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The river had taken them through an odd corner of the country where terrain and circumstance had not yet conspired to make the railroad network complete.

Again at East St. Louis in Illinois they briefly crossed water by boat once more. At that time the only bridge across the Big Muddy lay far to the north in Davenport, Iowa.

Once the travelers and their luggage were safely on the western shore of the Mississippi River they resumed riding by rail but now they made much better time. The track laid across Missouri was made of Bessemer steel. This permitted them to travel at the breakneck speed of forty-five miles per hour. And there were fewer stops in that state. The line came to an end just a few miles past the town of Independence.

Joshua spotted a yan standing on the platform and knew sha was a member of the Haivri family even as the train was still rolling to a stop. Sha was nearly as tall as Holly, for one thing, so sha stood at least a head higher than most of the men gathered around har. #YM