Poul and Jonathan boarded the carriage and sat next to each other. There are three horse-drawn carriages coming along with Poul and Jonathan. One carries the luggage and the direct current electric motor while the other one carries workers from the factory that will help them unload the luggage.
Their destination is the Pennsylvania Station, a railroad under the control of Mr. Wanderbilt, the commodore himself. The journey took three hours and the trip wasn't a pleasant one.
Just like the horse-drawn carriage in the nineteenth century, the concept of a suspension system hasn't been developed yet. To make the trip less bumpy, the carriage features a long wheel that covers more area to lessen the up-and-down motion of the carriage. But the poor quality roads of the nineteenth century, or should they say, the ninth century.
Nevertheless, the carriage arrived on schedule. The station was not as grand as the station in the modern age. It is simple, with erected platforms and ticket vendors where passengers buy tickets.
The horse-drawn carriage stopped by the junction and immediately after its stopping, the factory workers Poul hired to help them move their things stepped out of the carriage.
They lifted out three pieces of luggage from the horse-drawn carriage that was carrying the things and placed them carefully on the ground. The next one was the direct current electric motor. They handled it with care, as they are aware of the fragility of the device. They set it down on the ground carefully like the luggage.
After doing that, one of the workers approached Poul.
"Sir, it is done," the worker informed.
Poul glanced at the luggage and the wooden crate placed neatly on the ground. He smiled in satisfaction. "Good."
Poul put his right hand in his pocket, fishing for a bill. He pulled out six pieces of one-dollar bills and gave them to him. "That's six dollars…so two dollars per each of you."
"This is quite a lot, Sir Poul. Is it okay for us to receive this? To be honest, we weren't expecting to be paid, a deed like this is no problem for us so I think I will return this—"
Poul placed a hand on his shoulder. "Being humble won't get your family food on the table. Accept it. What you did is work and it must be paid."
"But sir…" the worker said hesitantly.
Poul gave him a firm look. "Do you really not want the money? If you don't then I'll take it from you."
"Eh?" the worker looked at Poul in surprise, wide-eyed. For a moment, he is starting to regret his humbleness and took back his word. "We'll take it! Thank you for this. This is a huge help for us!"
Poul chuckled softly. "As expected, you'll concede when I bring that up. So I guess this is where we part. Have a safe trip back to the company town. Don't worry, the driver is not going to charge you as I already paid."
"Thank you, Sir Poul, Sir Jonathan! Have a safe trip to both of you as well and may god bless you," the worker bowed politely before returning back to his co-workers.
When the worker told them that they were given two dollars for helping them, they grinned giddily. Two dollars is equivalent to one day's work, so it is a huge blessing for them.
Poul and Jonathan watched as they boarded the carriage. With a "Hyah" from the driver, the horses started moving forward.
Poul turned around and looked at Jonathan who still hadn't said anything. Curious as to why it was, Poul looked in the direction where Jonathan was looking. It was a line of people lining up to buy their train tickets. Luckily for them, the two young industrialist duo don't have to go through that as the train tickets are delivered to their headquarters. It was one of the perks of purchasing first-class tickets.
The porters in the station started carrying their luggage and cargo, along with other people's cargo and luggage to the right end side of the station platform. Poul deduced that they'll be picked up later and placed inside a special car of the train that would shortly arrive. freew ebnovel.com
Jonathan pulled the pocket watch out of his pocket and checked the time.
"Hmm…the train is three minutes late," Jonathan said.
"Oh really? What a shock. You poured cold water on me when I was sleeping so that we can leave early and now that we are here, the trains are nowhere to be found," Poul said in a sarcastic tone.
"Well, what if the train arrived early and you woke up late? We won't catch the train. Have you ever considered that thought before you speak, Poul?" Jonathan chided him lightly.
"Man, I was just joking, why do you have to be so serious about everything?" Poul said, slightly annoyed. He looked away from Jonathan and stared at an empty spot. He sighed. "You are pissed, I get that. Well, I think I'm going to let you cool down there and take a seat…"
Poul looked for a bench that wasn't taken by anyone else. There was one and Poul went and sat on it. After a few moments, he heard a voice, but it didn't belong to someone, but to a girl.
"Uhm… sir? is this seat taken?"
Poul turned his head towards the source of the voice. His mouth opened to speak before he choked on every word, instead, he gasped for breath. The owner of the voice was a woman, her head tilted just so, standing a few inches away from him. Her long navy-blue hair trailed down her shoulder. She wore a blue ruffle neck Victorian blouse, accented with a velvet choker with a charm delicately lying amid the folds of the collar. The checkered style skirt with purple and pink side panels moved softly around her calves as she walked closer. The soft fabric hugged her womanly figure perfectly. The skirt was topped off with a red beret adorned with flowers that she tilted slightly in her hair and pinned down alluringly.
"Yeah…yeah…it's vacant," Poul stammered as he moved a little to the edge of the bench, offering her space to sit next to him. "Here. Sit here. Please."
"Okay, thank you," the girl replied in a polite manner. She sat on the opposite end of the bench to Poul and rested her hands and purse gently on her lap.
Poul covered his mouth with his hand, hiding his reaction. But hiding it means admitting that the girl who just sat on the bench was a beautiful girl. To make sure it fits the description of the word, he stole a glance. The way she looked down with a smile and an eye closed in tranquil mesmerized Poul.
It is the second time that he got charmed by the noble appearance of a girl. The first one is his first love, Sara. Even though he can't see her now, he still has strong feelings for her. At least, that is what his heart says.
While Poul's eyes were fixed on the woman sitting beside him. A loud snark from a man snapped him out of a trance.
"Where is the money?!" A huge man
"I told you, I don't have it!" A man who is shorter than the aggressor said in a scared tone.
The girl sitting beside Poul moved closer to him as she sensed a fight unfolding near her.
"Don't fuck with me!" The huge guy delivered a right hook directly to the shorter guy. The man tottered for a second before falling onto the floor. The tall guy who punched the short guy got seen by the railway officials. So he absconded quickly, pushing the man to the left that is blocking his way. The one that received the push also ran too, maybe to help the authorities chase him. The man the big guy pushed fell directly onto the girl who was sitting on the bench.
Poul caught the girl that was about to fall over. The man that was pushed aside got up and left the premises.
"Are you okay ma'am?" Poul asked the girl concernedly.
"Yes, I'm fine," the girl answered while touching him on the shoulder, checking if she had hurt him in any way. "I'm so sorry about that, the man just fell on me."
"It's okay, I'm not hurt," Poul assured her and glanced over behind her. "They are gone?"
The girl turned her head around. Poul was right, the three men were gone. "That was the most frightful thing," she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she wasn't hurt.
Jonathan approached Poul. "Are you okay?"
"I'm good," Poul raised his hand.
Suddenly, a whistle of the train from afar sounded.
"Everyone trains for Lansdale are approaching. Ready your tickets."
Jonathan tapped him on the shoulder. "It's six minutes late but at least it arrived. Let's get ready now."
Poul nodded. But before he could take a step, he noticed the girl looking around the bench as if she was looking for something.
"My purse…my purse…" she said to herself.
The train arrived at the station. This time, it wasn't stopped by a brakeman but by a device they retrofitted to it, the air brake system. The first-class passengers were the first to board so Jonathan joined the line. But when Poul wasn't joining the line, he asked him.
"What's the matter?"
"The girl," Poul said, watching the girl picking one luggage and briefcase and walking over to the ticket man. "She just got robbed by the men from earlier."
"What do you mean?" Jonathan looked at the girl Poul was referring to.
"Uhm…Excuse me…kind sir. My ticket was in my purse. There were two men fighting and somehow it must have been taken during the commotion."
"I'm sorry miss," the conductor said.
The girl puffed and her face turned pale. "Please sir, I have to get to New York."
"Not without a ticket," the conductor said indifferently.
The girl conceded and returned back to the bench where she sat. She looked around it, hoping that her missing purse was there. But she stopped her search and walked over to Poul.
"Sir. You haven't seen a purse by any chance?" she asked, her voice breaking.
"I have not, miss," Poul said.
"It had my train and ferry tickets. And my money and I don't know what I'm going to do. My superior is expecting me to arrive tomorrow morning for a presentation but without those tickets…" overwhelmed with emotion, she breaks into tears, burying her face into her hands.
"Looks like she's really desperate to go to New York," Jonathan whispered.
"It's a pity. Shame on those men who stole her purse," Poul whispered back.
"So what are you going to do?" Jonathan asked.
"It's obvious," Poul said and walked over to the girl.
"Uhm…miss, if you don't mind, I can buy tickets for you. My partner and I are also headed to New York."
The girl looked up and saw Poul. freewebnov(e)l
"Would that be okay?" The girl asked, wiping the tears off her face.
Poul nodded.
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