Taylor asked. That’s the question, Jake thought to himself. With the cash in his backpack, the boys had more money than they could count—easily enough to buy bus or even airplane tickets, but Jake rejected that option. With or without tickets, the people at a bus station or airport weren’t just going to let two boys travel by themselves. Jake considered hitchhiking, but that was too visible. Anyone could spot them out on a road and report them to the police. He’d also heard horror stories of bad people picking up children and kidnapping them—or worse. Then Jake thought of another option. “So?” Taylor pressed. “Let’s head to the rail yards.” “We’re gonna ride a freight?” Confusion filled Taylor’s voice. “Plenty of other people have done it,” Jake said, thinking about all the books he’d read where runaways and outlaws had hopped freight trains. “I guess so. . . .” Jake just hoped that he’d given them enough of a head start on the authorities waiting at their front door.
