Hero Billy
It was the heat of summer in the Cimarron Valley when Billy Rachael heard the whistle blowing and finished saddling his horse for the chase. He loved trying to outrun the train with Betsy and she was, in his opinion, the fastest horse in the territory. He’d won several races against his friends at school and he was determined to see Betsy beat that old steam engine; he really felt that she could.
It was 1838 and Billy was 11 years old, smarter than a whip, according to his Dad and he could lasso a cow better than any of the hands on the ranch. He also loved trains, they were fascinating machines, big and noisy and chocked full of power; one day he hoped to become an engineer on one.
He climbed onto Betsy's saddled back and clicked his tongue, giving her a light kick to get her going. He’d be there when the old iron horse rolled by and they’d beat it to the station today, for certain.
He waited down the tracks, at the usual spot and soon the, old Old Rawhide Shortline engine appeared. Just as it got to where he was, he gave Betsy a good kick in the rib cage with both heels and off they went. They kept up for a good distance and finally, Betsy was showing signs of defeat; he reined her in for a rest. There’d be another day, he knew, when he’d beat that engine.
He was just about to turn Betsy around when he heard the whistle blowing frantically, the train was out of sight now but, it was seconds before he heard the crash. Billy’s heart seemed to fall into the pit of his stomach and he swallowed the growing lump in his throat. He pulled tightly on the reins and gave Betsy two kicks to get her going.
A few yards around the Cliff side he saw it, one of the cars had been turned over and people were climbing out of the windows, bleeding and trying to get to safety. The engine was lying on its side, off of the tracks but Billy could see the engineer and the brakeman helping a woman from one of the windows on the overturned car. Children were crying loudly and Billy knew they would need help.
He tightened up on right rein and turned Betsy back towards home, riding as fast as he could, he arrived the ranch. Jim Tailor, one of the hands was coming out of the bunkhouse. Billy yelled to him to come and help as he brought Betsy to a swift stop.
“Jim! The train’s wrecked down by the river and people are hurt, they need help!”
Jim grabbed his pony, yelling for his boss and anyone within range of his voice. “Billy, go over to Jack Parker’s place and have him ride into town for the Doc. I’ll get the guys and your Dad and see what we can do.” He yelled back.
Billy headed for Jacks place, as fast as Betsy’s powerful legs could run. It wasn’t long before Jack joined the group with Billy at his side.
“Billy, I’ve got another bandanna in my saddlebag,“ said Jim, “go get it for me and bring me the bottle in there, as well. Billy did as requested, his hands shaking all the while but he arrived at Jack’s side without breaking the glass bottle and gave
it to Jack.
His Dad arrived just in time to help Jack clean the wound of a man whose leg had been cut pretty badly by a piece of metal. Doc Carter came along in minutes with the Sheriff and a few men from town, carrying an old Travois.
While the Engineer related the story of the accident to the Sheriff, Doc Carter began attending to the crash victims. One man and his wife were badly hurt; his little girl only had a bruised shoulder from the accident. She was around Billy’s age. He walked over to her and introduced himself.
I’m Billy Rachael; I live over on a ranch with my family. He pointed south of the tracks and she raised her head to look. Billy noticed that she had tears running down her face.
“I’ll bet that hurts, doesn’t it?” He asked.
“Yes...sniff.” Came the reply.
“Don’t worry, Doc Carter can help with that, he’s the guy in the gray suit and he can fix just about anything.”
“Sniff...my Mom and Dad...they...they, I think they’re dead.” She said, pointing at a couple who lay on the ground. Two of the hired hands on the ranch were trying to bring them around.
“They’ll be okay, I think,” said Billy, “uh...I don’t know your name.”
“Adelaide but they call me Addie...sniff.”
“Wait here,” said Billy and he went to his Dad and got a canteen of water, bringing it back to Addie. He removed the stopper and handed Addie the canteen, “Drink some; it’ll help you feel better.”
Addie took a couple of sips from the canteen and handed it back to Billy. “Thanks”, she said.
Billy looked over at Addie’s family, where Doc Carter was bandaging the woman’s arm. He noticed that she was saying something to him. Then he noticed the man’s head turned to his wife.
“Addie, they’re alive!” He said.
Addie looked over at her parent’s and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She winced at the pain in her shoulder. Billy reached over and laid his warm hand on the shoulder to try and ease some of the pain; Addie smiled slightly.
“Joey, one of our hands on the ranch, says that heat helps when you’re bruised up,” he said and smiled back.
Jack Parker walked over to them with some liniment and a piece of cloth. “Let me take a look at that shoulder for you, honey.” He knelt down on one knee to look at Addie’s shoulder.
“Jack’s good at bandaging people up,” said Billy, “he’s the guy we call when Doc Carter’s out of town to patch up our hired hands if they get hurt.”
“I can tell you, I’ve patched up quite a few folks around here.” Jack told Addie. “You’ve just got a bruise there, honey, I’ll clean it off and have Doc take a second look at it for you. This liniment will help with the soreness. Your Mom’s got a broken arm but, your Dad is okay, just some stitches in his right leg; they’re going to be fine though.”
A couple of hours later, badly injured passengers were being taken to town for treatment and some rest. After everyone was treated, Billy asked his Dad if Addie and her folks could stay at the ranch with them until they were able to travel again. Bob agreed and one of the hands went to get a buckboard and they headed towards the ranch with the injured family aboard. After a supper of beef stew with some vanilla pudding for dessert, Addie and her folks passed a long night, reliving nightmares of the wreck; Billy heard Addie crying in her sleep on the other side of the wall where she and her parent’s were. The next morning, the couple and their daughter looked extremely tired.
Addie’s father, Michael broke the silence. “Your Dad tells me that it was you who saw the train wreck yesterday, young man. If it hadn’t been for you, there’s no telling when we would have gotten help. I’d like to thank you.”
“It was nothing,” Billy replied, “Betsy, that’s my horse, and me like to race the trains. I didn’t actually see the accident but I heard it and came to investigate.”
“Well,“ said Michael, that track’s about three-quarters of a mile from your ranch and your Dad says it’s two miles from town. If you hadn’t been there, some badly injured folks might have died. If it’s okay with your Dad, I’d like to give you something, as a little reward.” He reached in to his vest pocket and pulled out a gold pocket watch. He removed the fob from his vest and handed it to Billy. “It’s real gold, Billy”, he said.
Billy’s eyes beamed with delight as he held the gleaming gold timepiece. It was engraved with an old steam engine and smoke was curling into the sky from the stack. “Th...thanks!” He said with a big smile.
“C...can I keep it, Dad?” “Sure son,” came the reply. “We’ve already talked it over and I think it’s a nice reward. Just take good care of it.”
“I sure will!” Remarked Billy and he looked across the table at Addie; she was smiling too.
Copyright, 2020, M.L. Kiser
Comments