The air had already turned hot and Gideon expected another warm day. He stepped out of the barn to get away from the fierce heat of the forge, and found his father and brothers sitting in the shade of the elm tree. Gideon washed his face and hands at the pump, finally sticking his whole head under the spigot to cool down. Then he sat on the grass next to his father and enjoyed the feel of cold water dripping from his head onto his shoulders.
Gideon’s mother and youngest brother came out of the family living quarters, bringing scones and cool glasses of lemonade with them. “Will the wagon be finished by tomorrow?” Mrs. Lewis asked as she placed the platter of scones on the ground.
“Should be,” Mr. Lewis said, reaching for a scone and accepting the lemonade. “As long as we don’t have another injury.” He referred to the fact that Gideon’s second youngest brother was laid up with a sprained ankle from jumping off one of the bigger wagons and landing wrong on his foot. “We need to finish before dusk tomorrow so we can take the wagon for a run and make sure everything is in good working order.”
Gideon wasn’t worried. His father was a master craftsman and took pride in making sure every part of a wagon was precise and worked perfectly. They would easily finish their work by the end of the day tomorrow. Gideon’s only responsibility was to produce the final wheel, and he hoped to have it finished before quitting for the day. He hadn’t talked to his father yet about the possibility of taking tomorrow off, but he intended to bring the subject up once he completed the wheel.
Milo Henderson had offered to drive Cora and her sister Alice to Shoshone the following day. Horatio Nelson Jackson and his companions planned to drive through Shoshone, a small community to the south of Clover Creek, on their way to Wyoming and points east. Cora and Alice were ecstatic about traveling for the day to watch Jackson drive by in his automobile. Margie and Rose Howell were going along, and Gideon had been invited.
Gideon was determined to join the party. Milo was already the hero of the day for offering to drive the girls in his family’s fancy carriage.
A second and third carriage and one large wagon was joining the caravan of young people traipsing over to Shoshone. The news of Jackson’s automobile trek was the most exciting event in southern Idaho for some time.
While Gideon finished a scone and his lemonade, Jake Weston rode up on his roadster bicycle, most likely out running errands for his father. “Hey, have you heard? Jackson and his mechanic are halfway to Mountain Home! They’re expected to be in the Shoshone area sometime tomorrow afternoon. My pa’s letting me take our carriage and a friend to ride over and watch for them. I think half the town plans to go and watch them drive by.”
Gideon looked to see his father’s reaction. His father had not shown the least bit of interest in Jackson’s road trip, saying that driving an automobile out in the unsettled areas of the west was a bunch of nonsense and wouldn’t amount to anything.
Now his father looked irritated. “I don’t know why the whole town’s going crazy over one horseless carriage,” Mr. Lewis grumbled. “It will be the first and last one we’ll see in this part of the country for years. A bunch of foolishness if you ask me. And a bunch of wasted time for a lot of people.” With that, Mr. Lewis thanked his wife for the lemonade and scones and took off for the barn.
Gideon’s heart sank. With his father feeling such strong animosity toward Jackson and his automobile, he wouldn’t be too favorable about Gideon running off to participate in what was considered a bunch of wasted time. Gideon would have to assure his father that he didn’t want to go with his friends because of Jackson and his automobile so much as he wanted to accompany Cora and look out for her and her sister. Looking out for the Gardner girls was something his father would approve of. Still, he had to get the last wheel finished before he even thought of asking for the day off.
Jake waved, hopped back on his roadster, and hurriedly peddled away. Gideon didn’t blame him. Jake probably didn’t want to listen to Gideon’s father grouse about the horseless carriage any longer. “I’m going back to work,” Gideon said, standing and stretching the stiffness out of his arms and back. If he worked well into the night and finished the last wheel, his father would surely agree that he deserved a day off, even if it was partly to chase after something so foolish as an automobile.
Before Gideon went back to work, he climbed up to the loft he shared with his brothers and knelt beside his bed. He prayed that all would go well with finishing the wheel and wagon. He prayed that his father’s heart would be softened, and that he would allow Gideon to take off the next day. Gideon just had to accompany Cora and the rest of the young people heading for Shoshone. If he didn’t, Milo Henderson might take advantage of the day and usurp Gideon’s place as Cora’s favorite dance partner and friend. He couldn’t let that happen. In fact, he really wanted to go along and watch for the chance to tell Cora exactly how he felt about her, and how he’d been saving to build that little cabin.
After Gideon finished his prayer, he went back to work at the forge. He had an unsettling feeling that his father wouldn’t approve of him chasing off to Shoshone, or that things wouldn’t work out with finishing the wagon so he could go. The feeling troubled him for over an hour as he worked. Half way through the afternoon, he understood why he’d had that sense of impending doom. When his father was cutting one of the last dowels to go into the hub of the wheel, his hand slipped, and he slashed the tips of two fingers on his left hand.
“Pa!” Gideon yelled as his father cried out and blood spilled onto the work table and floor.
Gideon grabbed a clean rag and rushed to his father, wrapping his fingers tightly, and then walking his father toward the family living quarters.
“What a stupid thing to do,” Mr. Lewis grumbled, all the while shaking his head. “We’re so close to finishing this wagon, but that’s what I get for hurrying.”
The injury was severe enough that after Mrs. Lewis cleaned and bandaged her husband’s fingers, it was obvious to Gideon that his father wouldn’t be working on the wagon the next day. Mr. Lewis could oversee the work, but his injured hand would prevent him from actually doing the work.
Gideon rubbed the back of his neck as he watched his mother care for his father’s wounds. His hopes were crushed. He knew what was needed to complete the little mail wagon, and how to do it. With his father’s supervision and his brothers’ help, Gideon would finish the wagon on time.
There would be no Shoshone trip with Cora for him.
Early Saturday morning, before the break of dawn, Gideon stood outside of the newspaper office where all the young people had assembled for their drive south to Shoshone. Gideon shivered in the cool morning air. He wasn’t going with them, but he wanted to see them off, especially Cora. He didn’t want her to spend every single minute of the day with Milo Henderson. He wanted some time with her even if it was only for a few minutes before the caravan left.
“I sure hope you get to see Jackson and his automobile,” Gideon said.
“And Bud!” Cora replied. Her eyes lit up as though she now considered the dog one of the most important figures traveling across the country. “This whole adventure is quite absurd, I know. Spending most of the day on a hot dusty road with just the hope of seeing them. We might spend hours traveling, and still miss them.”
“Well, it’s a beautiful day for traveling with friends and having a picnic. I hope the sky stays clear for you the whole day.”
“Thanks, Gideon.” Cora looked down for a moment, and then raised her eyes to his. “I wish you were coming with us.”
Gideon’s heart ached with that very wish. He wanted so badly to be the one to accompany her to witness one of her biggest dreams, not to watch her drive off in Milo’s carriage and Milo’s company. She looked so lovely in her blue traveling dress and matching hat. “I wish I could accompany you,” he said, his voice almost breaking, “but with Pa cutting his fingers, I can’t leave. We’re almost finished with our latest mail wagon, and I need to
stay and do the work. It’ll take my brothers and I at least half the day to finish it if all goes well. There just isn’t enough time to do both.”
“I understand,” Cora said, “but I’ll miss you so much.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
Gideon reached out and took her hand in his, wishing with all his heart that he dared give her a parting kiss. But with so many people standing around talking and laughing, he didn’t dare. “Hopefully, you’ll be back in time for the dance,” he said. “May I have the first and last dance again tonight?”
Cora smiled and placed her hand on his arm, causing a warm prickling sensation to charge up his arm to his heart.
“Yes, you may. I promise,” she said.
When everyone was through with their last-minute preparations, and the picnic baskets had been secured in the carriages, Gideon walked Cora over to Milo’s carriage and helped her climb aboard. “Have a good trip,” he said to Alice and the Howell sisters, who were already in the carriage. “Take good care of them,” he said to Milo.
With a smug smile, Milo tipped his hat, took up the reins, and gave them a gentle flick. The horses and carriage moved down the road just as the sun broke over the eastern mountains. Cora leaned around and waved to Gideon until the horses broke into a trot. As one carriage after another lumbered toward the edge of town, Gideon stood motionless, his heart breaking. Four carriages and one wagon left town, full of happy, laughing young people, excited about their day. Even if they weren’t able to find Jackson and watch him fly by in his automobile, they would have a fun day.
Gideon hoped Cora had a fun day and was able to see Jackson and his automobile and his dog, even though he couldn’t join her. He let out a heavy sigh and started walking back to the wheelwright barn. He would give anything to be in that carriage with Cora. Anything except leaving his father and brothers when they needed him most.
Mr. Weston, who had also been outside in the early morning hour seeing Jake and the others off, called to Gideon. “Too bad you’re not going along,” he said. “But maybe you don’t have the automobile fascination that half the town has.”
Gideon smiled and walked over to the man. “Too much work to do,” he simply said. “We’ve got a mail wagon to finish today.”
“I’d go myself, if I didn’t feel like it was important to stick around and check on the news,” Mr. Weston said. “I’ve really gotten caught up in this road trip business since Jackson and his mechanic persevered through California and Oregon. But Jake’s taking notes for me today. I even sent my camera with him, hoping he gets some good pictures. Wouldn’t that be something if our little newspaper had original pictures of this famous automobile? And that dog? What do you think of them picking up a dog?”
Gideon looked down the road, watching the last carriage and wagon in the caravan disappear around a bend. “Smart man,” he said, turning to Mr. Weston. “He’ll attract more attention than ever with Bud along.”
Mr. Weston’s eyes danced with mirth. “That’s exactly what I think.”
“Well, I’d better hustle on home,” Gideon said, shoving his hat down further on his head. “I’ve got work to do.”
He took off running, wanting to get started on the wagon. He hoped to finish everything within a few hours, and then he could at least take Thor out for a run. And he just might take the new mail wagon for a test drive out on the road toward Shoshone in the evening. The possibility of meeting Cora and the returning caravan later brightened his day.
Because Gideon had worked so late the night before, he had finished the last wheel before midnight. Now, all he had to do was couple the wheels to the wagon and make sure everything was secure. As soon as he got back to the wheelwright barn, he found his brothers and father finishing their morning meal. Gideon grabbed some biscuits, and then headed to the barn with them to add the final touches to the wagon.
A table had been built into the interior of the wagon for processing mail and collecting money for stamps and envelopes. Two of Gideon’s brothers were assigned to stain the interior panels, along with the table and built in mail slots. Mr. Lewis instructed Gideon’s middle brother to paint the buyer’s route number on the outside of the wagon, including the initials RFD for Rural Free Delivery. Gideon set about attaching the cushion his mother had made for the driver’s seat. When he finished with the cushion, he attached the odometer to the wagon. Before he started to affix the wagon wheels to the wagon, a young boy from town came charging up to the wheelwright barn on Jake Weston’s roadster bicycle. “Gideon! Mr. Weston needs to see you!” the boy exclaimed between quick breaths. “He says it’s urgent!”
Gideon looked at his father who was overseeing the lettering on the side of the mail wagon.
“You’d better go see what it’s about,” Mr. Lewis said. After giving the boy a coin, and thanking him, Gideon took off running. He nearly beat the boy on the bicycle back to the newspaper office. Mr. Weston was out front on the boardwalk, pacing back and forth.
“A change of plans!” Mr. Weston shouted, before Gideon even reached the boardwalk. “Jackson’s changed directions. I don’t know why, but he’s not following the southern Oregon Trail after all. For some reason, he turned north at Mountain Home, and he’s heading this way.”
“Right through Clover Creek?” Gideon gasped. His eyes widened, and he pulled out his handkerchief to wipe sweat from his forehead.
“Looks like it!” Mr. Weston said. “Come inside and look at this!”
Gideon read the news dispatch that had come in over the wire.
“Is there any way you can catch up to that caravan and get them turned around?” Mr. Weston asked.
Gideon scrubbed his hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he said. “We have to finish that mail wagon, but we’ve already got a lot done.”
“Jake’s got my camera, and I have to get it back here before Jackson shows up! I’d go myself, but I’ve got to spread the news so people in these parts can come to town and see this automobile for themselves!”
“I’ll check with Pa,” Gideon said, and with that, he took off running again. When he made it back to the wheelwright barn, he was completely out of breath.
“What’s the problem?” Mr. Lewis asked the second Gideon approached him. Gideon’s brothers stopped what they were doing and gathered around.
“Nothing life-threatening,” Gideon gasped, bending over and trying to catch his breath. “But Jackson changed directions at Mountain Home. For some reason, he’s taking the northern route and heading this way. Mr. Weston wants me to catch up to the caravan and get them turned around.”
Mr. Lewis puckered his mouth as though he couldn’t fathom what was so urgent about turning the caravan around.
“Weston’s a newspaper man,” Gideon said, “and Jackson’s big news. Jake went with the caravan and took his pa’s camera. Mr. Weston needs it back here.”
When that bit of information didn’t take the scowl off Mr. Lewis’ face, Gideon added his own plea. “I’d really like to bring Cora back too,” he said. “This horseless carriage is something she really wants to see. Maybe she won’t think it’s so great once she sees it, and she’ll get over her infatuation with automobiles.”
Mr. Lewis winced. “You really like this girl, don’t you?”
Gideon looked at his younger brothers who were smirking off to the side. “I do,” he admitted while sending his brothers a glare.
“Hmm, I do too,” Mr. Lewis said.
“Well, I like her a lot, and her family!” Mrs. Lewis stood in the doorway, her hands placed firmly on her hips. She stalked out to stand face to face with her husband. “They’re good people, and I’ve always hoped Cora might become part of our family one day. I have to think of my future grandchildren, you know. I want Gideon to go bring Cora back to see this automobile thing. It will make him a hero in her eyes, and every girl wants to marry her hero.”
When Gideon’s brothers broke into snickers, Mrs. Lewis turned on them. “And what’s more
, I’m hoping for more than one Gardner girl to join our family. So, don’t find this so amusing. Your time is coming!”
That comment turned the snickering into out-and-out guffaws.
“Well?” Mrs. Lewis turned her narrowed eyes toward her husband. “Are you going to let Gideon go or not?”
“All right,” Mr. Lewis said, digging the toe of his boot into the dirt. “You go bring that young lady back here, Gideon. Your brothers can put the wheels on the wagon and finish the rest of work by themselves.”
That comment quickly turned the guffaws into groans.
Gideon hugged his mother, squeezing her so hard, she squealed.
“I just hope you get them back here before it’s too late to see this confounded contraption come through,” Mr. Lewis added. “Then maybe all this automobile business will die down.”
“I’ll try Pa, and if the mail wagon isn’t finished when I get back, I’ll work all evening to finish it.” The second Gideon made that offer, he thought of the Saturday night dance and Cora’s promise of the first and last dance. He hoped those brothers of his rallied around and completed that wagon while he was gone.
Within minutes, Gideon had Thor saddled and ready to go. Mrs. Lewis ran out and handed him a bag of biscuits and cheese and two apples from the kitchen. While Gideon stuffed the bag into his saddle bag, Mr. Lewis showed up with a bag of grain for Thor. “Take good care of Thor,” he said. “Don’t run him too long.”
“I’ll take good care of him, Pa,” Gideon said, rubbing Thor’s nose. “I promise. We’ll stop and rest, and I’ll see that he gets plenty of water.”
Gideon hugged both of his parents, waved to his brothers, and was off. He stopped at the newspaper office long enough to tell Mr. Weston that he was on his way, and then he tore out of town. The caravan had well over two hours of travel time on him.
Winds of Change (The Surveyor's Daughters Book 4) Page 8