The Argo Goes West

75, Escape from Giant Eagle's Nest, part 1

"Get up."

Dorothy heard a man's voice. Then she was shaken.

"Please, let me sleep a little longer," said Dorothy, her eyes closed.

Then a woman's voice this time. "She seems conscious."

"What is consciousness?" Dorothy replied. "I want to sleep, please don't wake me up"

"What's your name?" asked the man.

Dorothy gave her name.

"OK Dorothy, sweet dreams," the man said to her. Then he said to someone else. "She's fine. Let's wait until she wakes up."

Dorothy thought she was dreaming. But their voices were unfamiliar. Dorothy opened her eyes in curiosity. She was in the train, not in her bedroom. What was strange was that there was a passage above her head, not a ceiling.

Dorothy sat up. There were several people around her. One of them, a plump lady, smiled and spoke to Dorothy.

"Good morning, Dorothy."

"Good morning," Dorothy responded reflexively. "Excuse me, who are you?"

"I'm Faye. Faye Miller."

"Mrs. Miller... we're on the train, aren't we? Was I asleep?"

"You were in a swoon," said the handsome bearded gentleman. She recognized his baritone voice. It was this person who was talking to her earlier. "My husband Patrick," Mrs. Miller told her.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Miller. But why was I unconscious?"

"Don't you remember the giant bird attacking us?"

"Ah!"

Dorothy remembered. She was on the train from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City. On the way, a huge eagle attacked the train. She rolled around in the train and had no memory of the rest. Perhaps she hit her head on something and passed out.

Dorothy looked around. The train must be upside down because it capsized.

Dorothy looked out the window to see where they were.

She saw lush foliage and thick tree branches through the broken glass.

"Is it in the woods?"

Dorothy moved closer to the window to get a better look. Then the square-faced gentleman hurriedly shouted.

"Freeze!"

The train shook violently and the women screamed.

Dorothy stopped moving and apologized to everyone. "I'm sorry. But what happened?"

"The train rides on a big tree," Mr. Miller told her.

"Why?"

"You know that birds build their nests in trees. Ordinary birds use tree branches, but the giaint eagle used something bigger, like a train."