“Absolutely,” Gideon said, “I’m happy to help.”
While Crocker and Gideon worked on the repair, Jackson stood in front of the wheelwright barn and answered questions for Mr. Weston and the crowd of townsfolk. He had them enthralled with his stories of steep mountain inclines, narrow cliffside ledges, and boulder strewn roads.
“We tried to shoot over the mountain streams,” Jackson said, “but half of the time we didn’t make it to the other side and had to get out the block and tackle. But our sturdy automobile is so well built that notwithstanding a few breakdowns, it chugged right along no matter how bad the conditions were. We expect the Vermont to carry us right along to New York City.”
Mrs. Lewis offered to feed the weary travelers once the crowd thinned out, and had even coaxed Bud out of the automobile with some leftover meat scraps and a dish of water. Once Bud was fed and watered, his slobbers became more profuse, and he thanked Mrs. Lewis by licking her hand and sharing his drools. Then he found a grassy place in the shade of the wheelwright barn for napping and snoring.
While Gideon worked with Crocker on Jackson’s automobile, he felt torn between a sense of awe and an overwhelming sadness. The Vermont, with its heavy frame and sturdy mechanical engineering, was astonishing and powerful. Gideon didn’t know how or when the automobile would become more popular than a horse and buggy, but after working on the newfangled contraption, he knew deep in his heart that it was going to happen.
No wonder Cora had been after him all this time to take the future of the automobile seriously. She had ridden in one in Salt Lake City. She had experienced the power and the possibilities.
Gideon had not missed his father’s unsettled look while he worked on the Vermont. Mr. Lewis had watched he and Crocker work for a lengthy time, and then had quietly slipped into the living quarters of the wheelwright barn. Gideon’s heart ached for him. Surely his father had the same foreboding feelings that tore at Gideon’s heart.
Change was coming. And it would be a dire change for the Lewis family.
By the time Gideon and Crocker had the fuel tank repaired, the crowd had thinned out, and Mrs. Lewis had supper ready. Gideon was thrilled to see Cora and Alice in the kitchen helping his mother. He didn’t know why, but seeing Cora helped ease the uneasy feeling in his chest. He was doubly relieved to see his father come into the room and take his place at the head of the table. Mr. Lewis didn’t say much during the meal. It was Gideon’s younger brothers who peppered Jackson and Crocker with questions.
“Can your automobile outrun a deer?
“How far can you travel in one day?”
“How much longer will it take to get to New York?”
“Have you ever run over a skunk?”
Jackson answered their questions as best as he could, assuring them that it was hard to estimate his timeline into New York or how far he could travel in a day because of the poor roads, poor directions, and inevitably, more breakdowns. “We’ve never run over a skunk,” he said, “but we’ve come close. And we’ve never raced a deer, but that would be a close race.” He winked at the boys. “Just watch us now. We’re going all the way to New York.”
“That’s enough questions,” Mr. Lewis said to his boys. “I’m sure our guests are anxious to be on their way.”
Gideon and Cora stood close together as Jackson and Crocker left the table. Both men shook Gideon’s hand and thanked him again for his help with the Vermont. Gideon introduced Cora to the men. “This lovely lady has been your most ardent fan,” Gideon said. “She’s the one who’s believed in your road trip from the beginning and stirred the whole town into following your whereabouts for the past three weeks.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gardner,” Jackson said. It’s nice to know that someone believes in our venture and doesn’t regard us as two crazy men and a dog.”
Cora smiled and shook hands with the men. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ve been reading about automobiles in my pa’s newspapers for a couple of years now. He’s a land surveyor, so he’s highly interested in improving the roads in the west.”
“That’s what America needs,” Crocker said. “Our country needs good roads in order to move forward in this new century.”
“Speaking of roads,” Cora added, “you’re going to go over some of the roughest in the next few hours. Miles and miles of lava rock. My pa’s out in those lava fields right now with a government survey party. Perhaps if you come through again in another year, there’ll be a better road out there. But in the meantime, I hope you have good tires.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Crocker said.
Jackson nodded. “We had extra tires shipped in on the train to Caldwell. Sounds like we’ll need them. And thank you for your hospitality,” he said, turning to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis. “You have an excellent shop here, and you’re very kind. We do need to be on our way and see how many more miles we can cover before morning. But before we go, there is one thing. We’ve traded a home-cooked meal for a ride in the Vermont at every stop. So, who in your family would like to go for an automobile ride before we leave town?”
“Me!” chorused all of Gideon’s younger brothers at the same time.
“I think Pa should go,” Gideon said.
“Ma cooked our fine meal,” Mr. Lewis said, a pensive look in his eyes. “And the trade is a home-cooked meal for a ride. So, Ma, are you ready to take your first ride in an automobile?”
Mrs. Lewis took off her apron and grinned. “I’m scared to pieces, but frankly, I’d be thrilled to ride in your automobile.”
Jackson had informed the townsfolk that after he and Crocker ate dinner, they would crank up the Vermont and head out for Pocatello if anyone wanted to watch the automobile leave town. Nearly the whole crowd from earlier in the day, and several others who hadn’t made it into town earlier, now waited outside the wheelwright barn. The crowd included Milo Henderson and the young people who had chosen to go on to Shoshone.
“I see you changed your plans,” Gideon said after walking up to Milo.
“Sure did,” Milo said. “We stopped for a rest in the next little town and were informed by the telegraph office there that Jackson had indeed turned north out of Mountain Home. We came back as fast as we could, and thankfully, we haven’t missed him. Sorry I didn’t believe you earlier.”
“Well, you made it,” Gideon said, placing a hand on Milo’s shoulder. “That’s all that matters.”
“Not only us, but a lot of folks from that little town followed us back here to see the Vermont.”
The crowd cheered when Crocker fired up the Vermont and Jackson helped Mrs. Lewis climb in and sit down. Bud tried to jump in beside her, but Crocker held him back.
“Would you like my boys to wash your automobile before you take off?” Mrs. Lewis settled in her padded seat and spoke loudly to be heard above the muffled explosive sounds of the engine. “I see that under all this mud, this carriage is bright red.”
“Oh, no,” Jackson said, grinning as he climbed in next to Mrs. Lewis. “But thank you for the offer. Actually, we take a lot of pride in where this automobile has taken us, terrain where no automobile has ever been before. The mud and sagebrush remnants are testaments to the Vermont’s capabilities, and we intend for the good people in New York to have some idea of what we’ve been through.”
With that, Jackson shifted into gear and Mrs. Lewis squealed when the Vermont took off chugging down the main street of Clover Creek. People cheered and a few dogs chased after the automobile, barking at its explosive sounds. When Jackson reached the far end of town, he turned the Vermont around and chugged back to the wheelwright barn at a slower speed. Mrs. Lewis waved to the townsfolk, and she had the biggest smile on her face that Gideon had ever seen.
Horatio Nelson Jackson and Sewall Crocker waved farewell to the cheering crowd as they drove out of Clover Creek. Bud, wearing his goggles, sat proudly between the two men, slobbers streaming down the front of him. Gideon watched until the Vermont disappe
ared out of sight, and with it, part of his dreams. He noticed his father chewing on his lip as the Vermont rolled down the street to more cheers from the crowd. It seemed like he and his father were the only people in town that had a sinking feeling about the automobile. Jackson and Crocker had been gracious to Gideon’s family, but Gideon could not dismiss the fact that they were contributing to a change that would bring the wheelwright era to a close.
Gideon noticed Milo talking to Cora, their faces shining with excitement as they watched Jackson and Crocker leave town. His heart sunk even further than it had moments ago. Cora would probably choose Milo over him for sure now.
Milo was in a position to buy her an automobile.
Gideon quietly moved away from the crowd. All he wanted to do was be by himself and not listen to any more talk of automobiles. He saw his next youngest brother and took him aside. “I’m not feeling well,” Gideon said. “If I don’t make it to the dance tonight, will you ask Cora for the first dance in my place? And if I don’t make it by the last dance, will you ask her for that dance also?”
Once he was reassured that Cora would have a dance partner for the first and last dance, Gideon headed for the stable. He went into Thor’s stall and buried his face into Thor’s mane. Gideon hadn’t cried since he was ten years old and fell out of the barn loft, breaking his arm, but tonight, he wept. He wept for his pa and for all the wheelwrights in the country.He wept for himself and for his lost dreams.
What would his family do if the need for wagons and carts gave way to the automobile in the near future?
10
Cora danced the first dance with Gideon’s brother at the Saturday night dance. She danced the second dance with Milo, and the next few dances with some of the other young men in town. All everyone talked about was Jackson and his automobile. At first Cora didn’t think anything about Gideon not showing up for the first dance. She figured he was helping with the finishing touches to the mail wagon he’d been working on. But still, all of his brothers attended the dance. After the fifth dance and Gideon still hadn’t shown up, Cora worried. Was it possible that Gideon was disheartened after seeing Jackson’s automobile? That wasn’t like Gideon, but today had been monumental for someone in his trade. The longer the dance went on, the more Cora worried about him.
Finally, when the dance was half over, and Cora was finishing another dance with Milo, Gideon walked through the doorway. His face looked grave, his smile forced. Milo walked Cora to the sidelines and offered to bring her a glass of cider. While he was gone, Gideon took the seat beside her.
“I’m sorry I missed the first dance,” he said.
“It’s all right. I enjoyed dancing with your brother. He’s a nice young man.”
Gideon nodded. “Is your next dance spoken for?”
Milo showed up with two glasses of cider before Cora could answer. He sat on the other side of Cora, handed her a glass of cider, and immediately started talking about Horatio Nelson Jackson and his automobile. “So, you got to work on the Vermont,” Milo said to Gideon. “What’d you think?”
“Impressive,” Gideon answered without looking at Milo. “Very impressive.”
“Jackson’s machine is a Winton,” Milo said. “I’ve been thinking about buying a Packard for a couple of months, but now I’m torn between a Packard and a Winton. I read that the Packard company is about to start another cross-country road trip from San Francisco to New York. They think they can beat Jackson to New York even though they haven’t even started yet. Before long, ordinary people will be driving from coast to coast.”
“Not until something is done about the roads,” Cora said, feeling indignant that Milo was making a difficult time for Gideon worse. “There’s only a little over a hundred miles of paved roads in the whole country, and they’re mostly in the cities back east.”
“It won’t take long to improve the roads.”
“It will take a very long time,” Cora argued. “I should know. It takes weeks to simply survey for new roads, let alone build them.”
“You may be right,” Milo said, standing abruptly. “Excuse me, please. I see my next dance partner looking for me.”
Cora leaned closer to Gideon when the boisterous fiddle and organ music started up. “Would you like to go for a walk, and get away from all the automobile chatter?”
“That’s the best offer I’ve had all evening,” Gideon said, taking her hand in his. He smiled at her in that way that made her quiver inside. They stood and instead of joining the dancers, they walked toward the schoolhouse door.
Cora stopped long enough to tell Alice that if anyone asked about her whereabouts, she and Gideon had gone for a walk. “We won’t be long,” she said.
The evening was warm, the moon nearly full. The air smelled of honeysuckle and alfalfa. Once they got away from the schoolhouse, the only noise was the fading dance music, a chorus of crickets, and the peaceful croaking of nearby frogs. They walked to the mercantile without speaking and sat on the bench out front.
“Is it depressing to hear everyone going on and on about automobiles?” Cora asked.
Gideon nodded. “You have no idea.”
Cora waited, hoping he would voice his feelings. It didn’t take long.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come for the first dance like we planned,” Gideon said. “I had to spend some time alone to process what happened today with Jackson coming through town. I didn’t think I’d be impressed with his automobile, but I was wrong. The Winton is an amazing machine. I can see what you’ve been trying to tell me for the past year. I fear that in a few years, family life and traditions as my family knows them, will change. Most likely, even the mail will be delivered by an automobile in the future. I can see it as plain as day now.”
Cora placed her hand on his as he spoke, and he intertwined their fingers. It was some time before Gideon spoke again.
“After working on the Winton, I can see the automobile becoming more and more popular. I’m just having a rough time facing that fact. And so is Pa. I could tell by the look on his face. When the dance started, I was out in the stable with Thor, trying to deal with the changes that are sure to come.” He smirked. “Ma found me, and told me to quit moping around, and get on over to the dance.”
“I’m so glad she did,” Cora said. She leaned into his shoulder. “I adore your mother.”
“She adores you, and so do I.” Gideon brought Cora’s hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her fingers. “Ma said she’d talk to Pa, and that our family would weather this storm as the years move forward. I’ve been thinking about what she said ever since. Did you know that Jackson’s mechanic is a bicycle racer and mechanic?”
“I did read that somewhere,” Cora said.
“Crocker doesn’t seem to be frightened about what’s happening to his profession.”
“You could do the same thing as Mr. Crocker,” Cora said. “Not necessarily race bicycles, but you could start selling and repairing bicycles at the wheelwright barn. You could train to repair automobiles as they become popular. Jackson’s automobile has proved one thing. Automobiles are going to need a good mechanic around.”
“To be honest, I really enjoyed crawling under that Winton and working on it. The machine is fascinating.”
“You can build or repair anything,” Cora said.
“Exactly!” He smiled at her, that very look of joy and intensity that she loved so much. “This past year, I’ve told myself that an idea of working on automobiles was dumb, but maybe it isn’t. Maybe I would truly enjoy it.”
“I think this whole automobile experience is exciting to think about, Gideon. Maybe someday, when automobiles become popular out here in the west, you can even sell them.”
Gideon reached for Cora’s other hand and turned so they were almost facing each other. “You’re an amazing woman, Cora Gardner. Have I ever told you that?”
Tears filled Cora’s eyes. She couldn’t speak.
“Here’s another idea to think about,�
� Gideon said. “Would you consider tackling this new adventure in life as my wife?”
Cora’s tears spilled over, and Gideon brushed them aside with his thumbs.
“I would be honored to become Mrs. Gideon Lewis.”
“Really?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
Gideon kissed her cheek. When he spoke, his voice was low. “How is it that I’m the most blessed man on the planet? Somehow, I can’t believe that you’re choosing me over Milo. It’s obvious that he likes you, and he has a lot more to offer you than I do.”
“It’s really quite simple,” Cora said, turning her head and tilting her other cheek for him to kiss. “There are three good reasons why I’ve always wanted to marry you and not Milo.”
Gideon raised a brow. “And . . .”
“Have you ever noticed Milo’s feet? He’s not nearly as tall as you, and he has small feet. I realized a while back that Milo’s feet are smaller than mine.”
Gideon’s mouth went slack. He placed a hand against his chest with his fingers splayed out. “And that is why you wanted to marry me?”
Merriment flickered in Cora’s eyes. “I could never marry a man who had smaller feet than me. What if we argued one day, and he made fun of me for my big feet?”
Gideon pulled her closer to him and spoke into her hair. “I will never make fun of you for any reason,” he said. “Never!”
“I know you won’t. You are a true gentleman with a big heart and . . .” She suppressed the urge to giggle. “You have bigger feet than me.”
“You said there were three reasons.”
Cora scrunched her shoulders up and grinned. “Yes, well, another reason is that I have been in love with you since you stopped pulling my pigtails and beat up the other boys who did.”
Gideon’s laugh turned into a bark. “I didn’t really beat up the other boys, did I?”
“You threatened to, and since you were stronger than most, the boys believed you and left my hair alone.”
He pulled her close again, resting his face against her hair. “I didn’t want other boys touching your hair. All those years I pulled your pigtails was because I loved to touch your hair. I’ve missed the feel of your hair and longed to touch it for several years.”
Winds of Change (The Surveyor's Daughters Book 4) Page 10