Blessed are the Merciful (24 page)

After spending a few days at the Chief United States Marshal’s office in Kansas City, Seth Coleman boarded a train bound for Omaha. He sighed with pleasure as he took a seat beside the window in the last passenger coach and watched other passengers saying good-bye to friends and relatives. The other five deputies who had traveled from Washington to Kansas City with him had been assigned to offices farther west. Seth was satisfied to be stationed at Omaha. He
wondered if Adam Burke had realized his dream of establishing his own law firm in North Platte.

Soon the train was rolling northward out of Kansas City. The conductor entered the rear of the coach and began collecting tickets.

For a while, the train followed the east bank of the Missouri River, then the river passed from view. Seth laid his head back, closed his eyes, and saw the face of Bettieann Ralston. This brought a flood of memories to his mind. The more he tried to push them away, the more vivid they became.

He opened his eyes, sat up, and gazed at the Missouri hills rushing by his window. Soon the Missouri River came back into view, and shortly thereafter the conductor passed through the coach announcing the next stop, St. Joseph. Soon the train was chugging into the St. Joseph depot, and Seth watched the crowd on the platform as new passengers began to board. Suddenly he spotted a familiar face just outside his window. Dave Harmon!

Seth had been part of a team of police officers who chased Harmon through the streets and alleys of Philadelphia after he had robbed a bank and wounded a bank employee. It was Seth who finally cornered Harmon, disarmed him, and arrested him. Harmon had been sentenced to fifteen years in the federal penitentiary near Scranton but had escaped from the prison almost a year ago.

Harmon was in close conversation with three other men, and it appeared they were going to board the train. Seth wondered if Harmon was now into robbing trains. He studied Harmon’s three friends and memorized their faces and what they were wearing. As soon as the train started rolling, he would take a little walk to see if Harmon and his friends had spread out into all three cars.

When the voice of the conductor began calling for all passengers to board, Harmon and his friends moved out of Seth’s line of sight. Seth removed his badge and put it in his shirt pocket. A well-dressed man carrying a valise sat down beside him. Seth greeted him then turned his attention back to the situation with Harmon and his cronies.

Sure enough, one of Harmon’s cohorts entered the coach and took
a seat near the front. Moments later, the train rolled out of the depot.

From the corner of his eye Seth saw the man next to him open his valise and take out a Bible. “Ah,” he said. “I see you love the same Book I do.”

“There’s no Book like it. I’m Ken Myers,” the man said, extending his hand. “I pastor a church in Omaha that believes this Book from cover to cover. In fact, we even believe the cover because it says Holy Bible.”

Seth chuckled. “Well, amen to that! I’d like to talk to you some more, Pastor Myers, but I have a little errand to do first. I’ll be back in a bit. Excuse me, please.”

Seth squeezed past Myers and stepped into the aisle. He walked past Dave Harmon’s friend and casually glanced down at him. The man seemed a bit nervous.

Seth stepped onto the platform of the swaying coach and passed into the next car. He paused at the door and studied the backs of the men’s heads. If Harmon was in this car, Seth would have to get past him without being recognized. It took only seconds to spot another one of Harmon’s pals, but Dave Harmon was nowhere to be seen. The robber was seated alone near the front.

Seth proceeded to the first passenger coach, paused just inside the door, and did his study again. Dave Harmon was on a seat near the front, sitting by the aisle. An elderly woman sat beside him, looking out the window. Directly across the aisle was Harmon’s other cohort, sitting alone.

Seth turned around and left the coach, heading back toward his own car. Myers looked up from his Bible when Seth stopped at the seat, then squeezed past him to sit down.

“Pastor Myers, I’m a deputy U.S. marshal,” Seth said, leaning close to the preacher and keeping his voice low. He took the badge from his shirt pocket momentarily for Myers to see. Seth quietly explained the situation, including the fact that the robbers were spread out, ready to go into action.

“I need your help, Pastor. It could involve some danger, but I’ve
got to keep these four from robbing the train, and at the same time I’ve got to arrest them.”

“You can count on me,” Myers whispered. “I was a combat leader in the Civil War. I know about danger.”

Seth pointed out the robber near the front door of the coach. “I could take him out right now, but if I did I wouldn’t have the goods on him. I have to let him show himself as one of the robbers. All I ask is that if there’s any way you can overpower him once he shows himself—without endangering any of the passengers—do it.”

“There’s an empty seat directly across the aisle from him,” Myers said. “I’ll move up there.”

“I’m going up to the lead car again,” Seth whispered. “Pray for me.”

Myers nodded. “You go ahead. I’ll change seats in a minute.”

Seth made his way past Harmon’s cohort and moved out onto the platform. Harmon’s man in car number two was still in place. As Seth passed him, he prayed,
Lord, help me to be able to take care of this one somehow. Please don’t let any of the passengers get hurt
.

When Seth entered coach number one, he saw that Harmon had left his seat and was not in the car, though the other robber was still in his place. Seth suspected Harmon was headed toward the engine. He opened the door and stepped out onto the platform. Harmon’s man eyed him and waited a few moments before getting up to follow him.

As soon as Seth was on the platform, he caught a glimpse of Harmon inching across the catwalk on the side of the coal car, gun in hand. Seth moved to the ladder on the rear of the baggage coach and was starting to climb it when he heard the door of the car behind him open. He looked back and saw Harmon’s man glaring at him.

“Where you goin’?” the robber demanded.

Seth grinned and moved toward him. “Just curious. I saw some guy heading toward the engine, and I wondered what he was doing.”

The man clawed for his gun, but Seth moved with lightning speed and sent a hard fist to the man’s jaw. The punch bounced the
robber off the door of the coach. When he rebounded, Seth hit him again, and the man went down in a heap.

Seth grabbed the man’s gun and tossed it off the train. He used the man’s own belt to bind his hands behind his back, then dragged him into the coach.

He flashed his badge to the passengers and said, “Folks, I’m Marshal Seth Coleman. This man and his cohorts have a train robbery planned. If a couple of you men will keep an eye on him, I’d appreciate it. I’ve got to move fast.”

Seth dashed through the coach, opened the back door, and stepped onto the platform. Moving into car number two, he saw Harmon’s man just as he got out of his seat and pulled his gun, telling the passengers they were being robbed. Before the robber could completely clear leather, Seth struck him square on the jaw. The passengers looked on stunned as the man’s feet left the floor. He bounced off the edge of a seat and landed flat on his back, out cold.

Seth picked up the robber’s gun and said, “This man and three others were planning to rob the train. I’ve got one of the others already subdued. Will a couple of you men take this guy’s belt and bind his hands behind his back for me? I’ve got to keep moving.” Seth turned to go back toward the engine car.

The wind whipped Seth’s face as he bent low and made his way forward on the roof of the baggage coach. When he reached the coal car, he stepped onto the catwalk, pinned the badge on his chest, and drew his gun.

Dave Harmon’s back was squarely toward Seth when he reached the end of the catwalk. Harmon was holding his gun on the engineer and fireman.

Seth leveled his gun on Harmon’s head and shouted, “It’s all over, Harmon! Toss the gun out in the field!”

Harmon whipped his head around to find himself looking down the muzzle of Seth Coleman’s Colt .45. His eyes went from the black muzzle to the shiny badge to Coleman’s face. “You!” he gusted, eyes bulging.

“Yeah, me! Throw the gun off the engine. Now!”

Harmon hesitated.

“I mean it!” Seth growled.

Harmon reluctantly tossed his gun off the train. When the train pulled into Omaha, Pastor Ken Myers and U.S. Marshal Seth Coleman followed the other passengers toward the front door of the coach.

“If you need a ride to the U.S. marshal’s office, I can take you there,” Myers said. “One of the men from the church is picking me up.”

“Thanks, but Chief Houser is supposed to meet me.”

“I know him well. He lives next door to the parsonage. In fact, here he comes now,” Myers said as they stepped out of the coach.

Frank Houser was a robust man of sixty. As he drew up, he noted the badge on Seth’s chest, glanced at Myers and said, “Seth Coleman, welcome to Omaha! Is this outlaw next to you your prisoner?”

Myers laughed.

Seth shook Houser’s hand and said, “Pastor Myers isn’t my prisoner, Chief, but I’ve got four men tied up in the caboose. I need to get them to the Douglas County jail.”

Houser was surprised to learn about the foiled train robbery but was glad to know that no passengers had been hurt. He chuckled to learn that Myers had coldcocked the robber in coach number three the moment he moved to the front of the coach and pulled his gun.

The man Myers was expecting arrived, and Myers introduced Earl Chambers to Seth. Then he turned to the law officers and said, “Is there anything I can do for you gentlemen?”

“You’ve done your part,” Houser said. “I’ll contact Sheriff Bowman and get those robbers off the train and transported to the jail.”

“Robbers?” Chambers said. “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you on the way home, Earl,” Myers said.

Seth extended his hand to Myers. “Pastor, I can’t wait to hear you
preach. If you can preach as good as you punch, it’s got to be good.”

“I’ll look for you, Deputy.”

The pastor and Earl Chambers walked away, and Chief Houser said, “We’ll get you settled in a boardinghouse as soon as we get your prisoners settled in their cells, Coleman. Tomorrow morning you’ll meet some of your fellow deputies, and within a day or two I’ll have you working with one of the more experienced men who’ll take you with him on an assignment and show you the way we do it here.”

“I can’t wait, sir,” Seth said.

“On the other hand, maybe I should have you teaching the other deputies how to stop a train robbery!”

O
N
M
ONDAY MORNING
, N
OVEMBER
5, Adam Burke got up at dawn, excited about Olivia Dahl’s first day on the job. He stood in front of the mirror, carefully using the straight-edged razor to shave, and thought about how Olivia had been delivered almost magically into his life. He was sure she would make a good secretary. Her bright eyes displayed a keen intelligence as well as a vivacious personality. And she wasn’t wearing an engagement ring.

Adam splashed water on his face and grabbed a towel, then looked at himself in the mirror. “Who knows, ol’ pal. Maybe something will develop.”

He dressed in his best suit and tie and put on the shoes he had shined to a perfect gloss the night before. After an excellent breakfast downstairs in Minnie’s dining room, Adam left for work. He reached the office just after seven o’clock. At seven twenty-five, a wagon pulled up out front and moments later the door opened.

“Mr. Burke?”

“Good morning, Olivia. Welcome to the Adam Burke law firm.”

Adam showed Olivia around the office, acquainting her with the files and explaining what her job would entail, and that she must keep everything she learned about clients and their businesses confidential. He was pleased at how quickly she caught on to all his instructions.

The day went well as clients came and went. Olivia was excellent with people, and she had a special charm about her.

The last client booked for the day left just before four o’clock. When Adam came into the front office, Olivia was at the file cabinet,
putting client records in place. She had already tidied up the office and had it looking even better than when she had arrived that morning.

“Sure looks nice in here, Olivia,” he said. “And you handled yourself well with the clients.”

“Thank you, Mr. Burke.”

“Looks like you’ve got things ready for tomorrow. Even though your quitting time is five o’clock, you can leave early today if you want.”

Olivia glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner and said, “Russ won’t be here to pick me up until five, Mr. Burke. That’ll give me time to dust your desk and do anything that’s needed in your office. If it’s all right for me to go in there, I’ll take care of it for you.”

“Of course,” he said, pondering what she had just said. “Russ? Is that your brother?”

“Oh, no,” she said, giggling. “Russ is my fiancé.”