Though Hell Should Bar The Way
I'm a little bit off today, something down inside me's different
Woke up a little off today, I can tell that something's wrong
I'm a little thrown off today, there's something going on inside me
I'm a little bit off today, a little bit off today
The familiar sound of a fist knocking echoed up from the front door of the Victorian house towards the bedroom. Tramp Dear stood up from the armchair and rubbed his eyes. The gray mongrel sighed as he crept towards the oak framed bed that dominated the room, his eyes drifting down at his cocker spaniel lover. The heavy blanket that was tucked in against her arms and legs half concealed the sturdy, sweeping lines of the exhausted form beneath. Her bloodshot eyes cracked open as both dogs connected that quick, imperative rap at the door with their own company duties, and he placed the back of his hand against her forehead.
“I'm sorry Pidge,” Came the answer to the unspoken question, firm and decisive. “You still have a fever and the doctor said you were not to be excited. The railroad can wait.”
She closed her eyes and seemingly fell into a deep slumber as Tramp left the warm bedroom and descended the stairs towards the front door. Another string of knocks pounded. Even though it was afternoon, the bleak atmosphere outside already had the gas lamps in the house lit. His ears perked as he noticed that the silhouette through the door's stained-glass window was much taller than any of the call-boys. As he passed the parlor, he looked through the threshold to see another dog laying on the couch. A much younger girl, with sandy blonde fur and dressed in a long cotton shirt.
“Angel, do you mind keeping tabs on Lady while I handle this?” Tramp asked.
“Of course,” Angel perked her ears instantly, kicking the blanket off her legs and standing up. The shirt tumbling down to fall below her knees like a dress. Scamp was working a morning shift in the yard, and with Lady sick the young brakeman was helping Tramp nurse the spaniel back to health.
As Angel's footsteps receded up the stairs towards the bedroom, the mongrel opened the front door. Instantly a blast of cold hit him square in the face and chest. His stubby tail fluttered at the seat of his trousers and an eyebrow arched at the bristled dog standing before him.
“Chief? Well, if this isn't a surprise.” Tramp stepped to the side and motioned with his arm for the Western & Atlantic's road foreman to come inside. “Can I take your coat or anything?”
“How's the girl?” The coon hound asked, unceremoniously pushing forward into the warmth of the vestibule. He didn't bother with his overcoat or thick tweed hat, both of which had a light dusting of frost. “She still sick?”
“Running a fever and can't even lift her head.” Tramp's muzzle fur bristled nervously and a hand returned to rub at his eyes once again.
“Blast man, have you slept at all?” Chief asked. A quick look at his cross buttoned shirt and half tucked trousers in the mirror that decorated the other side of the vestibule made the mongrel all the more aware of his own dishevelment.
“Not since the doctor left. He's coming back tonight to check on her.” Tramp's ears perked as he heard footsteps on the stairs. “I do have some help.”
Angel was descending the stairwell. The bottom of her long oversize shirt fluttered around her stocking legs like a dress. When she saw Chief standing in the vestibule, she tilted her head and quickly trotted over. Chief shook his head at the sight before him.
“God almighty, I was hoping I would find something more,” he began with a nervous haste, “Fellows, we're in trouble. Lady isn't the only one out. There were three others before her, and I just had another engineer come down with the same bug. I know she's sick, but do you think-?"
“There's no way she could climb on a locomotive. Poor thing can't even roll over!” Angel exclaimed aghast.
“What's the trouble?” Tramp said sharply. His own thoughts having been voiced by Angel.
“Circus train.” The coon dog twisted his muzzle. “They arrive this afternoon. Trying to beat old man winter to their headquarters at the end of their season.”
“Well, they failed on that account,” The mongrel leaned his back against the wall. “No one else available?”
“This one's a real emergency. I have everyone running all over town. Can you believe it? A damn circus!” The tone in Chef's voice struck a chord in those present. “We have another engineer and two firemen out with the same blasted bug.” The hound sighed. His shoulders slumped. “I have an engineer...she's new and not ready to handle something like this, but no one to fire for her. She can fire for a good engineer though if you can take the throttle. I have everyone running double duty, even Aleu is holding the Flying Dutchman right now. We just about had it all summed up then a god-blasted circus drops into town! If you could fire with her, then at least...”
“I am not going to leave this house with Lady the way she is,” Tramp stood firm, his ears tipped forward and brow creased. With a thumb, he pointed towards the blonde Pomeranian. “But if your new engineer can keep to the iron, then she can fire...”
Angel's big, floppy ears went backwards for a split second, but she perked them back up. “I'm not a fireman.”
“And I'm not a callboy. Yet here I am,” Chief growled. “If you can keep a teapot hot, I'll take you. Already on a limb with a new engineer. Might as well have an inexperienced fireman to make things even.”
A sly smile slipped across Tramp's maw as he looked at Angel. “Well, you wanted to give being on the head a shot. Now's your chance. You've done well with the Dispatch.” He nodded his head encouragingly.
“What's the weather on the road like?” The pom asked, unable to control the sway in her bushy tail as she recognized the opportunity to step up a rung on the ladder.
“Couldn't be worse,” The coon dog rolled his eyes towards the front door. “Raining and freezing. They'll be miles of poles and wires down before tomorrow morning.”
There came the soft tinkle of frozen rain on the window panes of the house, as if they were waiting for their cue to emphasize Chief's words. Tramp openly sighed, his sly smile drifting away for a moment, before he looked back at Angel. “Dress warm then, and keep the fire hot.”
\t\t\t\t******************
\t
\t
Angel Dust walked through town towards the railyard, a lunch pail in one hand and a set of brass fireman's goggles in the other. A light rain had been falling since she left the house on Snob Hill. The temperature had fallen to the freezing point and a sheet of ice coated the surface of the street. With the continuing drop in temperature, the dog had bundled up in a coat over her vest and thick leggings. She tugged on her dutch-cap to pull it down onto her head. Angel felt the rain start to shift and flakes of snow drifted down, not yet sticking to anything but it wouldn't be long before the sheet settled. While she did her best to look at this as just another day on the railroad, she couldn't help the butterflies that were churning in her stomach. This was her first time marked up as a fireman...and she didn't even know who her engineer was, or the locomotive. She had hoped that her first job would have been with Tramp to show her the road, or Lady to help make the run easier. Instead, she was out in an emergency.
Angel's boots crunched at every step as she walked into the Western & Atlantic's railyard. Rails, ties, ballast, switch-stands, and boxcars were sheathed in a glistening mantle. The switch lamps twinkled across the glossy earth, shining orbs of red and green that highlighted flakes of snow falling within their glow.
The Pomeranian trotted over towards the warm light of the depot, and registered in the big book in Chief's office, where she was pointed towards a locomotive sitting on the ready track outside the roundhouse. The iron horse was wheezing a hot breath as she casually built up steam. Smoke rolled lazily out of the diamond shaped stack. The old locomotive looked like a cat with its back arched next to the larger and more modern power that was being used. Her drive wheels seemed so large with spokes slender and the drive rods like bone, all packed under a gunmetal toned boiler jacket. The locomotive didn’t look so much weak as it did agile. By locomotive standards, she was elderly. Yet she still seemed to carry a spark of life that none of the other iron horses could possess. The paint, even under a thin coat of frost and ice, held a shine, and the cab deck, neat and swept off, all gave the locomotive a lived-in look. The locomotive's name was spelled out in gold lettering under the cab window: J. Kayce Jr.
“Kayce Jr... wonder what happened to Kayce Sr.” The dog openly mused.
Angel walked around the J. Kayce Jr's tender, and saw for the first time the engineer she would be working with. A young Dalmatian worked her way around the locomotive, oilcan in hand, tending to the many lubrication points along the running gear. Even in a thick coat, the spotted dog seemed wiry enough to slip between the rods and valve-gear with ease. Her thin tail 'wapping' against the back of her legs as she worked.
“Uh, hello,” Angel hesitated.
The dalmatian jerked her head up quick enough to thwack the back of her skull against a bracket. The sight and sound were enough to cause Angel to wince.
“Hiyah! The name's Dolly! Uh....you didn't see that.” The engineer quickly brushed it off, though there was a clear sting to be suppressed as she cast a roguish grin in the pom's direction. Her triangular white ears with their jet-black spots flicking back. The Pomeranian couldn't help but smile lightly at the display. She saw the goggles in Angel's hand, and gave a nod of recognition. “I was told I was going to have a new fireman today! That you?”
“Sure. I just walked out of the school of hard knocks.” Angel joked as she placed her lunch pail on the footplate of the locomotive before slipping the goggles around her floppy ears and head. She held them against her forehead rather than slipping them down over her eyes. “They call me Angel.”
“Angel huh? You fall right outta heaven?” The spotted dog's thin eyebrows bounced.
“More like I rose from hell,” The pom smirked, her ears fluttering in a chill gust of wind. “Have you done this route much?”
“Oh yeah, I've been over the road a few times now,” Dolly twirled the oilcan on the end of her finger. Angel noted that the spotted engineer couldn't be any older than herself. “Yep. Just got this big fella at the start of the week. But you know, been running as a hostler since the year started. So, I got this!”
The oilcan sailed from her finger where it clattered against the drive wheels of the J. Kayce Jr. A huff of breath appeared in front of Dolly's nose as her cheeks heated up in embarrassment. “I meant to do that.”
“Good to see we're in such capable hands.” Angel rolled her eyes playfully as she climbed the stirrups and entered the cab. Her new engineer was cute for sure, full of young energy but not quite the maturity. A hostler only moved engines for servicing. Had it not been for the emergency, Dolly would still be running locomotives only around the roundhouse.
Dolly's smile sank and her eyes narrowed. “Well, what about you? Let me guess, expert fireman with miles and miles under your paws?”
“Miles and miles under my paws alright,” Angel responded with a confident smile, looking into the tender bunker to check the level of coal, she felt her smile dim. In a low tone, she added to herself; “Just not with the coal scoop.”
Dolly capped the lid on the tallow cup and swung aboard the locomotive. Angel could see the dalmatian glance up at her as she put the oil can away and checked over the many gauges that cluttered the locomotive backhead.
“Is anyone grabbing our train orders?” Angel asked, grabbing a coal scoop and climbing into the tender bunker to draw some of the coal load down towards the footplate.
“Yeah, conductor is already at the depot,” Dolly swung into the cab, her skirt twirling around her legs. “We just have to get onto the train. We'll get them handed to us once we're coupled up.”
Angel hopped down from the coal pile, and dug her scoop into the pile of black diamonds. Pulling a load to swing around to the fire-doors. Spinning around to the back-head, she kicked the older style lever that held the fire doors shut and the single door slid open. The J. Kayce Jr. had yet to be fitted with the peddle the Dispatch had. Briefly in the light of the hungry flaming maw of the firebox, Angel's body was highlighted, and she gave a hard nod of her head to drop her goggles over her eyes. The lens were tinted green, perfect for staring into the corners of a working firebox. With a quick upward swish, she launched her load of coal into the firebox. “I'll keep her hot, as long as you can keep her moving.”
\t\t\t\t ************
The 'Benzini Bros and Medici Family Circus' train sat on the mainline, snaking past the depot and into the gloom of the rainy afternoon. On any other day its garishly painted cars and gold trimmed wagons might have been an enchanting sight. Yet in the cold drizzle and cutting wind that rustled the canvas covers on its flatcars, it seemed dark and ominous. The intricate carvings on the mismatched wagons casting twisted shadows along the length of the train. Only the occasional dim light from a passenger or private car window and the thin strings of smoke from the stovepipes on the animal cars kept the train from looking as cold and lifeless as the rails it sat upon. There was no laughter, no celebration, and no feelings of wonder and mystique around its many cars. To Angel, the train's ostentatious flatcars and boxcars represented a threat, not a treat.
The pom was roughly pulled from her thoughts by a sudden jerk and a loud 'ka-klang!' and Dolly practically rammed the first car of the train. The brakemen giving hand signals on the ground held his hands up in defeat. Having been in his position waving Lady to a coupling countless times, Angel knew that it wasn't the hand signals that were wrong.
“Ha-ha...a little rough huh?” Dolly chuckled awkwardly.
“Smooth as week old whiskey,” Angel opened the fire-doors and checked their fire. The snow was already letting up, but not before creating a thin frost on the rails. The air was tied on, and with a wave of a lantern far off in the gloom, the brakes were set up for a test. Closing the fire doors, Angel looked up at Dolly, who sat facing forward in the engineer's seat, looking grimly through the front window. “Hey, you're not nervous, are you?”
Dolly's ears perked defensively. “What? Me?”
“Because only a fool wouldn't be nervous on a day like this.” Angel hung the coal scoop on its hook in the tender and set the injector into life. Putting it in the same position the Tramp showed her and hoping that the J. Kayce Jr. would work the same as the Dispatch.
Dolly's mouth became a low line against her bright white face as she curled her long legs against the side of the engineer's seatbox. “Well, okay, yah. A little. I was imagining my first real trip being in the sun with something like a local freight train...not that claptrap of cirkys and clowns.”
“It's just a train, just like any other. Wheels on rails.” The Pomeranian cocked her mouth nervously. She had worked as a brakeman on a circus train before. The train was a hogepodge of cars, all weighing and riding differently. Passenger cars, boxcars, flatcars, cars built specially for animals, and plenty of souls riding in every available space. Only the acts rode in the warmth of passenger and private cars. Everyone else found a dry spot wherever they could. The air inside the cab was warm and dry, but frost was forming around the windows and the doors. Unless they happened to be by a potbelly stove or an animal, it would be chilly back there in the circus train's nooks and crannies.
The inspector walked the train, in preparation for the brake test. Angel kicked open the fire-doors. Her ears dipped. Already her fire was showing signs of clinker. She slammed the doors shut and grabbed the shaker bar. “So, you related to Patch or Lucky?”
“Nah, not all of us come from the Radcliffe family. Still, mine's just as big.” Dolly leaned out the cab window, seeing the trainmen checking all the brakes. A lantern waved, telling her that they had a successful test.
“Is it a dalmatian thing to have large families?” The shaker bar slid home and Angel rocked the grates, her bushy tail wagging.
“No, my parents got married with two big litters themselves. I never got to know my real mom. You wouldn't understand.” She turned the brake handle and with a rush of air, the cars' brakes were released.
“Wrong again, Spotty. For all it's worth I'm an orphan. Never knew my parents. I don't even know if they're alive or dead.” Returning the shaker bar to its hook, Angel hefted the scoop with a clatter and started loading the corners of the firebox, building up the fire for when it was time to depart.
“Oh?” Dolly looked at her fireman, eyebrows arched and head tilted. Angel had to admit that the spotted canine looked rather cute with her big eyes blinking and large floppy ears pinning back. “I'm sorry.”
“I'm not,” Angel threw two scoops of coal into the far corners of the firebox, then closed the door. Setting the scoop aside, she wrinkled her nose and gave her head a little shake from the coal dust. “I have a boyfriend and the railroad is my family. That's more than enough for me.”
“Trust me, it's better than a house full of siblings and a dorky brother.” Dolly crossed her legs and leaned back against the cab wall. “I'm a free spirit, you dig? Over twenty but no mate. Roam the rails, make merriment, make love, make memories.”
“Yeah, well you’re free to roam any way yah like...as long as it's that way and with this train!” Chief's grizzled face appeared in the gangway between the tender and the cab. He stood on the top rung of the stirrup. Not deigning to set foot in the cab, he leaned in and stuck out a handful of wrinkled papers. “Alright, listen up. I don't care how smooth it is, I don't care how you handle the brakes. Burn up all the brake-shoes if you have too. Just get this thing over the road. Understand? You got sixteen cars of all shapes and sizes. Loaded with god knows what. No stops, except at Curtis Switch to top off with water. Now, I'll be right on your tails with a freight train, and Aleu will be passing you guys at Cape Suzette with the Flying Dutchmen.”
Both girls nodded. The hound dog handed the train orders to Dolly, whose eyes darted side to side and cheeks puffed out as she read the train orders, then handed them to Angel. The pomeranian tilted her head as she read them, making one floppy ear stand up at an odd angle. The time was fast for sixteen cars, and they were already thirty minutes late. That meant a whipping for the locomotive. Angel knew the inexperienced dalmatian wouldn't know how to conserve their fire. It was always like that. Ice, snow, rain, fog, dirty rail, heavy train, and summer schedules. Condolences perhaps for the situation, but make the time. The railroad through the mountains was a tough road. It wasn't regarded as unduly hazardous, but in weather like this and with the schedule she held in her hands, never-mind the anxious moments for her when Dolly went after the throttle, if one wrong curve was taken too fast the result would be a different kind of 'greatest spectacle on earth.'
Still, she didn't think too much about that. In her world, trains had a way of always arriving. If not on time, then simply of arriving. Even with a new engineer at the throttle, the pom silently told herself it would be fine. They would tackle whatever came.
Chief continued, “You rascals need to be on time, otherwise it will delay the Dutchman, can you do that?”
Dolly rolled her eyes. She knew the penalty for delaying an express like the Dutchman. “Tell them we'll be there.”
“Just stay on the irons.” The hound dog growled. “And get there.”
The lantern waved, and with a pat on the side of the cab's wooden flank, Chief dropped down to the platform. As he did, Angel only just picked up a comment about “robbing the cradle.” Dolly's slender hand wrapped around the whistle cord and gave it two blasts, while the Pomeranian began to ring the brass bell.
They were off.
Or would have been. Angel grit her teeth and flinched as the J. Kayce Jr.'s drive wheels broke loose into an almighty slip, right there at the platform. Rods a silver blur and drive wheels screaming against wet rails. The circus train didn't even budge. Dolly slammed the throttle shut and the big wheels ceased. “I barely touched it!” The spotted engineer declared.
Taking a deep breath, Dolly put a hand over her chest as if to settle her heart. Angel kept ringing the bell, watching with interest as to what the white and black spotted dog would do next. Legs braced with ankles crossed, digging into the seat, Dolly steeled herself. Then she pulled out the sanding lever, dropping sand under the drive wheels. The hand she laid upon the throttle-lever trembled slightly. The cylinder cocks were opened, and this time, she slowly and gently pulled on the throttle...notch by notch. The sound of rushing steam filled the air and intense clouds of vapor spewed from each side of the locomotive. Then, just as soon as the big wheels started to turn, the throttle was closed to keep too much power from busting loose again. Another slow advance on the throttle...then shut...again with a slow advance...then shut. With a slow creep that gradually got faster and faster, the train began to move.
Dolly's forehead was glistening with sweat. Over in her seat, Angel gave a solid nod of her head. The rookie engineer had them moving.
\t\t\t\t\t*******************
As they pulled out of Marceline and steamed into the dismal weather Angel was much too busy to give thought to anything other than the immediate task of stoking the fire. The Pomeranian had her hands full having to counter the fierce exhaust that threatened to tear the fire apart each time the J. Kayce Jr. let loose with a slip. Sanding the rails seemed to have little effect and they lost three more minutes crossing the river. Dolly blew down the boiler as they crossed the bridge, cleaning out any impurities in the boiler by jetting a cloud of steam that filled the air alongside the locomotive. Then the little high wheeler settled into her gait and they started to gain momentum. For the next half hour, Dolly coaxed the locomotive though fog and drizzle to claw back time on an already desperate schedule. They had a clear track, at least in theory. Only the passenger train stood in the way. The temperature was dropping, and the rain and light snow was making the rails slick and coating the brake rigging and handbrake wheels in a layer of ice.
They swung into the sidings at Curtis Switch, where Angel climbed atop the tender and signaled Dolly until the tender tank lid was under the spout. When the train came to a stop, the slack rolled in with a clatter of couplers and equipment. After she set up the brakes, Dolly visibly relaxed, leaning over in the engineer's seat. Waiting for the tank to be filled.
After returning the water spout to the closed position, Angel noticed that one of the tender journal boxes had started to run hot. The box contained the bearing for the axle. These would occasionally run low on oil and heat up from friction. If neglected, it would heat to where the bearing alloy would melt away, locking up the axle. Dolly handed down the packing and Angel had the axle box repacked.
However, the wait to let it cool down lost them more valuable minutes. Minutes sitting still while the rain and snow fell around them, obscuring the view down the sides of the train. Looking back, Angel wondered if she could see a figure in the mist alongside the train. Shaking her head, she looked again...and quickly determined that it was just the shadows playing tricks with her mind.
Dolly kept looking at her pocket watch, shaking it a few times to make sure that the windings were indeed engaging. Angel plucked her own timepiece from a vest pocket and walked over to the engineer's side of the cab to compare. She noticed that Dolly's watch was much older and somewhat more beat.
“Another fifteen minutes shot,” the dalmatian replied, her big slender ears falling in defeat alongside her head. “We still have Tweed Hill to handle. I'm gonna charge the hill. No way am I gonna let it stall on me.”
Angel's fluffy tail wagged. “Alright, I'll keep her good and hot. Just...can you try and hold off on the sudden throttle changes. I'm not used to this locomotive and I'll be happy if I can keep my fire over the grate and not out the stack.”
“Uh, sure. I'll do my best.”
“Hey, Spots...” Angel playfully punched Dolly in the shoulder, and smiled reassuringly. “You're doing fine. We made it this far.”
“Gee, Thanks,” Dolly pocketed her watch and locked eyes with her fireman. Angel could see a hint of unease in the way Dolly's irises flirted back along the train.
Somewhere in the gloom behind them, a steam whistle echoed through the fog. Both dogs looked out the side of the cab, eyes narrowed into the mist. Looking at one another, they both groaned in unison; “Chief...”
“He must be sitting at the signal,” Angel grabbed the scoop and started loading the corners of the firebox. “Caught up to us.”
Dolly kept her upper body out the window, until she saw the wave of the lantern from the caboose. “Jeez, well he can keep his pants on. We just got the highball.”
Two blasts of the whistle and with a spinning of drive wheels on slick rails, the circus train rolled out of the sidings and started to climb into the mountains. So far, the J. Kayce Jr. was a free steamer and Angel wasn't having any problems with keeping her fire hot. She wasn't as forgiving as the Dispatch was to quick throttle changes however, and each time Dolly whipped the heavy red handled lever back and forth, the pom could see her carefully balanced fire-bed pulse. She danced back and forth in attendance to the fire, watching her heat and water as studiously as a doctor might watch the pulse of a fevered patient. When Angel cracked the doors open again, the ravenous maw within cried for more coal. The way Dolly ran, they would use more than half the tender by the time they reached Chattanooga and Angel was already feeling the strain.
“How long have you been with the W&A?” Angel panted as she threw another scoop full of coal into a corner.
“Just a few months,” Dolly shrugged and shouted over the clatter of the firedoor. “Needed to get out of the house and away from the family. Wanted to get back to something fun and the railroad was a right fun time.”
“Where did you work before?”
“Camdon & Northern Railroad,” The Dalmatian replied, pulling back on the Johnson bar another notch. “I tossed wood, nothing big.”
“Fireman on a woodburner,” Angel sighed. “That explains some things. You've never run coal burners or fired on them?”
One of those big triangular ears perked, “Is there a difference?”
“So, I've been told.” She re-hung the scoop on its hook. “I've never fired on a woodburner. But I know someone who has; the Tramp.”
“Wait....” Dolly's eyes went wide. “THE Tramp? That mutt is a total legend.”
Angel chuckled and rolled her eyes playfully. “Don't believe all you've heard. I've known him long enough now to see the real dog behind the stories.”
“Oh yeah? I heard he stole an entire meat wagon! That dog has mad skills” An eyebrow rose. “So, what's he really like? I bet he could run a locomotive like it's a part of his tail!”
“He's really laid back,” Angel plopped down in the fireman's seat. “Honestly, he's not what I expected when I first met him.”
“Say, you don't think he would be opposed to, I dunno, ride with me?” Dolly grinned. “Be nice to get some pointers from a real pro!”
“I don't know, Spotted One,” Angel teased. “If I don't die of exhaustion trying to keep up with you pulling my fire through the tubes. Maybe I'll ask him for you.”
They prodded the iron horse until they had momentum built up, and the J. Kayce Jr. settled down to a smooth pace. The exhaust puffed at an even beat and the fire's glare was lighting the driving cloud of steam and smoke above the stack with a spectral flash against the slate gray sky. The track was illuminated for scarcely fifty feet from the great box headlamp. Beyond the glow, the drizzly gloom seemed to engulf all that could be seen. As they flashed alongside the Taccoa River – scarcely distinguishable in the misty forests – they were still ten minutes behind time.
It was comfortable in the cab with the windows closed and the weather curtains drawn. Although occasionally Dolly had to slide her window open so she could peer out and glimpse for landmarks, and Angel had to lift the curtain to grab another scoop or two of coal. On one particularly long curve, Angel was able to see along a sizable length of the train. The many peculiarly shaped cars and their brightly painted wagons bounced and weaved in the mist and fog, accompanied by the squeal of wheels on rails. She could see a number of figures moving along the cars. A few on the flatcars alongside the wagons, and two atop one of the tall animal cars. It wasn't unusual to see someone riding the cars. Hobos and bums could catch any freight train. This was made all the more normalized by the circus' high rate of employees not relegated to riding in the passenger cars. They had a rear end brakeman after-all, and if anyone wasn't supposed to be there, the circus folk or their own crew would take care of it.
“Bloody hell. The brake doesn't feel too good,” Dolly's words tore Angel's attention away from the train as they lumbered around the curve.
“It's the ice,” The pom replied. “It's everywhere. I almost slipped on the tender tank when we topped off with water.”
“Yeah, right. Duh. Ice.” The engineer nodded firmly. “It better hold when we hit Tweed Hill. I'll make a few light brake applications and knock that junk off.”
For the moment, she kept the brakes off. They were climbing, and with the slick rails the J. Kayce Jr. needed all the traction she could get. Angel had watched Lady climb this grade countless times in all sorts of weather, and it had never seemed as daunting as it did on this particular run with Dolly. Thick clouds of smoke spewed from the diamond stack as the speed dropped away, each revolution of the drive wheels feeling like an achievement.
On the other side was the downgrade of Tweed Hill. Here the railroad left the river and became a long undulating downgrade of thirty miles, passing between the property of the Widow Tweed, for whom the grade was named after, and the farm of Amos Slade. At the very bottom was a known “sucker hole”, where the track bottomed out at a curve and started back uphill. Inexperienced crews with the brakes locked coming downgrade would find themselves struggling to get back uphill, having lost all their momentum in braking.
Visibility had not improved and even the telegraph poles were barely visible in the mist and fog. The locomotive rushed endlessly at the wall of vapor, which only seemed to recede at the very edge of the beam of light from the over-sized headlamp. They hit patches of rain, wet and heavy, that plastered the windows. Dolly wrapped her fingers around the brass handle of the brake-valve, and twisted it. One of her thin eyebrows rose high as she watched the air gauge slowly reduce in the application. Even then, the application felt slow to take effect.
She checked their speed two more times as they reached the start of the downgrade. Noticing that it took more and more air than usual to get the desired effect, she chewed on her lower lip. Usually one or two jabs would be sufficient, but the dalmatian was finding herself really drawing down hard on the brakes to hold the circus train.
“I don't like it,” She kept saying uneasily. “Dude, this an't right.”
“Is anything wrong?” Angel said, poking her head out the gangway and looking back at the train. “The ice still giving trouble.”
“It's bound to affect the brakes. But I still have control.” Dolly said anxiously. “We have to get the train in. But I don't like it, Angel. I don't like this one bit.”
Angel glanced back at Dolly. The new engineer seemed uneasy alright, but there was no cause for alarm. As a brake-dog in her normal role, Angel was used to all the minute problems that the valves and brake-shoes could cause. Things felt off, but she could still feel the slack stretched and the train's speed under control. Neither getting faster or slower. They had no stops to make. All that they had to do was to reduce speed enough for the curves to be safe. Both knew that they could start in braking earlier than usual to try and compensate for the ice. The slick spray building was building up on the undersides of the running gear of the cars. With the sucker hole and upgrade into Cape Suzette, the train would practically slow itself to a stop if they closed the throttle too soon once they started back upgrade. Knowing this, Dolly left the brake off until the first half of the train had crested the peek and started downhill. Once the last car dipped over, she closed the throttle and sat back in the seat. Letting the train roll downgrade without the aid of steam.
Angel banked the fire lightly and shut off the injector. It would be easy going from here on down to Cape Suzette. Except for a few places where Dolly would need some steam to help her along the flat or over the knolls, the train would run on its own momentum down Tweed Hill. She hung the scoop on the hook in the tender, and poured a cup of coco that had been warming on the backhead. Passing a mug to Dolly, the pom plopped down in the fireman's seat, and looked at her own reflection in the window. With the brake being sluggish, neither dog let her vigilance down, keeping their eyes cocked for landmarks even while they sipped. Once her mug was empty, Angel pulled out a cheap paper cigarette and lit it off.
“You said you have a boy?” Dolly's voice broke the gentle rhythm of the locomotive. Her empty mug set back on the backhead. “Not to dig into your life or nothin, just you know...to talk.”
“He's one to talk about alright. Quite the character.” Angel rolled her eyes playfully. The chilly wind eked through the cracks of the window so that she could feel it on the back of her neck. “He's a conductor. Name's Scamp. It's thanks to him that I'm on the railroad. Usually, I'm working with him and his mother and father. The whole family are railroaders.”
“Really! How do you survive that?” Dolly asked, her black spotted ears went backwards for a split second, but she perked them back up. “I joined the railroad to get away from my family.”
Angel tilted her head, with an oddly bemused look on her face. The butt of her cigarette dipped down. “Can't have gotten far. There seems to be spots all over the yard.”
“You have no idea...” Dolly grabbed the whistle cord and pulled it down as they shot over a road crossing. The air above them and alongside the cab was filled with white smoke as the wind caught the whistle's wail and cast it down around them. “Between my dorky brother and all those paws and noses and noise...uggg...sometimes, you just want to get away. You dig?”
“I've always been on my own. Wouldn't know anything else.” Her blue eyes twinkled and she cocked her mouth in a half smile. The safeties sputtered, threatening to pop, yet they stayed firmly shut. Angel kicked the injector on for a second to keep them that way.
“Do you see yourself always with Scamp? I mean, like...you're never going to try anything on your own? Like...well... Dolly asked, wording the question rather awkwardly. She winced and hoped Angel would understand what she meant.
Angel was quiet for a while. The end of the cigarette in her mouth glowing as she thought. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. “I see everything in him. Sure, I guess I'm independent...and I'm always open for whatever experiences life brings and... well...” She paused for a second, looking at the engineer. Debating her next choice of words. “Scamp and I do have this arrangement of sorts. But I can't imagine life without Scamp.”
“Oh?” Dolly tried to maintain some resemblance of neutrality, but her tail started to wag with enthusiasm, taken by hope. “What sort of arrangement?”
Angel felt her heart skip a beat, and quickly pulled on her cigarette. “The kind where you sometimes find yourself in someone else's bed.”
Dolly's eyebrows rose, “And he's alright with that?”
“Tenderfoot is lots of things. He always called himself a 'wild dog',” Angel went on warmly. She found herself strangely encouraged by the dalmatian's reaction. “But experienced, he was not. So, I showed him a few friends of mine and we helped him with a few things. Since then, we have our arrangement.”
“Soooo...” Dolly trailed. “Anyone else you're looking at?
“Not really,” The pom hopped down from her seat-box and kicked open the fire-doors before tossing her cigarette into the roaring maw. The glow from the firebox caught her fur, making it shine a bright gold. She laughed, “We're pretty sure there's a barmaid in town that has a thing for Scamp. Just waiting on her to gut up and say something. But otherwise, it's just Scamp and myself at the moment. I'm very happy with things.”
Dolly took a deep breath and patted the throttle handle. Clearly solidifying herself to something in her mind. Angel decided to leave the commentary there. But she felt a glowing curiosity in why her companion was suddenly interested. The reverberations as the locomotive crossed a short bridge filled the cab, alerting the crew to where they were.
Knowing that they would need to start slowing down for a sharp curve ahead just before the downgrade dipped sharply, the dalmatian turned her attention to the brass handle, where she began to squeeze on the brakes. At first, nothing seemed to happen. Just a very slow wheeze of air. The train's speed barely changed. Ice on the shoes and rigging were no doubt decreasing its effectiveness. Promptly, Dolly wound the brake on more. It took a little extra time for the frost-stiffened air valves under each car to loosen up and for the friction of wheel and brake-shoe to burn off the ice and moisture. The slack rolled out as the couplings went taught, and the train slowed somewhat belatedly.
“I don't like that at all!” Dolly said nervously. “That's almost all the air, not much further to go...and she's barely slowing down. Do you think all the cars are braking?”
Angel leaned out the cab and looked back over the train again. Among the clatter of wheels on rails, she could hear a faint tubular moan as the wind passed over the chimes of a circus calliope loaded on a car directly behind the locomotive. “The inspector cleared us during the test back at Marceline, and the slacks out...” She paused, eyes narrowing as she peered closer at the rocking cars. “or at least, it's out behind the tender.”
Dolly shook her head, her tail 'wapping' on the seat. Angel could see she was getting uneasy, and she could almost see the decision-making process behind those big soft eyes as Dolly seemingly debated within herself on what to do. Responsibility was getting her down perhaps. A responsibility that Angel was feeling herself as she looked back over the length of the Benzini Bros and Medici Family Circus. It wasn't only the two dogs in the cab who would be in jeopardy. Only god knew how many lives back there were depending on them to make the right choices.
Ahead, the rails were thickly coated and a shower of ice chips rose from under the J. Kayce Jr.'s pilot on each side. The leading wheels cut through the frost and towards the steel as they charged down the twisting grade towards the Tweed farm. Dolly kept a wary eye on the brake pressure gauge. There would be no air to waste under these conditions. This was a tough game for an experienced engineer, and Angel could see that the spottie was measuring herself up to the challenge. It would require all their air, and perhaps some skill on her part, to hold the train to a safe speed without exhausting the brakes. The pom was starting to share some of the engineer's uneasiness. Suppose they messed up...
Gaining speed rapidly, with the brakes on full, the circus train rushed downgrade. Up ahead the grade lessened out and there was a place where the track was level and straight for a few miles. There would be time to check their speed there without needing emergency air. Still, Dolly wasn't taking any chances. She wound the brakes on harder. Pushing the handle all the way over as far as it would go without going into the emergency position. Dolly had to give it all the way to the last pound to slow the train sufficiently to take a curve before the track straightened. Angel held on as the whole cab seemed to tilt to one side.
Dolly's hand held over the brake handle, clearly debating putting the train into emergency. She looked at Angel, wordlessly asking her advice. The pom shook her head, then answered darkly; “We'll lock up and skid down the hill out of control.”
“I have no air!” Dolly cried. “We need to recharge the brakes, but I need to knock the brake off to do that.”
“This is about as good a place as any to do that.” The pom replied, having left her seat and joined the engineer on her side of the locomotive. “It's level for a mile or so.”
Dolly nodded, and twisted the handle all the way back. With a rush of air, the brakes released and the circus train plummeted like a stone out of the sky. The dalmatian had a grim look on her face now as she glared at the air gauge. “No, There's something wrong. I don't care. As soon as we get air back, I'm stopping and we'll figure out what the hell is going on back there.”
Angel quickly nodded her head. By now, she wasn't liking the situation either. It had taken a lot of air to slow the train for the curve and they were taking off way too quick for her liking. The question now was would the air pump be able to recharge the system before they needed the brake again. The level track dropped off again less than a mile ahead and it would continue the sharp downgrade all the way to the Tweed farm. Both Angel and Dolly knew that at the bottom was a curve just inside the sucker hole with a speed limit of twenty miles an hour. They were already going twenty-five and increasing...and that was before they dove off the edge and started down the grade.
Blue and gray eyes were glued to the air pressure gauge. The pressure was increasing, but not as fast as the train's speed! The sound of the rods underneath them was growing louder and louder and the J. Kayce Jr. started to weave back and forth on her wheels. How far is the curve? Icy rain splattered both dog's faces as Angel and Dolly leaned out the windows and peered into the mist for a landmark. Even the ground was invisible. There was nothing to guide them except the feel of the locomotive...which was rocking harder and harder.
The needle on the air gauge crept slowly upward. Angel's ears could pick out the sound of the pump on the side of the boiler...it was laboring. She jumped over to the fireman's side and checked the steam supply valve to make sure it was wide open.
It was.
Dolly's eyes were pinpoints of excitement, and she was wrapping her slender legs around the Johnson bar. “Shit!”
The needle had stopped.
Dolly didn't hesitate, she swung the Johnson bar all the way into the reverse position and cracked the throttle. Trying to put a little steam in the cylinders to hold them back. The train now only had the available braking power left over from the last application, and even as she whipped the brakes on, Dolly knew it wasn't going to be enough to hold them. She might as well have dug her feet into the ballast. Looking behind them, Angel could see lights turning on in the passenger cars as people started to recognize that something was unusual.
They were now a runaway train!
“I'll try and restart the pump.” Angel shouted. She reached for the starting valve for the air-pump. Usually, unless there was some sort of defect, closing the valve on an air-pump that stalled and quickly whipping it back open would restart it. She could feel her heartbeats as she turned the handle to the off position, waited for a few seconds, then whipped it back open. There was no response from the valve other than dead silence.
Angel looked at Dolly, who was now standing up and bouncing on her feet. The gauge had not budged. “No go,” She said. “try again.”
The pom tried several more times to restart the pump with the supply valve, but no results. The wheels savagely ground the rails, and made them shriek in agony. The J. Kayce Jr. waved back and forth as if cajoled from behind by some unearthly force. One side of the engine first mounted upward, like a ship upon a wave, then suddenly sank, as if engulfed. Dolly hit the sanders, trying desperately to give their weak brakes anything to grab onto. The brakes were locked on with what little air they had left and it was enough to slow them, but not enough to stop. Worse still, without the air pump the brakes would eventually leak off. Then, all chances of control would vanish.
“Handbrakes,” Angel pointed back. “Let's get the handbrakes on!”
Dolly leaned onto the whistle and sent the call, followed by several quick shrieks on the chimes. The railroad signal for “Emergency.” That would rouse their brakemen, but it was doubtful whether the handbrakes would be effective. With the brake rigging gripped in ice the iron wheels on each car might be unmovable. But it was worth a try, and Angel was prepared to run back herself and start lashing them on if it would help.
Thinking about running out onto the cars gave her an idea. Looking around the cab, Angel grabbed the hammer off the toolbox, “I'll slip out and tap the head of the pump while you keep trying the valve. Maybe that will start it.”
Dolly's mouth dropped. The air pump was on the running-board just outside the cab. However, the J. Kayce Jr. had smaller than usual running-boards, and they were coated in ice. As would be the handrails.
“I swear, I'll kiss you if you get that damn thing going,” Dolly deadpanned.
Angel slipped the hammer in her waistband and pulled open the small door to the running-board. At the first cruel blast of icy wind, she closed her eyes and held her breath. A hand reached up to seat her goggles on her face before she thrust a leg out and squeezed herself though the narrow opening. Stepping onto the slick running-board of the pitching locomotive. The train's speed was still increasing.
Her ears were fluttering and flopping in and out of her own face as every gust threatened to pull her grip off the handrail. The locomotive rocked and bucked and threatened to toss her. Steam, smoke, sparks, and rain swirled around her. She crooked an arm around the railing, and grabbed her wrist with her free hand. Each rock of the locomotive made her feel as if the bones in her arm would crack from the strain. The wind tugged at her tail with enough force she could swear that a hand was gripping it at its base. This was worse than even being atop the cars! Bending her head into the gale, Angel hauled herself forward.
The air pump sat embedded in the running-board. Half above, half below. Dropping to her knees on the board, Angel wrapped one arm around the top of the pump, and a leg around the bottom, clinging to it for dear life. With her free hand, she began to beat on the valve chamber with the hammer. Dolly, by now, would be opening and closing the valve, but with her ears pinned back by the smoke and steam, Angel might not be able to tell if it started.
She didn't know how long she was out there, banging on the air pump and fighting the ice and the rain and the pitch of the locomotive. She was chilled to the bone and her hands were numb when two quick toots on the whistle cried above her skull. Angel felt a release, the sound of the whistle being the sweetest music to her frozen ears. Dolly was calling her in, the pump was started. In a few moments they would have air and the pressure would be restored to normal.
Dipping her head into the cab, Angel managed a grin until she saw the spotted engineer's grim face. One look at the gauge was like a kick in the gut. The needle was at the bottom. They had no air at all now. Dolly grabbed Angel's wrist and drew the pom back into the cab.
“It's no use,” Angel said. “Something must be wrong with the pump mechanically.”
“Do we jump?” Dolly asked.
Both dogs looked out their respective gangways. To jump at the speed they were going would be suicide. Angel shook her head no. “We're doing upwards of forty. The bottom of the grade is little more than a mile or so ahead. We'll be doing sixty by then. You know the answer.”
The dalmatian pulled at her slender ears. “Uggg, we're fucked!”
Without a brake, they were helpless. The circus train careened down the grade like a roller coaster. By now, lights were on in the passenger cars, and some of the car doors were open as those riding the freight cars openly wondered what was going on. The long, heavy train, sweeping down the sharp descent, might fitly have been likened to some winged dragon flying low to earth, so appallingly flight-like was the motion. The flanges shrieked against the rails, the cab swayed and cracked, and the very earth seemed to tremble.
“Well, let's go fighting!” Angel barked.
Dolly perked up, and put her hands-on Angel's shoulders. “Is there anything you can think of other than something mechanical that could be wrong.”
Angel didn't answer. Instead, thinking of all the times she watched as Lady and Tramp went over their own locomotive. All the tricks the Tramp knew, the sly comments, the wisdom of years. Looking for anything at all. Her ears perked as something struck home. “Well....if there's a chance.... I have an idea.”
Angel pushed Dolly's arms away and grabbed a wrench from the toolbox. She stuffed it down the face of her vest, so that it sat in the cleavage of her breasts. Time was short, and she didn't have any to spare for an explanation. Too much depended on getting back out to the pump.
The previous trip had prepared her, and Angel popped back onto the running board with purpose. The train was now at a speed far above what was considered even remotely safe. The bell, catching the motion, began to toll. The dolorous sound, twisted by the gale, fell upon the ears of the pallid canine fireman like the notes of a storm-tossed bell-buoy sounding the knell of the doomed.
Angel wrapped her legs around the pump. The job was to remove a thick iron plug from the top of the compressor head. There was an off chance that too much oil from an over ambitious oiling, made thick from the cold, had accumulated in there and stalled it. Pulling the wrench from her vest, she knocked the corner of her goggles and saw them fly from her head and vanish into the gloom. Barely able to see in the wind, moisture clouding her vision, she felt for the big plug. Tweed Farm was drawing near, and either heaven or hell would be blown open by a mass arrival.
Fitting the wrench over the plug, the Pomeranian heaved on the handle. Gritting her teeth, Angel felt the plug move. Another tug, a few more turns with the wrench alone, and it was free enough for her to move it by hand. With the plug removed oil in quantity frothed and bubbled from the opening. Angel's heart leaped. Her hunch had been correct. The pump had gummed up and stalled! Dolly owed her more than a kiss when they got back.
If they got back...
Time was running out. Angel wiped the overflow away, reset the valves, and replaced the plug. Leaving the tools on the running-board she frantically scampered back before tossing herself through the doorway into the cab, shouting; “Turn it on! Turn it on!”
Dolly already had her hand on the valve, and she whipped it open before diving into the engineer's seat. Both engineer and fireman held their breath as the needle on the air pressure gauge started to rise again. Out the window, they could see the bottom of the grade with the curve hidden in the gloom. On each side of the track was the dim outline of a farmhouse, and a hunting cabin. The Tweed Farm, and the Amos Slade Homestead. The gauge needle was merely creeping.
The train thundered over a crossing between the two houses. Angel held her breath as the pump worked to build air. Dolly's hand was on the brake handle, ready to apply.
“I'm going for it!” She cried. As soon as the needle reached the maximum pressure, she whipped the handle all the way over. Just shy of the emergency position.
There was a thunder of slack as the train stretched, and Angel was almost knocked back into her seat. Her head whipped from the gauge to back along the train and she blinked quickly. Despite the clear sign of the train stretching, they sped on without any other indication that the brakes were applied. “It doesn't seem to be holding!”
“Something is still messed up,” the spotted dog replied, eyes wide. “It's still not grabbing. It's still soft. Like it was before we started down the grade!”
Abruptly, the brakes took hold. Not in the way they should, but sufficiently enough that they could tell the train was slowing. Sparks flew along a few of the car's wheels, but not all of them. Angel noticed that more than half of the train seemed to still be rolling freely. Then, they hit the curve at the bottom of Tweed Hill. Lights in the nearby house lit up in the darkness, and Angel noted the curtains rolling back as the Widow Tweed looked out her front window. No doubt awoken as her house shook from their thunderous passage.
The pom's heart leapt into her throat as she felt the J. Kayce Jr. roll to one side on the springs. There was a grim moment while it seemed like they wouldn't recover, the whole locomotive leaning to the side wickedly as if preparing to leave the rails. Angel bit her lower lip and clamped her eyes shut, then grabbed a hold with clenched hands. She turned her head to the side in preparation for the roll. The way tools skidded along the cab deck and the scoop banged on its hook, she was sure they were upon the ties, or at least had lost a wheel. She only hoped that the cab wouldn't be ripped apart and she would have a chance of survival.
Yet, the crash never came. It was only the terrible momentum lifting them momentarily from the track, and in a few seconds – though every second meant 150 feet – the fire-eating behemoth righted itself. Rocking back and shifting its weight across its springs and hangers. To the rear, the freight cars and wagons swayed on their own springs, rocking those inside like babies in a cradle. The passenger cars whipped through and the caboose clattered by. Throwing one of its marker lamps into the distance as the slack cracked it like the end of a whip.
“Yes!” Dolly cheered pounding her fist upon the throttle lever as they started upgrade. Their speed was now checked by both gravity and the air-brakes. Angel opened her eyes and let out an open sigh of relief. She felt as if she was turning into a puddle in her seat. Her relief was lifted by Dolly jumping over the Johnson bar and sweeping the pom up in a tight hug.
Their momentum was more than enough to carry them out of the dip of the sucker hole and up to the very top of the other hill. As the track became smoother, the locomotive grew calmer; but its barred tongue of a cowcatcher licked up the flying space for a full mile before the momentum of that perilous descent was lost. The screaming brakes faded as the circus train came to an abrupt, but safe, stop.
\t\t\t\t*************
Dolly cycled the brake handle. Drawing down air for a full brake test. Balls of light from hand lanterns held by the brakemen bobbed and weaved in the drizzly gloom as they walked the train and checked each car. After a few moments, the conductor, a young husky with red and cream fur, came up to the locomotive.
“Find anything, Kodi?” Dolly asked from high in her seat.
“You might want to check this out. Fourth car back,” Kodi said, motioning with his lantern.
Angel and Dolly dismounted the locomotive and started walking back. Their boots crunching on the frost that blanketed the ballast. Angel looked the train over as they walked. It seemed there was not one surface that was devoid of a layer of frost or ice. The sides of the wagons, the cars, and the ropes that lashed everything down glistened under a sheet of white powder. Approaching the space between the fourth car and the fifth, they found exactly what they were looking for. A flexible rubber hose connected each car to the next, passing air along for the brakes. A valve, or angle cock sat at the end of each car's brake pipe. Angel felt her heart plummet as she saw that the angle cock had been closed, cutting off the supply of air to the rear of the train. The last twelve cars on the circus train had no brakes at all.
Upon seeing the closed angle cock, she heard Dolly take a huff of air and felt the dalmatian grip her arm. “Whoa...”
The pom tilted her head. Causing one of her ears to cock at an odd angle. “Those don't just close themselves.”
“We did a brake test back in Marceline,” Dolly let go of Angel's arm and put her hands on her hips. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth curled in a low growl. “They were working on all cars then.”
“We had that stop at Curtis Switch. It was only after leaving the water tank that the brake got sluggish,” Angel reminded. “While we waited on that hotbox to cool. That had to be when they did it.”
“I gotcha. Someone closed the angle cock, and bled the air off the remaining cars while we were standing still...” One of the dalmatian's eyebrows rose sharply. “But why?”
“I'm not an expert on it. But I know that the circus trade can be a bit ruthless. But I wouldn't think, well....” The pom stepped back and motioned down the length of the train, she wondered what someone would have against the Benzini Bros & Medici Family Circus that would lead to this. “I don't think I want to know. Might be bad for our health.”
Stepping between the cars she grabbed the angle cock and started gently 'popping' the handle back open slowly by tapping her own palm atop the handle. Clumps of ice fell off the valve as the sound of air rushing through the hose reached Angel's ears. Once she had it open, Dolly stomped out from between the cars and started her way back towards the locomotive, her brow wrinkled and mouth set in a scowl.
\t\t\t\t************
The rest of the trip went without trouble. The fog was thinning and Dolly was now running with a new confidence. Visibility improved until they were able to see the telegraph poles and trees, branches and wires glistening with ice. The rain had stopped and the clouds were even breaking as the circus train rolled across the bridge over the Tennessee River and into Chattanooga.
After they rolled to a stop in the yard, the J. Kayce Jr. was uncoupled from the train, and run towards the W&A's roundhouse. After securing their locomotive in a roundhouse stall, Angel and Dolly left the iron horse in the care of the hostlers and walked through the yard towards the depot. From there, all that was left to their trip was to sign out and get lodging for the evening. Already Angel was anticipating a brakeman's job on a southbound train. Stepping over a set of rails, the two railroad dogs saw the now locomotive-less Benzini Bros & Medici Family Circus preparing their train for another leap. A shaft of sunlight split the cool air to shine down on the circus train. The sides of the freight cars and wagons glistened with a sheen of frost and ice. Already there was life as the boxcar doors slid open and roustabouts started slipping outside, looking over the chains, tie-downs, and chocks. Not that they needed to worry, as with all the ice it was clear that everything from the wagons to the tarps was frozen in place.
“They have no idea,” the slender dalmatian laughed, “just how close we all came.”
“I think I would prefer it that way.” Angel sighed, her ears dipping. “And it might be smart to not bring it up.”
Dolly's eyebrows shot up. “Oh c'mon! That was fantastic! You saved the day back there.... saved me.” A soft blush had become clearly visible on those white furred cheeks.
“Yeah, and let's keep that between us. For starters, I know why the compressor stopped. It was over-oiled. In the cold, the oil got hard, and plugged the admission valve.”
Both of Dolly's ears dropped like anchors, and her tail slipped down. “Oh...”
“Yeah, it's a common mistake to think that you can never go wrong with over-oiling.” Angel nodded. “I've done it on journal boxes, and ended up sliding brake-shoes.”
“So, keep it to ourselves then.” Dolly's cheeks grew redder as she averted her gaze.
“You're catching on Spots,” Angel smiled slyly.
Soft raindrops pattered on Angel's head as she watched the circus, not really paying attention to the engineer next to her. Her mind was back on the hill, thinking about the runaway and what she was going to tell Scamp. Already she was wondering how Lady and Tramp would have handled it, and she was forming questions to ask them. She tucked her hands into her pockets to keep them warm, and swayed back and forth on the balls of her feet, that curly tail wishing lightly.
“So, remember what I said back there on Tweed Hill?” Dolly's voice seemed anxious, which caught Angel's attention.
“Hmm?” She turned her head in time for the dalmatian to sling her arms over her shoulders and slide up against her. Their bodies pressing against one another. Before Angel knew it Dolly pressed her lips against hers. Her eyes went wide, she could see Dolly was smiling, and her heart jumped. Dolly's lips felt so soft against her own, and when the dalmatian pulled back, Angel found that she wanted to kiss her again, let it last longer. There was an awkward moment as her brain struggled to make sense of what just happened.
Angel blinked quickly, “Whoa, that was unexpected.”
“Was it?” Dolly smirked at her, the ends of her mouth were turned up in a wide smile, seemingly relieved that she had done it. “I told you, I would kiss you if you figured it out.”
Angel shuffled nervously, as some of her senses came back she found her heart beating like a drum. “As much as I appreciate it, Spots. I do have a boy.”
“And an arrangement…” The dalmatian shot back with a sly smile. “So, I figured I would make do on my promises. What with you saving our keasters back there.”
Angel did not know what to say, she just blurted something out. “I was just doing my job.”
Dolly's ears flicked back. “Oh, well, yeah. I just figured. Besides, with that arrangement, and well...maybe…you are kinda cute.”
“Wow...that's...are you asking about?” Angel tilted her head, unsure of what to say. Sure, the quick sign of affection could easily be chalked up to a response to what had happened back on Tweed Hill. But was the other woman really asking to bed with her? They had really only just met!
That soft blush returned to Dolly's face, and she nodded her head vigorously. “Sex.”
One of Angel's ears twitched, followed by the other, as her mind went dramatically wild, her thoughts tumbling into each other. Dolly wanted to go to bed with her? Was she suddenly wanting to accept? What would Scamp think about this turn of events? “I wasn't quite expecting that.”
“I messed that up, didn't I?” Dolly finally said, looking down at the ballast and starting to step to the side. “Ah, shit.”
“No, it's alright,” Angel was quick to say, ignoring her own trepidation.
However, the dalmatian was already side stepping around her. Putting some space between them. Angel reached a hand out to try to catch Dolly's shoulder just as the spotted dog turned and began to dash towards the depot. Angel's arm fell limply to her side as she watched Dolly duck behind a line of boxcars, her thin tail vanishing into the general background of the railyard. Both of the pom’s floppy ears dipped, one falling across Angel's face and forcing her to gaze around it. She took a breath, settled herself, and started to plod uneasily towards the depot.
“Scamp is never going to believe this one...” She muttered to herself. “I barely believe it.”
\t\t\t\t**********************
\t
Angel lay on her back atop the thin sheeted bed. Her bare legs and paws spread to the corners as she lay with her hands under her head. As it was, the bed was practically the only thing in the small bedroom at the hostel across from the railroad yard. It was a lodging house where the W&A regularly put up its crews after trips, a place where they could find a wash and a warm bed to rest before their next call to service. On this night, it was all but empty. The only occupants of its six sparse rooms were herself and Dolly. The latter of whom had retreated into the privacy of one on the opposite corner, judging by the closed and locked door.
Angel didn't see Dolly enter the lodge. Nor did she see her in the roundhouse after she turned her tools into the storekeeper. She had just chalked up Dolly's actions to the adrenaline rush of their trip. Giving the other girl would need some time and space to calm down. Angel went to the lodging house to grab a warm bath that left her fur lush and clean, then to a quick dinner before bed. She was a brakeman again, and true to her earlier suspicions, was soon to find herself on a freight train back south. The orders for her next call to service sitting on the bedside table. Thoughts about her next chance to handle a coal scoop were mixed with the bemusement over Dolly's advances.
Angel hiked a leg and flexed the gentle limb. Her legs were slightly sore from shoveling coal, but her bath had soothed them so that she no longer felt the miles. She splayed her toes in the air. Her fingers and toes were the same light tan color as the markings on her face and chest. Satisfied that the slight throbbing from her manual labor had vanished, Angel let the leg flop back down into the bed.
Putting her hands back behind her head, she stared up at the plaster ceiling. The dalmatian was cute, and thinking more about it Angel wouldn't have minded a roll in the hay. Part of her wanted to indulge the spotted canine in her wishes. While she would never leave Scamp, both partners had decided that as long as it was purely physical, they would keep their relationship sexually open. The concern that made Angel stop and pause was if it was more than a schoolyard crush that Dolly was harboring. She had only just met the dog, and she didn't know what was really going through the other woman's mind. Angel would have to tread lightly, and until she had a chance to talk to Scamp, she decided that she would keep her distance.
No sooner had she made her decision on the matter than there came a soft knock came at the door. Angel's ears perked as she sat up, her long cotton shirt parting over her lap and hiding her nudity like a long robe. “I'm awake. Who is it?”
The creak of the opening door made her jump. Dolly's head could be seen in the crack between the door and the frame. "Hey, can I come in?" she asked in a calm voice.
"Y-Yeah..." Came Angel's response as she pushed herself to sit up on the bed, her bare legs hanging off the edge. She hadn't expected to see the spotted canine for the rest of the night. She quickly buttoned the cotton shirt up so that it acted like a long nightgown. Angel's fingers dancing across its buttons.
The door slowly opened, and Angel gasped. Her fingers stopped halfway up, and her hands fell to her sides, abandoning any attempts to hide her torso. All of her thoughts were suddenly thrown sideways.
Dolly stood in the doorway, her body nude save for a set of black panties. Angel's eyes slowly dropped down Dolly's body as the dalmatian slipped into the threadbare room, letting the door slip shut behind her. The pom's heartbeat hiked as she examined the other female's bare body spot by jet black spot. As she walked, Dolly swayed her hips in an exaggerated motion, the slender curves of her snow white and black spotted body on full display. The fur pattern on each of her arms made it look as if there was a black 'sleeve' running from her elbows to her wrists. Similar patterns ran from her knees to her ankles. From her bright eyes, to her petite paws, Dolly cut a light and agile figure.
“D-did you mean to forget your clothes?” Angel stuttered, her brows raised. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest at the sight.
“I could ask the same of you,” the dalmatian replied in a low sultry tone. Ignoring the pom’s confusion, she nodded to Angel's unbuttoned top where the pom's soft cleavage could be seen. Dolly's feet crossed each other and for a split second she shuffled to one side as one foot caught the other and threatened to trip her.
“Well, this is 'my' room,” Angel said matter of factly, “and I'm technically decent.”
The dalmatian regained her balance and slipped onto the bed, sitting on her knees next to Angel. Her wide eyes narrowed as she fluttered her eyelashes and she put on a sly smile. “I see why they call you Angel. You must send them all to heaven.”
“What?” Angel yipped as she leaned away from her spotted guest, blinking rapidly. “Was that supposed to be a pick up?”
Dolly's tail quivered, and suddenly that blush returned as the act was dropped and she averted her gaze. “Ah shit...I was never good at this sort of thing.”
“You mean coming onto someone?” Angel laughed, feeling the tension in her chest suddenly release. “Well, you have all the subtlety of a hammer being thrown through a window. But I think I got the idea of what you are wanting.”
Dolly kicked her legs out and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Angel, her hands in her lap. “So... I guess I should probably leave then. Huh?”
“No, stay...let's talk, Spots.” Angel found the whole thing rather cute.
Slowly, Dolly turned to face Angel. They locked eyes for a moment, and the dalmatian tilted her head to the side. Dolly searched her, showing a little unease. “I just...really wanted to say thank you for everything back there. That was really brave, dude. The whole going out on the running-board and you kept your cool so well.”
Angel shrugged. “We worked together. You kept your head at the throttle.” She tried not to get too close, “I can't claim all of what happened back there.”
“I just never felt so helpless,” Dolly continued. “Like I said earlier, I came from a really big family and they relied on me. I was always a big sis. But I always saw myself as in control and I would figure my way out of anything. But when I saw that air gauge drop. I didn’t know what to do.”
“I felt helpless too,” Angel admitted. She was going back and forth in her thoughts on what to say. “Think of it like dealing with your family. You're never really on your own.”
Dolly smiled, her long pointed ears perking. She ran a hand down the opposite forearm. “I'm so glad I had you as a fireman. Chief had been talking about taking the scoop instead if he couldn't find someone else. That would have been so lame. Instead, I got the kindest, smartest, and cutest pup on the whole damn railroad.”
Angel opened her mouth and snapped it shut again, unsure of what to say. Her fluffy tail wagged in a friendly and genuine way, before she could finally let out a soft, “Thanks.”
“You know...that big of a family, I never really had the time to learn about...others outside our home. Family was just too overbearing.” She was slipping over every vowel, trying to find the right words.“I've done some experimenting. But I just...ug, duh Dolly. I can't believe I just walked into your room like that and expected you to fall for me. You must think I'm a total loser.”
“Not at all. I just wasn't expecting to see you...well...like this.” Angel motioned with her hand to the dalmatian's bare chest. “I mean, I'm honored. I think you're very beautiful. it's just...”
“You think I'm beautiful?” Dolly's eyes sparkled. \t
“It's just that while Scamp knows that I would never leave him behind, we still like to talk about these things before jumping in.” Angel chose her words carefully. Doing her best to stay level headed. Looking at those wide eyes and slender muzzle, she wanted to feel the heat from Dolly's fur and she wanted to lean her head to the side and kiss her neck. But she held it in check.
“And what do you think his response would be?” Dolly asked, biting her bottom lip anxiously as she looked up at the other dog with bright and expectant eyes. She leaned forward slightly. “...givin' your arrangement.” \t
The dalmatian wagged her thin tail and Angel knew exactly what Dolly was asking for. Eagerly, the pom leaned down and planted her lips directly onto Dolly's. It was a kiss that she had anticipated from the second Dolly entered the room, and Angel shivered, feeling both of their soft lips rubbing together in a blissful manner. Their own saliva provided a wonderful lubricant for smooth motion. Before Angel could control herself, she gently pushed the dalmatian back down onto the bed, immediately crawling on top of her. The entire time, their mouths never lost contact, and Angel could hear the soft moans escaping Dolly's throat, as well her own.
Pulling away for only a moment, Angel looked down at the dalmatian who was breathing hard and biting her bottom lip, her cheeks flushed red. Dolly's chest was staring her right in the face. The Dalmatian's light cups were perky and she could see the hardened pink nipples before her.
\t
“Are you sure that this is what you want?” Angel asked.
“You're not gonna stop, are you?” There was a slight panic in Dolly's voice.
“You understand that this is just sex. Nothing more.”
\t
Nodding, Dolly giggled and teasingly rubbed her paw over the front of Angel's shirt, tugging at the sides with her slender fingers as she worked to expose the soft pom's body. “Yes.”
\t
As soon as the word 'yes' left Dolly's lips, Angel went back to kissing the slender dalmatian. She locked her mouth with the other canine and moved their soft lips together, up and down, back and forth. The pom rolled her shoulders so that the shirt dropped down to hang off her lower arms. Soft smacks left their lips, and before long, Angel slipped her tongue into Dolly's mouth, gently coaxing the dalmatian to return the favor. Before long, both females were French kissing, intertwining their tongues just as Dolly's hands slid over the remaining buttons, undoing them in rapid succession.
It only took Dolly a moment to get Angel's shirt off. Sitting up in the bed, Angel let out a soft huff of anticipation. The shirt tumbled down the pom's blonde furred arms and Dolly inhaled sharply as her eyes skipped across Angel's naked body. The dalmatian grinned at the sight as she shuffled herself upright. Angel's lovely, supple breasts were exposed. Each one a nice and perky handful that one could cup and grope, and rounder than the dalmatian's. The light blonde pattern that started at her muzzle carried down around her teardrop breasts and over her gut before diving down between the pom's legs to highlight her feminine mound. Yet they were not oversized by any means. Each tit was topped by a bright pink nipple, which was growing hard by the sensations of exposure. Not one strand of clean blonde fur seemed out of place along her body.
Dolly began kissing down, trailing her soft lips delicately over Angel's jawline, down her collar bone, and finally over her breasts until she found the now hardened pink nipples. Immediately, the spottie latched on, locking her lips around the nipple and beginning to suck. Angel gasped and felt her back arch. She placed a hand on each of Dolly's shoulders and closed her eyes. Her lower lip rolled in. Dolly was rough with her lashings, and there was no pattern or concentrated effort on her part to find a rhythm. She just eagerly went at those warm tits. The pom's blonde furred flesh rolled around those hungry lips. Angel slid her hands up to Dolly's cheeks, and she gently pulled the dalmatian's head up so that their gaze was locked.
“Let me show you how it's done.” Angel's voice was low, a mere whisper.
Their lips met again. Dolly murred as Angel kissed her. She fluttered her eyelashes at the pom, her head still cradled between Angel's hands. The kiss was warm and sloppy, and when they parted Dolly gave a soft lick to Angel's upper lip.
“You going to play connect the dots?” Dolly smirked.
“Yeah, with my tongue,” Angel snapped back.
Dolly burst out into a warm laugh, her glee echoing around the lightly wallpapered room. “Oh, now that was baaaaad.”
“As if!” Angel slid her hands down onto those thin shoulders and gently pushed Dolly down so that the spotted girl was laying back on her elbows. She could see Dolly's wide eyes dancing up and down her own body. She kissed the dalmatian's neck and clavicle. Her lips just grazed the other girl's flesh until they found her petite snow-white chest. Dolly's breasts were delicate, the fur light to the touch and Angel's open mouth quickly wrapped around a tit. Dolly's head fell back and her eyes slipped shut. The dalmatian began to rub her legs together gently, gasping every time that Angel's tongue flicked over her nipple or her teeth grazed the sensitive skin.
“T-This feels so good." Dolly moaned loudly, and Angel shivered, loving the sounds of Dolly's pleasure.
Flicking her tongue back and forth, Angel made sure that the canine's nipples would be sore and sensitive by the time she was done with them. As she ran her lips over the one tit, she gripped the other breast with her free hand. Kneading it in circles and messaging it, the flesh rolling around her digits. Both of those pink nips were nice and hard, and Angel could feel the outside one flick against the palm of her hand as she gently squeezed. Dolly's legs kicked back and Angel felt one press against her side.
“Oh my god!” Dolly gasped toward the ceiling. Her vocalizations grew louder.
Angel smiled around the tit. It was incredible how just a simple suck on the nipples could get a female so wet. Angel could already feel the dalmatian's lower lips growing hot from the sensations, matching her own. The pom didn't stop, even though something felt wrong about leaving Scamp's opinion out of this. She didn't want to stop. Instead she switched breasts, latching on to the other nipple while switching her paw to the free one. She used her fingers to gently pinch Dolly's nipple while her lips sucked and her tongue flicked ferociously.
“Please! I need more!” Dolly called out, and Angel popped off of the dalmatian's nipple with a smirk.
“Oh?” She asked playfully, feeling her inner bad girl beginning to come to the surface. It had been a long time since she had led the charge with another female. “More?”
\t
“Yes, please!” Dolly responded, biting her bottom lip. The spotted girl was blushing. “I...I...
She was interrupted as Angel gripped her knees and pulled her legs toward the end of the bed.
Dolly fell flat on her back, and she could feel the pom guide her legs wide open with a gentle nudge, making the dalmatian's cheeks burn more than they ever had. Angel dropped her hands to hook her thumbs into the panties on her waist, and Dolly moaned as the other woman began to pull the panties off of her hips and down her thighs, the cloth peeling away to reveal her slit.
Dolly's spotted ears dipped back with embarrassment. She had never let another woman outside her family see her inner lips before, and her heart began to pound against her chest, making her shiver.
“You're a little on the loud side." Angel whispered, smirking as she reached up to the dalmatian's head. “Can't let anyone find us, and I'm going to need both my hands. Ever been gagged before?”
One of Dolly's thin eyebrows rose. “O-oh...only with my own hand.”
“Alright, this will be a bit different. Open wide.” Angel jammed the lace panties into the dalmatian's mouth. Careful so as to not choke her and watching for any signs of resistance.
“Hmmmphhaaa!” Dolly cried around her now filled maw. She shook her head side to side and gurgled around the obstruction within her mouth. Angel held Dolly's head still and gently pressed the panties into the dal's cheeks. There was little struggle from the slender dalmatian as she was silenced with her own underwear.
“Alright, you ready Spots?” Angel let go of Dolly' arms and slipped down to lay between the gagged dalmatian's legs. Dolly smiled around her packed maw and nodded her head vigorously.
She started with Dolly's knees and gently kissed up her right thigh. Starting from the top of the black sleeve-like marking at her knee, Angel kissed all the way up to her lower lips. Then she kissed the sensitive flesh around those needy lips, making sure not to actually touch Dolly's wet folds until the female begged. Leaning back, Angel started once more at the left knee and began to kiss back up Dolly's left thigh. Once she got close again to the dalmatian's vagina, she continued to kiss the skin around it, hearing the soft whimpers that began to escape the other female.
“Mmmmm, kwiss hit.” Dolly groaned, blurring all of her syllables together into one muffled sentence around her makeshift gag, twisting her muzzle as she realized how needy and desperate she sounded.
“I just need to know you want it,” Angel responded, gently nipping at the base of Dolly's left thigh. Her bushy tail wagging behind the swell of her own ass.
“Hue, Hues, Hues,” Dolly responded quickly, as she chewed on the saliva-soaked panties. Her feet kicked to each side of Angel, toes splaying.
Leaning in, Angel stroked her tongue over Dolly's tender slit. She lapped slowly and passionately, making sure to rub the tip of her soft nose over the hood of Dolly's folds at the same time she licked. The taste was phenomenal, clouding Angel's mind as her taste buds seemed to ache and beg for more, similar to the writhing dalmatian lover before her. As she licked those velvety soft lips, she could feel juices flowing over her tongue and down the sides of her cheeks. She was loving how each second her muzzle fur was becoming more and more damp. It was hard to find something that she could compare Dolly's taste and scent to, but if she tried, the closest thing that her mind would allow her to think about was strawberries.
Shivering a bit, Angel wiggled closer, burying her nose and her tongue against Dolly. She pushed her tongue as deep as possible inside the smaller dalmatian, and moaned a bit, feeling the spotted female's folds gripping her tongue like a vice. She was tight for sure, confirming that Dolly hadn't gotten to be with anyone in quite some time. The slender spottie gripped the sheets next to her sides, rocking her pelvis into the girl's face and groaning around her makeshift gag. Angel was glad for the panties, as even with them stuffed in her mouth, Dolly was singing.
Angel began to explore with her tongue, licking over every inch of Dolly's inner folds to find all of her sweet spots, and as she roamed, she found the small lump on the top of the dalmatian's walls. Eagerly, the pom began to lick at the little nub, watching as the dalmatian's eyes burst wide open, and her back arched instantly with a squeal. Seemingly desperate to hold back her climax to enjoy just a few more moments of Angel's loving mouth. It seemed that Dolly had never experienced her g-spot getting played with before. Angel reached her hands up and grabbed Dolly's wrists, pulling the shivering dog down onto her mouth. Then, just as she felt those internal walls starting to spasm, the blonde woman pulled her mouth back. She pursed her lips, and lay a kiss right atop that glowing button. Then pushed herself up.
The dalmatian's eyes went wide and she practically jerked upright like a spring. Her own panties falling from her mouth. "Oh my god!" Dolly squealed. “Why did you stop? That felt fucking incredible!”
Angel only smirked and adjusted herself, “I can't let you loose just yet.” she replied, slowly crawling up Dolly's body to meet her face to face. The pom lay down atop her elbows over her lover.
They both locked lips once again, and Angel could feel Dolly shivering under her. There was no better feeling of satisfaction in the world than to know that she pleasured a partner that much, and she moaned into the spottie's lips, teasingly rubbing their breasts together as they kissed. This time, the kiss was warm and wet and full of lust. Their muzzles melded together and Angel's tongue searched the inside of her lover's mouth while their bodies pressed together. Their breasts moving and sliding around one another, seemingly wanting to merge into one. Moans generated deep in Angel’s throat sent vibrations rumbling into Dolly's mouth. The dalmatian no doubt could taste herself on those hungry lips, and she eagerly licked her tongue inside Angel's mouth, clearly loving the way it tasted. When they separated, it was with a heavy 'smack' of lips.
“So....still playing connect the dots?” Dolly asked.
“We're about to connect something.” Angel rolled her eyes playfully. “Follow my lead, Spots.”
As Angel slowly pulled back upright, she could see that the dalmatian under her was still out of breath, panting away like a dog in heat. Slowly she coaxed Dolly to sit straight and move closer. The two nude females inched toward each other, and Angel teasingly lifted one of Dolly's legs above hers before moving her vagina closer to the other canine's. Dolly looked between their bodies and blushed, seeing the sheen on her own lotus from Angel's contribution.
Hooking her hands onto Dolly's hips, Angel pulled the lanky canine forward until their vaginas were pressed firmly together. Angel's eyebrows hiked in surprise as Dolly adjusted herself perfectly, making sure that both of their sensitive and swollen buttons flicked each other with each rub.
“Done this before?” Angel panted. “Or just catching on quick?”
“Maybe a little of both,” Dolly grinned. “Big family...lots of sisters.”
Angel let out a soft moan, loving the heat that radiated between them. The spottie gasped, licking her lips at the sensation, and she leaned up further, dropping her muzzle so that her head was cradled in the crook of Angel's neck. Angel wrapped an arm around Dolly's shoulders, her other hand underneath the spottie's knee and keeping her leg in position. The pomeranian then slowly began to move her hips just as a male would, but instead of penetration, Dolly could feel her clit and inner lips rubbing against Angel's own.
“I guess this is the time where I'm supposed to say 'I fancy you?', isn't it?” Dolly moaned, averting her gaze for a brief moment.
“Let's hold off from that one,” Angel quickly huffed.
Dolly's ears perked at the comment and Angel detected a slight pause from her lover before she quickly slipped Angel's right nipple into her mouth and eagerly began to suck. Angel shivered as she felt those lips slip around her delicate bosom, her entrance giving a hard throb from the sensations. Unlike her earlier attempts, the dalmatian's lips now encircled the pink nub with delicate precision.
Gasping, Angel laid her head back and closed her eyes. It was honestly more than she had expected, and she began to pant softly, feeling her own essence become excited and soaked from the grinding. Her body was squirming and shivering with pleasure. The Pomeranian wrapped her legs tightly around Dolly's hips and hooked her ankles together. Dolly's advances made her want to buck her hips more, and she eagerly began rubbing herself against the dalmatian's velvety core harder and faster. Had her mouth not already been full of Angel's breast, Dolly's vocalizations of pleasure would have certainly been heard outside the room. With each rock of their bodies, more and more warm dampness lubricated their folds and made it all the easier.
“That's how you do it,” Angel moaned, feeling beside herself with bliss and pleasure.
It was a sensation like none other, and Angel reached up from Dolly's shoulder with one hand to hold onto the back of the dalmatian's head, keeping her mouth pressed firmly onto her blonde furred tit and its hardening nipple. Dolly's eyes were closed and her body shook in Angel's grasp, shuddering every time their clits rubbed. She rolled her hips in time with Angel so that their motions were coordinated as one smooth rock that started and ended between their pelvises. Her foot, held aloft, bounced idly in the air. With her lips pursed, she sucked and nibbled, her saliva dripping from her chin. Black and white arms were wrapped around Angel's back, just above that blonde furred wagging tail.
Angel playfully pulled her off with a soft pop only to press the spottie's lips to her other nipple. Dolly eagerly obeyed and latched on once more, suckling and flicking her tongue over the pom's sensitive teat. Rocking her pelvis harder, Angel put both hands back onto the dalmatian's hips and pulled Dolly tight, causing their lower lips to press hard against each other, folds meshing and sliding together. They were both so wet, dripping down onto the sheets and creating a puddle of mixed juices, and Angel could feel her vagina starting to throb and tighten as she neared her own climax. Their grinding became harsh for a moment as Angel started to rock faster, Dolly picking up the pace and bucking her own hips just as hard against the other canine woman. Their bodies glistened with sweat.
“I-I'm getting close.” Dolly mumbled, making sure to keep the delicate nipple between her lips. She even used her teeth a bit, teasing Angel with a playful nip before she began suckling softly again.
“Me too,” Angel moaned, biting her bottom lip as she felt the pressure inside of her folds beginning to swell. Her vaginal flesh was throbbing and aching for release.
“Cum with me!” Dolly begged, finally pulling off of Angel's nipple in order to free her lips. A string of drool connecting her mouth to Angel's breast for a brief second before it snapped.
Reaching up, Dolly placed her soft paw onto Angel's cheek and turned her head. They locked eyes, both panting in their bliss as they caressed and rubbed on each other. Now that Dolly was completely sitting up, the two women hugged each-other tightly. Their breasts, glossy with sweat and saliva, pressed together. The soft globes rubbing and rippling against one another as their bodies rocked in sync and rhythm. Angel's legs unlocked, one sliding up Dolly's side while the other dug in between the sheets and the side of that spotted ass.
Angel shivered and locked her sky-blue eyes with the those of her lover, feeling completely at ease and happy with herself. She could see that the spottie's white furred cheeks were flushed and her breathing was getting harder. Her body was beginning to buck on its own, and Angel smiled, leaning in to press their bodies together as one. Their lips connected, and without a second thought Angel pushed her tongue into the dalmatian's muzzle. Both females moaned, feeling their bodies gyrating together in ecstasy. Their maws sliding together like two pieces of a puzzle. Each one finding the other's tongue and playing a game of tug of war. Drawing first one tongue into the other's mouth and giving it a suck, before the other got the upper hand. Angel's free leg rose into the air, almost across Dolly's shoulder, in order to ram them just that much closer. Matching Dolly's own raised leg to create an “X” against their respective shoulders. Waves of pleasure emanated from Angel's lower regions. It felt glorious, as if lightning was flowing through her body! Striking home at a spot between the junction of her legs. Angel started to grind her hips gently against the spottie's essence. They were both sensitive, and Angel could feel just how hot Dolly's clit had become, knowing that hers was just as warm if not more.
Soft moans turned to squeals into each other's throats as both bodies released together. Both Dolly and Angel froze in their joined union, feeling their blazing sweaty bodies practically lock in place as the hearts of their femininity tingled and gushed juices. They coated each other's crotches with their wetness, getting their thighs, lips, and the bed sheets damp as they quivered and convulsed against each other. The soft moans and gasps of each girl into the other's lips filled the room. Both dog's raised legs wiggled in the air, toes splaying each time their inner muscles shuddered. Shivering in and out of time with each other. \t
Their mouths slowly parted, eyes fluttering open and vision swimming as each dog came down from her respective high.
"T-That was amazing." Dolly whispered, feeling Angel slowly moving on top of her. “Bow-waka-wow!”
Angel laughed, her breasts lightly brushing against the dalmatian's as her chest heaved with laughter. “Bow-waka-what?”
Dolly rolled her eyes playfully. “Just something I like to say. You know, like...when I'm happy.”
Angel playfully pushed the dalmatian back onto the bed, letting Dolly lay down before falling down next to her on their sides with their legs still intertwined. Their velvety folds were still touching, throbbing together while exchanging heat, and Angel intended to stay that way until Dolly pulled away.
"I can't believe I just fucked a girl who says 'bow-waka-wow'," Angel responded, gently pulling Dolly against her chest.
Laying her head atop Angel's sweat glazed bosom, Dolly gave a goofy grin. “Is that what you're going to tell Scamp?”
“I'll have to tell him something.” Angel tilted her head, blinking slowly. She mulled this over for a few seconds before simply stating. “Maybe next time he could join.”
“That would be a hell of a way to meet him,” Dolly chuckled. “Hi, my name is Dolly dilly dog do. Wanna have sex?”
Angel pulled the other dog close. “It's pretty much what you did to me. Although I don't think I put up much resistance.”
The dalmatian shrugged. She hiked a leg to slide between Angel's thighs and rest against her calves. The fur was still damp from their passionate mating. “So, does that mean there might be, well, you know....'another time'?”
Angel frowned for a second, her ears dipping back as she thought this over. Things had happened so quickly. She slowly ran a hand up and down Dolly's shoulder as they embraced. “I need to talk to Scamp first.”
Dolly raised her head slightly off Angel's chest, her eyebrows high and mouth a thin line. “You don't think he'll be upset, do you? I mean, you said you had an arrangement.”
“Well, sure but I still should have asked him. He might understand a one night hook up. Tenderfoot likes to think he's a wild dog. But if I came back with a girlfriend with benefits then that's another conversation. There's a lot about what he and I are into...well, more me than him. So, even if he gives his blessing, how deep into things do you want to go?”
Dolly raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Angel slipped a hand down Dolly's thigh, and gave the curved hip a hearty slap. The dalmatian hissed a low moan. “Things like that. But ten times more.”
“Oh, wow. Sounds kinky.” Dolly nuzzled the drown of her head under Angel's chin. “I've never really thought of that sort of stuff. Do you...like getting spanked, or tied up...or.”
Angel ran her hand up and down Dolly's arm, nodding her head softly. “It's exciting to have that sense of the unknown while I'm tied up, gagged, and blindfolded on the bed. Don't have to think about anything. I'm a bit of a masochist too and I enjoy certain types of things. Being spanked or whipped is nothing.”
“Oh. I think I see. That's...something.” Dolly shivered, “Sorta like giving up and forgetting about daily life for a bit, huh?”
“Would you be interested in trying that?”
The Dalmatian cocked her mouth for a few seconds, thinking this over, before a wide toothy grin splitting her face. “Does that mean there's a next time?”
Angel nodded, her floppy ears getting caught between her head and the pillows. “You ever heard of a place called “Peg's” over in downtown?”
The spottie shook her head 'no'. Angel smiled. Dolly's body was a pleasant warm, and she couldn't help holding it close. Shuffling her own legs to hook around the dalmatian's. “I'll talk to Scamp when I get back. But let's not rush into things then. Let's just enjoy this...for now.”
Dolly's hand came back down and caressed Angel's cheek. She leaned in for a kiss, both of them closing their eyes as their lips met for a quick caress. Their eyes remained shut as they lay together, listening to the soft patter of a new rain against the window glass. The two naked canines pulled each other close, their own heartbeats and gentle breathing lulling them to sleep with pleasurable new memories.
\t\t\t\t\t*****************
I told a little white lie today, I smiled and told someone I loved them
I had to say goodbye today to someone that I love
I couldn't even cry today, I think my heart is finally broken
Didn't need a reason why today, I don't need a reason why today
\t
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