Total blackness! Total Silence! Moments ticked on! No movement. No stirring. Then a faint voice filtered through the closeness and darkness. "Jack?" It was almost a whisper. "Are.. are we dead?"
"If we are, "His voice muffled in the confines. Tamara’s heart leaped with relief. "I’d hate to spend eternity tangled up with you "He couldn’t move. Her weight was oppressive on his chest. He couldn’t tell where his body left off and hers began, they were so entwined.
"Very funny." She griped and tried to wiggle, but succeeded only in twisting Jack’s legs backward, making him grunt with pain.
"Hold still, you little hellion. You break my bones and we’ll never get out of here."
She held herself rigid. "Oh, yeah," her voice through the black. You’re the only one who can get us out of here?"
"Well, if you can do it, do it!"
"You told me not to move."
"We’ve got to do this together, "Jack said. "We’ve got to take it easy and figure out how we’re positioned. My hands can feel the rock floor. My feet are twisted above. I’m moving my legs, where do you feel them?"
"Around my shoulders. There’s a boot in my ear. My legs are bent under. I think you’re underneath." She moved slightly and her knees pressed further into Jack’s chest.
"I think you’re right, "Jack gasped. "So don’t move again until I tell you. We’ve got to get our feet on the floor so we can get leverage to push the car up and off us. We’ve got to work in tandem, so we need to decide on each move and how each of us are going to do it."
"First, "Jack said, "Try to roll back and relieve the pressure of your knees from my chest. I’ll try to slide sideways out from under you, I’ll have to roll backward at the same time to lift my legs off your shoulder. Try to roll forward like a somersault position, but try not to press down on me."
"You’ve got to be kidding!" Sarcasm through the black.
Jack ignored it. "When I say now, do it." He waited for no retort. "All right! Ready!" And with a grunt, he started. "Now!"
Joints seemed to crack as they moved, twisting, turning, rolling, pounding each others flesh as they seemed to wrestle in a death grip until Jack could feel his feet on the rock floor beneath him. He lay flat on his back with his knees bent, heaving for air from the exhaustion. Heat from the exhausting available air was stifling and he could hardly breathe. Tamara’s weight on his chest was oppressive and he could feel her warm breath against his cheek. He lie their quiet for several moments, resting, his arms around Tamara’s waist, hugging her tight.
Finally, Jack released his hold on her. "You like being on top?" He Joked.
"It does give a girl a sense of power, " She quipped glibly. "So, now what Galahad?"
"Next move, you slide back, try to get your feet to the ground, get your hands above you and push up on the car. I'll slide my feet back, sit up, get my hands above my head and we’ll both push."
"All right, but this time I tell you when to go."
"Then, you’ll probably tell me where to go too." He retorted.
"You’ll probably get there without my help anyhow." She sneered. "Ready? Now?"
Again they moved in tandem, kicking and gouging each other as they rolled and slid. They were both gasping for air as they planted their feet firmly on the rock floor and pushed upward. At first there was no give, then one edge of the car started to lift off the ground. Clayton pushed upward, straightening his knees. Inch by inch the car lifted. Almost up onto its side. A little more and it would fall over. Jack’s muscles ached. Sweat poured down his face. He gritted his teeth. Grunted with pain.
Tamara pushed as hard as she could but her strength could not complement Jack’s enough. "Let go and rollout, " Jack shouted.
"No you need my help!" Tamara protested.
"Do as I say!" Jack ordered." Before it falls back! Do it!"
She let go. Jack felt the car falling back with the lack of her help. He pushed harder, muscles bulging. She rolled out. Jack let go, twisted his body and dived out, landing hard on the rock floor, scraping knees and elbows as he slid. The ore car crashed back down inches behind his heels. Dust spewed up and rained over him as he covered his head with his face down on the rock.
He lay there, breathing hard, feeling his heart pounding against the floor. He rested, listening to the silence of the mine tunnel and composing himself. Finally, he felt a little strength returning. He rolled over on his back and looked up into the gloom of the tunnel. Not as dark now as the inside of the overturned ore car. He could see the shadowed shape of someone next to him. Tamara. He had finally thought of her. He felt a little selfish that he had forgotten about her these last several moments. "Are you all right?" He ventured.
"Good morning, sleepy head, "she chuckled wryly. "Have a nice sleep?"
He turned his head to the side on the rock ."Anyone ever tell you how annoying you are?" He groaned, starting to sit up.
"All the time," she laughed, taking his arms and helped to pull him to a sitting position. At least they could see each other moving now, their eyes adjusting to the faint light in the gloom.
"So what now, Galahad? We’re still trapped in here."
"Well, for starters, "Jack said looking around the area in which they were sitting. "There is a little light in here. It’s coming from somewhere. We need to find where it’s coming from. Maybe it’ll show us a way out. Come on." Clayton pushed himself to his feet and stood, pulling Tamara with him.
Now standing he could see the rock wall in front of the ore car. The track led straight up to the wall and where the ore car had crashed into the rock wall. A crack had formed and light slivered through the lower part of the wall. Jack rushed to the wall, traced the crack with his fingers, then felt the rock wall above. "It’s just rock facing." He said. "They’ve closed this tunnel off making it look like rock, but I’ll bet…." His words trailed off as he pushed against the wall and felt it give. "Look, it’s a door, made to look like rock"
Tamara pushed close beside him, eager to get the door open. "Wait, "Jack warned, pulling her back with his left arm as he slid his colt from its holster with his right. "Might be someone on the other side. "She nodded, huddling close. Slowly, he pushed the door a little further open. Then a little more. He slid one leg through the narrow opening, peered around the jam, holding his pistol ready and froze, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light, which was still dim, but a vast improvement over where they had been. Gradually, his eyes became accustomed and he looked around, amazed at what he saw.
After a moment, satisfied there was no one in the immediate vicinity, he motioned to Tamara and slid through the door. He stood there staring as she came up beside him. "What is this?" She gasped.
Clayton gazed around the huge cavernous tunnel of rock and earth. More light slipped through the tunnel that led to the outside. "So this is where it went, "He muttered to himself.
There in the dimness of the tunnel, sitting on spur line rail tracks sat the engine and the three box cars that had carried the weapons, horses, and phony cavalrymen.
"What does it mean?" Tamara asked again. Again Clayton ignored her and moved stealthily down the track. She followed close.
The cars were empty now. The guns had already been moved. But where?" For sure though, he knew King was in on it. Probably the boss and mastermind.
"Were you looking for this?" Tamara pressed.
"Yes. This train was stolen with a shipment of arms. Enough to start a war." He paused and finished it. "I was supposed to guard the shipment, but it was taken away from me. I was hoodwinked by phony cavalry guards. A man named Corbin, and another named Palmer were in on it. There was a big man. Too big for his stolen uniform. He rode a horse with the Crown 7 brand. That’s what led me to King."
"I know them." Tamara interjected. "They do work for King. Corbin and Palmer were waiting in the canyon for you yesterday. Along with Bart Sprague. He was the so called bandit you drove off."
Jack stared at her a moment. Then his eyes went cold. "So you d
idn’t know about this?" He motioned to the train. "You weren’t looking for the train or the guns. What were you looking for?" What’s Pinkerton’s interest in this?"
She swallowed hard. It was not easy to reveal herself. "Pinkerton's are after him for a Jewel Swindle. I haven’t had much luck getting anything on him yet. You came along and I hadn’t finished my job."
"There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?" His penetrating eyes seemed to be probing her mind and soul.
She lowered her eyes. Then making up her mind, she lifted them ."Yes," she breathed. Then, "King likes women, for his purposes only, not theirs. He likes redheads."
Jack listened. "My sister and I were both redheads. King’s a great con man. He whisked my sister off her feet. She went away with him. She must have found something out or he got tired of her, because she had an accident. Died when a stage crashed over a cliff, was the story."
"I had gone to the Pinkerton’s in Denver asking them to find her and that’s how I found out about what happened. After that I joined the Pinkerton’s myself. Men like King had to be stopped and I hoped I could help in some way.. I kept tabs on King hoping to someday get him for something. When this Jewel scam came to light, I wanted in. Knowing he liked redheads and that I would remind him of my sister, I came here posing as a singer. I needed to be noticed and to get close to him. It worked, like I knew it would. "There was bitterness in her voice as she spoke. Jack’s eyes softened. Then she was silent.
"How come King trusted you to goad me into a trap, yesterday?"
"After I got close to him and got in his house, I went looking for the Jewels. He caught me with his safe open. Impressed with my safecracking abilities, he assumed I was bad like him. I convinced him, that robbing him was only business, nothing personal. He laughed, said I’d make a good partner."
Jack was silent for awhile. Pondered the explanation. Then, "Let’s get out of here, "Jack said, taking her hand and heading toward the mouth of the tunnel.
*****
Chapter Fifteen
The Gun Trail