“Hey, Hammond?”

“Yeah?”

“You believe in stuff like heaven an’ hell?”

Hammond paused and turned to look at the wounded man.

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Howcome?”

“Well, there’s so many good folks that don’t get a fair shake. Ones that go before their time, I mean. Like the ones on that train. Just seems like there must be somethin’ more for them. And if there’s a good place for good folks, it stands to reason there’s a bad place for ones like you.”

He discarded the shovel and took up the pick. The rain had only penetrated a few inches below the surface. Deeper down, the ground was rock-hard.

“Hammond?”

“Yeah?”

“If I was to tell yuh certain things, you think it might go in my favor?”