Chapter 3 – On the Train to Broken Hearts
The train was late leaving. We left after sundown. There weren’t many people on the train and I found a seat all to myself. Again, I was somewhat tired and I didn’t really want to get into any social discourse with anybody no matter how interesting they might have been. I still remembered the old lady‘s voice and her telling me how Jesus fed multitudes with just a few fish and loaves of bread. Mind you, I have never had a problem with religious people. Not at all, we need a balance in our lives but this lady seemed to be reliving the stories she had told me.
I did manage to sleep a little while the train chugged its way north. Not the best sleep I ever had but it was better than being awake all night. The rumble of the train along the tracks would cause me to fall asleep only to be jostled awake every now and again when the train would encounter a bump along its way. I do recall the train had to stop for more than an hour because a tree had fallen across the track. It was so large they had to cut it several times and haul it out of the way.
In the morning the train stopped at a little place called Devil Lake and there two passengers got on. One was a well-dressed man with a gold chain hanging from a vest pocket. I assumed there was a pocket watch on the end, no doubt an expensive one. With him was a lady, probably his wife, though she did appear to be twenty years his junior.
Introductions were made and as luck would have it, (if luck is what it was) the man was the Mayor of Broken Hearts. His name was Adam Grant and his wife‘s was Sarah. The train had another eight hours before its final destination and I was able to learn a lot about Broken Hearts.
It was a community of about 3,000 people - a combination of settlers, army deserters and some friendly Indians who worked as tour guides for the many visitors who came to fish the nearby lakes and rivers. The area, the Mayor said, had the best trout fishing in the entire country and rivalled the fishing in Manitoba, which was just a bit further north in Canada.
When he asked why I was bound for his town, I told him what had happened to me recently and that I was beginning another stage of my life. I was hoping that I could find employment in the town and I thought Mr. Grant might be someone who could help me.
He told me that the Town Sheriff had been looking for a deputy to help him but he didn’t know if the job was still available. He had been in Devil Lake for a week trying to drum up business and he hadn’t been in touch with anyone since then.
They were a pleasant enough couple and I was grateful to have met them. Unlike the old lady, I didn’t even know their religious persuasion, nor did I care.