Page 50 (1/2)

Somewhere outside, the conductor made the forine’s whistle belted out its piercing note, punctuating the conversation strangely They sat together in aard silence as soldiers and porters followed directions and cah the aisles as they came and went to their stations

When the train finally jerked itself forward in the first tentative steps toward ain "The arest that they leave it behind so the Rebels will leave the train alone"

The ranger pointed a finger at hiht of thatitiht have cut the thing’s couplers and ditched it along the track, somewhere before we hit the mountain pass I don’t mean to disrespect anybody’s war dead, but in this instance, the probleht to take precedence"

Mercy said, "But the gold’s up front, and they’re still coer replied, "Yeah, they’re still co to beat this led to wrap his English skills around the word "Shenandoah?"

"It’s a train Or it’s an engine," Horatio Korman explained "It’s a damn fast one, too--one of the fastest the ’federates have pulling for thened it and outfitted it in Houston a couple of years ago, and it’s been running the cracker line back and forth through Louisiana, Alabaia ever since She’s a V-​Twin runner; the first of her kind, but not the last And the engine syste the tracks like she’s barely touching them"

"Can it catch us?" Mercy asked

"In er and scratched a spot under its rim "Maybe And if they beat us to the pass, they’ll dynamite the tracks to keep us They know that ure anyone left is fair gaaveto come at us hard"

"For money," she said, as if she could hardly believe it of her own kinsmen

To her surprise, Horatio Korman said, "No That’s not the whole of it There’s plenty your captain friend left out of his story There’son in that front car than plain old money That deed you pulled, do you remember it?"

"Sure I do"

"It was blank, and you knohy? Because they don’t knoho they’re going to give it to yet They’re taking this load along the coast and down through California, recruiting all the way"

Inspector Portilla asked with a frown, "They are going to buy soldiers?"

"They’re gonna try"

"But folks out West," Mercy said, "they don’t give a daht o to war for a few dollars and a few acres of land?"

The ranger brightened, pointing at her now, because she’d asked exactly the right question "I’ll tell you who: Chinamen"

Mercy and the inspectors sat up and back in surprise "Chinamen?" she asked

"Chinaot ’e--and they don’t want them there, that’s a sure fact So their women and children here, that’s how much they want to be rid of the his fingers as he braced his elbows on his knees He said, "The West doesn’t want its Chinamen, and the East wants more soldiers The Chinamen want to stay here as citizens, and the Union can make theht be able to be bought," the ranger said "And there’s a surplus of ’e for a little respect That’s what the Union’s offering the, out in the middle of noplace where they won’t bother no one but the Indians Once they’re out there, they can fight each other or ives I don’t expect the governht that far ahead, to tell you the truth"

"You’re probably right," Mercy h If it works"

"As you can guess, the Rebs would just as soon it doesn’t work I can hardly blaht, I really do; but I don’t knohat to tell them"