Ruby Read Online Free PDF Page B

other seat she glanced over to see Opal, eyes round as her mouth, watching the men.
    “Is he a cowboy?” Opal whispered.
    “Why do you ask?”
    “Look at his boots.”
    Ruby glanced toward the floor. Sure enough, he wore boots with heels and pointed toes, exactly as she’d seen in a magazine. She watched as the once-attacking man backed into his seat and sat. While she couldn’t hear what transpired between them in their brief exchange, she was grateful not to be on the receiving end. When the cowboy returned, she rose from where she had seated herself by Opal.
    “Thank you.”
    “You are welcome.” He nodded to her and then to Opal. “Much nicer for young girls in here than . . .”He nodded toward the car behind them, the one where the men played cards and smoke turned the air gray. Without another word, he strode on back.
    Ruby chanced a peek around the seat back, then turned her attention to her sister, who shrank into the corner.
    “I didn’t do anything bad.”
    “Opal, I . . .” Ruby took a deep breath and sat back against the seat. “Just tell me what you did and why, and let me be the judge of that.”
    “Well, I was sitting here minding my own business when I heard a lady up there”—she pointed toward the front of the car—“say that a man was dead.”
    “Opal.”
    “Well, something like that . . . So I went up to make sure he was still breathing. I was looking at him when his mustache moved, so I was sure he was all right, but then he woke up and . . .”
    “And?” Ruby considered what her sister had said. “And how close were you to him when you saw his mustache move?”
    Ruby closed her eyes to think better, create the picture in her mind. She could feel her own hands moving, two feet apart, eighteen inches? She opened her eyes as Opal held her hands about twelve inches apart, then cut the distance in half.
    The inner picture made Ruby flinch. She rolled her eyes. Lord preserve us . “Wouldn’t you say that was a bit rude?”
    “But what if he had been dead?” Opal threw her hands out wide and gave her sister a pleading look. “Or dying and no one paid any attention?”
    Ruby leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Always an excuse came for which she had no answer. Opal had a heart of gold that always got her into trouble when she acted out her inherently good intentions. The thought of that man waking up to Opal peering into his face made Ruby smile, nay, nearly laugh out loud. What a shock that must have been. She peeked at Opal, who was watching her with all the intensity of one about to be shot for her transgressions.
    Ruby tried to keep from laughing. She ordered her lips to narrow into rigid lines, but instead they turned up at the corners. She ordered the chuckles bubbling up to cease and desist, but instead they seeped out and floated around like iridescent soap bubbles. As the bubbles popped, the laughter invited more, and when Ruby, shaking her head, finally could keep from looking at Opal no longer, the two of them laughed together, hands over their mouths to stifle the hilarity.
    “I really didn’t mean to offend him,” Opal finally said when they could catch their breath.
    “I know. But Opal, dear sister, you must learn to think things through before you embark on them. I’m afraid that one of these days something serious will happen. Then what will we do?”
    “I’ll try, Ruby, really I will.” Opal slid over in the seat to cuddle next to her sister’s side. The two rocked together for a time, Ruby with both arms around her charge and resting her cheek on Opal’s soft hair.
    When Opal’s stomach announced it was past a meal time, they dug into the basket at their feet. Bread, cheese, and cookies were all that remained.
    Ruby wished for a cup of coffee or tea, but she’d tried the sludge on the stove and found it totally unpalatable, even with the addition of water. Shame there wasn’t a teapot or a plain kettle to heat water to go along with the packet of