She stroked Theresa’s hair softly and kept muttering, “It’ll be okay. Deep breaths.” Theresa made no effort to seem brave or in control of her emotions.
A few minutes later, all the passengers were gathered together. A particularly large man stood from a chair. Abigail realized she hadn’t noticed him sitting there before with all the commotion of the remaining passengers arriving. He walked past them and stood in the middle of the cramped cabin.
When he stood at full stature, his right arm hung slightly lower than his left, and his right hand showed signs of burn scars. His dark brown hair hung down past his cowboy hat and was greasy. The train robber removed his hat and did a slow spin.
Most passengers avoided his eyeline, though Abigail sat straighter and looked him straight in the eye as he made his way around to her.
“Here is how this is going to work. My men are going to carefully go through each cabin and anything of value will be taken with us. If you just let us all work carefully, then you can be on your merry way, and tonight will become a distant memory in your sorry lives.”
He nodded toward a couple of men near the door leading to the cabins. Then tipped his hat to two other men on the other side, and they headed out toward the cabin where all the luggage was kept.
“Or,” Abigail said, as she lifted Theresa’s head off her lap and stood. She took a couple steps toward the tall man. The remaining robbers all pulled out their guns and pointed them at her. Her pulse pounded in her ears as adrenaline pumped faster through her body.
If they shoot me I need to be ready to switch,she thought instinctively, as she willed the tether out and held it on Theresa. Then, she held her hands up as she took a step back before continuing.
“You could leave all these fine people alone and take me hostage to use me for ransom.” The man held his hand up, causing all the guns to be lowered but not fully holstered.
He looked her up and down, scratching at his facial hair. “What makes you think you are worth more than all the valuables on this train?”
“Well,”Abigail started and then looked back at Theresa who was sitting up looking like a ghost, haunted by what she was watching. “I’m the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, and I’m to be wed to an even wealthier aristocrat.”
“Uncle,” Theresa whispered loud enough to be heard. Abigail winced. She forgot completely about the lies she had told Theresa and even in a state of shock, the girl called her out.
The man looked at her and then at Abigail. “What did you say?”
“Her uncle, not father.” Theresa looked pleadingly at Abigail.
“Sorry, yes, my uncle. I consider him my father since my parents passed away when I was a young child.”
The man narrowed his eyes and nodded at Abigail. She gulped and pressed forward.
“My uncle is to receive money from my groom upon our marriage, and he would pay handsomely to get me back.” She squared her shoulders and held her chin up as she had seen Theresa do, hoping to convince this man she was high class born.
The room was tense as passengers all seemed to hold their breath, their fate hanging on his decision.
His face was unreadable as Abigail continued to stand strong in this story she had weaved. This was a hard story to sell. She knew that she didn’t offer much in the way of looks. She hoped that would add to the believability of it somehow. Maybe she had more to offer.
“What is to stop me from taking everything from the train and taking you as well?”
“My uncle is a smart businessman. He won’t pay you a gold nugget until he knows I am safe.” He looked down at the ground considering all his options.
Abigail looked back at Theresa and mouthed to her, “It’s going to be all right.”For me.The tether still held strong as the flickering of blue and white sparkled around Theresa’s silhouette.
“Plus,” Abigail continued, “I can help you spin a tale, not one of kidnapping but of a daring rescue. I can convince him of yourheroism and to pay you for my safe return so that the law won’t come chasing after you.”
This suggestion caught his attention, and the man looked back up at her. The pull to trade places with Theresa was growing stronger and she had to do what she could to not make the switch too early, or it could be a disaster for her.
The man finally gave a whistle and wound his arm around in the air.
“Let’s round it up boys. We have a much bigger prize in store.” He grabbed Abigail’s arm, but she pulled against it instinctively. He wheeled around, bringing his angry eyes to hers.
“I just want to say goodbye to my friend before I leave with you,” She spit out quickly, an attempt to convince him she was not backing down.
Abigail tilted her head back towards Theresa. He looked back in the direction where the young woman now stood in front of the couch and nodded. Her arm dropped back to her side and her hand met the spot where he held, pain radiated down to her elbow. The train robber leaned in close so his lips were almost touching her ear.
“No funny business,” he mumbled and turned to wait for her at the exit.
Abigail released her breath. His stench filled her nose, and she had been trying to take the smallest breaths possible to avoid the smell. She turned and closed the space between her and Theresa. Abigail placed her hands on either side of Theresa’s face and put their foreheads together.
