ON BOARD THE TRAIN, THE COLONIAL - THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA
Wild Bill is quietly slipping the window open to their passenger bunk. Mr. Higgins watches him in disbelief, clutching a suitcase that Wild Bill had shoved into his arms--the smallest of the seven he had brought.
WILD BILL:
“You gotta trust me on this Eddie. Them train bandits are not ones you want to mess with. Now you take what you can carry, and I’ll getcha out of this.”
MR. HIGGINS:
“But all of my things? How can I survive without my things?”
WILD BILL:
“Listen, if you stay, you wont have none of your things.”
MR. HIGGINS:
“How do I know I can trust you?”
Wild Bill throws one leg over the windowsill. He is still carrying Mr. Higgins’s bag with all the recording equipment. He looks back at Mr. Higgins and grins.
WILD BILL:
“You don’t.”
With that he drops out of sight. Mr. Higgins rushes to the window and puts his head out. Wild Bill waves to him from a few feet away--he is crouched behind a pine tree. The rumble of voices is heard from the other side of the train. Mr. Higgins draws back into the passenger bunk and looks desperately at the rest of his suitcases stacked in the overhead compartments. The voices become louder. A lady’s scream is heard then silenced. Trembling, Mr. Higgins yanks another suitcase down, pulls out a few items and stuffs them in his pockets. A gunshot rings out. Mr. Higgins grabs the small suitcase and barrels out the window, landing in a cloud of dust next to the train tracks. He holds his breath, but there is no shout of warning, and he scurries to where Wild Bill is hiding. The cowboy pats him on the back and gives him a look of approval. Flushed and still trembling, Mr. Higgins beams. As the train windows awake with lights and noises of the robbery, the two newfound partners, one tall and skinny, one short and stout, fade into the dark trees.
1:42 AM
In which Wild Bill and Mr. Higgins begin an unexpected adventure, part 2: