Chapter
1 –
The
locomotive was named A. N. Wigginsworth, after a
former master mechanic of the New York & Western Ohio Railroad. The line began in Hoboken, New Jersey and stretched across the midlands of America, serving Binghamton, New York and Youngstown, Akron,
and Marion, Ohio before terminating in Dayton. In Dayton, the railroad had a friendly connection with the
Baltimore & Chicago Railroad, and their passenger trains were pulled south
on that road to Cin-cinnati, on the north bank of the
Ohio River.
December
1871 had been a cold and snowy month in Ohio, and the eastbound Hoboken Express pulled out of the
city of Akron almost one hour late.
Behind the Wigginsworth trailed a combina-tion mail/express car, a baggage car, two coaches,
a buffet lounge car, two sleeping cars, and the exclusive private car Enrond, occupied by the president of the road, Kenneth Lake. Lake
was alone in the car save for his bodyguard, a man named Gibson who had ridden
with the guerrilla leader Quantrell during the Civil
War. Gibson habitually wore a long coat
to conceal his pride and joy, a long-barreled Colt revolver he had taken from a
dead Federal officer (Gibson had wounded the officer, then
slit his throat before taking the weapon).
Ken Lake had reason to need a bodyguard on this trip, for in
his car was a particularly important piece of luggage. You see, Kenneth Lake was a till robber, and he planned for this trip in Enrond to be his last.
Chapter
9 –
“Come
in,” said White at the knock on his door.
The school’s three new custodians entered the room.
“Spread
out,” ordered Max Howell, the small group’s leader. He saved money by cutting his own hair by
placing a soup bowl over his head for a pattern to cut by.
Harry
Pine was bald on top of his head but made up for it by growing a bushy fringe
around the sides. The third new janitor
was the youngest Howell brother, Curry.
Curry’s
real name was Jerome. He got the
nickname Curry because he had worked as a waiter in an Indian restaurant during
high school. He was a big man who shaved
his head down to fine stubble.
The
three Howell brothers and Harry Pine waited nervously as John White took them
in. He was well aware that the physical
plant manager at nearby Slippery Stone College, Ted Meany, had fired the
trio over unspecified problems. However,
the previous Midland State janitors had been too efficient for White’s tastes –
they had been transferred by the State of Ohio to a Columbus university.
Not that White blamed them. Midland State was the backwater of Ohio