Page 12 of A Groom for Millie
Across the aisle sat a man of wide girth, who had stretched his legs out across the small space. He was reading a newspaper and had no interest in the other members of the coach. Robert cleared his throat, and the man mumbled an apology, pulling his feet back before disappearing behind the newspaper.
The paper was from that morning. The front page announced another murder and theft. This time in Flat River. Robert furrowed his brow. He tried to read the article, but the man flipped the paper in half and Robert couldn’t see the words.
He heard the driver yell, and the stage lurched forward. Soon it was moving quickly, as Robert watched the ground move at the side of the wagon. The man stretched his legs out once more. Robert cleared his throat and gave the man a little kick with the side of his boot.
“My apologies,” he said pulling his legs back once more.
“Where you headed?” Robert asked, trying to make polite conversation. The man rustled the newspaper and ignored Robert’s question.
“Forgive him,” a woman who was now sitting across from the lady in the blue blanket-cloak, said. “That’s my husband. He hates to travel.”
Robert nodded. “I understand.”
“We are going to Denver City to visit my family.”
“Is it your first time traveling?” Robert asked the boy who was sitting between the couple.
The boy nodded. “I’ve never been anywhere west before.”
“Have you enjoyed your trip?”
“I like the train. It was warmer.”
Robert laughed. The coach was a bit chilly, but there was a compartment in the floor where heated bricks were stored. Soon the coach would be very warm.
The wife pulled out a thin book from a basket on the floor and started reading. The boy started fidgeting. Robert hadn’t been around too many children. The boy looked bored.
He spent the next few minutes watching the snow come down. It was quite beautiful. Thinking of that article he had read in the paper, he wondered how something so pretty could be that deadly.
A thud drew both of their attention to the other passengers in the coach. The boy had dropped a wooden toy and hunched down on the ground to get it. Climbing back on the seat he settled back down and started swinging his legs.
“How much longer?” he asked.
His mother looked up from her book. “We’ve only been riding for half an hour. We still have many more miles to go.”
“I want to sit by the window.”
Robert took a deep breath. He had hoped the boy would entertain himself on the ride to Owl Canyon, but there was only so much to keep a child occupied. His mother shushed him and returned to her reading. Robert took a deck of cards out of his pocket and began to shuffle them. The boy watched him as Robert cut and combined the cards.
He fanned the cards so the boy could see them and then snapped them together again.
“Where’s the deuce?” he asked the boy. The boy pointed to a card. Robert plucked the card out of the pile and flipped it over his knuckles. Back and forth the boy’s eyes followed the card. Robert tucked the card back in the deck and shuffled the cards once more. He fanned the cards out and asked the boy, “Where’s your card?”
The boy studied the cards in front of him. “It’s not there,” he finally said.
Robert snapped the deck closed once more. “Correct. That’s because it is right here,” he said, reaching behind the boy’s ear and pulling a card forward.
The boy’s eyes opened wide. “How did you do that?”
“A magician never tells,” Robert laughed. “Would you like to see another?” He noticed that the boy’s mother was peeking at him from behind her book. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“James. James Martin.”
“Nice to meet you, James Martin, I’m Robert Taylor.” He handed the deck of cards over to the boy. “I want you to go through the cards and find me two kings and an ace.” He watched as the boy started shuffling the cards. “Any color.”
James found one king and handed it to Robert. Then he found the other two and handed those over. Robert put the rest of the cards in his pocket. “I want you to watch carefully.” He laid the three cards face up on his knees with the ace in the middle. “Follow the ace and tell me where it lands.” He turned the three cards and began moving them in a braid pattern. He had done the trick so many times he didn’t even have to look. He watched as the young boy concentrated on the moving cards. He moved them a few more times and then let them rest once more on his knees. “Where’s the ace?”
“That one,” the boy said, pointing to the card on the left.
