His name is Charley Vaugner. Rob had Charley follow him to the freight station were he has his office. On the way there, Rob noticed the man shivering uncontrollably. Hyperthermia Rob thought.

     He had charley sit by the stove and gave him a tarp to wrap around himself to help ward off the cold. Rob called Mary Tomain's restaurant and had a large pot of coffee, soup and bread sent over. He took a mug of coffee for himself and gave the rest, along with the soup and bread to charley. Rob then went to his office to work.

     Several hours later he left to go home, charley was wrapped in the tarp next to the stove, snoring softly.

     The next morning Rob found the depot had been swept clean, trash gone, boxes stacked neatly and a fire in the stove. Charley had done this as payment for the food and shelter. Rob offered him a job as a gopher, working around the freight depot and riding the baggage car when they needed another hand. Rod also let him use a small shack near the depot that had a stove, bed, table and one chair. So Charley Vaugner becomes a Robert Barron employee.

      Boris Slugpuss was the man who did most of the work around the freight yard, and rode the baggage and postal cars on almost every run. He was an unsavory man with a bad temper that got worse when he drank, and that was most of the time. He had been banned from the No Chance Salon and the local brothel, because of the constant fighting and being just plain mean. He got his liquor at the local liquor store and kept a bottle near him at all times.

     His idea of a joke was to open the door of the baggage car as they passed over dry gulch canyon; there was a small river at the bottom, and piss into the river from the trestle above. He thought it was hilarious to think of all those people down river drinking his piss.

     When he gave orders they where accompanied by a push or punch. Mocking people around him was something he very much enjoyed. Most people just stayed clear of him, but Charley was stuck, He had to work with Boris. So the end of each day would find Charley nursing a new set of bumps and bruises.

On one particular run they had to use three baggage cars, because of an unusual amount of baggage, freight and mail. Charley was sent along to help. All the way out Boris pushed and pummeled Charley. By the time they got there Charley was black and blue from the mistreatment. On the way back the load was lighter, but Boris showed up drunk, and with nothing else to do he beat Charley into unconsciousness before they had gone five miles.

     Cracked ribs, blackened eyes, blood at the nose and mouth, Charley laid as if dead all the way to dry Gulch Canyon. Hysterical laughter brought him around. With a foggy brain and blurry eyed Charley saw Boris standing in the open door of the baggage car, opening his pants to expose himself.

     Charley staggered to his feet picked up a length of 2x2 lumbers they used to block freight. He raised it over his head and brought it down with all the force he could muster, on Boris's left wrist, which was holding the door pen, shattering the 2x2 and quite possibly the wrist also. Boris screamed in pain and stepped backward into the car. Before he could turn around Charley rammed the splintered end of the 2x2 square into Boris's ass Charley used such brutal force that it launched Boris out the door.

     Pissing and screaming he fell, pecker first, all the way to the canyon floor. He missed the river. Closing the door Charley collapsed to the floor, where he remained until the train returned to the freight depot in Shortchange. As best he could he did his duties and those of Boris. With his body raked with pain it took him much longer than normal to do. Done finally. He painfully started for his shack, when one of the crew told him Rob wanted to see him in the office. Setting in the middle of Rob's desk was both ends of the 2x2, blood on the side of one piece and on the jagged end of the other.

     What happened?

     Charley told him the whole story, from the first day he met Boris until he watched him do a belly whopper at the bottom of Dry Gulch Canyon. Also his missing the river.

     Rob stared at the desk top for a long time, then getting up he said, Let me get this straight. Boris beat you senseless and when you came to the baggage door was opened and Boris was gone. Having said that, Rob threw both ends of the 2x2 into the cheerily burning fireplace. Turning around he stared at charley.

     Charley felt a huge wave of relief flow over him.

     Then to Charley's surprise Rob gave him Boris's job and told him to take Boris's apartment also. Since the building belonged to the railroad there would be no problem. Then he gave him a couple days off to recuperate.

     As he left, Charley turned and said, anything you need done, ever. I'll do it, no matter what it is.

     I'll keep that in mind Charley, and so he would, and use Charley he did.