The Argo Goes West

102, Cassandra and Helen

When Cassandra Jackson saw the Iron Horse she had foreseen, she decided to carry out a long-held plan. It was an escape from a madhouse.

Observing through the barred windows, she discovered that every morning the garbage collecting traders would drive up to the back door in a wagon to collect the sacks that had been left there. Most likely, the contents of the sacks were garbage left over from cooking or leftover food. If she was hidden in the sack with the garbage, the garbage collecting traders would have taken her somewhere else with the sack.

In the middle of the night, Cassandra sneaked into the kitchen to steal the attention of the nurses, opened a sack and hid in it. It smelled awful. But she had to persevere in order to save the city. She held her nose in her hand and breathed through her mouth.

The next morning, the garbage collecting traders came to the back door of the hospital as usual. Not knowing that there was a person hiding in the sacks, they put the sacks on the back of a wagon and moved to the city dump.

Cassandra cut the sack from the inside with a knife she had stolen from the kitchen. Breathing in the fresh air, she felt revived. The garbage collecting traders were sitting in the driver's stand, facing forward, not looking at the carriage. It was early in the morning, so no one was walking on the street. Cassandra crawled out of the sack and jumped off the bed of the carriage as it turned a corner.

It was near the railroad tracks, and the Iron Horse was parked nearby. A tall man in military uniform emerged from one of the train's carriages. He began to bend and stretch to loosen his body. Cassandra intuitively decided to consult this man. She had no recollection of it, but perhaps she had seen this man's face in a prophetic dream. Cassandra ran towards the man. The man also noticed Cassandra approaching, stopped exercising, and looked at her with a puzzled expression. The man screamed as Cassandra hugged him. "Oh, yuck! What a stink!"

As soon as Captain Danny Harris got up, he brushed his beard, combed his hair, and styled it with pomade. For a gentleman it was basic grooming, but for Harris it was unusual. Harris also sprayed perfume on his uniform.

Captain Harris visited Hector Jackson's house with a bouquet of roses. The roses were grown by himself with great care. Harris hit the doorknocker with a tense look on his face.

"What's the matter?" asked Hector Jackson.

Harris said with an awkward smile. "I came close, so I stopped by." Harris wanted a better excuse, but it was the only one he could think of.

Hector Jackson let Harris in and offered him coffee. After talking with Hector for a bit, Harris said he would say hello to Helen.

Harris went upstairs and knocked on Helen's door. "Please come in" came a reply from inside the room. Harris entered the room.

"I came here to give this to you."

Harris considered sophisticated dialogue, but felt that it didn't suit him, so he spoke honestly. His words were blunt, but his true intentions were contained in the color of the rose. The bright red rose meant "I love you".

"I appreciate it," replied Helen. Her way of speaking seemed formal and unfeeling, but Harris was pleased. Harris began to speak with a feeling of heaven. The name of the rose is Presidio, which I bred, and so on. Harris thought it might not be of interest to Helen, but that was all he had to say. Spending time with Helen was bliss for Harris.

Roberts asked Miss Craig to take care of Cassandra. Roberts was worried that she might refuse because of the smell of garbage, but Miss Craig agreed without complaint. Miss Craig washed Cassandra clean in her bathroom, styled her hair, put her makeup on, and lent her her clothes. Cassandra became a Gibson Girl who looks different than before.

"Mr. Roberts, can I ask you a question?" said Miss Craig. "Who is this woman?"

"Miss Cassandra Jackson."

"Is Jackson related to Deputy Mayor Hector Jackson?"

"I heard she's his sister."

"Really?"

"I don't know if it's true. Actually, she was at madhouse. She says she's sane."

"Why was she at madhouse?"

"I heard she tried to kill Helen."

"Who's Helen?"

"Oh, you didn't know Helen."

Roberts told Miss Craig what he knew about Helen. Of course, there is also an abnormally large number of red blood cells.

"I don't know about red blood cells, but maybe we should let the hospital know. And what if she tries to kill Helen?"

"I won't let her do that. More importantly, Helen is the problem. When I met her in person, I felt that Helen was different from an ordinary woman, no, from a human being. Her vibe, her demeanor, or something she's emanating from within, like energy, like electricity..."

"Have you heard of Electrography?" Miss Craig asked.

"I don't know. What is that?"

"I don't know the details either, but it seems to be something like an electric current emitted from the human body."

"Is that what you heard from your boss?"

"No. I heard it from an old lover."

"I see." Roberts said. "Anyway, I have a feeling something bad is about to happen with Helen. I don't know what it is, but I want Cassandra to be with us when it happens."