I was at the depot when the train finally arrived from Silverton. It had been five days clearing snow before it could make it; the telegraph wires hadn’t been repaired as of yet. I was hoping to meet Charlie Gold, but instead I was given a message from him. “Need Help!” The train was filling up with supplies to take back to Silverton since the people had been stranded for a week.
When I read the message I hurried back to the cabin to throw my gear together. The weather had warmed up some and the streets were getting sloppy from snow melting to slush. It would take a while for the accumulation to go away and in the meantime it would be a mess. I had a bag filled with things I might need and plenty of ammunition for my pistol and shotgun.
There was time before the train would pull out but I felt in a hurry. After getting my gear I rushed down to the diner. Molly saw at an instant that something was wrong.
“Oh, Miles, now?” she said with some despair. “It’s almost Christmas.”
Sighing deeply as I poured a cup of coffee from the stove I answered. “Charlie needs my help. I don’t know what’s wrong or what’s happened, just that he needs me.”
“Sit down, you have time to eat. I’ll fix up some sandwiches for you to take along as well,” she informed me and understood the need for me to go.
She went back to the kitchen while I sat there sipping on my coffee. All kinds of thoughts were racing through my mind. What could have happened? All Charlie was doing was to check into the mine situation and stop any action the owners might take against those who walked off.
I smiled when I saw what she brought me. It couldn’t have been better for the trip; a plate full of biscuits and sausage gravy with sliced peppers in it. It would fill me up.
“Eat!” she ordered. “I’ll go fix you a lunch to take with you.”
Molly hugged me before I left, saying, “You best be back by Christmas.”
“That’ll be the plan,” I assured her, then picked up my gear and shotgun heading for the station.
Within the hour I was aboard the train and waiting for it to get on the way. There was only one passenger car as they added an extra freight car. I was amazed at how quickly they had gotten the supplies together and loaded. The passenger car was empty except for me and a couple of miners. Most were not wanting to venture out in the weather this close to Christmas.
As we wound up the canyon all I could see was white. Everything was covered with snow. I could see how they had trouble getting the snow off the track and the engine went about half the speed. It would be well into the evening before arriving in Silverton. At least I saw that the clouds were clearing, but that meant that the temperatures would drop. It could get down to zero or lower up in the high country. I was getting soft.
There was no way for me to let Charlie know that I was coming. I was counting on him knowing that I would be on my way. Molly was to tell Mateo and Lucas the situation as far as either of us knew it. Mateo would have come if not for his responsibility in Durango as town marshal. He and Lucas along with his two boys were making sure that the widows and elderly had plenty of wood to get them through this time and that they had a way to walk out of their homes to town if needed.
As evening approached and the sun went on down behind the mountains I could feel the cold begin to creep in. “Brrr,” I thought. When we finally rolled into the station Charlie wasn’t there but a man, who appeared to be a miner came up asking if I was Marshal Forrest and I was to follow him.
The snow there was much deeper and there wasn’t much being done by the people in town to help the situation. Most of them were staying inside, trying to keep warm. I followed the man to what looked like a small warehouse. Upon entering I felt a little warmth as there was a stove in the center of the room with cots around it.
There, in the midst of the cots, was Charlie. He was…