The Train's Being Robbed!

Texas raced along, sweat streaming off the weasel’s brow as she pushed her prize horse to the limit. Ahead of her, the 9am train leaving Gold Springs chugged along, not yet under full steam, but quickly getting there. She hadn’t managed to reach the train before it left the station, but she couldn’t let it get away. Not when her corrupt ex-deputy and her gang had taken control of it.

As her horse’s hooves bit into the sand on the side of the tracks, sending it spraying behind them, the weasel narrowed her eyes as the dust and desert sun stung them. She was fast approaching the train, but once it got up to full speed there was no way her horse could keep up. She needed to get on board, and soon.

The fastest and easiest way aboard would be the rear door of the train, but it was also the most obvious, and if Texas knew her ex-deputy, she would have a guard there. She might even be there herself. On the other hand, Texas could push her horse a little more and pull up alongside the train, allowing her to jump in the side and clamber onto the roof, but that had other risks. Missing the jump to the roof would be both painful and humiliating, and likely lead to a splattered weasel on the tracks. It would also take longer to get to the side of the train than the back, and if it took too long, she risked losing the train altogether as it sped up. She had to make a decision, and make it now.