The fire in the brazier glowed a dull red in the nighttime gloom of the railyard. It had been carefully banked so it gave off the greatest possible heat while giving off the least possible light. The people sitting around the fire - hoboes - did not want to alert the roving patrols of the railroad bulls to their presence.
"You heard about the Railyard Ripper" Tiny asked. He glanced at the others in turn, his head almost lost in the collar of the distressed greatcoat he wore.
"Ripper?" Charlie-boy hesitated, a spoonful of beans halfway to his mouth. "That's just a railroad legend. Isn't it?" His voice quivered uncertainly.
"Legend?" Old Man Mallard shifted his bulk on the orange box he had claimed as his seat. "All legends have a grain of truth to them."
Charlie-boy swallowed. "You mean there is a Railyard Ripper?"
Old Man Mallard shrugged. "Can't say there is. Can't say there ain't. But I've heard some tales in my time - more'n enough to raise some questions."
"Yeah." Tiny piped. "Some of the stories I heard are wild." Helene forward until his face seemed to hover above the glowing coals. "I heard the Railyard Ripper is some kind of monster who cuts the hearts out of his victims. I heard he eats them!"
"Bullshit." Mallard hawked contemptuously and spat out a mass of phlegm. "That's a lie."
"How do you know?"
The old man shot an incredulous look across the fire. "You think he eats people?" Mallard shook his head. "Next thing you know, you'll be telling me he turns up if you say his name three times."
"He might do!"
"You might be a moron, but you don't have to remind me with every word that comes out of your mouth. You know too little and believe too much."
Tiny and Charlie-boy exchanged looks. "And what makes you think you know so much?" Tiny asked.
"Yeah!" Charlie-boy added. "How do we know you ain't the Ripper?" As soon as he realised what he had said, he clamped his hands over his mouth in shock.
Old Man Mallard chuckled. "And what if I was?" There was a moment of silence, broken only by the crackling and popping of the fire. "Don't worry. Let me tell you the only thing that you need to know about the Railyard Ripper."
"W-what?" Charlie-boy stuttered.
"I know he don't make a mess in his own house." Mallard reached out to touch Charlie-boy's chest. "And home is where the hearts are."
