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Prologue September
18, 1877 Big
Springs was a small, quiet town compared to its neighbor, which carried
quite a different reputation. George
knew that as the night progressed in Ogallala, the noise usually
increased. It was the end of
the trail for many cowboys and that meant time to celebrate and spend
some of the money they’d earned moving a herd north from Texas to meet
the train.
George was the station agent for Big Springs and ran the town’s
railroad depot as well as the telegraph located inside.
He hoped the cool night air might help keep him awake. No
telegraphs in or out, no travelers waiting for the train, no visitors
expected until morning. Once
the train passed the station, he planned to curl up on his cot for a
night of sound sleep.
Moving down from the wooden steps, he strolled out to the
railroad track. He stood
between the rails looking toward the west.
By the light of the full moon, he was able to read the time on
his pocket watch. It was
just past ten. The train
would be arriving soon.
As he turned to walk back to his post, he marveled at the shadows
cast from the moon’s soft glow, no need for a lantern tonight.
He returned to his desk. Suddenly,
the door burst open and George found himself face-to-face with two
masked men. Each of them was
armed with two pistols, which they aimed directly at him.
Had it not been for the guns he would’ve thought it a joke.
Crime was a stranger to the small town.
He kept little money at the depot, nothing more than a few
dollars from the locals sending telegraphs or purchasing a ticket to
ride the train.
One of the gunmen instructed him to destroy the telegraph
machine. Obediently, he
disconnected the sounder, which would not render the telegraph
completely useless. The same
gunmen noticed, obviously a telegraph operator at some point in his
life, and demanded he hand over the relay switch, which he took with
him.
They ordered Barnhart outside and instructed him to hang the red
lantern. The signal would tell the engineer, George Vroman, to stop the
train, a routine occurrence to pick up passengers, mail, or freight.
Once in clear view of the red light, Vroman eased the train into
the station at 10:40 that memorable evening.
As
Vroman glanced out from his window, he caught a glimpse of a man
standing in the ditch beside the engine.
The moon illuminated the man as he stepped out from the shadows,
revealing the rifle he held aimed at Vroman.
At
first, he, too, thought it to be a joke¾some
prank from the locals. That
is, until he heard the glass beside him shatter. The man in the shadows
had shot through Vroman’s window and yelled to Vroman to step outside.
Vroman ignored him. Instead,
he leaped through the open window on the opposite side,
ran
along the engine then climbed behind the boiler to hide.
Soon the train was surrounded by a total of six armed men wearing
masks.
The thieves made their way throughout the train, surprising the
passengers and stealing their money and valuables, totaling over
$1200.00, plus four gold watches. They
found the guard, Charles Miller, asleep in the express car and insisted
he open the safe. When
Charles tried to explain to them that he did not have the combination,
one of the cowboys hit him alongside the head with his revolver, certain
he was lying to them. Charles
begged for mercy while they roughed him up in an attempt to convince him
to open the safe. Finally,
when another employee of the Union Pacific explained that no one on the
train had access to the combination because it was not to be opened
until it arrived in Omaha, Nebraska, they ended the cruelty inflicted
upon Miller.
Not satisfied with the small amount they had stolen from the
passengers, they searched the express car and discovered three ironclad
boxes. When asked what was
inside, no one could respond with any certainty.
The robbers broke open the boxes and, to their surprise, they
found gold coins¾not
just any gold coins but uncirculated, fresh from the mint in San
Francisco, twenty dollar gold coins.
Excited with their find, the masked men quickly fashioned bags
using the burlap and twine they had purchased earlier in the day to hold
their anticipated loot.
The six men, finally content with their plunder, headed south on
horseback while the group of passengers and employees helplessly watched
them fade away into the darkness. Later
that night, George worked on the telegraph until he was able to send
out, but not receive messages, and word spread quickly about the first
and largest train robbery of the Union Pacific Railroad, and the sixty
thousand dollars in gold coins stolen by the unknown masked men.
The gang headed southeast across the open prairie, through
unsettled land, confident no one would spot them while riding at night.
They stopped only to water their horses.
Feeling comfortable about their wide head start, they set up camp
the following afternoon. The
next night they continued southeast through the unexplored prairie until
they came upon a lake, presently known as Arterburn Lake, settled deep
in a valley, hidden from view. As
they rode along the ridge, the full moon danced on the sparkling water,
inviting them to stop. They
eased their horses down the steep hill and set up camp.
Well secluded, they were finally able to rest their horses
properly and feed themselves. It
was at this out of sight spot where they decided to count and sort their
coins. Sam
Bass and Joel Collins, the leaders of the gang, stacked the coins into
six piles. There were three
thousand coins in all. Each
rider tore off a piece of burlap and formed a satchel to hold his share
of the loot. Each bag
weighed approximately thirty-five pounds.
They camped one more night then parted ways in pairs to avoid
being recognized. Two men
rode north to Canada, while the other four headed south, taking two
different trails. A few days
later, two of the men were spotted and killed near Buffalo, Kansas, but
when their bodies and packs were searched, there was no sign of the
gold…. June
20th, 2010
Hours had passed since they were forced into the basement, bound
and gagged. Except for Isha.
She had convinced their captor not to place the silver-gray
furnace duct tape over her mouth. Fear
triggered her asthma, which, combined with her allergies, made it
impossible for her to breath through her nose.
Perhaps her tearful pleading had somehow touched their captor’s
cold heart.
When the three young teenagers, Isha, Brianna, and Shay had set
off on their secret adventure they had no sense of the danger that would
bring it to an abrupt end.
“Are you guys okay?” whispered Isha, her voice trembling.
Brianna nodded her head then both girls turned to Shay, who gave
them a quick nod before he turned his tear-filled, dark eyes away.
Being the only boy in the group, he felt it his responsibility to
take care of the girls, even if this whole scheme was their idea.
“He said he was coming back,” said Isha.
“Do you think he will?”
Brianna shrugged her shoulders and Shay shook his head.
Their captor had blindfolded the kids before he left but they
were quickly able to remove the strips of cloth by rubbing the sides of
their faces against their shoulders.
Until now, they had not attempted to free themselves for fear
he’d return and catch them in the act.
With daylight fading, if they were to escape, they hoped to
disappear into the shadows of the night.
“We’ve got to find something sharp while we can still see,”
said Isha.
Their eyes scoured their surroundings.
The floor, covered with over fifty years of debris, had an old
mattress with exposed springs, and two old, upholstered rocking chairs
laying on their sides. The
house appeared vacant but upon closer examination, small animals and
rodents had found their way in. Some
never found their way out as evidenced by the bones and, of course, the
unmistakable odor of dead mice.
Old beer cans were scattered across the floors of the three tiny
rooms. The kitchen, directly
to the north of them, had a large portion of the ceiling hanging
dangerously low, ready to fall in with the slightest shift of the old
house. Nothing remained
upstairs but part of the floor and the skeletal frame.
Gone were the sturdy walls that once protected the family who
lived there from the harsh elements of Nebraska storms.
Brianna forced a silent scream, muffled by the tape across her
mouth, as a mouse darted across her legs, bound together at the ankles
by tape. She kicked her legs
and pushed herself backwards until her hands hit the wall behind her.
She didn’t have much feeling in her hands, with the tape
cutting into her wrists.
“Oh my God!” screamed Isha.
“There’s two more.”
As the room dimmed, the creatures of the night began to stir.
The three sat motionless when a small snake emerged from behind a
pile of old blankets and magazines to snatch a mouse for dinner.
“Okay, that’s it. We’re
outta here,” cried Isha.
Shay’s eyes scanned the room for a sharp object.
That’s when he noticed one of the windows. Although all of them
were boarded shut, this one still contained a partial pane of glass.
Dried mud from years of blowing dirt and rain had caked against
the glass and held it in place.
He struggled to roll over onto his stomach, gagging at the smell
of the filth on the floor. Face
down, with his hands taped behind his back, and his legs bound at the
ankles, he rolled over onto his side and drew his knees to his chest.
Pressing his face hard against the floor, he tried to rock up
onto his knees. Each time he
tried, he winced in pain as the bits of fallen plaster cut into the
flesh of his face. The girls
watched with a hopeful curiosity.
Finally, Brianna squirmed closer to him and pushed her feet into
his back during one of his attempts to roll onto his knees.
The push was enough to make it work.
He now found himself on his knees but his efforts to stand were
futile.
“Wait, I have an idea,” said Isha.
“Brianna, let’s get behind him and let him lean on our feet
for support.”
Brianna looked around the floor as the mice scurried past them.
She closed her eyes to gather her courage.
Isha rolled across the floor over layers of dust, bug parts, and
old food wrappers until she reached them.
“This is so gross,” she said.
The girls pressed the sides of their hips together while they lay
on their backs, giving them the leverage to lift their legs.
They placed their feet against Shay’s back so he could lean
into them as he rose to his feet. It
worked on the first try.
He hopped across the room toward the window, nearly falling
several times.
“Be careful,” said Isha.
“If you fall, we might not be able to get you back on your
feet.”
He stumbled again just inches from the wall containing the broken
window. He threw himself
forward and hit his face on the wall, scraping the skin above his
eyebrow, but managed to remain upright.
He hopped sideways until he reached the broken pane of glass.
With no way to pry it loose without the use of his hands, he
turned his back toward the window and pressed his head against the
glass. They heard it crack.
He pressed harder until he felt it shift.
“It’s falling the wrong way!” screamed Isha.
Shay stopped.
He rubbed his face against the broken windowsill, snagging the
tape on an exposed nail. Pulling
back, he ripped the tape from his dry lips.
“Ouch! Damn, that
hurt,” he said as droplets of blood surfaced on his lips.
He positioned himself in front of the broken pane of glass that
had cracked into three smaller pieces.
Slowly and carefully, he gripped the smallest piece at the outer
edge with his teeth and gingerly removed it.
In one quick movement, he jerked his head toward the mattress,
releasing his hold on the shard of glass.
“You did it!” screamed Isha excitedly.
Shay threw himself onto the mattress next to the glass and slowly
moved his body until he could feel it beneath his fingers.
He worked the tape carefully back and forth across the glass.
Several minutes later he said, “I’m not sure this is
working.”
Isha squirmed closer to examine his progress.
His wrists bled from rubbing against the sharp edge.
“Move your hands a little to the left, so I can see them in the
light,” she said.
Brianna watched.
“You almost have it. Just
a little more,” cheered Isha.
Shay, excited, worked more vigorously until he felt the last
strand of tape break.
A sound from outside the house set fear rising in the three kids,
as Shay frantically freed his feet and the girls’ hands.
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