Joe's first impulse, after departing from Curly's outhouse, was to head over to the Shuswap Indian settlement just north of Mile 49. He could follow the Fraser River downstream, to the Ram Pasture, where his horses were kept. Or, he could hide out with the Indians until the heat was off.
No, Joe had to get back to Tte Jaune Cache. While he was still plotting his escape, he moved cautiously behind, first, the Pool Hall, then another restaurant. As he passed between the next two buildings he looked out towards the mainline. Then, Joe caught a glimpse of a three-wheeled railway jigger and a section-man riding on the tracks, gliding down towards the edge of town.
Joe stepped out in front of a store that faced the railroad. The building was one of the few lumber-framed establishments at Mile 49. The outside walls were covered with black rolled tar-paper, held in place by large metal washers and roofing nails. There was one large nine-paned window to the left of the front entrance, and above the door a small sign which welcomed patrons with two simple words: Lady Barbers.
Joe slowly read the words on the sign as he ran his hand over his chin. Yes, his beard was still there; a definite growth of whiskers. "But, wait," thought Joe, "This is no time for a shave, especially with a law officer in town."
Looking down the mainline, Joe saw two section-men removing the three-wheeled velocipede from the rails. They hauled the vehicle onto a car-stand platform just in front of a small railway shed and then rushed off in the direction of the cookhouse.
Joe walked over to the tracks to examine the railway contraption. He looked in both directions, up and down the track. From Joe's position on the outskirts of town, he saw only a few shadowy figures of local town-folk going about their business.
The sunlight was fading and Joe would soon be under the cover of night. He had never tried railroading before, but realized the escape possibility if he borrowed the jigger. He was surprised at how light it was when he raised the back wheel off the ground with only one hand. Joe had watched patrolmen and other railroad employees riding velocipedes before and wished now that he had taken a greater interest. Joe was determined to try it out.
He carried the vehicle over to the tracks by lifting the main body with his left hand and the outer wheel support with his right. The maneuver was like a balancing act.
The main body of the velocipede consisted of two metal wheels with wooden spokes, a wooden framework, gears, a torque lever, a handbrake, a flat seat and a shelf, behind the seat, for carrying tools and supplies. The framework and two wheels rested on one rail while the other solitary wheel sat on the opposite piece of track. The outer wheel was connected to the main body framework by a wooden arm and a metal support.
Velocipedes were, at one time, a very important part of railway maintenance, but were later, with the introduction of the gasoline engine and four wheeled motorcar models, used only for patrolling small sections of track.
Once in place on the railway, Joe straddled the velocipede. He reached out and grabbed the handles of the torque lever. He gripped the upper set of handles straight out in front of him and began pumping back and forth. The gears turned slowly at first as Joe started rolling down the tracks. Soon he was traveling along at a fair clip with Mile 49 far behind him. His
hands shifted to the lower set of handles as he continued.
The three miles of track between Mile 49 and the Y, at Mile 52, were laid out on a downhill grade. This gave Joe the opportunity of coasting from time to time. The 'Y' was where a spur ran off the mainline into the town-site of Tte Jaune Cache, which allowed for train engines to be turned around.
By the time Joe reached the newly constructed Tte Jaune train station, he was surrounded by complete darkness. He noticed a solitary light at one of the upstairs windows of the station as he glided by. His plan was to abandon ship just past the Cache, push his escape-machine off the tracks and then walk back to town.
Suddenly, Joe saw the light of a Lantern on the tracks in front of him. He reached down with his left hand and pulled back on the handbrake. The last thing he remembered was sliding forward on all three wheels and being lifted off the tracks, suddenly moving backwards and flying through the air. Then everything went black!
In the next episode, Making Clock Springs. The Caribou Joe saga continues with the introduction of two friends, John and Bill Wall. We will explore the Wall Brothers form of employment at old Tte Jaune Cache.
