Read Online The Strangers of Kindness by Terry Hickman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Terry Hickman
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track. Jennifer and Surgeon plucked Sissy off his back.
With their help he climbed up and over and dropped into the empty car in a heap. Surgeon climbed across the others holding a flashlight. “Let’s see those stitches.” Gently he pulled the bandage away.
The strain had reddened the flesh but the stitches had held. Surgeon beamed.
“Nevada here we come!” Curt yelled suddenly, and they were on their way.
* * *
Four nights and three days of riding, two days spent camping under a bridge waiting for the next connecting train, two more nights of riding. They hid out in storm sewers, when they had stopovers in towns, or under rocks or in thickets out in the sticks. They were uniformly filthy, sore from banging around in train cars, and getting hungrier. By common understanding, only Sissy and Joseph ate their fill. The weather was cold and they slept in a pile, glad they’d bothered with the cumbersome blankets.
The train-changes worked smoothly. Toward the end of the sixth day of travel Curt started getting excited. They’d landed in a coal car with a wedge-shaped container, miserable for sleeping. They arranged themselves as comfortably as possible at the front end, sheltering from the wind.
“We’re almost there,” Curt said over the pounding wheels and the wind. “Tomorrow we’ll be in Ne-vay-da!”
They were all too weary to share his elation. Theo and Jennifer exchanged glances, reading each other’s thoughts: And then what?
The bounding train finally rocked them to sleep. Late in the night Theo woke to find the car at a standstill. He stayed immobile, straining his ears. From either end of the train there were distant, sporadic voices, calling back and forth. He scanned the sky above their car. No buildings, no lights; where were they? What was happening?
“Eighty-one okay!” was the first call he could understand, from the east end of the train. Answering, from the west: “Forty-six empty!”
It was a car-by-car check for hobos. Theo sat with Sissy sleeping on his belly, his legs bent up against the other side of the V-shaped bottom, waiting. If they moved, the noise would give them away. If they didn’t, they’d be caught anyway.
Finally, he nudged Jennifer sleeping next to him, and lifted Sissy over to her. He put a finger to his lips and she nodded. Sissy didn’t even wake up.
He picked his way carefully out of the pile of kids and stood watching the top rim of the car. A flashlight beam occasionally raked it.
“Seventy okay!”
“Fifty-nine okay!”
* * *
When Felix Johnson stuck his dark brown face over the top of car 63, he almost dropped his flashlight in surprise. “Well I’ll be,” he thought, “it wasn’t no Cry Wolf this time!”
He opened his mouth to shout but Theo held his hands up in supplication, shaking his head. He had a rope coiled in one hand and he tossed it up to Felix, who wound it around the top ladder rung a few times. Carefully keeping his hands in view, and moving quietly, Theo pulled himself up to within three feet of Felix’s face.
“That’s far enough. You had it, boy.”
“I know, I know. But, please, couldn’t you let the others go? They’re just kids, five, eight, ten years old. And a girl who’s taking care of them. They’ve got nobody else in the world, mister. They’ll send ‘em to work camps, you know that. I’ll come with you, okay, but please . . .”
Felix shined his light over to the kids. They were all awake now, their eyes round and white in their filthy faces. The light lingered a moment on Joseph’s African features. Felix looked back at Theo with a grim set to his mouth.
Theo moved his head, pointed to his neck. “Look—I’ll be a great bust. You know what this is, don’t you? They’re looking for me. You’ll get a reward, maybe your boss’ll give you a bonus—”
“They said there was a murderer loose.”
“They might mean me. I never murdered anyone, but the lady who owned me? That’s her, the one
With their help he climbed up and over and dropped into the empty car in a heap. Surgeon climbed across the others holding a flashlight. “Let’s see those stitches.” Gently he pulled the bandage away.
The strain had reddened the flesh but the stitches had held. Surgeon beamed.
“Nevada here we come!” Curt yelled suddenly, and they were on their way.
* * *
Four nights and three days of riding, two days spent camping under a bridge waiting for the next connecting train, two more nights of riding. They hid out in storm sewers, when they had stopovers in towns, or under rocks or in thickets out in the sticks. They were uniformly filthy, sore from banging around in train cars, and getting hungrier. By common understanding, only Sissy and Joseph ate their fill. The weather was cold and they slept in a pile, glad they’d bothered with the cumbersome blankets.
The train-changes worked smoothly. Toward the end of the sixth day of travel Curt started getting excited. They’d landed in a coal car with a wedge-shaped container, miserable for sleeping. They arranged themselves as comfortably as possible at the front end, sheltering from the wind.
“We’re almost there,” Curt said over the pounding wheels and the wind. “Tomorrow we’ll be in Ne-vay-da!”
They were all too weary to share his elation. Theo and Jennifer exchanged glances, reading each other’s thoughts: And then what?
The bounding train finally rocked them to sleep. Late in the night Theo woke to find the car at a standstill. He stayed immobile, straining his ears. From either end of the train there were distant, sporadic voices, calling back and forth. He scanned the sky above their car. No buildings, no lights; where were they? What was happening?
“Eighty-one okay!” was the first call he could understand, from the east end of the train. Answering, from the west: “Forty-six empty!”
It was a car-by-car check for hobos. Theo sat with Sissy sleeping on his belly, his legs bent up against the other side of the V-shaped bottom, waiting. If they moved, the noise would give them away. If they didn’t, they’d be caught anyway.
Finally, he nudged Jennifer sleeping next to him, and lifted Sissy over to her. He put a finger to his lips and she nodded. Sissy didn’t even wake up.
He picked his way carefully out of the pile of kids and stood watching the top rim of the car. A flashlight beam occasionally raked it.
“Seventy okay!”
“Fifty-nine okay!”
* * *
When Felix Johnson stuck his dark brown face over the top of car 63, he almost dropped his flashlight in surprise. “Well I’ll be,” he thought, “it wasn’t no Cry Wolf this time!”
He opened his mouth to shout but Theo held his hands up in supplication, shaking his head. He had a rope coiled in one hand and he tossed it up to Felix, who wound it around the top ladder rung a few times. Carefully keeping his hands in view, and moving quietly, Theo pulled himself up to within three feet of Felix’s face.
“That’s far enough. You had it, boy.”
“I know, I know. But, please, couldn’t you let the others go? They’re just kids, five, eight, ten years old. And a girl who’s taking care of them. They’ve got nobody else in the world, mister. They’ll send ‘em to work camps, you know that. I’ll come with you, okay, but please . . .”
Felix shined his light over to the kids. They were all awake now, their eyes round and white in their filthy faces. The light lingered a moment on Joseph’s African features. Felix looked back at Theo with a grim set to his mouth.
Theo moved his head, pointed to his neck. “Look—I’ll be a great bust. You know what this is, don’t you? They’re looking for me. You’ll get a reward, maybe your boss’ll give you a bonus—”
“They said there was a murderer loose.”
“They might mean me. I never murdered anyone, but the lady who owned me? That’s her, the one
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