Night of the Vampires by Heather Graham

Author:Heather Graham
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: HQN
Published: 2010-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

EARLY THE FOLLOWING morning, Cole met with Sergeant Terry Newcomb at the railway station. It was a bustling place; Lincoln had learned to use the railroads to his advantage quickly. He was fighting a war on “foreign” soil, and he had used the strategy of railroad troop and supply movement from the beginning, realizing its importance for getting manpower and ammunition where it was needed. It seemed the Confederate commanders had not comprehended just how important the rail lines might be. At the beginning, the Union did their best to tear down what the Confederates couldn’t hope to replace. But as time went on, they had begun doing more repairs, as they had to move more in Southern lands.

Although many inventors had worked with model railroads and locomotives, it hadn’t been until 1830 that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had officially opened. This explained the fact that not many of the generals in the field had actually received any kind of tactical training at West Point regarding such things. The locomotives and cars could also be vulnerable to attack. An exploding boiler could scald a crew, and coming fast on a downed bridge could kill as efficiently as a barrage of bullets.

Against such a barrage, Cole had been assured, the train was clad in the latest in metal and wooden armor They’d be riding in a small steam-powered fortress, a fortress with small oval windows to keep the heat at bay.

He’d considered that riding the fine horses the government men had given them might have been easier and shorter than the effort it was going to take to arrive not quite seventy miles away by train. But he wanted to be well armed when he got where he was going.

“Bow and arrows, without metal heads, as you asked. Fashioned of the finest cedar available and razor sharp,” the sergeant said, pointing at supply boxes as he read off articles from his list. He had been staring at the paper, but he looked at Cole as he detailed the next item. “One hundred wooden stakes—razor sharp. Fifty-five carved from lignum vitae, and another fifty carved from red oak. And…let’s see…one hundred and fifty vials of holy water.”

“It’s really holy water, and you know it?” Cole asked, staring at the man, unblinking.

“Yes, sir, it is. I went to the church myself to collect it. I spoke with Father Vartran, who didn’t seem surprised that it was something you required.”

“Thank you.”

The sergeant stared at him a moment longer, and then looked back at his list. “Ten cavalry sabers, freshly sharpened, ten Colt army model 1860 handguns—rifled, six shot. Then ten Smith &Wesson repeaters, rifled for accuracy, as well. Ten bowie knives, and one…ladies’ small arm purse pistol.”

“That should do it,” Cole replied.

“And the four of us,” Newcomb added, at which point Cole frowned noticeably. “Sir, you’re taking the railroad, and the railroad might be disrupted. There are troops moving aboard her as well, but it will be good to have us with you.

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