Ribbons of Steel by Carol Henry

ushered her boys outside so they could run off their pent-up energy before boarding the train. The dining hall emptied of many of the passengers. Emily smiled as two elderly women approached. They had boarded the train at the last stop and sat several seats behind her, across the aisle. The ladies were as different as day and night. Possibly in their late fifties, they had a vitality Emily envied.
    “Hello, dearie, I’m Pansy Weaver and this is my sister Violet. I hope you don’t mind if we sit and have tea with you.” Pansy set her cup and saucer down and pulled a chair out at the same time. “It’s such a shame about our Mrs. Young losing her husband at such an early age. Why, what gumption she has traveling alone to such a God-forsaken place as the West.”
    “Now Violet, it’s not God-forsaken else we wouldn’t be traveling it ourselves, now would we? Pay her no never mind.” She waved her hand at her sister, then sipped her tea. “Why, we enjoy an adventure just as much as the next person. Ain’t that right?”
    “So, Mrs. Carmichael, what’s your story? Everyone has a story.” Pansy bit into a pastry that looked as if it’d been in her bag for days.
    “Pansy,” Violet gushed. “You should not be so rude. Now Mrs. Carmichael, pay her no mind. You don’t have to answer if you don’t have a mind to.”
    Emily’s insides warmed at the exchange between the two women. “I don’t mind,” she told them. “There isn’t much to tell. I’m on my way to stay with my cousin in the northern California Territory. I’ve been ill and need the rest from my family.”
    “Tell us about your family, then, dearie,” Pansy encouraged. “It must be hard to leave them behind.”
    Emily took a deep breath. The sisters had no idea how unbearable it had been to step on the train in Candor with her children in tears, waving goodbye and not knowing if she’d ever see them again. With a heavy heart, she shared her family with the two inquisitive sisters.
    Before long the train whistle blew and the conductor called ‘all aboard.’ Once everyone was on the train and settled, the locomotive jerked forward, slowly at first, then worked up steam and a steady, rocking pace. They crossed the steam-powered drawbridge over the mile-wide Mississippi and the pleasant and prosperous lands of Iowa. Emily’s head drooped and nodded uncomfortably with the motion of the train. When the conductor stopped by to chat with the Aderley boys, she managed to sit up so as not to appear rude.
    “This here’s Council Bluffs, a real bustling city,” the conductor told Jonathan and Jason. The man had kept the boys busy with tales about each of the locations they passed through to help keep them occupied. “Lewis and Clark held council with the Indians here not so long ago, ya know.”
    Jonathan’s and Jason’s eyes shot up at the mention of Indians.
    “Will we see an Indian?” Jason asked. “Will they shoot at us with their bow and arrows? I’ve never seen a real Indian before.”
    “Now boys,” Marian admonished. “Of course we won’t be seeing any Indians. I told you we have nothing to worry about on this trip. Indians have been civilized for some time. They don’t attack people, do they, sir?” She looked to the conductor for confirmation.
    Emily hoped Marian was right. They still had a ways to go without having to worry about an Indian attack.
    The two boys became subdued once again, and she welcomed the quiet as the afternoon disappeared. She rested her head against the window and shut her eyes. Her arms and legs were as limp and as heavy as bed sheets on wash day thanks to the medicine she had taken back in Detroit.
    “My dear,” Marian nudged her in a soft, caring voice. “Why don’t you find your berth and have a good rest? The sleeping car on this train isn’t too far back; you can settle in for the night. Let me call the conductor.”
    “Thank you, Marian, I appreciate your concern.”
    ****
    By the time they