soz I got paid right smartly. He wuz after me, again, ta go ta work fer the T&G, but I wuz still havin' nothin' of it. I could tell Asa Blackman was disappointed; he wuzn't used ta people tellin' him no. As he walked off, he said he wuz gonna keep after me 'til I changed my mind. I didn't think that would ever happen, but I did have the sense ta keep my mouth shut.

I had sold the two hosses an' tack when I bought the tickets ta Laredo, soz there wuz no reason I couldn't take the train all the way back ta Eagle Pass. I sent a telegram ta Ann, askin' her ta meet me at the train, since I needed a ride home. Damn, it wuz good ta use that word "home."

Ann met me, an' she wuz so glad ta see me that I wuz embarrassed. She practically climbed all over me afore we got in the carriage, and she come close ta sittin' in my lap on the ride home. Now, don't git me wrong—I loved the greetin' I got, but I wuz embarrassed 'bout it bein' so public. I'd been gone less than two weeks, but, ya'd think from the way Ann wuz carryin' on, that I had been gone fer a year, at least. Man, let me tell ya, I ate that up, even ifen it wuz embarrassin'!

We pulled into the yard an' Ann went runnin' inta the house ta tell Ma that I wuz home. Ma wuz out ta welcome me back damn near as enthusiastically as Ann had at the station. Shore, I wuz pleased, but I wuz surprised a mite, too. I carried my stuff inta the house, an' the stable boy put up the hoss an' carriage. I shore wuz pleased ta take the stuff inta OUR bedroom.

Pa knew 'bout me comin' home, today, soz he took off from the bank a bit early ta welcome me home. By golly, the whole family wuz doin' it, that shore made me feel good. I told Pa that night at supper that I'd be by the next mornin' ta deposit my $2,000 in the bank. Ann asked ta see it, sayin' she ain't never seen that much cash at one time. I emptied my money belt, an' I must say that $2,000 made a satisfyin' pile on the dining room table.

I really scored points that night with Ann when I asked how the weddin' plans wuz comin' along. She said that everythin' was on schedule fer the September 17^th weddin', an' I had nothin' ta worry about. That statement scared me a little, but not enough ta run away!

That night, Ann an' I went ta bed early, and we really must of scared the coyotes with her screamin' out her pleasure. I swan, that woman wuz the noisiest I ever heard of when it came to announcin' when she came. Oh, well, it didn't hurt nothin', an it shore made me feel 10 feet tall. The next mornin', we got knowin' looks an' smiles from every one of the servants, an' Ann jus' grinned right back.

Ann rode inta town with me in the carriage. I wuz happy ta see that she was wearin' her pistol without no promptin'. Since I wuz carryin' so much money, I thought it wuz prudent ta take my rifle along. I jumped out of the carriage at the bank, an' Ann went on ta do some more shoppin' for the weddin'. I wuz beginnin' ta be very happy that I wuzn't payin' fer the shebang.

I spent an hour or so with Pa in his office. I told him about how I had tracked down Jubal Atkins an' what he was doin' when I caught him. It did make a good story an' I enjoyed tellin' it, but I could tell Pa had somethin' else on his mind.

He finally brought it up: he wanted ta know how I felt 'bout runnin' the bank after he retired. I knew that "retired" was another word fer "died," but I didn't let on. I told him that I would go crazy sittin' behind a desk day in an' day out. I asked him ifen there wuzn't some other way ta handle the situation.

He agreed that there was, but it would still take some work on my part. He said that a day-to-day manager could be hired ta do the routine stuff, but I still needed ta know enough ta know what wuz goin' on, especially with the unusual thin's. He said that he wuz worried 'bout protectin' Ann's interests, an' that caught my attention like nothin' else would.

Pa suggested that I spend a month in the office with him every day soz I could learn enough about the business ta be a competent manager. I agreed ta doin' that, takin' Ann's interests inta consideration. I agreed ta come in with him every day, startin' tomorrow, soz I could learn enough to protect Ann.

A little while later, Ann came in, an' she wuz happy when I told her what we had decided. She was concerned 'bout her pa's health an' worried that he was workin' too hard. She'd noticed that he had chest pains sometimes, but he had written 'em off as heartburn. She didn't buy it completely, so she was glad that I wuz goin' ta take an interest in the business.

Talk about a borin' month! Oh, I made the effort an' learned a hell of a lot 'bout the bankin' business, but what I learned the most wuz that I didn't want no part of it as a steady diet.

Pa had a spell of "heartburn" just after my month of trainin' wuz over an' wuzn't able ta go in ta work fer a couple of days, runnin'. I could see that he was really run down an' not able ta give the business the watchful eye it needed. One afternoon, he was sittin' on the veranda, an' I wuz able ta corner him there.