Saddle Dust

Chapter 3

"I want to see the rest of the train, let's go for a walk."
Casey looks up at Anita from a newspaper she found abandoned on one of the benches. It's their second afternoon on the train and they are both growing restless from the constant pattern of travel.
"Alright, but you've got to give me your sunhat." Casey stands and Anita takes her straw hat down from where it sits perched on the trunk in the overhead storage. Casey takes it and tucks her hair up into the hat, pulling it down low on her forehead. She takes off her duster and untucks her shirt, flattening it out in an attempt to hide her identity.
"I think that'll do. We can go towards the front of the train, but we'll stop at the dining car. Can't get too close to people who are apt to read the papers."
Anita nods and leads the way, turning right and heading in the direction of the dining car. Most of the train's passengers are in the dining car, chatting, drinking, and playing cards. Casey appreciates the cover that their presence provides.
They walk to the counter. The bartender takes their money and raises his eyebrows at them, asking for their orders. Anita gets a small glass of whiskey, explaining in a strong southern accent that it's for her terrible nerves. Casey, trying to keep a straight face, says she'll take nothing stronger than a coffee. The bartender holds a blank face and turns to serve them their drinks.
They manage to find an empty spot to stand by one of the windows and take their drinks there. Casey nods to Anita, taking a sip of her coffee, and drawling on in a heavy southern accent.
"How's yer nerves, Miss?"
Anita laughs. "But you really do sound like that when you're angry."
"Thanks."
The two stand and talk about nothing in particular for a while. Then, Anita's eyes go wide and she looks over Casey's shoulder.
"What?"
"Shh! Don't turn around." Casey stays silent and facing towards the window. She feels her heartbeat quicken in her chest. Anita continues to search over her shoulder for another few seconds before she looks back at Casey, a small smile on her face.
"Guess who it is." Casey spares a glance over her shoulder and then quickly turns back to Anita.
"Lord. It's that old lady with the needles. Spare me." Casey jabs a finger at her mouth indicating a sudden urge to vomit.
Anita stifles a laugh and looks over Casey's shoulder again. Her eyes go wide and she grabs Casey's shoulder marching her over to a corner of the car.
"I think she's seen us."
Casey leans against the wall, facing the corner. Anita stoops, pretending to pick at a piece of thread on her dress. Casey whispers to Anita. "Is she still there?"
"Uh, let meâ€""
"Ms. Long! Ms. Romero! What a surprise to see you here."
"Holy shit damnâ€"" Casey cuts her string of whispered profanities off once she senses Mrs. Harlson has stepped into hearing range. Anita and Casey both straighten and turn to face her, the game up. Anita's smile is polite enough, Casey's is downright forced.
Anita approaches and holds a hand out to a particularly prim-looking Mrs. Harlson.
"How nice to see you, Mrs. Harlson. I wasn't aware you would be traveling on the same train as us."
Mrs. Harlson seems positively giddy. "Oh I know! Had I been aware you were on the same train as Mr. Harlson and myself, I would have invited you both to sit with us." She looks expectantly between Casey and Anita for an answer. Receiving none, she continues on.
"I'm so glad I found you two. You see…" she pauses, ringing her hands nervously. Casey raises her eyebrows, coughing a few times into her fist. Anita elbows Casey sharply in the ribs. She hisses at her. "Be polite. She's nervous." Casey whispers back "I don't give a damn." Mrs. Harlson does not appear to notice their hushed side conversation.
"Well, after getting off of the stagecoach, I had a chance to walk around the city with my husband and…I do believe the fresh air had a rather balm-like effect on my nerves. You see…I am naturally a very nervous woman and I was…unsettled by the stagecoach. I…well, I would like to apologize for my behavior on the coach. It was really quite unbecoming of my station to make such comments on your…" she trails off nodding to Casey.
"On your style of dress. The circles I travel in, well, your dress would be quite frowned upon." Mrs. Harlson looks at Casey in a way that reminds her of an old sick dog she once saw begging for a piece of meat. Casey just blinks at her, face blank.
Anita shoots a look to Casey before turning to Mrs. Harlson.
"Oh, I'm quite sure that Casey is deeply moved by your sincere words. In fact…" Anita turns back to Casey and says through gritted teeth:
"I think she's just lost for words at the moment." Mrs. Harlson's face breaks into one of simple, childlike joy.
"Oh wonderful!" She breathes, her chest heaving with a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad that you could find it in your heart to forgive me. My husband was right. I shouldn't have commented on your personals especially since I don't even know if you have the means to support the most modern wardrobe. Especially someone in your station." Casey raises her eyebrows again.
"My station?"
Mrs. Harlson leans in closer to Casey and Anita as if sharing a naughty secret she picked up at one of her social clubs. "Oh yes! You said so on the coach. You do work at a saloon, don't you?"
Casey's mouth opens, then shuts, dumbfounded at Mrs. Harlson's lack of self awareness amongst other things. Anita sees Casey's predicament and comes to the rescue.
"Yes, she works at an establishment I own." Anita leans in as if about to share an embarrassing secret with Mrs. Harlson who, naturally, leans in, eating up every second of it. Casey, while not entirely pleased with where this is headed, plays her part and puts on a not so intelligent face while pretending to peer out of the window at something.
"You see, well. It's really quite embarrassing. Ms. Long here came to me not too long ago. Her parents had both died of fever, and she had been left with no one to take charge of her." Mrs. Harlson gasps and her eyes widen. She leans in closer, eyes practically twinkling like a cheap perfume bottle in the light of a greasy horse fat candle. "Oh…that's just terrible! Poor thing. No wonder…"
"I know! She didn't have anywhere else to go and with no way to make a living…well." Anita sighs heavily and shakes her head, shoulders sagging. She casts a quick, yet dramatic glance back to Casey who gives her a death stare in return while trying to look like she wouldn't know what a dandelion was if she was in a field of them. Anita has to bite her tongue to keep from laughing.
"Yes, but the worst of it is…well, she isn't very bright and so she often doesn't get paid the full amount." Mrs. Harlson's cheeks redden slightly but she looks more interested than ever in Anita's yarn.
"Oh, poor thing. But doesn't she have any relatives that could take care of her so she doesn't have to…work in that life?" Anita shakes her head gravely.
"I tried to help her look for a cousin she'd mentioned, but…"
Casey stops paying attention to the imaginary cousin Anita has just given her and briefly glances over Mrs. Harlson. She notices that her handbag is dangling precariously from an elbow, and looks for the most part, unattended as the owner is currently hypnotized by Anita's story. She edges around, trying to get a better angle on it.
"And then what did you do once you realized that the cousin was no good?" Anita has hooked Mrs. Harlson and so she continues to reel her in with the story. Casey has now edged around to Mrs. Harlson's side enough to be able to get a hand on the clasp of the handbag while facing the other way.
"Well, I offered her a place to stay, but I told her I'd need payment in return for any services provided. She said she had none, and I was about to turn her out but then I spotted some of the men at the tables looking over at her…"
Casey eases open the clasp and swiftly slides a few fingers into the handbag, feeling around for a fold of bills or cool touch of a valuable piece of jewelry.
"…so I said to myself well, maybe if she would be willing to work for me, I guess that would be alright too."
"And she said yes?"
Anita nods solemnly. "She did. And that's how she came to work for me. It's been about…"
Casey feels paper. She draws out a fold of paper which she hopes is money and carefully tucks it up into her sleeve, returning the clasp to its post. She straightens and turns back around, walking back to the window and looking out at the scenery again. Anita finishes the story.
"She's certainly one of the more hardworking girls in my care, but she's got to learn not to be such a pushover." Anita turns to Casey, hands on hips.
"Isn't that right, Ms. Long?" Ms. Long turns back from the window, smiling dully at Anita, who winks in return. Mrs. Harlson fans herself and looks disbelievingly at Casey.
"Well, I sincerely hope that you find yourself in better accommodations in the future. Perhaps a convent…?" Receiving no reply to this, Mrs. Harlson continues.
"I would still like to extend the invitation to my and my husband's seats if you should get lonely in each other's company. You just have to promise me that you'll discuss none of your…business in the presence of my husband or he'll have a fit for sure."
Casey nods and steps forward. Anita is both surprised and relieved when her voice is controlled and sincere. "Thank you Mrs. Harlson. I hope to take you up on that offer in the future. It was a pleasure to see you again."
Mrs. Harlson is practically glowing. "Oh you're most welcome Ms. Long. I hope to see you both there soon." And mercifully, she departs back to her own seat towards the front of the train.
As soon as Mrs. Harlson has disappeared from the dining car, Casey drops the act and looks at Anita who bursts out laughing.
"One of the more hardworking girls? Are you serious? What the hell was that?"
"You should have seen the look on your face!" Tears of laughter sting Anita's eyes and she wipes them away with the back of her hand. "You looked like you were about to start shitting rocks with the amount of effort it was taking for you to keep that act up."
"Yeah. It pretty much felt like it too."
"Come on, admit it! You had fun." Casey rolls her eyes and crosses her arms but she can't help a small smile that's tugging its way onto her face.
"You definitely had way more fun than I did. Now instead of having a reputation for being dangerous, people are going to start hearing that I'm a rather simple lady for hire. Thanks."
Anita winks at Casey. "You're welcome."
"While you were busy spinning a yarn about some nonexistent cousin of mine, I managed to pick something off of that old bag and I'm curious to see what it is."
Anita shakes her head at Casey and they both turn to walk back towards their seats. "I saw you sneaking around and I'm surprised she didn't catch you."
"Please. That woman bought your story despite the fact that I'm dressed nothing like who you said I was. She couldn't tell a cat's ass from a cheesecake if it was on her supper table."
"Right." Anita says dryly.
They reach their seats and Casey glances around quickly, checking for nearby passengers, before letting the fold of bills and other small papers drop onto the table between them from her shirtsleeve. They both begin to dissect the fold and discover that Casey managed to swipe a five dollar bill and some odd cents along with two pieces of paper with seemingly random scratchings on them. Anita looks up at Casey and raises her eyebrows.
"Wow. Quite a haul. I'm shocked no one's caught you yet. I wonder how many people you've bankrupted from stealing their pocket change. I can see the posters now. Casey Long and Anita Romero: Wanted for stealing pocket change and old lady's pocket scribblings. Do not approach. They may bore you half to death with false tales of woe and misery!"
Casey gives Anita a look, and picks up one of the scraps of paper.
"You know, a lot of people keep things in their purses that are much more valuable than money."
Anita looks at Casey skeptically. "Like what, exactly?"
Casey turns the paper in her hand, but doesn't respond. Anita grows curious. "Casey, what's on that paper?"
A grin spreads across Casey's face and she holds the paper triumphantly out for Anita to read. "Well, for one, information can be far more valuable than money. Especially when it's about a well-dressed coach that's going to be passing through an area I was thinking we could try to cover."
Anita's face lights up and her eyes flash mischievously as she looks up at Casey.
"So, we'd not only possibly get to rob that old bag again, but we'd probably get a much larger haul than what you just managed to swipe."
The grin still hasn't left Casey's face as she nods again. "And based on that stamp at the bottom of the paper, we'd also have a fairly expensive specimen of a coach to fence."
P