No matter how fast they ran, they could never meet the train as it crossed the road miles ahead, but they tried in earnest. Whenever Thaddeus heard the train whistle, he knew his son was on the way home. Sometimes he would ride his horse out to meet the boys and bring Roy home on horseback.
When the boys turned twelve, it would be their last year in school. Franklin developed a brilliant plan for their final adventure. The train usually pulled long heavy loads with several cars. Invariably, the train operator needed to slow the train as it rounded the bend. Once the last car turned the corner, the engineer would apply full throttle so the train could make the steep grade into the mountains.
"Listen to me. The train is going the slowest when it rounds the bend. I'll bet we can run fast enough to catch a ride on the last car."
"Franklin, are you crazy?" Roy asked.
"No! We'll ride it to where it crosses the road up ahead and jump off."
This time, Robert chimed in putting his full weight behind the insane scheme. "He's right. Trust me, only a girl, couldn't catch this train," he teased.
Stanley wore a worried look, knowing he was the smallest of the four boys and probably the slowest runner too.
Roy protected Stanley's honor. "You two are crazier than a coon dog in heat. You're gonna get yourself killed jumping a train like that."
Robert started making chicken sounds, sticking his hands under the armpits and flapping his elbows like a bird. "Chicken, Roy's a chicken."
"Shut up Robert, you're a fool," Roy sputtered in anger.
Franklin got into the act, and the two boys danced around yelling. "Roy is a chicken; Stanley is a chicken." Then Robert crowed like a rooster. Roy took Stanley by the shoulder and maneuvered him away from the two other boys.
"Come on Stanley, let's go home."
As they headed away, their ears stung with embarrassment.
Stanley stopped walking and crossed his arms. "Roy, I'm not a chicken. You hear me?"
"Pay no heed to them, Stanley. I'm no chicken either. And do you know how I know this? Because I haven't found any eggs under my chair after I sit on it."
Stanley smiled.
When the engineer blasted the whistle, both Stanley and Roy jumped in fright. The sound seemed extremely close. Turning, they both saw Franklin and Robert leaping in the air for joy. Mesmerized, all four boys watched the Santa Fe train slow down, rounding the bend. Instinctively, they each counted the cars as they passed. As they tallied each passing car, the movement of the train continued to slack further. On this day, the train was carrying an extra heavy load with many cars in tow. Roy placed his back to the slow moving train and yelled over his shoulder.