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Show nan wiirTn)irTi 8 a "fcnwn r'Tr''' itif'i'ir f-- SALT FLAT NEWS, MAY, 1972 6 than it is to ride the caboose of an like those high powered salesmen old freight? I dont know if I would care to ride your train, I said, considering what your destination maybe. An old argument! replied the conductor. I suppose you would like a bargain? I did have something of the sort in mind, sir. I am sorry, Sanchez. I am done with that sort of thing, since there is no longer a shortage of passengers. Why should I offer you special inducement? You must have wanted me, or you wouldnt have gone out of your way to find me. You have a point there, the conductor said. Pride was always my great weakness, I admit. Id hate to lose you to the competition, after thinking all these years you were my own. Okay, I will make a deal with you on your own terms. What term? I asked. I am in a position to give you anything you want, but there will be no tricks. Ill grant you any wish you may ask, and in return, youll have to promise to ride my train when the time comes. And if it never come? do. Just NEWS photo by R. By Floyd Eaton, International Ranger Maruin Ml I said. But true that you cant be isnt it trusted? I admit it, he said, but you seem to know all about me, already. I only gamble, sir, on surefire propositions. Sure-fire- ? Why, that is very, He chuckled, hen amusing! stopped. We are wasting valuable time, Sanchez. Lets get down to business. What is it that you want of me? I drew a deep breath. To be able to stop time. Right now? No, not yet. And not for everybody. I realize that would be next to impossible. Just sometime in the future for myself. Whenever I get to the point where I know I will be contented and happy forever. I have got to admit, he said, that is quite a proposition. I have heard some lulus in my day, but I have never heard anything quite like this before. Maybe my wish will keep me of the Salt Flat News will remember Floyd Eaton as the colorful story- off forever. teller who held them spellbound through five installments of his first serialized novel. There is no such wish. Queen of Blood. In this issue Mr. Eaton , or Deputy Dump , as he is fondly called by the Dont be too sure. citizens of Wendover, at whose disposal he lives and works , contributes an exciting new I will do the worrying about work of original fiction. Whereas Queen of Blood was largely derivative of Eaton's own that, he said. No matter what exploits as a soldier of fortune and international ranger , his second effort is entirely the you may have in mind, Ill warn product of imagination. you that I shall always collect at Just out of the clear blue sky ," explained the author , gesticulating skyward with the the end. There will be no last Avid readers chrome plated , pearl handled Colt .38 revolver passed down from his uncle, who once patrolled the West as a U. S. Marshal. But in "The Cop Who Fouled Up Satan's Last Trip" we find neither gunplay nor Eaton can violence, but rather the metaphysical whimsy of a retired philosopher-lawmastill plug a tin can at fifty yards, but in a recent interview allowed, I hardly ever shoot, anyone anymore." So all gather 'round the fire as the writer chucks still another drawer from his writing desk into the Franklin stove, and our hero, Eringo Sanchez, sets out to solve the sweet mystery of life, and death: Wh I was a little bitty boy, Clouds hung thick and dark As the stranger approached, I n. and was asked what I would like to be when I grew up, I would always answer with, I am going to be a railroad policeman like my friend Jim Summ&vale. say. Those S.O.B.S, and when they die, they will have to ride that long black train to that Do only railroad policemen to get ride that train? Id ask. Oh, no, they would say,' that is the train that all the sinners ride. Who are the sinner? Id ask. Theyre the drunks, gambling men, skirt chasers well, just all the jolly good time crew, would be their answer. v Does the Texas Central own that train? I asked. No. That is the personal passenger train of the old Devil. Of course, Yours Truly never believed there was such a train, til one cold December night many years later. I was walking along the tracks toward the yard office to catch the Golden Rocket, the T.Cs fast express freight on its southern run. But the train that came roaring along the track toward me was coming from the south. I peered ahead, but my eyes just wouldnt match with my ears; all I could recognize was the sound. It was a train, though. I could feel the rails shudder and hum beneath my feet. But how could it be? The next station south was Valley JungtiQQ, gild. Jbcip.was nothing dueAhfjortbetfiJilAherjdaylight. i .v - V overhead, and a heavy mist of fog was rolling in that cold dreary midnight. Even so, I should have been able to see the headlight as the train roared in, but there was only the whistle screaming out of the night. Being a special agent for the T.C. for fifteen years, I could recognize about any type of locomotive manufactured, but I had never heard a whistle like that one. It wasn't a signal; it was a scream like a person in destruction. I stepped aside, for the train was almost on top of me. Suddenly there it was, grinding to a stop in less time I ever dreamed or believed possible. The wheels were in bad need of oiling. They screamed too, just like a soul in torment. As the train skidded to a stop, the screaming died away to groaning sounds. I looked up and saw it was a passenger train, big long and black. Not a single light showed anywhere along its great length. I couldnt read the letters on its sides, but I was damn sure this train didnt belong to the Texas Central Railroad. I was more sure when I saw the man climb down from the forward car. I noticed something wrong with the way he walked, as if he was dragging one of his feet, and about the lantern he carried. He held the dark lantern up to his mouth and blew, and it instantly glowed red. You dont have to be a railroad man to know that is a peculiar damn way to light a lantern. ? V A. f - - . i t tiltOllitltput minute hocus pocus either. No last hour of repentance, no fancy lawyer to get you off the hook. I will give you a dean deal; that is to say, you will have what you want, and I shall have what I want. . have heard that you cant be trusted. That you trick people REALTY .I Ties recognized the conductors cap perched on his head. I felt a little better for a moment until I noticed it was wom a bit too high, as if there might be something sticking up on his forehead underneath it Still, I remembered my manners, and when the man smiled at me I said, Good evening, Mr. Conductor. Good evening, Sanchez! How did you know my name? He shrugged. How did you know I was the conductor? You are, arent you? To you, yes, although other people, in other walks of life, may recognize me in different roles. You ought to see what I look like to the folks out in Hollywood. He grinned. I travel a great deal. What brings you here? I asked. . Why, you ought to know the answer to that, Sanchez. I came because you needed me. Tonight I suddenly realized you were backsliding. Thinking of joining the church, weren't you? Well... I hesitated. Dont be ashamed. To make a mistake is human nature, as whats-his-nam- e once said. I had a that feeling you were in need of I branched over and So my help. here I am at your service. What kind of service? Why, to offer you a ride, of course. Isnt it a lot better to ride a passenger train witij al) (tieqoip- forte and entertainments 4 He grinned. You have really been giving it some thought, havent you? For years, I replied. Well, what do you say? In terms of your subjective time sense it isnt impossible. 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