In The Beginning by Gail Daley (top 100 books of all time checklist .TXT) 📕

He reached for her hand and lifted it to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. "Max Franks is an acquaintance of my father's," he said. "He may have recognized me."

"Oh. Is that going to be a problem?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "It bothers me some though, because if it was him, he was standing right behind your sister."

"Will he tell your father we got married?" Jeanne zeroed in on the most important thing.

"If there is money in it for him, yes, but only if he could gain something from it."

"In that case," Jeanne said firmly, "I think we should concentrate on plans for our new farm."

That evening, the train stopped to pick up water for the engine at a small depot. Water tanks were built along the rail lines and maintained by workers who lived on site to make sure an adequate supply was always ready to refill the engines gaping water maw. There wasn't much to see; the depot consisted only of the water tank on stilts, a small ticket office and a house for the depot attendant.

The landscape along the rail line had changed as they traveled toward the coast; the dark red grass had grown shorter and coarser. The thick forest of Skinwood Trees surrounding Junction City had given way to a flatter, sandier ground with scattered, low-lying blue bushes hung with ripe yellow fruit. The blue color of the bushes had given Azure City and the surrounding country its name. The air grew warmer and more humid.

The train's steam engine ran on the steam created by heat from Bluestones mixed with water. In the early years after the Portal opened, a man had tripped and spilled water on a pile of blue colored stones and they burst into flame. his partner, an engineer, had brought printouts for an old-fashioned steam engine with him when he came to St. Antoni. Immediately seeing the possibilities of using the stones as a power source, the two cast the parts for an engine from a home-made alloy of iron, carbon, copper and tin. They experimented with adapting the chemical reaction from the mixture of stones and water to create enough heat to run a steam engine. The bluestone steam engines became the basis for an industry, and the mining of these minerals kick-started St. Antoni's economy. It had taken longer to create the rail lines; first the steel to build the rails had to be found and smelting factories built, the lines planned and the cars built before rail travel between the City States became common practice.

During the layover, a few of the passengers got out to stretch their legs. Jeanne got up and went to the car lavatory. On her way back to her seat, she was stopped by the car attendant, a soft-eyed young man, barely over adolescence.

"Ma'am?" he asked. "Could I speak to you for a moment?"

Jeanne looked at him in surprise. "What is it?"

He swept his hat off his head and stood turning it uneasily in his hands. "Well, I've been watching you and your husband, and you seem like good people."

Jeanne suspected he was about to ask for money and tried not to stiffen. "Well, I hope we are," she said. "How can I help you?"

He took a deep breath. "Do you see those two kids over there?" He cocked his head toward a bench by his Station.

Jeanne turned her head to look. The two children who sat there were alone. A boy and a girl around eight or nine. They were grubby and wearing old, worn clothes.

"What about them?"

"When I came on board for my shift yesterday, they were already here. The woman I relieved told me a man had put them on board by themselves day before yesterday. They didn't have food with them, so I've been feeding them. They have tickets to Azure City, but I don't Think anyone is meeting them there."

"Do you want me to ask them about it?" she inquired.

"Well, I've done that. All they will say is Rufus sent them away to be safe. I don't think they know anymore than that. It's just, well, my shift is over tonight, and my relief isn't much for Kids. I would hate to see them dumped off the train with no one to look after them."

She frowned at the attendant; he did want something from her, but it wasn't money. He wanted her and Samuel to take on the kids. Samuel, noticing her delay in returning, got up and came toward them.

"Is he bothering you, dear?" he asked, as he approached.

Jeanne smiled at him. "Not that way." In a soft voice, she filled her husband in on the problem.

Samuel looked over at the children and a resigned look came over his face when he looked back at his wife.

"That's a big responsibility," he warned her. "Are you sure you want to take them on?"

"Samuel I can't leave them on their own," she said. "I'd never forgive myself if something happened to them."

He nodded, turned to the attendant, and said, "Bring them over to us for supper. We'll talk to them. If they agree, they can come home with us."

When the attendant brought them over, Jeanne handed the children a damp rag to wipe their hands. She gave them each a plate of cold meat, cheese and bread, and poured water into tin cups. Both children ate politely. Someone must have spent the time to teach them manners, Jeanne thought.

The girl's name was Katrina, the boy was Kevin. It turned out that they weren't brother and sister. Abandoned by parents and left on the street, they had banded together for protection.

"Who was Rufus?" Samuel asked.

"Rufus works the streets. He knew there was going to be a sweep, and he put us on the train. He said we could start over in another city," Katrina said.

"A sweep?" Jeanne asked.

"The city doesn't like kids living on the street. They do sweeps and put the boys