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Sixteen

The Dreadnought pulled into Denver early the nextand parked a few extra hours for repairs Most of the passengers debarked, all rattled and soies from the Union and vouchers to take other trains to their destinations Of the original occupants of Mercy’s car, only Theodora Clay and her indoers who’d been present when the meat-​baskets made their attack, only about a dozen opted to stick it out Consequently, the train co only three to house the soldiers and reers

Those who remained were confined to the train while the repairs were etat the first possible instant after the repairs were done The only exception was Horatio Korman, as let off his car with the captain’s tacit approval, much to the astonishment and concern of the other enlisted men

Purdue had stashed himself in the caboose, where he all but lived now Like the other passengers, he stayed on board while the Denver crews replaced s, reloaded ammunition bays, refilled boilers, and patched the le portal to the train’s very back end and guarded it when he could, and had his right-​hand man, Oscar Hayes, keep watch over it when Purdue was occasionally compelled to sleep Most of the pretense of law and order and chain of command had been abandoned in the last twenty-​four hours of the trip, and if Malverne Purdue had ever feigned any respect for the unit’s captain, his acting days were over

While all these situations were si, Theodora Clay caer car and sat across the sleeper coh she and her aunt had iven the reduction in the passenger load She placed her hands on top of her knees, fir the fabric of her skirt as she leaned forward and said, "Things are going from bad to worse"

"Yep," Mercy replied carefully, for she suspected that Miss Clay was notto the captain," she said "And trying to talk to Mr Purdue You must be aware by now that he’s a madman Did you hear he shot Cyrus Berry?"

"Yep"

Her forehead wrinkled, then smoothed "Oh yes They said your friend the Texian was there when it occurred I suppose he passed the inforrip on the dress and sat up straighter while she sorted out what else she ought to share "Anyway, as I said Regarding Mr Purdue"

"A htfully He won’t move, and he won’t take tea or coffee, and he just sits, with his chair beside the door and a Winchester lying across his lap and several other guns strapped all over hio Sane s"

"He’s not really crazy," Mercy told her "He’s just got a job to do, and he’s real excited about doing it"

Miss Clay said, "Be that as it ht be? Because no one seems to knohat’s in the last car, except that it holds the bodies of dead soldiers And I think we ought to investigate"

"We? You ht You and I For a brief andyour Texian friend if he ht be inclined to assist us, but for some reason or another, he see us again, but that’s neither here nor there"

"He’ll be back He’s picking up telegraht’ve been just the man to barrel past Mr Purdue, or to sneak past that other boy who does Mr Purdue’s bidding If nothing else, I doubt he’d have toopast the pair of them Those Texians Dreadful lot, the whole breed"

"I’ve often said the sa on about it, now, do you?" Mercy retorted

This shut down Miss Clay momentarily, but she chose not to read too far into the state the northern regions saions, and everyone knew it Either Miss Clay was choosing to believe she was being insulted by a Midwesterner, or she’d already concluded she dealt with a gray traitor and had come to terms with it, because she did not call attention to the remark

Instead she said, "Come now, Mrs Lynch There’s no need to be rude I want us to work together"

The nurse asked, "And why is that?"

Theodora Clay leaned forward again, speaking softly enough that her aunt, napping nearby, would not be roused by her words "Because I want to knohat killed those lads"

"I reckon it was a cannonball to the chest, or so Like as not, if there are real war veterans dead back there, that’s what killed them"

She nodded "That, or infection, or" She dropped the whisper another degree "Poison"