Ironhorse

74

Virgil moved to the window, and looked north up the track.

“Where would we find one of these telegraph lineman or superintendents?” Virgil said.

“The superintendents are never,” Sam said, “or hardly ever, through here. They operate out of the north and south terminals.”

“The lineman are stationed on each end, too,” Jenny said.

“There are two of ’em,” Sam said. “LeFlore brothers. They pretty much live on the line, all up and down it.”

“LeFlore? They Choctaw?” I asked.

“They are,” Jenny said. “I, I grew up with them.”

“They wouldn’t happen to be here now, would they?” Virgil asked. “In Half Moon Junction?”

“Nope,” Sam said, looking at Jenny. “We don’t know where they are.”

“Jimmy John works out of Division City and his brother Buck’s out of Paris, but like Sam said they live on the line,” Jenny said.

“Know ’em, Berkeley?” Virgil said. “These LeFlores?”

“Can’t say I do, no.”

Virgil looked back to the map.

“Do you know if there is still a telegraph line through to the mines?” Virgil asked.

“Got no idea,” Sam said.

“I can try and contact Jimmy John,” Jenny said. “See if he responds.”

“No, please,” the governor said. “Those kind of notions are too risky.”

“Sure,” Jenny said. “I understand, sir.”

Virgil stood looking at the map for a moment before he looked to Jenny.

“Jenny, Sam said you know Choctaw,” Virgil said. “That right?”

“She sure does,” Sam said. “Like I tol’ ya.”

Virgil motioned to the key sitting in front of Jenny.

“You wire in Choctaw?” Virgil said.

“I can.”

“Do the other operators?”

Jenny shook her head.

“No, not anymore. Other operators can code out Choctaw, and on occasion they do, but they are just relaying letters in the notes; they don’t actually know the language. I do. My daddy was half Choctaw. He taught the language to me. I grew up with it.”

“The linemen use it at all? The LeFlores, do they communicate with it? Do you communicate with it?”

“When they have something to say between them they don’t want anyone else to know, they do,” Sam said, looking at Jenny.

“Like I said, none of the other operators know Choctaw; the superintendents don’t know it. Just me and Buck and Jimmy John. Every so often Choctaws wishing to communicate by wire use it, but that’s all.”

“For the most part, Choctaws don’t mess with the wire,” Sam said. “Choctaw are a superstitious lot. Leave voice on the wire to nowhere bad, they say.”

Jenny offered a wry turn of her lips. “That’s right.”

“Regardless, whatever it is you are thinking, Marshal,” the governor said, “we don’t have time to waste. Please prepare. Let’s do this, pay attention to these demands to the letter.”

“We will do,” Virgil said. “First, tell me something you and your daughters share, like a secret or some such?”

“What?” the governor said. “I don’t understand.”

“I want to make sure we hear from them,” Virgil said. “I want to know of their safety before we do anything. What’s their favorite something or other, song, time of year, color? Something we can wire for them to answer.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” Hobbs said.

The governor looked out the window, thinking.