The Evil of the Age :: Short Stories Papers

The Evil of the Age August 26th, 1871, was a humid, expeditious Saturday at the Hudson River Depot in New York City. Sweat and fatigue had crept in by mid-afternoon, when a porter suddenly smelled the stench of decaying flesh. Along the woody platform lay hundreds of trunks and bags, piled haphazardly, ready for loading onto a Chicago-bound train. During rambunctious handling in the baggage room, the lid of an ordinary, 28 by 18 fisticuffs trunk had cracked open, releasing the foul stench. The porter immediately called Robert Vandeward, the baggage-master. Vandeward deliberated for a moment, then moved the trunk, bringing it out of the public eye and into a nearby, open railway line building. He wrenched loose the cut back rope and lean lock that secured the lid, popping it open. First he saw an ordinary quilt. He tossed it aside, and stared at a soiled, bloodstained army blanket. The growing crowd of railway attendants leaned in. As he pulled away the blanket, the attendan ts gasped and c overed their mouths. Doubled up in fetus position was the naked corpse of a young woman, her thin shoulders draped with thick, golden curls. Her body had been crushed into the trunk, her head forced over her breasts and her limbs drawn in tightly. Her mouth hung open in awkward agony and her bright blue eyes stared blankly from their pale, discolored sockets. The pelvic area was bloody(a) and decomposed. In minutes, railroad officials rushed up and down the tracks in front of the trunks owner. Police questioned onlookers. Voices rose across the situation, as a frenzied loony bin spread. Young Alexander Potts, known as Paddy, spoke up. The twelve-year-old boy helped passengers with their bags, reservation a living scrambling for spare change. He had helped check the trunk unless a half-hour before. According to his testimony, an 18- or 19-year-old woman arrived at the station at 230 p.m. in a one-horse putsch. She wore a common calico dress and a thin shawl. Sh e beckoned Paddy, express Sonny, can you tell me where the ticket office is? When a truck arrived with the trunk, she paying him to help lift it. She urged him to be careful - it contained glass. She would never be found. previous that day, shed hired the truckman to transport the trunk. Paddy had young, keen eyes. He remembered the small muniment on the trucks cab - Tripp - which became, for a brief time, a holy grail of sorts.