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In Denver, the Dreadnought had experienced the addition of a piece of equiped in hell

This new addition was a sno fixture as large as a sned to replace the pilot piece in case of a storm--or, worse yet, in case of an avalanche across the tracks The snoas circular and made of reinforced steel and cast iron, of such a size that four or five people could’ve stood within its opening But inside the circular fra blades, angled to h to land within its path It looked less like soned to bore tunnels in rocksor process entire herds of cows into ground beef

Every once in a while, often in the very deepest part of the night when things were the quietest, Mercy could hear so the mountain peaks and across the wide, blue lakes that met between them So far away, and she could hear it faintly but sharply It made her think of the prick of a pin left inside a dress after alterations: sudden, bright, and s that her car-​mate was still awake, Theodora Clay blinked sleepily and asked out loud, "What on earth is that noise?"--but not so loudly that any of the few travelers around her, all the re civilians, would awaken

Mercy murmured, "I couldn’t say"

"It sounds like another train"

"It ht be, soh the mountains Other paths"

Miss Clay yawned and said, "Yes, I suppose They ether for a while, until the pass at Provo"

"What’s so special about the pass at Provo?" Mercy asked

Miss Clay said, "Supposedly it’s the only spot where the mountains are passable for hundreds of ains, deals, arrangeh that pass, except the rails that run froh New Orleans, through Texas I expect it will be impressive All those tracks, side by side Crowded into one stretch like that I wonder how long it runs"

And then they slept In the , there was breakfast in the caboose with the inspectors, who never seemed to sleep, but always seemed very, very watchful After the inspectors had retired with their coffee, Miss Clay put in an appearance She seen men would be absent, so she could "eat in peace," as she put it

Mercy privately thought that it was very like a Yankee, to go to war over the rights of people whom you’d rather die than join for tea But in the name of peace, she kept this to herself

Malverne Purdue also kept to himself, in that corner beside the caboose’s rear exit He’d beconpost of a ," and threaten to enforce it with the Winchester across his knees By and large, he was ignored, except when one of the porters would ask him about a meal, or Oscar Hayes would arrive to relieve him for a few hours of sleep

Mercy could see him from the corner of her eye while she sipped her coffee, which she liked a bit better than the tea, all things being equal

Theodora Clay could see Purdue, too, though she went to great and chilly pains to pretend otherwise If ever she’d once looked at him with a kindly eye, the world wouldn’t have known it now A reasonable observerout between theaze clear lest her eyes reveal so of their adventure in the rearmost car

Tea came and went, and with it the dull daily routine of life aboard the train rolled on, every bit as monotonous as the tracks beneath the wheels Mercy ht her how to play gin ruone, and even if Miss Theodora Clay had owned a deck of playing cards, Mercy wasn’t entirely sure she would’ve liked to play

Soldiers patrolled the three reold-​filled car up behind the fuel cars to the caboose, where a scowl from Malverne Purdue ended the circuit before it could reach the refrigerated compartment Down to a , always listening, for the hoot of a train whistle co to beat them--to the pass, beyond which there was no reasonable way for one train to sabotage another On the far side of the pass, the rails went their separate ways oncethat span (which Captain MacGruder had told her was nearly thirty ine of southern origin were virtually none If the Shenandoah didn’t blow up the tracks by then, the Rebs would be out of luck

Mercy didn’t think to wonder what had happened to the doctor until someone mentioned that he’d debarked in Denver, sareatly Noever went anyplace near danger without a medical professional in their o And the truth was, even if Mercy had been a proper doctor with a proper doctor’s training and experience, she had only her small satchel filled with basic equip much more serious than a broken bone or a bad cut could only be ed, not treated