excerpt
THE TRAIN WAS GOING backward,
gathering speed. Poodie was on the
observation platform with President
Truman. The deep forest on either side
gave way to the blackness of a tunnel.
Poodie saw a glimmer of light far away. It grew closer, expanding by
the second, and the train shot out into the valley. The orchards in
bloom were a blur as the train rounded a curve and ran beside the
river, picking up speed. The President was smiling. Poodie looked
back into the car.Mrs. Truman and Margaret were knitting and talking.
Trees, telephone poles, buildings and boulders blended into a
gray smudge. The man in the white jacket came out with a tray of little
cakes and cups of coffee. Poodie held on to the platform railing
with all of his strength. He grabbed at his hat to keep it from flying
off. The brim of Mr. Truman’s hat was motionless. The President
stood smiling into the wind with his coffee cup on its saucer in one
hand and a plate of cake in the other. Poodie could see the warehouses
on the edge of town. They got bigger, and still the train went faster.
He saw two figures far down the line. They were carrying something.
They hoisted it and swung it onto the track. Mayor Torgerson and
Chief Spanger waved and laughed as the train went by. Poodie looked
over at the President, but he was gone. The car was empty. Poodie
was alone on the platform when the train ran off the track, across the
rocks, through the hobo jungle and the sagebrush. He saw Engine
Fred sitting on a boulder, watching. The car plunged over the bank.
Poodie felt the water closing around him as he went into the river,
down toward the deep bottom.
Libros Libertad 