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“What? Save your life?”
Nelson gave the secret knock again and slipped into the compartment. “The Pinkertons are going to ride with us,” he whispered. “When we pull into Jackson, they’re not going to let anybody leave this train without checking every single person against that poster.”
“Then we’ve really got to get off now, while we can,” Memphis said.
Henry pushed the curtains open and looked out at the scrolling landscape. “In the middle of nowhere?”
“Either that or take your chances with the law.”
“Middle of nowhere,” Henry and Memphis said in unison.
“Can we catch another train at Jackson?” Memphis asked.
“Those men’ll be crawling all over the place till they catch somebody. If it was me? I’d go on foot. Stay off the main roads. Best to head north to Greenville or Yazoo City, catch a bus or a train there. But you won’t have us to look after you. You’ll have to look out for yourselves. I’m gonna ask the engineer for a slowdown. We’ll come up with some excuse—reports of branches on the tracks ahead, something. You get to the caboose, and then you jump over the railing and you run.”
“What if they see us getting off the train?” Memphis said.
“I’m still stuck on ‘jump over the railing,’” Henry said.
“We’ll try to keep them busy,” Nelson said. “Go on. Get to the back now.”
“Boy, I sure wish I had Theta’s or Sam’s powers right about now,” Henry said as he, Memphis, and Bill crept toward the caboose, hoping they weren’t spotted by a Pinkerton or an overzealous passenger. “Going invisible or throwing up a wall of fire sure would come in handy.”
They slipped out onto the narrow railing and looked down at the ground moving rapidly behind them. The train jerked slightly, then slowed to a fast crawl.
Henry threw one leg over the back railing, straddling it. “Funny how your entire notion of ‘slow’ changes when you’re looking down at some moving railroad tracks and a possible broken ankle or two.”
“Do you always talk this much and I never noticed before?” Memphis asked, climbing onto the back railing beside him.
“I don’t know. I’ve never had to escape from federal agents by leaping from a moving train before,” Henry snapped back.
“I’d like to shut you both up,” Bill said and jumped onto the tracks, landing solidly. He waved at the others to do the same. Memphis dropped down, rolling out into the tall grass running alongside the tracks. Henry positioned himself. The train lurched forward, picking up speed. Memphis gestured to him wildly.
“Here goes my piano career.…” Henry said. He let go, landing hard on his side and rolling out of the way. “Ow,” he said, wincing as he stood. His left arm smarted from the fall.
“If it’s broken, you’ll heal it, right?” Henry asked as Memphis ran over.
“Can you move it?” Bill asked.
It hurt, but Henry could, in fact, lift it.
“Ain’t broken, then,” Bill said. They scurried down the embankment, away from the tracks, hiding in the ticklish grass until the Crescent Limited chugged into the distance under a head of steam and disappeared around a curve. They stood and brushed the fluff and dirt from their clothes. Henry cupped a hand over his eyes to block the hazy daylight beating down on the fertile land of the Mississippi Delta.
“See anything?” Memphis asked.
“Yes. I can confirm, undoubtedly, that we are stuck in the middle of nowhere and a long way from where we need to be,” Henry said. “What do we do now?”
“We get to Greenville and catch another train,” Memphis said. He slapped a mosquito on his arm and scratched the place where it had bitten him.
“Great stuff!” Henry said. “Which way’s Greenville?”
“Beats me,” Memphis said. A pair of starlings hopped along the wires stretched between telephone poles. The railroad tracks. The telephone wires. They seemed to go
on forever.
“Whole lotta state between here and there,” Bill said ominously.
“What’s that mean?” Memphis asked.
