by Sharon Sala
About half-way through his cigar, someone knocked on the door. He got up to answer and found a small Chinese man holding a stack of freshly washed and ironed shirts.
“Gottchee wash. You give two bits.”
“Put it on the bed,” Boston said, as he dug the money out of his vest.
The Chinese man put down the stack of clean clothes, and pocketed the money Boston gave him on his way out the door. Boston watched the little man scurrying down the hotel hallway with his long black braid swaying like the pendulum of a clock.
He frowned as he closed the door. Odd people, those Chinese. They would work like dogs for next to nothing and seem all the more happy for it. Boston would have been shocked to know that the man who’d brought him his laundry was worth more than the hotel owner three times over. His belly growled as he put his shirts away. As soon as he was done, he reached for his hat and coat. It was time for breakfast.
Letty was brushing snow from her coat as she entered the general store. The warmth from the pot belly stove put a smile on her face, but the smile quickly disappeared when she realized that the shelves inside the general store were close to empty, and there was a line of people at the counter. The nervousness of the men standing in line was contagious. There wouldn’t be enough food to go around, let alone enough to get them through the winter. She thought of all the hard work she and Eulis had put in just to garner the small pouch of nuggets they had now. But dust and nuggets were of no use if there was nothing to buy. She headed back out the door, meeting Eulis as he was tying the team off at a hitching post.
“Eulis.”
“What? Whatcha’ doin’ out here?”
“There’s nothing left,” she said.
Eulis’s smile faded.
“What do you mean, there’s nothing left?”
“The shelves are almost empty and there’s a line of customers halfway to the door. What are we gonna do?”
Eulis hid his panic. They’d left it too late. Finding gold had seemed the most important thing to do, and now that they had some, there was nothing left to buy. He looked up, blinking rapidly to deflect the snow, then turned to Letty and jammed his hat down on his head.
“Wait here. I’m gonna go see about getting us a room.”
Letty grabbed his arm as he was walking away.
“What?”
“If there’s no food to be had, we’ll just be paying for a room to starve in. I’d rather take my chances on the mountain. Remember that buck? At least there’s game to be had.”
He nodded. She was most likely right about that. However, they couldn’t winter in a tent. They needed a saw and an axe, and whatever goods they could buy. He wasn’t willing to leave without giving it a try, and standing in line was easier than standing knee-deep in ice water trying to find gold.
“Most likely they’ll be gettin’ in some more goods any day now. I’m gonna go in and see. I reckon you just scared yourself needlessly.”
“Do you think so?”
Eulis smiled and patted her on the shoulder.
“Yeah, I think so. Wait here and I’ll see what I can find out.”
Letty crawled up into the wagon seat, hunched her shoulders against the cold and waited for Eulis to come back. Minutes passed, and it wasn’t until one of the mules suddenly brayed that she realized she’d been listening to what sounded like a runaway team. She reached for the reins, then realized that Eulis had tied them off at the hitching post. Panicked, she stared intently into what was fast becoming a blizzard.
Now she could hear the thunder of the horses’ hooves, and the squeak of a wooden wheel badly in need of grease. She looked nervously toward the store and began to get down when a wagon and horses suddenly appeared out of the snow, racing wildly toward her without any indication of slowing down. Even more frightening was the fact that no one was at the reins.
“Eeuulliiss!”
She didn’t even realize that she’d screamed his name until he came running out of the store. He dropped the axe and saw he was carrying, tossed a sack full of goods into the wagon, and jumped off the steps and out into the street.
“Eulis! No!” Letty screamed.
One second she could see him running in front of their team, and the next moment he was gone, swallowed up by the sound and the storm.
Once, she heard him shouting, and thought she could see him waving his arms, intent on turning the runaway team from hitting their wagon and then everything turned upside down. Before she could brace herself, the mules reared up and Letty went down—head over heels into the back of the wagon. She felt the team lurch forward, then stop just as suddenly. It wasn’t until she managed to crawl to her knees to peer over the wagon bed that she realized everyone who’d been in the store was now out in the street. Someone was holding the mules’ harness, while another man was reaching over into the wagon to help her to her feet.
“Lady… Lady… you all right?”
“Yes, I think so,” Letty said, and then jumped out and circled the wagon, desperately searching for Eulis. She couldn’t bear to think of him lying broken and bloody beneath that runaway team.
“Eulis! Eulis!” When she realized someone had her by the arm and was pulling her back, she jerked free. “Let me go!”
“I suggest you stay out of the way, and for once let real men tend to the business of the day.”
Anger burned as she found herself face to face with Boston Jones. The derisive tone in his voice was like a slap in the face.
“I’d be happy to, but I don’t see any yet,” she countered, and pulled out of his grasp.
Not even the snowfall could hide the fury on his face as she ran past him, but she didn’t see and wouldn’t have cared.
“Eulis! Eulis!”
“Here! I’m here,” he yelled.
She heard his voice coming from somewhere above her. She looked up and saw him standing in the back of the runaway wagon, holding a woman’s body.
“She’s burning up with fever!” Eulis said, as he staggered to the side of the wagon, handing her off to a pair of men who quickly carried her inside the general store.
“Someone get the doctor!” another man cried.
They passed within inches of where Letty was standing, and as they did, the woman’s head lolled loosely against Letty’s shoulder. She looked down and gasped.
“Lord, Lord,” she muttered, and reached for Eulis’s arm. “Get out of there! Get out of there now!” she cried, and yanked hard.
Eulis staggered, then jumped, steadying himself just before he went face down in the snow.
“Dang it, woman, what’s wrong with you?” he shouted.
But Letty wasn’t talking, she just kept pulling him through the crowd to their wagon. He picked up the tools that he’d dropped, and tossed them into the wagon. But Letty wouldn’t relent. She kept pushing at his back.
“Get in!” she yelled.
“I ain’t had time to check on the rooms at—”
She grabbed him by the arms and yanked him around until they were standing so close they could feel the heat of each other’s breath.
“We got to get out of here! Now get in the wagon and don’t argue! Please!”
It was the, please, that did it—that and the panic he saw on her face. He didn’t understand, but they’d come too far together to start doubting each other now.
Letty bolted for the wagon as Eulis yanked the reins from a miner and crawled up beside her.
“Look out!” he yelled, and slapped the reins across the mules’ rump. “Hi-yah! Hi-yah!”
Miners scattered in every direction like the snow that kept falling as their wagon began to roll. Boston Jones watched from inside the store, frowning as he watched them leaving the city, then shrugged.
Crazy. Both of them were crazy.
He glanced over his shoulder at the woman lying on the counter. Everyone around her was pointing and talking, but he couldn’t be bothered. He took another puff of his cigar and walked out of the store as Le
tty and Eulis disappeared.
It wasn’t until they had reached the top of the hill before Eulis pulled the team to a halt.
“Now talk to me,” Eulis said. “What was that all about?”
Letty’s face was as white as the snow swirling around their heads. She put her hand on the arm of Eulis’s coat, then on his collar, and then splayed her cold and numbing fingers across the front of his chest.
“You held her here… and here,” then she started to cry.
Eulis’s heart started to pound. He didn’t understand, but she was scaring him just the same.
“Letty. For God’s sake, please. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Tears were freezing on her cheeks, but nothing was as cold as the place around her heart. Each breath that she took came slower than the last, as if everything inside of her was dying. She stared into Eulis’s face, watching the way the snowflakes settled on his eyelashes and the two frown lines that formed between his eyebrows when he was on the verge of angry. Never had she cared for him as much or been as scared.
“Letty… damn it!”
She bit her lip then opened her mouth. Even though she knew she was talking, she couldn’t hear herself saying the words.
“Smallpox. That woman had smallpox.”
Eulis grunted as if he’d been sucker-punched. He looked down at his hands and then back up at Letty.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“Then don’t touch me,” he said.
“It’s too late,” Letty said. “Besides, I’ve had it.”
Eulis went weak with relief. “Thank God,” he said, and before he thought, he hugged her.
Eulis’s arms were around Letty for only a few moments, but it felt like forever. She could smell the scent of tobacco on his coat, and the wood smoke from their morning fire, as well as the cold. She’d never noticed that cold had its own particular scent until now, and inhaled it deeply, intent on remembering this moment for as long as she lived. It was ironic that the most horrifying moment of her life might also be the moment she knew that she’d fallen in love.
Seconds later, Eulis turned loose of her, looking as uncomfortable as she felt.
“Well, then,” he said shortly. “Maybe it’ll be all right. I didn’t hold her long and it’s really cold.”
“Yeah,” Letty said. “That’s right. It wasn’t for long. But we’d better get back to camp. I’m going hunting for that buck while you start chopping down some trees. It won’t take long to fix us up some kind of lean-to. We’ll make it just fine. You’ll see.”
“Yeah, that’s right. We can do anything if we stick together, can’t we?”
Letty’s chin trembled, but she wouldn’t let go of her terror.
“Let’s get moving,” she said.
He clucked to the team and the wagon wheels began to roll. Less than five minutes later, they came upon some Arapaho walking toward the city. Letty recognized the woman she’d helped in the woods. The woman who called herself Little Bird.
“Eulis, wait!” she said, and jumped out of the wagon before he could stop her.
She ran toward the group and then stopped a few feet away.
“Go back!” she cried, and motioned for them to retrace their steps.
They stopped, startled by her aggressive behavior, while one of the warriors with the women reached for his knife.
“No, no… I’m not trying to harm you,” Letty said, and then slapped her legs in frustration.
Eulis started to get down and come to her aid, but she held up her hand.
“No! Don’t!” she said. “If you’re contagious…”
He looked as if she’d slapped him across the face and then sat back down.
Letty turned back to the Arapaho, fixing her attention solely on Little Bird.
“You speak English… yes?”
Little Bird glanced at the warrior who was holding the knife, then nodded at Letty.
“There is sickness in the city. White man’s sickness.”
Little Bird gasped, and then spoke to the others in her native tongue.
“Smallpox,” Letty said. “Tell them it is smallpox. Tell them to pack up your tents and leave now. Don’t talk or touch anyone who’s been down in the town.”
Little Bird’s eyes widened with horror as she translated what Letty just said.
Immediately, the group turned around and began running back through the trees. It wasn’t the first time that the white man’s sickness had come into their world. Back then they’d buried hundreds of their own, and the knowledge that it had returned struck fear in their hearts.
But Little Bird stayed. She saw the empty wagon, the cold on their faces, and the fear in their eyes, and knew they faced worse problems than a sickness.
“You have no home,” Little Bird said.
Letty’s shoulders sagged.
“That’s the understatement of the week,” Letty muttered.
Little Bird frowned. “I not know your words.”
Letty sighed. “You are right. We have no home.”
“I know place,” Little Bird said. “You pack up. I come to you.”
Within seconds she was gone, leaving Letty standing in the ever-deepening snow.
“Letty!”
She turned and ran for the wagon.
“Head for camp,” she said. “We’ve got to pack.”
“Pack? And go where? It’s too late to get out of the mountains, and without supplies, we’d never make it back to Fort Dodge.”
“Little Bird says she knows where we can winter.”
“Little Bird? How do you know her name?”
“It’s a long story,” Letty said. “Just hurry. We don’t have much time.”
Within the hour they were at their camp and loading up their meager belongings. Eulis was folding up the tent when Rosy lifted her head and brayed.
He turned around just as an Arapaho man and woman rode into camp.
“Letty!”
She looked up then waved.
“You come now,” Little Bird said.
They tossed the last of their things into the back of the wagon, and then crawled up into the seat. Within the hour, the snow had covered up every trace of their presence. It was as if they’d never been there.
Less than an hour later, the snow stopped falling, but not before every trace of a road had been covered with a good six inches of powder. By late afternoon, the mules were exhausted and had faltered twice, as if too weary to go on. The third time it happened, Eulis got down from the wagon, walked to the front of the team and began leading them, trying desperately to stay up with the Arapahos on horseback in front of them.
More than once it occurred to Eulis that they might be following the Arapaho to their death. He had no reason to trust them, and no earthly idea of where they were going. He certainly didn’t understand the bond that seemed to be between Letty and the woman who she called Little Bird. But Letty was convinced it was safe, and so they went, farther up the mountain, trusting their lives to savages.
It was nearing sundown when Little Bird suddenly stopped her pony and then motioned for Letty to come. Letty got down from the wagon and slogged her way through the snow while wondering if she’d ever be warm again.
“What?” she asked.
Little Bird pointed.
“There. You go there.”
Letty moved past their horses and found herself looking down into a small, sheltered valley. In the distance, she could see a cabin that had been built up against the back wall of the mountain, and less than a hundred yards away, a small waterfall shot out of a crevice in the rocks about halfway down from the top.
“Oh. Oh, my,” she whispered and then looked up at Little Bird.
“Man die… two, maybe three winters ago. Plenty grass, plenty game. Good water. You go.”
Letty knew that their lives had just been saved.
“Little Bird. Thank you. Thank you.”
The little Indian woman shrugged. �
�You help me. I help you. We go now.”
Letty stepped aside.
The Arapaho warrior who was with Little Bird eyed Letty curiously. She wondered if Little Bird had told him what she’d done, and then knew that it didn’t matter. The tribe was safe from the smallpox, and she and Eulis had found sanctuary. Now if God was vigilant on their behalf and Eulis was saved from the disease, their lives would be perfect.
Refusing to accept that Eulis had been exposed, she ran back to the wagon and climbed in.
“What did she say?” Eulis asked.
Letty pointed to the break in the trees.
“That way,” she said. “You’ll see.”
And they did.
The valley below was blanketed by both a layer of snow and natural grasses that would provide all the winter fodder their animals would need. As Eulis remarked upon the cabin and the water, Letty watched a herd of elk moving slowly across the valley.
“Unbelievable,” Eulis said. “But what about the owner of that cabin?”
“Little Bird said he’s dead. Let’s go, Eulis. The cabin is bound to need cleaning and it’s getting late.”
“As long as it’s got a roof and four walls, it’s gonna satisfy me,” Eulis said, and clucked to the mules.
He wouldn’t let himself think about getting sick, or dying down here in this valley and leaving Letty all alone to try and find her way out come spring. For now, their dilemma had been solved. He was too cold and weary to worry about tomorrow.
Raising Lazarus
Letty named the place Eden.
Eulis thought it was a bit too fancy for a one-roomed cabin that smelled faintly of polecat and dust, but after they had unpacked their belongings and started a fire, he could almost believe she’d been right. The relief of knowing they had shelter for the winter did seem like a gift from above.
The fireplace smoked some, and Eulis figured some birds had probably built a nest up in the flue, but if it didn’t burn itself clean by morning, he would climb up on the roof and dig out the clog.