Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2022 10:24:26 -0400 From: James Karvonen Subject: Song of the Lonesome Steel Rails - 9. 9. Sleeping soundly in each others arms, Bobby and Bean were awaken by the deep wail of a lonesome whistle coming from the nearby railroad. The fast chuffing sound that both boys heard told Bobby that the passing train was more then likely a passenger train heading south at it's maximum speed. A few minutes later train was gone leaving behind a plume of smoke that drifted into the lodge before dissipating all together. Neither Bobby or Bean really didn't' want to get up. Beneath the wool blanket that they were both sleeping under both entwined in each others arms they were enjoying the warmth of each others smooth nude bodies. Disengaging from Beans arms, Bobby rolled over onto his back and stretched next to Bean beneath the blanket. Being that the fire in the wood burning stove had gone out sometimes during the night there was a slight chill in the air. Bean rolled over onto his back and sat up. Bean eased out from beneath the blanket, then with a mischievous glint in his eyes, slid out of the bunk bed. Grabbing the end of the blanket Bean yanked it off of Bean, then looking down on the bed at him started laughing. "What's so funny." Bobby protested. "You got a stiffy again." Bean laughed, looking down at Bobby's once again slender erection that stood straight up as if it was a soldier standing at attention. "Wait until you get my age. You'll have that same problem also." Bobby stated. "I have two more years before I get to be your age." Bean emphasized. He sat down besides Bobby, then reaching over and grasped Bobby's erection with his thumb and two fingers just beneath the circumcised head. Sitting up, Bobby asked "What are you doing?" Ignoring Bobby's question Bean splayed his other hand, across the center of Bobby's bare chest and pushed him back down against the mattress. "I want to watch you squirt." Bobby started laughing. "You're crazy Bean." He chortled Ignoring Bobby's comment, Bean started stroking Bobby's erection up and down with his thumb and two fingers. Bobby just laid there not moving enjoying the gentle caresses of Bean's stroking fingers. Within seconds, the tip of Bobby's penis became slippery with a tiny drop of pre-cum that had bubbled out. Bean kept stroking smearing the little bit of slickness over the most sensitive area's of Bobby's now throbbing penis sending those same warm tingling sensations that Bobby had so recently started to enjoy. His muscles tensed, his heartbeat accelerating his breathing becoming deeper and more drawn out. A second later, Bean got his wish. Letting out a soft cry of undeniable pleasure, the quickly rising pleasant warm itch exploded and Bobby fell into orgasm. His erection started bolted then started pulsing rapidly between Bean's stroking fingers. A trickle of clearish semen drooled out over Bean's rapidly stroking fingertips, and then the pulsing receded and it was over. Bobby gasped for breath, one last time his tense body relaxing. "Happy?" He asked. "That's all I wanted to see." Bean grinned, finally letting Bobby's now flaccid slippery penis go. He wiped his slippery fingertips against the mattress, then stood up. He walked over to the stove and and picked up his clothes. "They're dry now." He said, then he started to dress pulling his underdrawers on first. "You know Bean, there is an old saying that goes, 'what comes around, goes around.' In short just you wait, your time is coming. I like get backs!" Bobby laughed. He eased off the bunk bed, walked over to the stove and grabbed his clothes. Several thoughts were now rummaging through Bobby's mind, as he dressed. This was the first time that he was seriously questioning his sexual identity. The things that had happened to him at Pine Island, the medical examination that he had, what Andrew the guard in the hole had done to him on three occasions, and now his relationship with Bean and the things that he had done with Bean since their escape from Pine Island, all those things though he wouldn't outright admit to it, he actually enjoyed. Did that make him a queer, he wondered. Was he more then just friends with Bean, did he actually love him if a boy could love another boy? These were the things that he was confused about. He actually found himself looking forwards to other things that he could do with Bean on future occasions since now it looked like Bean would be his traveling companion all the way to California. All these thoughts flowed through Bobby's mind as he was dressing. Within a few minutes both boys were completely dressed. Bobby also knew that they would probably have to leave the hunting and fishing lodge as soon as possible. The sooner they got to the railroad the better. Once they got to the railroad they would be safe as long as they walked along the railroad tracks. All county and state roads were dangerous for them to be on right now. He felt sure that Pine Island and possibly even the county and even the state police were looking for them right now. As far as food was concerned they would have to carry with them as much food as possible. No telling when they would find food again. But what to carry the food and water in, that was the question? After looking around the lodge for a little while, Bobby found a runsack in the back of the lodge. At least now they could put some food in the runsack that they could carry with them. As far as water was concerned, they couldn't find anything that they could put water in, so they would just have to play it by ear taking one step at a time. "Let's fill this runsack with as much food as we can possibly carry." Bobby suggested. So Bobby and Bean went through the closet finding canned soup and food, along with other non-perishable items like noodles and rice. When they had the runsack filled with food, Bobby added the box of matches he had found, and a can opener so that they could open the cans of food and soup that they had taken. With that finally taken care of, Bobby and Bean rolled up two blankets and tied them together with some rope that they had found then slinging the blanket rolls up over their shoulder and with Bobby carrying the runsack of food, they left the hunting and fishing lodge and headed to the nearby railroad tracks. The hunting and Fishing lodge had been a real blessing for them. Bobby had been surprised that whoever owned the lodge had left it well stocked with the food and other items that they definitely needed. More then likely the owners of the lodge left it well stocked for other hunters or fishermen who used the lodge.Having found the lodge was the first positive thing that had happened to them after escaping from Pine Island. They were finally on their way. The next line of business was to find some clothes that they could put on to replace the Pine Island issued clothes that they were now wearing. The morning started out cool and comfortable, but as the morning progressed the sun rose temperature increased. They could already tell that it was going to be another hot muggy day with the possibility of thunderstorms in the afternoon. They walked along the railroad tracks taking their time because they were in no real hurry. "So when a train comes along what are we going to do?" Bean asked. "When the opportunity arises try the main thing that we are going to need to do is try to hop a slow moving freight train. I've seen trains pass through Middletown on many occasions and there are always boxcars that have their doors open. Those boxcars with their doors open are the cars what we need get on. Once we're on the train we should be safe." "What happens if the train is moving too fast?" Bean asked. "Well if you want to try and hop a fast moving train, that would be your business, but I don't think that I would want to risk my life trying to hop onto a train that is moving fast. We will just have to play it by ear. If a train goes by that we think we can get on without getting killed, we'll go for it. Bean nodded in agreement. Fifteen minutes later the chance to hop on a freight train became a reality. In the distants off to south, Bobby and Bean heard the deep moan of a locomotive whistle. A train was approaching on the single track line that they had been walking along. Bean looked at Bobby as if asking him what to do. "Like I said, we're going to have to play it by ear. If it's moving slow enough and we see a boxcar with it's door wide open, we'll go for it. Just follow me and be careful." Bobby advised. Bean nodded. A few minutes later off to the south they saw plumes of smoke blasting into the air. The train was slowly approaching. Excitement filled Bobby's mind and soul. This would be their first attempt at hopping onto a freight train, and if they succeed by nightfall they would be far enough away from Pine Island where they won't have to worry about getting caught and sent back to Pine Island. The whistle moaned again. They could hear the loud chuffing of the locomotive pulling a heavy train. It sounded like it was moving slow enough to make that attempt. It was just a matter of time now. There were a couple of things that they had to take into consideration though. One of them was the runsack of food that Bobby was carrying. That would have to be tossed into the boxcar first. And then they would have to toss their blanket rolls into that same boxcar. Once they succeeded in doing that they would be free of anything that they were carrying so that they could make that attempt. To the south Bobby and Bean saw the approaching headlight. The train was slowly closing in on them and it was moving slow. "Get ready." Bobby said excitedly. His heartbeat was pounding away a mile a minute. Bean looked excited as well, but like Bobby he was also scared. One misstep in trying to hop onto moving train could be fatal. Those steel wheels could cut someone in half if one were to happen to fall underneath the car while attempting to jump into the box car. Three minutes later the slow moving train bore down on them. The locomotive pulling it was a 2-8-0, a heavy freight locomotive. It bore down on them, the railroad name on the locomotives coal tender read Lehigh New England. The only problem was making it almost impossible to hop on was that it was a coal train. All the cars that the locomotive was pulling were hopper cars full of coal bound for New England, from the anthracite coal mines in Pennsylvania. Feeling disappointed all Bobby and Bean could do was watch as the train slowly passed by them. Bobby counted almost seventy hopper cars that were tailed by a red wooden caboose that train was pulling. "I guess we'll have to wait for the next one." Bobby frowned. "Yeah." Bean said, shouldering his blanket roll. Disappointed that they weren't able to hop that train they slowly kept walking north along the railroad track. As long as they stayed on the tracks they would be safe, but there were several grade crossings where public roads crossed the railroad tracks that they would have to be really careful around. Crossing one of those grade crossings risked the possibility of being captured and brought back to Pine Island if there were to be seen either by the State or County police who Bobby felt sure had already been notified about their escape. The morning passed into the afternoon. The sun was really bearing down on them now. It had become downright hot and humid. Bobby and Bean pulled off their shirts tying their shirts around their waist hoping that it would cool them off as they continued walking. How long would it be before another train passed by? Bobby couldn't help but to wonder. About fifteen minutes later they came to the first signs of civilization a farm. Near the tracks was a farm house. It was then that Bobby noticed a clothesline tied between two trees that had clothes hanging on it drying under the sun. And some of those clothes that were hanging on the line from what Bobby could see were clothes belonging to boys.that could very easily fit on both him and Bean. "Hey Bean, see what I can see." Bobby said, pointing to the clothesline. "Those boys clothes looks like they just might fit us. If they do we could get rid of these damn institutional clothes that we are wearing. "So what are you thinking?" Bean asked with a smile, already knowing the answer. "We're going to have to make it fast before someone in the house sees us. Toss your blanket roll over there in those bushes." Bean tossed his blanket roll into some the bushes that Bobby was pointing too. Bobby did the same thing, then set the runsack with the supplies that they had taken from the hunting and fishing lodge down on the ground. "I'm ready whenever you're ready." Bean said excitedly taking this challenge as another adventure. "On the count of three, let's go." Bobby stated. "One, two, three!" Bobby and Bean crossed the railroad tracks then rushed down the railroad embankment to the backyard of the farm house. They ran to the clothesline sending clothespins flying, and grabbed as many of the boy's clothes that were hanging on the line as they could. Whether they fit or not didn't matter right now, for their main objective was to get some clothes to replace the institutional clothes that they were already wearing. When they had what they needed, they ran back up the embankment, crossed the railroad tracks to where they had their blanket rolls and the supplies stashed. "We did it. So let's see what we have." Bobby said happily gasping for breath. Apparently no one had been home because no one from inside the house had tried to stop them." Bean had two shirts and a pair of pants, Bobby had a couple of shirts also and some pants. "Let's put these clothes on. Hopefully they'll fit." They started undressing, stripping all the way down until they were naked. Bobby tried the shirts on first. Both shirts were a little large on him, but that didn't really matter. They were better then the institutional shirt that he had been wearing. Then he tried on the pair of pants. He needed a belt because the pants were a little loose around his waist, but he could easily improvise by using a piece of the rope that he had tied around the blanket roll before they left the lodge earlier that morning. Beans clothes on the other hand were a little small on him, but they fit and right now that was all that really mattered. So now they had some new clothes to wear instead of the Pine Island institutional clothes that they had been wearing, to make them less inconspicuous if they were approached by someone from who might be looking for them. With that matter taken care of, they once again started walking along the railroad tracks leaving their institutional clothes behind. They were in a rural area which made it less likely for them to be caught.by those who Bobby and Bean felt sure were looking for him. About an hour later another train heading north appeared. This train was a slow moving freight train. Bobby and Bean quickly moved behind some bushes where they wouldn't be seen.by the engineer or fireman when the train passed by. The locomotive pulling the Lehigh New England freight train was a hefty smoky 2-8-2 that belched a lot of smoke from leaky valves. As the train rattled by, Bobby and Bean were looking for a boxcar that had it's door open. But most of the boxcars that passed by, had their doors closed and the train was moving at a speed that would make it very dangerous if not deadly to try to hop onto it. All they could do was watch as it sixty some odd cars passed by followed by the caboose. "If the trains keep moving at that rate of speed, we'll never be able to hop them." Bean frowned. Bobby nodded. Bean was right. In order to hop a freight train, the train had to be moving slow, a lot slower then the freight train that just passed them. All they could do now was to just keep walking, avoid staying to long around grade crossings and hopefully another train would pass that they just might have a chance of getting on without getting killed. They slowly walked for another hour or so. As hot as it was it had to be mid-afternoon. They were hot, sweaty and thirsty. Along with the heat the humidity made things very uncomfortable for them. Their new clothes stuck to their backs from sweat. They came to a creek. The water looked clean enough to drink, so they paused momentarily to drink their fill of water then continued walking. About a half hour later, they saw something that gave them some hope. They saw the caboose of the freight train that had just passed them about a half hour ago stopped about a half mile down the tracks on a passing siding waiting for a southbound to pass by before they could continue on their northern run. "Let's go and try to get on it before it starts moving again." Bobby shouted excitedly. He started running. Bean started running behind him. About fifty yards from the caboose, Bobby stopped. Panting, Bean stopped behind him, then asked, "What's wrong?" "We're going to have to get passed the caboose without being seen by whoever is in the caboose." "How are we going to do that?" Bean asked, wiping the sweat from his brow with his arm. Bobby noticed that there were woods on both sides of the tracks, woods that they could use for cover. "Just follow me." Bobby said. He cut into the woods. Bean followed. The woods were thick and the brush and thorn bushes in the area heavy but they were lucky to find an animal trail that parallelled the tracks providing enough cover to keep them hidden from whoever was in the caboose. Bobby and Bean slowly trudged through the woods along the animal trail, until they were passed the caboose and about fifteen freight cars. They then made their way back to the train. All they had to do now was to find a boxcar with its door open, or even partially opened. Ten cars down from where they came out of the woods they found an old wooden boxcar with it's door open. According to the name on the side of the boxcar the boxcar belonged to the Erie Railroad. Bobby tossed the runsack of supplies first into the car, followed by his blanket roll. Bean tossed his blanket roll into the car then following Bobby, hopped into the boxcar. It was hot and stuffy inside while it was stopped but once the train started moving, that would all change. "We're safe for now." Bobby smiled. "Now it will be just a matter of time before the train starts moving then we'll be home free. No more having to worry about being caught by the police and sent back to Pine Island." "Yeah." Bean sighed. About ten minutes later a southbound train stormed by. It was a Lehigh & New England passenger train pulled by a 2-6-4 Pacific class steam locomotive, moving at a rapid pace of speed. It had a mail car, a baggage car, three passenger coaches and a dining car in tow. Within seconds the train was gone, disappearing in a cloud of smoke, dust, and cinders. Five minutes later Bobby and Bean heard two loud blats of the whistle from the locomotive that was pulling the freight train that they were on. They heard air being rushed through the air hoses of the air brakes beneath the couplers of the train. Then there was a sudden jolt, followed by two more blats.from the locomotives whistle. A few minutes later the train began to move. They were finally on there way to wherever the train was going. The train started off slow, but gradually it started picking up speed. Before long the train was moving right along at a good rate of speed. Air began circulating through the interior of the boxcar making lot cooler then it had been when Bobby and Bean had first climbed in. For now the two boys were safe. They sat at the front of the opened door watching as the scenery passed by. Much of the scenery was composed of farm land, with stretches of woods. The train crossed several creeks as it traveled north. With each passing minute, Bobby and Bean were getting farther and farther away from Pine Island, which is exactly what the two boys wanted. The farther away from Pine Island they could get, the safer they would be. But after about an hour of riding on the train the scenery changed from rural to more a more populated scenario. The train started slowing down, until it was moving barely at a crawl. They were heading into a town. It was then that Bean noticed the sign along the side of the railroad tracks that read in big bold letters, GOSHEN N.Y. That was followed by another sign shaped as a V. That read YARD LIMIT. "Oh no." Bean murmered. "What's the matter?" Bobby asked. "Don't you remember, this is the town where Sam and I were in jail. " Bean exclaimed. "Well maybe the train will pass through this town without stopping." Bobby said hopefully. But he was wrong. The train started moving slower and slower, until it was traveling at barely a crawl. Finally, with the loud hiss of the air brakes, the train came to total stop. Bobby and Bean weren't out of the woods yet. "We can't let anyone catch us on this train." Bobby frowned. "If they do, it's back to Pine Island." "So what are we going to do?" Bean asked. "I don't know yet. A lot will depend on how long this train will be stopped here." "I sure hope it won't be for a long time." Bean said. "Same here." Bobby agreed. They heard the hiss of air from the air brakes that was followed by a jolt. More air was being released meaning that the train was uncoupling. And then the boxcar that Bean and Bobby were in, started moving. They were in a cut of cars that would be pushed into a siding, meaning that they wouldn't be going anyplace anytime soon. At the time however, Bean and Bobby didn't know that. It was only when Bobby looked out of the boxcar door and saw that the train that they had been on, now on the adjacent track moving that Bobby realized that they would not be going anyplace anytime soon. "We're going to be stuck here." Bobby frowned. "They put us in a siding." "So now what."'Bean asked. "We're going to have to hop onto another train." Outside the boxcar door sun was beginning to sink in the western horizon. Nightfall was closing in. "I guess we'll be spending the night here." Bobby frowned. "We don't want to try to hop a train in the middle of the night.' "That's for sure." Bean agreed. He still didn't know whether or not he would be able to hop onto a slow moving train. All he could do was follow Bobby's lead. They ate some cold canned baked beans for there dinner that night, then unrolled their blanket rolls curling up into them to try to get some sleep. Between the time they fell asleep and daybreak at least two trains steamed by, one heading north and the other south. By the time the sun was rising in the east, they had rolled up their blanket rolls and were ready to hop the first train that rumbled by. They slipped out the boxcar and waited in the shadows of a copse of oak trees staying out of sight and waited. They didn't want anyone especially a railroad worker who might be walking along the railroad tracks to see them in the boxcar while it was sitting in the siding. About an hour later they heard the wail from the whistle of a northbound train that was approaching. It would not be long before the train passed by. "Get ready." Bobby told Bean. From where they were standing the chuffing of the northbound train sounded like it was moving slow, but whether or not the train was actually moving slow enough to hop onto, remained to be seen. They would both know within minutes. A few minutes later the headlight of the approaching train came into view. Every muscle in Bobby's body tensed. Smoke rose high into the air from the slow moving approaching train. The black locomotive came into view. "You ready?" Bobby whispered, nudging Bean who was standing next to him. "I guess." Bean sighed, though he sounded unsure of himself. They waited until the smoke belching locomotive, a 2-8-0 steamed by followed by the coal tender, which had ERIE RAILROAD printed in large bold white letters written on the side of the tender. The train was moving about five miles per hour, slow enough that Bobby concluded that he and Bean should be able to make it. But now it was only a matter of time before the first boxcar with it's door opened passed by. At least fifteen freight cars rumbled by before Bobby noticed a boxcar approaching that did have it's door open. "Follow my lead." Bobby told Bean. He picked up the runsack of food first to toss into the car. That would be followed by his blanket roll. Bean was right behind him ready to make his own move. The boxcar rocked closer and closer towards them. "Now!" Bobby shouted. As soon as the old wooden boxcar with ROCK ISLAND RAILROAD.emblem engraved on its side passed by, Bobby started running along side of the car. He quickly tossed the runsack of food into the car first hearing it the cans in the runsack thunking on the dusty wooden floor, then tossed his blanket roll into the car. Now came the hard part, jumping into the old wooden Rock Island boxcar while the train was moving. Running behind Bobby, Bean tossed his blanket roll into the boxcar. As he was doing that the train started picking up speed. Running a little faster to keep up with the train, Bobby reached up and grabbed the handrail on the left side of the boxcar door. Once he had a firm grip on the handrail he quickly swung himself up into the car. Now it was Bean's turn. Bean reached for the handrail but couldn't get a hold of of it. Loosing his grip he tried again, without any luck. Seeing the dilemma that Bean was in, Bobby knelt on the floor at the door reaching his hand out too Bean. "Grab my hand!" Bobby shouted. As the train picked up even more speed Bean reached out for Bobby's hand. When Bean's hand made contact with Bobby's hand, Bobby clasped his fingers tightly around Bean's wrist and started pulling him up into the boxcar. Bean was almost in the boxcar, when suddenly he tripped.causing Bobby to break his grip on Bean's wrist. "Bean!" Bobby screamed watching in horror as Bean fell down beneath the boxcar onto the railroad track. Before Bean could move out of the way the heavy steel wheels of the boxcar rolled over him cutting the boy in half. As the steel wheels cut through him, blood fountained out all over the place, followed by his entrails leaving behind the two parts of his body. Bean!" Bobby screamed out again feeling himself getting sick. He vomited outside of the boxcar door onto the ground as the train rumbled on. More steel freight car wheels cut through him scattering more parts of Bean's body all over the ground and along the sides of the railroad tracks. "Bean!" Bobby cried out one last time, but there was nothing that could be done for him. Bean was dead, dying in the most violent way possible, being cut in half by a slow moving freight train.