Chapter 4

Nate pulled his travel bag from beneath his seat as the conductor announced the upcoming stop to be the newly settled Oklahoma City. It was the end of the line. He rode the railway for the last few months on the lookout for the Jefferson gang with no luck.  They were always one step ahead.

The railway extension across Oklahoma was still young with its fair share of perils to contend with.  The Pinkertons were there to provide safety against robberies, while the army spent its fair share of time riding the rails to protect against Indian uprisings.  The Indians were quiet the last few months, but the robberies still occurred now and then; and always when the Pinkertons were not aboard. Although more dangerous for them, Nate and his buddies decided to split up so that there would be a Pinkerton on every run.

They studied the pattern of the robberies and concluded that it was the Jefferson gang behind them all.  If intel was correct, the gang consisted of six ex-confederates.  The two who carried the most influence in the operation were Tom and Daniel Jefferson; hence, the name of the gang.

The next run the Pinkertons were expected to be on required all three of them. It was to carry the month’s pay for the workers who diligently struggled to take the railway further west.  In between such serious runs, the hits consisted of relieving unsuspecting passengers of their money and finery.  Sometimes it was done by gunpoint with the masked gang frightening the passengers into submission.  Other times a few of the gang members boarded the train under the guise of being passengers and carefully stole from prominent looking travelers who were sleeping or had their guard down enough to not notice money or jewels being taken from their bags, reticules, or even their person. There were times when they went so far as to relieve their victims of their entire luggage. This type of thievery was more common, as well as more difficult to spot.  The only good thing about it was that the safety of lives was not at stake.

Nate stepped off the station platform and headed for the hotel where he knew his two friends waited for him.  He had a plan that he was eager to discuss with them.

Joseph leaned against the wall of the newly constructed building while enjoying a smoke.  When he spotted Nate approaching, his slender lips spread into a warm smile as he took one long draw on his hand-rolled cigarette before dropping it onto the dusty ground and snuffing it with the sole of his newly shined boot. 

He found his time off between his shifts on the train to be seriously lacking.  The people he met in the barely settled Oklahoma City were folks who had participated in the land run.  They came from varied backgrounds, but a good amount were southerners who lost their homes or fortunes during the war and sought a new start.  Their reception of an ex-union soldier turned Pinkerton was far from welcoming. That, combined with the lack of the eastern amenities that Joseph enjoyed, was enough to make Joseph long for the companionship of his buddies; as well as his life back east.

“I can’t wait to finish this assignment,” he said as he fell in step with Nate on their way to the saloon. “I hope the next one is back east.”

“What is wrong with the west?” Nate asked with surprise.

“You haven’t spent much time off that train,” Joseph replied.  “Wait ‘til you do.”

“Why?” Nate asked.  “I thought you enjoyed the country and out of doors a settlement like this provides.”

“I just don’t blend with these folks is all,” Joseph replied.

“They seem good enough,” Nate said as he pushed through the door of the saloon.  He stood a moment while he waited for his eyes to adjust to the new lighting and then moved to the end of the bar.

“They aren’t keen on Yankees,” Joseph volunteered.

“Why do you tell them?” Nate asked.

“You want me to hide what I am?” Joseph asked with surprise. “Besides, I don’t talk like them.”

Nate looked his friend directly in the eye.

“You were a union soldier.  Now, you are a Pinkerton,” Nate said with assurance.  “The war is over.”

“Speaking of war.  A troop of soldiers passed through a few days ago,” Joseph said as he signaled the bartender to bring him and Nate beer.  “They say there’s trouble with the Indians south of here.”

“That’s going to make what I suggest more difficult,” Nate said with a slow shake of his head.

“You got new plans?” Joseph asked.

“Where’s Sullivan?” Nate asked as he looked around the empty saloon.  “I want him here when I tell about it.”

“He managed to find a proper young lady named Penelope Wilson.  She lives back east, but is here visiting.  They’re on a picnic,” Joseph said with a chuckled.

“What about Alice?” Nate asked with surprise.

Joseph knit his brows together and took a deep breath.

“His life’s too complicated for me,” Joseph said as he slowly emptied his lungs.

“When do you expect him back?” Nate asked.

“He knew you were coming in on the train. I imagine he’ll come around any time now,” Joseph replied.

“Good,” Nate said as he tossed back the remnants of his beer.  “I’m going to go freshen up. You and Sullivan meet me for dinner and we will go over things.”

“I hate surprises!” Joseph called out as he watched Nate saunter out onto the street.

***

Dinner consisted of pepper pot soup, fire roasted potatoes, boiled baby onions with a cream sauce, and boiled ham.  Nate was not a big fan of ham, but it was either that or the roast chicken.  He had time to observe the look of the chicken coming out of the kitchen while waiting for his buddies to arrive and determined it was closer to the size of a pigeon than a chicken.  Since he was hungry, he settled for the ham.  Joseph and Oliver had the same.

Now, his two friends sat sipping on coffee while they patiently waited for Nate to share his idea with them.

“I have it on good authority that the Jefferson Gang is hold up about a day’s ride from here; maybe two.,” Nate began.  “I thought we could go check things out. Maybe we can catch these guys outside a robbery and clean up this job once and for all.”

“It sure would be nice to get back east,” Oliver said.

“I second that,” added Joseph.

“When is the shipment coming through?” Joseph asked.

“You don’t know?” Nate asked with surprise.

“They aren’t telling anyone,” Oliver said in a hushed tone, “for fear of it leaking out.  We’ll be told the day we have to board.”

Nate thought about this new bit of information and scowled.

“Without knowing the schedule, we can’t very well take off for a few days to round these fellas up,” he said.

“So, we hold off?” Oliver asked.

“I wonder if we could get the schedule if we told the sheriff of our plans,” Joseph said.

“We can try,” Nate said.  “After all, if we get these guys then there’s no need for us to even be on that train.”