Mona Hodgson by Two Brides Too Many

Author:Two Brides Too Many [Many, Two Brides Too]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THERE

You cheat!”

Lewis P. Whibley watched as the man across the table from him pulled a butcher knife out of his belt and slammed his fist into the faro table. Two sets of burly arms grabbed Lewis from behind and dragged him sideways through the Pullman coach. He heard the door open and then the sound of the wheels squealing against the rails. The room darkened as the train entered a tunnel, then as soon as it emerged, his captors hoisted him onto the landing and threw him out onto the gravel and dirt along the rail bed.

Tumbling, Lewis grabbed for whatever he could to slow his momentum. Pine limbs and scrub oak seemed eager to help punish him for his misdeeds in the rail car. Watching the train disappear into the distance, he could see first his valise, then his beloved faro table, being thrown to the elements.

Lewis quickly took an inventory of his body. There was considerable stinging and aching everywhere, but no serious bleeding, and nothing seemed broken. He pushed himself to his feet and stumbled over rocks for several hundred yards to recover his belongings. Only then did he look around to orient himself. There appeared to be a roadway a short distance down the hill, but nothing to indicate civilization anywhere close. It was late evening, and he knew he would need to find shelter soon. The train tunnel appeared to be his best hope for protection against weather and the natural inhabitants of these forests. There wouldn’t be another train until morning, he hoped.

Darkness came quickly, with barely a sliver of a moon. Lewis shivered in the cold and drafty tunnel, even after donning every piece of clothing he had packed in the valise. The cold turned out to be merely an irritation compared to the recognizable who-whooing of owls and the unrecognizable growls coming from somewhere beyond the other end of the tunnel. At least, he told himself they were coming from beyond the tunnel.

Lewis looked up past the crescent moon. “If You’re really up there, I could use a little help,” he mumbled. “I believed in You when I was a boy but got too busy to pay You much mind and kinda figured You don’t care for drifters and gamblers. Well, anyway, if You are up there, and You have a mind to, I’d appreciate anything You can do. Amen, I guess.”

Morning took way too long to arrive, but as soon as it did, Lewis shed his extra clothing and walked to the road he’d seen the night before. For several hours he sat on a rock and waited for someone to pass by. He had plenty of time to relive the events on the train. He’d have to be more careful to choose players who couldn’t spot a well-practiced bluff. All in all, it was not the worst night of his career. At least this time he didn’t have to start from scratch and buy a new table.

Lewis craned his neck and looked up the road, exhaustion weighing him down.

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