She rubbed her eyes, irritating them slightly with the lace of her gloves. Then she squirmed a little, only realizing that there was a bundle on her lap after she heard it softly moan.
"Shhh...." she whispered. "Go back to sleep."
Then she stroked her youngest daughter's hair lightly until it seemed as though the little one was asleep again. The child's hair was black, not like her older sister's, which was blond. They were such different girls. It was only natural; they had such different fathers. Still, what was best left unmentioned was best left unthought also. Anyway, she'd begun to wonder where her older daughter was now. The girl had begun to struggle fitfully into womanhood, and this was her first journey in fully adult dress. She looked proud and lovely, and had taken to walking up and down the aisles as if she had some important business to attend to. It wasn't merely that she was showing off but that this was also her first journey in a corset and she found sitting for any length of time sheer misery.
Maybe she should call her, Leoda thought, but that thought brought a cold realization to her: she could not remember her daughter's name! She looked down at the child with her head in her lap and realized that she couldn't remember her name either. A few moments of fear were strangely quieted by the conviction that formed in her from no known source: that she would know their names when the time came to know.
A sort of peace drifted over her and she began to watch the scenery pass by again. This sensation was soon broken by the sound of distant gunfire. A murmur rushed through the passengers. There were robbers on the train, someone shouted. A few people began to rise from their seats and rush through the aisles, even though there was nowhere to go. Leoda rose too, but only to search for her older daughter. She saw her, a terrified young girl being jostled violently by the other passengers and nearly tripping over her own skirts. She made it into the seat and Leoda's arms, and began to weep and shake violently.
"They're killing people in the next car!" the girl cried in between choking sobs."It's all right, dear," Leoda said, unconvincingly trying to comfort her. "They won't hurt us."
The younger one was now awake and beginning to cry also. As she wormed her way into Leoda's arms, the train began jerking its way to a stop, throwing the three of them painfully back into their seat. Bedlam broke loose among the other passengers, who began pouring through the aisle, trampling each other in the process. The noise and rushing were stopped short when two shots were fired at the far end of the car.
A thin but firm voice cried out, "Ladies and gentlemen, would you please return to your seats...or anybody's seats, for that matter, we're not picky. Please, do sit down. Anyone caught standing after the count of five will be shot."
The man who spoke was slender, and from behind his mask Leoda could see small spectacles on his eyes, and long blond hair behind his hat. Two bandits passed by him, a smallish man and a tall woman.
The woman called back to the man who'd spoken, "The gold! It's in the next car!""Then why don't you go get it?" he answered, displaying mild irritation. "This is my job anyway."
The two of them rushed down the aisle to the next car as the apparent leader, now with two particularly scruffy-looking partners behind him, said, "Now, this is a stick-up and I'm sure you all know what to do. If this is your first time, and you're not sure, simply relieve yourself of all valuables when the man with the burlap sack and the gun passes your seat. He will be happy to answer all questions that come up."
The two scruffy men produced their sacks and guns and began to work opposite sides of the aisle, taking money and jewelry. Leoda, struggling with two children, removed a broach and a necklace, took off her gloves, slightly surprised to find that she had a wedding ring, and held all that she'd found before her in one hand as the robber, a tall lanky man with long hair and clothes that hung loosely on his bones, came to her seat with his bag.
"Here, take them," she said, "and please go.""Uh, lady," he answered, uncertainly, "we don't want your jewels. We want the kids."
"That's crazy! You've got to be kidding!"
"Uh, no lady, not really. We're supposed to take the kids."
The children began to squeal and clutch at Leoda savagely.
The leader came up to the other robber and asked, "What seems to be the trouble?""She doesn't want to give us the kids, sir."
"Madame," the leader said, turning politely to her, "would you please give us your children?"
"What about your gold?"
"Oh, that's just a ruse, an excuse to get on the train. Children are the real treasure."
"What do you think we should do?" asked the tall one.
The third robber, a short fat man, stuck his head in from out of nowhere and answered, "I told you earlier we'd have to shoot her."
"Oh, be fair!" shot back the tall one.
"Fair? Just look how things are turning out. Is that fair to Sandy and Baxter? Is that fair to me?"
"Okay then, you do it, if you're so keen on the idea!"
"Gentlemen, please," interrupted the leader. "You forget one simple fact. This is a conflict between one woman, two little girls and three grown men. Don't you think that brute force will be sufficient to satisfy all our needs?"
The three of them looked at Leoda, whose children were now clutching her so tightly that she couldn't breath. Then, each of the assistant robbers reached for a child. They pulled as mightily as they could, but Leoda and the girls held as tightly as possible to each other. The older remained firm but the younger began to be pulled away. Leoda changed her grip, grabbing at the child's arm. Then Leoda heard something snap in the girl and she reflexively let go. The girl fell into the tall robber's arms, one arm dangling limply beside her.
"Now look what you've done!" the tall one said to Leoda, trying futilely to comfort the now-howling child. "The poor thing! Some mother you are!""I've had enough of this crap!" the short one screamed. "Now we do it my way!" He moved forward, threw the older girl into the next seat, mumbling, "'Scuse me, kid," and firmly locked his hands around Leoda's throat.
He began strangling her, shaking her violently, and the shaking, the pain, and the terror all seemed to last indefinitely, and Leoda slowly began to lose consciousness....