the mosquitoes were so thick in the summer months they looked like black curtains covering the window screens.
He and Rex continued to wander the roads until they came to the water tower by the railroad tracks. As Eddie looked up toward the top, a full moon slipped out from a bank of dark rain clouds.
“Stay, Rex,” ordered Eddie. He began to climb the rungs of the tower’s ladder, tasting and smelling the salty sea air as he went. When he reached the top, he sat down and let his legs dangle between the rails. Marathon spread out below him like a picnic cloth on the ground and the whole town was quiet. Eddie watched the lights in the men’s dormitories go out one by one as the exhausted railroad workers turned in for the night.
Looking down from the tower, Eddie could see the paymaster car parked at the Florida East Coast Railway station. He knew that tomorrow hundreds of hardworking railroad men would line up to receive their wages in gold coins. They had come from many different countries to fill the ranks of workers Henry Flagler needed to build his Over-Sea Railroad.
Then Eddie noticed his pa’s supervisor, Mr. Tate, out on his nightly stroll. When he looked more closely, he saw Pa coming from the opposite direction. Frank Malone waved to Mr. Tate as the two men passed in the road.
Eddie hoped Pa would walk on by. At that moment, however, Rex spotted Pa too and let out a friendly bark to greet him. Frank Malone stopped, then stepped back away from the water tower and looked up.
“I see you, Eddie,” he called. “Git on down here.”
Eddie began to climb down very slowly. He needed time to think of a good excuse for disobeying Pa.
Maybe if I point out the paymaster car and remind Pa that tomorrow is payday, he’ll get in a better mood and forget about the switching.
When Eddie reached the bottom, he stood silently before his father. Frank Malone raised his eyebrows, clearly waiting for an explanation. Seeing his father’s serious look, Eddie decided to apologize.
“I’m sorry, Pa,” said Eddie. “I went fishing and lost track of time. I should have done my chores like you said. Are you going to punish me?”
Frank Malone paused for a minute to consider the situation. Then to Eddie’s surprise, Pa didn’t punish him. Instead he put an arm around Eddie’s shoulders.
“No, son,” he said. “I guess you’ve had enough for one day. When you wasn’t at the tent, I was right worried.”
“I know you’ve had to fend for yourself lately,” he continued. “And I wish things was different, but I’m doin’ the best I can . . . I need you to do your best too.”
Eddie looked up at his pa and replied solemnly, “I’ll try, Pa. I really will.”
Just then a flash of lightning lit the sky and a roll of thunder rumbled in the distance. “Me and you better move along,” said Pa looking up at the threatening clouds.
Eddie called to Rex and the three started back just as the skies opened up and a winter rain began to fall. As they crossed the tracks to reach their camp, Eddie suddenly stopped.
“There’s a light moving inside the paymaster car,” said Eddie pointing down the tracks. “What do you think it is, Pa?”
Frank Malone turned and looked toward the paymaster car.
“Might be trouble,” said Pa. “You go on home while I take a look-see.”
When Eddie and Rex got back to the tent, they were soaking wet. Eddie dried himself off and then dried Rex. After hanging the towel neatly over the indoor clothesline, he wearily crawled into his cot and covered himself with a blanket. Rex curled up on the floor beside him and soon the two were fast asleep.
Just as the early morning light crept into the camp, Eddie was awakened by a booming voice outside their tent.
“Frank Malone, come out in the name of the law!”
2
Thieves
The sheriff’s loud voice sent Rex into a barking frenzy. Eddie and Pa sprang from their cots in alarm. While Pa pulled on his boots, Eddie tried to calm Rex down but it was no use. Rex sensed danger and he continued to bark.
Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Frank Malone hurried to the tent’s screen door and looked out. Eddie held Rex back, but the dog kept growling and straining at his collar. Finally Eddie let Rex pull him towards the doorway to stand beside Pa.
Charlie Jenkins, Marathon’s sheriff, and Mr. Tate, Pa’s supervisor, stood in the yard. It was still drizzling from the night before and rain dripped off their hat brims.
“Get out here, Malone,” ordered the sheriff. “I need to speak with you . . . and shut that dog up!”
“What’s wrong, Pa?” asked Eddie. “Why are Sheriff Jenkins and Mr. Tate outside?”
“Nothin’ I can’t handle,” answered Frank Malone. “Keep Rex quiet while I go out and see.”
“Yes, sir,” said Eddie, leaning down to get a better grip on Rex’s collar. Then Eddie tried to soothe him by scratching the dog’s ears as he eavesdropped at the doorway.
“That’s the man I saw last night running out of the paymaster car,” said Mr. Tate, pointing directly at Pa.
“Are you sure?” asked the sheriff.
“Positive,” answered the supervisor. “Frank Malone works for me down at the marl pit.”
“I didn’t do nothin’ wrong,” protested Frank.
“I saw him there, Sheriff,” insisted Mr. Tate. “Do your job.”
Sheriff Jenkins took a step closer to Pa. “Why don’t you and I go into your tent and have a look around.”
Eddie pulled Rex away from the door to let Pa and Sheriff Jenkins inside. Mr. Tate stood guard on the steps.
After a brief search, the sheriff asked skeptically, “Well, Malone, what did you do with the payroll?”
“I’m tellin’ you, Sheriff,” said Pa, sweat breaking out on his forehead, “two strangers done stole it.”
“Were you in the paymaster car last night?” questioned the Sheriff impatiently.
“Yes, I seen a light and . . .”
Before Pa could finish, Sheriff Jenkins impatiently interrupted. “So you admit you were there?”
“Yes, but I didn’t . . .”
The sheriff wasted no time. He quickly pulled a set of handcuffs from his pocket and clapped them onto Pa’s wrists. “Frank Malone,” said
