Wulf Ratbane
Adventurer
Scene Three: The Great Train Escape
With the unconscious Colonel in tow, they raced back to town. West’s Pullman was waiting for them—but not as ready as he’d hoped. They’d gotten his car through the switching yard ok, but they’d hooked him up with a load of freight heading back east.
“Why isn’t my Pullman at the rear of the train?”
“Well, sir,” the yardman spit, “I didn’t figure yer wanted to be behind that one…” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the car full of fattened hogs.
“No time to argue, anyway…” Mina said. “We’ve got to get out of here.” She hustled past the men with the Colonel, a coat draped over his head to conceal his identity.
“Yer friend there gonna be all right?”
“He’ll be fine, fainting spell… ahh….” Dr. Jekyll quickly boarded the car.
“Don’t look to good yerself,” the yardman mumbled.
West took one final look at the train before boarding. Engine. Coal car. Pullman. Lumber. Swine. A line of boxcars and flatbeds trailed off behind.
“All aboard… Let’s get the hell out of here…”
The train gained steam and chugged east, and the group chatted peacefully for about an hour. Mina watched the landscape of the American west sliding by.
“Oh my,” she said. “Are you aware that there’s a man riding alongside the train?’
West dashed to the window. Riding full-tilt alongside the train was a grim-faced, weather-worn man. His lapels flapped in wind but West could see his badge.
“Is that the law?” Quartermain asked.
“Worse,” said West. “He’s Pinkerton.”
“THE Pinkerton?” Quartermain had heard the name before. Detective. Bounty hunter. Take your pick.
“Well, no, at least I don’t think so. But he’s FROM Pinkerton.”
The Pinkerton agent spotted the crowd gathered at the window and hollered over the sound of pounding hoofs.
“Give up the Colonel!” he demanded.
“Can’t do that!” West shouted back.
Pinkerton’s man drew iron and put a shot through the window of the Pullman car.
“The hell with that!” shouted Quartermain. He pulled his hunting rifle down from the luggage rack and began loading.
“Oh, no…” whined Jekyll.
“It’s all right, Henry,” Mina assured him. “We’ve got to defend ourselves!”
“No, look!” Henry insisted. He pointed out his window on the other side of the train. There was a small posse riding along the other side, trying to draw close enough to board the train.
“Well, I guess we know where this is going,” said Griffin. He started stripping off his clothes.
Mina wasn’t happy to see that the train was surrounded, but she was more concerned with what she saw ahead of them: a thick plume of black smoke.
She quickly grabbed Dr. Jekyll. “Come with me, Henry… Get away from the window, it’s not safe…”
She led Jekyll away, but leaned in close to West to whisper in his ear.
“Is there a trestle ahead, by any chance?”
West’s eyes lit up: they’d lose their pursuers there. “Yes! There’s a trestle!”
“Well, not anymore,” Mina hissed. She moved on with Henry, desperate to keep his nerves under control. The last thing they needed right now was a visit from Edward Hyde.
Nemo ran ahead a bit where he could safely get a clear look. He pulled a gold spyglass from inside his jacket and scanned ahead.
Clearly, there’d been some attempt at sabotage, but the trestle was only damaged. Still, it didn’t require his amazing analytical skills to realize that the trestle would never hold the weight of the entire train, freight and all; frankly, without a better look, he didn’t trust it to hold so much as the engine. He ran back to the Pullman and threw open his traveling chest. “Better be in here somewhere… Yes!”
Nemo came up with a small explosive charge and grabbed Quartermain. “We don’t have long to make this work. Do you think you can get to the front and pull the joining pin to the engine?”
“Are you mad? Do I look like I’m strong enough to de-couple the whole damn train?”
“Well, you’d bloody well find the strength somehow! We’ve got to get out from under steam. I’ll place this charge behind us to blow the trailing cars; that will lighten the load up front. The freight should slow of its own accord, and we’ll be able to break our own momentum easier without the engine.”
“This is insane,” Quartermain yelled. “Let me just shoot somebody.” He pushed past Nemo to the back of the car.
“What’s going on?” asked Jekyll. Nervous beads of sweat were starting to appear on his forehead. His eyes flicked from Nemo to Quartermain as he struggled to put together the whole picture.
“Nothing, Henry, nothing stressful…” Mina caressed his brow.
Nemo put his hand on Quartermain’s chest. “Get out, clamber over the coal car…”
“Sure, I’ll just scamper right over it, it’s not as if I’m an old man or anything…”
“…Over the coal car to the engine. Warn the engineer. We’ll handle the coupling back here with this.” He slapped his demolition charge down on the coupling behind the Pullman.
“Wh…What’s that?” Henry asked.
“Nothing stressful going on!” they all shouted.
The posse’s patience had worn out, and shots started to shatter the windows. Henry Jekyll cowered on the floor under Mina’s protective arm.
“Okay, I’m going!” Quartermain yelled. He sprinted for the front of the train and was gone.
Nemo called after him. “Remember! Don’t try to pull the pin until you hear the explosion!”
“EXPLOSION!?” yelled Henry. He struggled to stand. “EXPLOSION?”
Mina and Nemo were flung aside as Henry heaved upwards—all nine feet of him.
“F*CK THIS!” Edward bellowed. He reached down and yoinked the pin. Nemo groaned as the freight cars immediately slid away, his demolition charge still attached to the coupling.
My sentiments exactly, thought Griffin. He’d had enough of the League as well—and to prove his point, he threw his naked body off the train at 30 miles per hour. A puff of dust, followed by a thunderhead of pain-induced profanity was all that belied his actions.
The engine, the Pullman, the posse, the freight, all screeched by as Griffin staggered to his feet, bloodied and bruised, but alive.
“I wonder if the old man will pull that pin after all?” he wondered aloud. “This, I gotta see.”
Griffin raced off after the train.
With the unconscious Colonel in tow, they raced back to town. West’s Pullman was waiting for them—but not as ready as he’d hoped. They’d gotten his car through the switching yard ok, but they’d hooked him up with a load of freight heading back east.
“Why isn’t my Pullman at the rear of the train?”
“Well, sir,” the yardman spit, “I didn’t figure yer wanted to be behind that one…” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the car full of fattened hogs.
“No time to argue, anyway…” Mina said. “We’ve got to get out of here.” She hustled past the men with the Colonel, a coat draped over his head to conceal his identity.
“Yer friend there gonna be all right?”
“He’ll be fine, fainting spell… ahh….” Dr. Jekyll quickly boarded the car.
“Don’t look to good yerself,” the yardman mumbled.
West took one final look at the train before boarding. Engine. Coal car. Pullman. Lumber. Swine. A line of boxcars and flatbeds trailed off behind.
“All aboard… Let’s get the hell out of here…”
The train gained steam and chugged east, and the group chatted peacefully for about an hour. Mina watched the landscape of the American west sliding by.
“Oh my,” she said. “Are you aware that there’s a man riding alongside the train?’
West dashed to the window. Riding full-tilt alongside the train was a grim-faced, weather-worn man. His lapels flapped in wind but West could see his badge.
“Is that the law?” Quartermain asked.
“Worse,” said West. “He’s Pinkerton.”
“THE Pinkerton?” Quartermain had heard the name before. Detective. Bounty hunter. Take your pick.
“Well, no, at least I don’t think so. But he’s FROM Pinkerton.”
The Pinkerton agent spotted the crowd gathered at the window and hollered over the sound of pounding hoofs.
“Give up the Colonel!” he demanded.
“Can’t do that!” West shouted back.
Pinkerton’s man drew iron and put a shot through the window of the Pullman car.
“The hell with that!” shouted Quartermain. He pulled his hunting rifle down from the luggage rack and began loading.
“Oh, no…” whined Jekyll.
“It’s all right, Henry,” Mina assured him. “We’ve got to defend ourselves!”
“No, look!” Henry insisted. He pointed out his window on the other side of the train. There was a small posse riding along the other side, trying to draw close enough to board the train.
“Well, I guess we know where this is going,” said Griffin. He started stripping off his clothes.
Mina wasn’t happy to see that the train was surrounded, but she was more concerned with what she saw ahead of them: a thick plume of black smoke.
She quickly grabbed Dr. Jekyll. “Come with me, Henry… Get away from the window, it’s not safe…”
She led Jekyll away, but leaned in close to West to whisper in his ear.
“Is there a trestle ahead, by any chance?”
West’s eyes lit up: they’d lose their pursuers there. “Yes! There’s a trestle!”
“Well, not anymore,” Mina hissed. She moved on with Henry, desperate to keep his nerves under control. The last thing they needed right now was a visit from Edward Hyde.
Nemo ran ahead a bit where he could safely get a clear look. He pulled a gold spyglass from inside his jacket and scanned ahead.
Clearly, there’d been some attempt at sabotage, but the trestle was only damaged. Still, it didn’t require his amazing analytical skills to realize that the trestle would never hold the weight of the entire train, freight and all; frankly, without a better look, he didn’t trust it to hold so much as the engine. He ran back to the Pullman and threw open his traveling chest. “Better be in here somewhere… Yes!”
Nemo came up with a small explosive charge and grabbed Quartermain. “We don’t have long to make this work. Do you think you can get to the front and pull the joining pin to the engine?”
“Are you mad? Do I look like I’m strong enough to de-couple the whole damn train?”
“Well, you’d bloody well find the strength somehow! We’ve got to get out from under steam. I’ll place this charge behind us to blow the trailing cars; that will lighten the load up front. The freight should slow of its own accord, and we’ll be able to break our own momentum easier without the engine.”
“This is insane,” Quartermain yelled. “Let me just shoot somebody.” He pushed past Nemo to the back of the car.
“What’s going on?” asked Jekyll. Nervous beads of sweat were starting to appear on his forehead. His eyes flicked from Nemo to Quartermain as he struggled to put together the whole picture.
“Nothing, Henry, nothing stressful…” Mina caressed his brow.
Nemo put his hand on Quartermain’s chest. “Get out, clamber over the coal car…”
“Sure, I’ll just scamper right over it, it’s not as if I’m an old man or anything…”
“…Over the coal car to the engine. Warn the engineer. We’ll handle the coupling back here with this.” He slapped his demolition charge down on the coupling behind the Pullman.
“Wh…What’s that?” Henry asked.
“Nothing stressful going on!” they all shouted.
The posse’s patience had worn out, and shots started to shatter the windows. Henry Jekyll cowered on the floor under Mina’s protective arm.
“Okay, I’m going!” Quartermain yelled. He sprinted for the front of the train and was gone.
Nemo called after him. “Remember! Don’t try to pull the pin until you hear the explosion!”
“EXPLOSION!?” yelled Henry. He struggled to stand. “EXPLOSION?”
Mina and Nemo were flung aside as Henry heaved upwards—all nine feet of him.
“F*CK THIS!” Edward bellowed. He reached down and yoinked the pin. Nemo groaned as the freight cars immediately slid away, his demolition charge still attached to the coupling.
My sentiments exactly, thought Griffin. He’d had enough of the League as well—and to prove his point, he threw his naked body off the train at 30 miles per hour. A puff of dust, followed by a thunderhead of pain-induced profanity was all that belied his actions.
The engine, the Pullman, the posse, the freight, all screeched by as Griffin staggered to his feet, bloodied and bruised, but alive.
“I wonder if the old man will pull that pin after all?” he wondered aloud. “This, I gotta see.”
Griffin raced off after the train.
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