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were going, if she owned them, and a
few other curious things he would have liked to ask but
didn’t.
    Maggie nodded again not saying much as she
watched him hurry back to his cart and with his broad shoulders
effortlessly lift the end and hurry off with it away from the car.
He had been surprised when she took the bales effortlessly on her
own shoulders one at a time and carried them up the ramp into the
car. She turned to start taking apart the hay bales and make beds
for her beautiful babies who snuffled at the hay and began nibbling
at it as she spread it around.
    The man did return with many more bales and
sacks of feed. The clerk filled the reservoir beneath the car and
she filled a trough with fresh water. Somewhere a pitchfork was
found to clean up after the horses that didn’t seem to care where
they were when they needed to rid themselves of their manure or
water and Maggie made a pile in the corner of the car.
    “ You can toss that out on
the siding when they stop to fill the train with water” the clerk
assured her when he saw her neatly piling the manure and hay in the
corner. He didn’t tell her that she could throw it on their own
siding because he knew he would be the one to clean it up if she
did. “I’ll be sure to tell the conductor to have them fill the
reservoir on the trip” he promised her.
    “ What about my own food?”
she asked unsure if she had enough for another two day trip and
wondering if she should go into town to buy some to tide her
over.
    “ You can eat in the cars
when they come up” he glanced at her attire “we can provide you
with a sleeping berth…” he began and she shook her head.
    “ No, I’ll sleep in here” she
said indicating the hay bales she had spread for her own bed, her
bedroll on top.
    “ But your tickets paid for
that” he began and she looked at him curiously wondering why he was
arguing.
    “ Just refund the difference
to me and I’ll make sure the money gets back to the circus” she
told him. “I just want to make sure I get some food, I don’t need a
berth.”
    He reluctantly gave her the difference of the
berth on her ticket and changed it to food only, most who traveled
like that would end up sleeping upright in their seats but since
she was riding with the livestock he had to admit she would
probably be more comfortable in there and certainly would have a
lot more privacy. He watched as she shoved the difference deep in
the pocket of her dungarees. “The train should arrive about 10
o’clock and will hook up to yours then” he assured her. She nodded
as she looked at the clock; she had an hour yet to kill and thought
maybe she should get some food despite his assurances that she
could get some with her ticket. Besides she would need treats for
the horses and food for Feathers. He directed her to the nearest
General Mercantile and watched curiously as she walked off in that
direction.
    As he tried to remove the ramp from the car
though he ran into a problem, the dog began growling threateningly
and the horses within began to crowd around curiously at the open
doorway where the woman had shoved a board across but left open the
main sliding door. That board wouldn’t halt a determined horse or
the dog that was watching him warningly from under it. He decided
to leave the ramp until the woman returned and went back inside to
work.
    Maggie quickly made her purchases surprised
at the higher prices here in the big city and made her way back
towards the depot. She would have liked to see more of Jackson but
people were looking at her attire curiously and her short black
hair like she was an oddity. She put her purchases with her gear,
Feathers nosing at the packages with a knowing wag of his tail. She
looked out the door waiting for the sound of the train approaching
as she looked into town as far as she could see with the depot in
the way. When the clerk approached she hopped down to help him
remove the ramp.
    “ You’ll want to keep that
door