Page 2 of Married By Midnight
The Department of Justice asked for Charlie’s help to find enough evidence on these two charges to act.
Of course, he wasn’t going to allow his best friend to go to the docks on his own, so Ian insisted on accompanying Charlie. Ian wasn’t prepared for what he saw next.
Several of the merchant ships were dealing in more than just silk and lace. They werebuying and selling young children and young women. The children were shipped overseas to be used in the fabric mills and the young women, well Ian shuddered to think what their fate might be.
When he and Charlie tried to save the young ladies, Ian remembered being knocked out. He woke in a small cell with iron bars in the belly of a ship.
He wasn’t sure why he managed to escape, but he just knew that he was going to go down fighting. He and Charlie had already discussed what would happen if one of them managed to escape their captors. They were going to go for help first and alert someone to what had happened.
If Charlie escaped first, he would return to tell Mrs. Poole, Ian’s mother, exactly what happened. If Ian escaped first, he would notify the authorities and then return to the tenement to get some money Charlie had hidden in a bedframe. Ian would hold onto the money for two months before sending it to Charlie’s sister in Colorado.
Ian managed to escape first. The men that were holding them prisoner took Ian from his cell, kicking and screaming. They stuffed a rag in his mouth and tossed him into a wooden shipping container, which they rolled down the gangway towards the docks.
Ian pressed his eye to a hole in the box and he could see the murky water below the gangway. The two men stopped rolling and began arguing over the crate. The crate rocked back and forth a few times.They were stuck!
Seizing his chance, he rolled into the side of the crate with everything he had. It took three tries, but he managed to knock the box off the gangway and into the cold water below.
As water rushed into the box, Ian kicked off the top of the crate and dove under the water, coming further down the side of a large ship. He hid in the shadows until he heard the men leave. Then he made his way to the seawall, climbing up a wooden ladder that was attached to the pier and disappeared into the night.
He kept his word and ran down the streets until he spied a sign outside a brick building. Baltimore Police. He went inside to tell them what occurred.
They listened intently and when he was done, the room burst into peals of laughter. “What a great story,” they said. When Ian couldn’t remember the name of the person at the New York Department of Justice, the officers threatened him with jail if he didn’t disappear.
It took him nearly a week to get home. Ian was so afraid those men were going to find him. He traveled the entire way looking over his shoulder. When he did arrive home, he stayed indoors apart from running to Charlie’s old apartment to find the money Charlie hid in the bed frame.
After Charlie left Ian drifted from job to job. He couldn’t go back to the factory and word had spread which made it impossible for him to be hired anywhere else.
He finally found temporary work at a farm outside the city. He missed his family; he missed his friends. Most of all he missed Charlie.
Charlie mentioned he might be going to stay with his sister for a bit. Ian couldn’t remember where she lived. But that was several months ago, and Ian hadn’t heard from or seen Charlie since.
As soon as Ian had saved enough money, he packed his bag and hit the rails. He figured he would go to San Francisco and see what opportunities awaited there. He heard that jobs were plentiful. And no one knew him,so what could be better than a fresh start?
Maybe even the nightmares might dissipate.
“You jumping at Creede?” the old man that was sitting next to him asked. Ian hadn’t noticed him before. Then again, the car had very little light inside.
“Nah,” Ian said. “I’m headed to San Francisco.”
“You really should make a stop in Creede,” the man insisted.
Ian looked at the man. He didn’t look like anyone Ian had ever seen before. He wore a dark suit with a white linen shirt. It was extremely out of date. Ian guessed it was at least fifty years old. It didn’t look frayed from being that old. Instead it looked…dusty.
“Don’t know nuthin’ about Creede.”
The man leaned back against the side of the box car. Ian noticed he didn’t lean back the entire way. He just hovered slightly from the wall. Ian shook his head. His back would be in a world of hurt if he did that.
“Creede, Colorado. An absolutely delightful place.” The man rubbed his hands against those dusty pants, causing swirls of dirt to gather in the air. “Fresh air, beautiful mountains…” he gave Ian a sly glance, “pretty ladies.”
“I’m not looking for a pretty lady, but thanks.”
“Why ever not? A handsome young lad like you? How old are you? Twenty-three? Twenty-four?”
“Twenty-seven.”
The man snapped his fingers. “Gosh darn-it. I’m going to owe Louisa for that.”
“Excuse me?”
