Greta and Oliver: Stranded in Monterey: Greta and Oliver, #3

By John Haeberle

"Greta! Follow me!" Oliver turned and ran. He knew that if they turned to the right, they would be leading the huge, persian cat to their children. To the left, they would be trapped. Either way, the whole family would be killed by the cat, Princess Nightshade. The train was just beginning to pull out of Monterey Station, gaining speed with each passing second. Their only chance of saving their children was to run directly out the wide-open, sliding door of the baggage car that was their home.  The baggage clerk had not had time to close it yet.  Oliver looked into Greta's eyes and they both understood what they had to do to protect their children. As the cat crept closer, they turned toward the open doorway and sprinted out into the darkness.  Jimmy, Greta and Oliver's son, saw the whole thing...his parents running full speed out the large opening in the side of the baggage car.  His mouth hung open. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. His parents were gone.

The cat had sprung at the two mice just as they ran out the door.  Her momentum had carried her to a point where she could either tumble out the door or she could jump. Stopping was no longer an option. She chose jumping rather than falling...more dignified, she thought. She sailed out into the night air and disappeared. Even as she flew through the darkness, she asked herself why she done such a dangerous thing. This was not at all in keeping with her life of pampered luxury.

Levi, the baggage car dog, and Hathaway, the baggage clerk, stared in disbelief. Levi's big old heart broke, his best friends had just jumped from the train. Hathaway could think only of having watched his career disappear, just as Princess NIghtshade had done.  The cat's owner, Mrs. Dalrymple, would see to it that he would be fired from the train.  She was wealthy and powerful. Levi and Hathaway sat on the floor of the baggage car, staring out into complete darkness, the only lights being the distant homes and businesses of Monterey, passing their view as the "Coast Daylight" passenger train headed south.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Haeberle
• Release date: May 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9780998377155

John Haeberle

John Haeberle is a recovering middle school and high school band and choir director.  He taught in northern California for many years, then returned to his home of earlier years, Idaho.  He enjoys writing about life and its challenges and rewards.  He and his wife, Annie, make their home in Twin Falls, in Idaho's Magic Valley.

Book preview

Introduction

Oliver and Greta were caught so totally by surprise that it took them a couple of seconds before they realized that the cat had gotten out of its crate and was chasing them.

Oliver quickly judged that, if they ran to the right, they would be leading the cat toward three of their children who were out gathering food.  If he and Greta went to the left, they would be trapped, with absolutely no place to run.  That left only the option of turning around and running in the opposite direction.  That’s what they did.

Greta!  Follow me!

He turned and ran, Greta right behind him.

We have to get the cat away from the children!

A third jolt from the train, much more powerful than the first two, almost knocked them off their feet.  The train was picking up speed, little by little, as it pulled out of Monterey Station. 

Each jolt was much more troubling to the cat than to the mice.  They were much more accustomed to it, having lived on the Daylight passenger train for several months.  The mice were also much closer to the ground than the very large cat, whose name was Princess Nightshade.  She crept rather than ran after the mice.  There were still four or five feet remaining between her and her targets.

On the other side of the large baggage car, three of Greta and Oliver’s children hurried as fast as they could, struggling to move a large piece of chicken into their burrow.  They feared that the big cat would be on top of them any moment.  They trusted that their parents would run, dodge, hide, and out-maneuver the cat, giving them time to hide the piece of fried chicken and then themselves.  Hanna glanced backward to see what her parents were trying to do.

Oliver and Greta ran without looking back.  They were nearly to the open door of the baggage car when they realized where they were going.  What greeted them was a gigantic, black hole in the side of the car.  The large, sliding door had not yet been closed, following the brief stop in Monterey. 

Outside the car they could see a few lights visible in the distance, but for the most part, they were looking into a pitch-black darkness.  Those distant lights were now moving past their view, no longer stationary.  The two mice skidded to a stop, just before going out the door.

Oliver!  Where can we go?

He looked right, then left.  Then his eyes looked directly into Greta’s.

We have to go out this door.  The cat’s attention is on us.  If we jump, the cat will come after us.  If we stand here, the cat will kill us and then follow the scent of chicken to the burrow and kill the children.  We have to trust that the cat will stay focused on us and follow us out the door.

No time remained to think of other options.  Princess Nightshade had managed to get closer, but another couple of smaller jolts from the train had slowed her progress.  She was now only three feet away and moving faster, creeping, keeping herself lower to the floor.

Without another word, Oliver turned and jumped out the baggage car door.  Greta hesitated only a second and then went right behind him.  Jimmy glanced to his left and just caught a glimpse of his parents disappearing through the large opening.  Stunned and unbelieving, he had to continue with his sisters to safety in the burrow. 

Princess Nightshade had sprung at Oliver and Greta just as they turned to jump.  Her momentum carried her to a point where she could either tumble out the door or she could jump.  Stopping was no longer an option.  The latter choice would give her much more control as to how she was going to land.  She chose jumping rather than falling.  Her paws only momentarily touching the floor, she sailed into the night air and disappeared.  Even as she flew through the darkness she wondered why she had done such a dangerous thing.

The train was now moving much faster.  The giant steel wheels slipped less frequently on the tracks and the train’s speed accelerated.

Levi, the baggage car dog and dear friend of Oliver and Greta, stared in disbelief, as did Hathaway, the baggage car clerk.  It had all happened so fast that they hadn’t had time to react.  Between the cat springing from within its cage and Greta and Oliver jumping from the train, the time could have been no more than three, maybe four seconds.

Had this really just happened?  Had they just watched their little friends leap from a moving train, into the dark of night?  They looked at each other, disbelief and helplessness in their eyes.

Levi’s first response was to go after them.  He ran toward the door, but then the thought of the children came to his mind.  His first priority had to be the care of the children.  He was the reason they were on this train.  He couldn’t abandon them now.  He managed to skid to a stop just short of falling out the huge door.  He stuck his head out the door, the wind from the moving train whipping at his long, floppy ears.  He blinked back tears.

Hathaway seemed to understand what Levi was thinking.

Come ‘ere, buddy.  Come on.

Hathaway then did something he rarely did.  He sat down on the floor of the baggage car.  Levi walked over to him and Hathaway wrapped his arms around him, as if he was a little brother who had just lost his best friend.  That was exactly what had just happened in Levi’s life.

It’ll be okay.  You did the right thing.  Somebody has t’ look out for them little ones.  You’re the’ best one for that job, for sure.  They’re gonna need a papa.  No two ways ‘bout that.  You did th’ right thing.

The man and the dog sat there for several minutes, trying to come to grips with the shocking event they had just witnessed.  The reality was, Hathaway had work to do and Levi now had a family of six young mice to care for.  Those duties would not wait.

Chapter 1

Princess Nightshade

Afew hours earlier

The boarding of passengers was an exciting time for Greta, Oliver, and their six children.  From their burrow beneath the toolbox at the bottom of the broom closet in the baggage car of the Southern Pacific Daylight Passenger Train, they could easily climb down below to a space under the floor.  From there, they had discovered that there was a safe passage over to the platform at the front end of the car.  Under the platform was a nice, large board, which gave added stability to the platform.  This board was important because the passengers and crew were constantly standing on or walking across the platform, and usually they were carrying one, two, or even three pieces of luggage.  It was not unusual for the platform to be supporting three- or four-hundred pounds.   

For Greta and Oliver and their children, that board served a completely different purpose.  By standing on the board, they could look out from underneath the steps of the platform, which the humans climbed up or down to either board the train or disembark.  This gave them the perfect vantage point, from which to observe the amazing variety of humans, coming and going.  They loved to watch the people dressed in all the interesting ways that people did in 1934. 

Even though times were tough during the Great Depression, people who could manage to pay for a ticket on the Daylight were usually the same people who could buy nice clothing.  Almost all of the men wore dark suits and carried or wore a rounded, black hat called a bowler.  The women wore flowery dresses, and many wore large, fancy hats, often adorned with feathers or flowers.

While mice are, by nature, nocturnal animals, life on the train had made their lifestyle a little more flexible.  They searched for food during the night, but sometimes their human friend, Hathaway, the baggage car clerk, would bring them treats.  When that happened, the following night would not be as stressful, since finding their next meal had been taken care of by Hathaway.  He had become their friend while nursing Levi back to health, after the dog had been shot by a jewel thief.

Many times the train traveled straight through the night, which was perfect for mice who normally are up all night anyway, searching for food while the humans sleep. 

During the daytime, however, when mice usually sleep, the Daylight made more frequent stops.  These stops always woke the mice, due to the interruption of the steady sounds and motion of the train, which were very relaxing.  Also, they were always curious as to what the new passengers looked like.

Jane, one of Greta and Oliver’s four girls, was especially fond of watching the ladies who carried parasols, or umbrellas.  They would often spin them, which would make a colorful kaleidoscope of the design on the parasol.  This colorful display fascinated the young mouse.

Jake, one of two boys in the family, liked to tease the dogs, which were brought on board by their human masters.  The mice were not in any danger because the dogs were on leashes.  Many of those wealthy enough to travel in such style liked to bring along their dogs.  This gave Jake many opportunities to torment the large animals without putting himself or his family at risk.  It was great fun. 

He would wait until the dog and its master were halfway up the steps and then, from the safety of his concealed hiding place, he would let out a squeal that only the dog could hear.  The dog’s sensitive hearing, especially for high pitches, made it easy for the animal to quickly locate the source of the sound.  The dog would begin to growl or bark, glaring angrily at Jake, tugging hard to get at the mouse.  The poor dog would then receive a strong, rough yank on his leash from the human who had no idea why the dog had suddenly begun to carry on.  Jake took great pleasure in teasing these animals, which were so much larger than himself. 

Today, the Daylight was southbound, having stopped earlier at the Sacramento station.  As the capitol of the state of California, this was a busy stop.  Many passengers came from all over the state with the intention of doing something they saw as being important.  Some were lawmakers, representing the people from their part of the state.  Others were attorneys or businessmen or farmers or ranchers.  Still others were educators, researchers, or engineers of various types.  Each had his particular purpose in coming to the capitol city of California.

To the children of Greta and Oliver, it made no difference why the various humans came aboard the Daylight.  For them, it was just fun watching the people come and go.

This particular day, there was a new and unwelcome passenger.  A very wealthy woman had brought with her a pet.  This pet was a cat.  This was the unwelcome passenger.  The cat’s coat was a bluish-grey, a very beautiful color.  The cat was very large.  She was Persian, a breed, which had become very popular among America’s wealthy, due to the fact that Queen Victoria owned two of them.  The cat had a large, rounded head.  To say the very least, she had been quite well fed. 

It has been said of the Persian cat that it is furniture with fur, suggesting that the animal is not known for being active, athletic or agile.  The Persian breed’s long hair must be brushed daily to prevent matting.  This particular Persian cat had been pampered every day of her pampered life.  She wore a black collar, actually more of a necklace, with several beautiful and expensive stones adorning it.

Cats were not allowed in the passenger cars, not even pampered, wealthy cats.   This cat, whose name again was Princess Nightshade , was kept in a crate which was placed in the baggage car. The crate was a wooden frame, with a solid-wood floor and chicken wire attached to the frame on the sides, ends, and top.  Into one end was built a door.  Princess Nightshade’s owner, Mrs. Dalrymple, paid extra to transport her pet in this way.  It fell to the railroad, which in this case meant Hathaway, to see to the care and feeding of Princess Nightshade, including a daily brushing, though the extra money she paid the railroad never made its way to Hathaway’s pocket. 

Mrs. Dalrymple overheard the name Princess Nightshade, when attending a garden club meeting.  She had thought the name sounded like royalty, perfect for her new Persian kitten.  She hadn’t heard the part of the conversation that would have told her what the plant named Princess Nightshade really was.  Had she known more about the name, it is doubtful that she would have chosen it for her beloved cat.

Greta and Oliver loved the fact that their family, because they lived on a train, was on a never-ending journey.  Every day the scenery and the smells of the countryside were different.  They saw the great cities, from San Diego to Seattle. They were able to observe a wide variety of people from all over the world.  The food, even in the form of scraps, was wonderful. 

For the family of Greta and Oliver, having the cat in their baggage car made this leg of their journey even more unusual. It would be an experience they would never forget.

Chapter Two

A Quick Bite in the Dining Car

Levi was feeling much , much better.  It had been long enough since his unfortunate meeting with a bullet fired from the pistol of a conspirator in a jewel theft, that the entry and exit wounds in his left shoulder had healed completely.  His reddish-yellow fur had grown back, covering any visible sign of damage.  He had resumed his duties of keeping the Daylight passenger train free of pests...with the obvious exception of his adopted family:  Greta, Oliver, and their children.  Hathaway, the baggage clerk, and Jersey, the newly promoted head chef of the dining car, were now aware of the family of mice and the special relationship between Levi and his miniature friends.  They had accepted it as an unusual reality for which they had no explanation.  Jersey had become almost as bad as Hathaway, by way of his new habit of leaving tiny morsels here and there for the mice to find in their nightly search for food.

It