Reaper's Fee by Marcus Galloway Page B

more than enough to do without worrying about some lunatic who wants to make things worse,” the conductor replied as the good humor drifted back into his voice. “You already paid for your ticket, so you can get off whenever you like. Try to keep quiet about this, though.”
    “You worried about catching hell from the engineer?” Nick asked.
    “No. I’m worried that you might start a rush of more folks wanting to get off this train.”
    “Even with the shots and the fire?”
    Rolling his eyes and nodding, the conductor said, “You’d be amazed at how stupid folks get when they get scared.”
    That drew Nick’s eyes back toward the chaos happening in the town. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
    “If you don’t make it back before we get moving again, you’re on your own. I can give you a slip so you can catch the next train and that can carry you the rest of the way into Cheyenne. That is where you were headed, right?”
    “That’s right.”
    “You sure about this, mister? Things look awfully rough out there.”
    “I wouldn’t have them any other way.”

TEN
    The town’s name was Rock Springs. Nick read it on a sign that was still in pristine condition not too far ahead of the train. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw the side of the livery car was already shut tight. There were still plenty of folks sticking their heads out the windows and Nick could only imagine the questions they were throwing at that poor conductor who’d given the okay for Nick to leave.
    Kazys must have hated the train ride as much as Nick, because the horse had bounded from the car without even noticing that the ramp hadn’t been lowered. Only the shots, the screams and the roaring fire ahead brought the horse to a stop. Nick tugged on the reins to settle Kazys down a bit, and made a bit more progress by rubbing the horse’s ear.
    “It’s all right, boy,” Nick said. “I ain’t out of my mind. When you see this much hell in front of you, it’s always better to be on the move instead of cooped up in a goddamn box.”
    Kazys let out a gruff breath and shook his head.
    “Or, maybe I am a little out of my head,” Nick added. “Either way, at least we’re off that train.”
    When he closed his eyes, Nick actually felt his nerves settle. The sounds drifting from Rock Springs weren’t exactly comforting, but they beat the hell out of rattling around with the rest of the passengers like a bunch of moths knocking against the inside of a crate.
    When he opened his eyes, Nick focused on bits and pieces of the chaotic picture in front of him. In the old days, Nick hadn’t been too interested in fires that he hadn’t started. After spending some time living in a town rather than robbing it, Nick knew that every spare hand could be put to good use in a situation like this. Considering the shots that he heard crackling through the air, Nick figured he could be of some use in other aspects as well.
    Just as he was about to snap his reins, Nick heard a shot come from somewhere a hell of a lot closer than the town. In fact, the sound of the shot was accompanied by the whistle of a bullet whipping past his head. Nick reflexively hunkered down and snapped Kazys’s reins to get the horse moving.
    “That’s right!” someone shouted from not too far away. “You better keep runnin,’ you Chink bastard!”
    Another shot was fired at Nick’s back as he touched his heels to Kazys’s sides and rode backtoward the tracks. Now that he was moving along the tracks, Nick got a much better view of what had brought the locomotive to a stop. A wrecked wagon with only two wheels lay piled upon the tracks. The front end of that wagon was wedged into the ground and there were several other piles of broken planks and lumber around the wreck.
    Nick’s attention was quickly diverted to the men who were circling the wreck. A few of those men were on foot and running back to the train. Another three were on horseback and they seemed to be defending the