“Okay then, come on, Elise. Let’s find the both of you a new horse.”
Elise nodded and followed Mrs. Winters. Their first stop was with the Franks. Elise knew they had an extra horse. She had seen it when they went to have dinner with them.
The Franks had become their friends. Not as closely as Mrs. Winters was, but still, they were friendly enough and made her and Ronan feel welcome.
After they had explained their plight to Mrs. Frank, Elise waited, nearly holding her breath. She watched as Mrs. and Mr. Frank discussed things with one another. Before they stopped their conversation to give them an answer, Elise knew it was going to be a no.
“We’re very sorry, Elise. We really want to help, but we could end up in the same situation. One of our horses is already older and showing signs of slowing down, so we are letting the young horse take a turn every other day. We have three children. They couldn’t make it to California if something happens to the wagon.” Mrs. Frank sounded sorry.
Elise nodded. She noticed that Mr. Frank just seemed embarrassed. She had never meant to make them feel bad for not helping. They had no obligation to do so, and Elise had known from the moment they asked that the possibilities of them helping were unlikely.
“It’s okay. We understand. I wouldn’t sell the extra horse if I were you either.” Elise wasn’t sure if her words made them feel better.
“If we find or hear of anyone who has an extra animal to sell you, we will let you know right away. I will ask around too.”
“Thank you.” Elise gave them a polite smile before she led Mrs. Winters on to the next wagon.
There were times when the wagon train moved faster than others, and it was hard for her and Mrs. Winters to keep up. It took time, but they kept going, wagon to wagon, asking the impossible question.
Unfortunately, many had the same sentiment as the Franks. If they did have an extra animal, they weren’t willing to sell it because they might need it later, or they had an extra heavy wagon and weren’t willing to part with anything in order to have one less animal pulling. Some of the extra horses were carrying packs of extra food, blankets, and supplies too.
The people who brought an extra horse or oxen were few. Most people were in the same situation as Ronan and Elise. They had only brought one pair of horses or oxen and needed both in order to arrive safely in California and were just hopeful that their horses or oxen made it the entire journey. A few people had been left in the last settlement, and many had abandoned supplies along the trail.
By the time Elise made it back to the wagon, she was astonished to see that they were nearly at the back of the wagon train. There was a small pile of stuff beside the road near their wagon. Ronan was still unloading a few things as she and Mrs. Winters walked up.
“Any luck?” he asked.
“No. We asked a good fifty wagons. We were too tired to ask any more.” Elise felt guilty for not pushing through the exhaustion and the pain in her feet. But they’d been asking people for more than four or five hours. She was starving and ready for a break.
“It’s fine. I’ve unloaded the supplies that we can spare. I brought extra of several things. As long as we conserve and portion out our food, we should still have enough. This will buy us a couple more days. As you can see, though, we have already fallen a bit behind.” Ronan frowned as he looked back at the three wagons that separated them from the end of the wagon train. Being in the back was dangerous, especially for them with a team of horses that wasn’t the strongest.
Usually, the wagons at the end were those who volunteered, those who were rotated back, or those who couldn’t keep up.
Even though they would have eventually ended up at the back of the wagon train, Elise wished it wouldn’t have been now. With a slowing horse and the risk of not keeping up, it was not the safest place to be. She could only hope that she and Ronan could figure a way out of their current situation. She realized she was actually glad that Ronan was there to help her now. If she had been on her own, she wouldn’t have had any idea of what to do.
Chapter 14
Ronan turned from the last wagon he would ask for the day and headed back to their wagon. They were holding back the wagons behind them, and it wouldn’t be long before others began to see that they could travel faster and changed the order of the wagons.
The horse was doing worse today. He was limping badly and had begun to groan and toss his head, less and less willing to pull his share of the load. The other horse had been sweating when he left, and foam dripped from his chest as he tried to take up the slack. Worry filled his chest. They weren’t keeping up anymore. They were barely able to keep the wagons in sight whenever there was an incline. There was space between their wagon and the next, a large space.
Ronan had taken a turn going to ask people if they had an animal they could sell, but he’d had the same luck as Elise the day before. She had been right when she said no one wanted to sell any of their animals or they didn’t have one to sell. It didn’t matter that there were a lot of wagons to ask. Everyone had the same answer to give.
When he had returned and spotted their wagon, he stopped and stood watching. Yet again, his heart sank further. He didn’t have to wait to find out when they would be the last wagon; they already were. He recognized the man who was the wagon train leader, standing there, watching as Mrs. Winters and Elise unloaded more things from the wagon.
When he walked up, the wagon train leader, Martin, turned to greet him. His eyes were grim, and it was clear he saw the situation for what it was.
“Ronan, I’m sorry to see what’s happening with your horse. If I had an extra one, I would gladly sell it. The animal is suffering. You will have to unhitch him and put him down.”
“I know. I’ve tried asking around. I did find one offer, but it was far too expensive.” Ronan glanced toward Elise, glad she hadn’t heard what he’d said. The one offer he’d gotten was the cost of four horses, and even if he had the money, he wouldn’t have been willing to part with so much for an animal that looked as if he was already declining.
The people who were wealthy and had the means to bring extra animals weren’t above making some extra money off of desperate people and getting rid of a lost cause in the process.
Concern and sympathy emanated off of Martin. “You know we are here to help, but if you fall too far behind, we won’t be able to wait for long.”
“I know. We are going to do what we can to keep up.” Ronan glanced to where Elise and Mrs. Winters were pulling off the chest that Elise had started with. It was a large wooden chest, with beautiful carvings and a meaningful backstory, he was certain.
“I’m really sorry you’re in this situation. You let me know if anything changes. I took a few of the food supplies and loaded them on my horse. I will add them to our wagon in case you need them. So far, our oxen are doing well.” Martin gave Ronan a friendly clap on the shoulder before retreating back toward the front of the wagon train.
Ronan watched him go, wishing something were different so that they wouldn’t be in this situation that needed helping. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned to where Elise and Mrs. Winters were standing, talking in low voices together.
“You didn’t have to leave the chest,” Ronan said to Elise.
Mrs. Winters stepped away as if to give them some privacy.
“I took the things that I care most about from inside of it. It was special to me, but it isn’t worth our lives or the lives of the horses. We need to keep up with the wagon train at any cost. I can tell the horse is getting worse. I just feel bad that it will be here in the rain and ruined. Too bad we can’t come back for it someday.”
Ronan nodded. He could see the unshed tears in Elise’s eyes as she glanced at the chest. It was important to her still, and despite her brave words, he could tell that leaving it behind was breaking her heart.
“I know that this seems hard now, but soon we will get to California. It is all going to work out.”
He gave a deep sigh and turned back to the horse that was causing so much issue. The horse’s leg had gotten much worse. The limp was visible, painfully so. He was holding his leg off the ground and had a wild look in his eyes. They had a day and a half, maybe two left with the horse, if that, and he felt bad to allow him to suffer.
After that, they would have to leave the horse behind or put it out of its misery and follow on with one horse. Their pace could still match that of the other wagons on good sections of the road, but as soon as they ran into anything uneven or difficult, it would be a miracle if the one horse managed to pull the wagon by itself.
“Ronan,” Elise’s soft voice beside him made him look back up from the horse. “Are we really going to be able to continue with one horse?”
“We will be able to for a while.”
Elise nodded. She didn’t seem happy with the answer, but he knew she was trying to adapt to the situation, no matter how hard it was for her.
“If there is anything else I can do, you let me know,” Mrs. Winters said. Her eyes were full of concern.
Ronan forced a smile. He and Elise couldn’t go from wagon to wagon like Mrs. Winters did. The people in the other wagons had families of their own to care for. They had children and husbands and wives and a limited amount of supplies and room for weight.
Even though they could all share with one person, adding himself and Elise to the mix would be too much.
“We will let you know, Mrs. Winters. You’ve been a tremendous help already.”
“All right then. I am going to spend the evening riding with the Franks. I don’t want to weigh your horses down any more than they already are.”
Ronan nodded and watched as Elise gave Mrs. Winters a quick hug.
“Don’t stay away for long,” Elise said.
“I won’t.” Mrs. Winters turned and walked away, back up the line of wagons toward the Franks’ wagon where they had been a few days ago.
When she had disappeared from sight, Elise tapped him on the shoulder. “I didn’t want to worry Mrs. Winters, but there’s someone following us.” She was whispering, looking towards the woods as she did so.
The fear in Elise’s eyes made Ronan worry.
He followed her gaze to see a soft shadow slip through the woods.
“Who are they?” Elise’s worried voice brought him back to the present.
“Indians. They won’t hurt us. I think they are just watching as we pass through their territory. I have seen quite a few Indians in my travels. Most of them mean no harm. They may take advantage of the supplies that get left behind. Maybe your trunk will get a good home after all.” Ronan thought about his words as he said them. It was true; his experience with Indians was extensive. But that didn’t mean that the Indians following the wagon train were the good type.
There were Indians who kept an eye on the wagon trains as they passed, but there were also Indians who would raid wagon trains and steal their animals, kill their travelers and plunder their belongings. For his sake, and for Elise’s he had to hope that the Indians were the peaceful kind.
The rest of the day passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was nighttime. Ronan checked the horses one more time before he retreated to his spot under the wagon. He washed them down and bandaged the leg of the lame gelding, but he could tell it was not going to recover. As he heard Elise getting as comfortable as she could in the wagon, he tried not to think too much about the fact that they weren’t going to be able to keep up with the wagon train unless there was some sort of miracle, and the fact there were Indians nearby didn’t bode well.
He slept with his hand on his rifle, and the night seemed ominous instead of comforting as he looked out into the dark forest and wondered if they were being watched even now as they rested.
***
The first moment that Ronan examined the horse’s leg the next day, he knew they couldn’t continue with it for another day. The gelding was standing with his head down, and eyes closed, groaning with every breath. He passed his hand over the horse’s neck sadly.
“So sorry, boy. You’ve been a good horse. I’m going to have to take you on your last walk. You will be running in God’s horse heaven this day.”
He motioned Elise over with his hand.
“We have to stay behind, just for a while. We need to adjust our things and maybe leave the wagon behind. The horse can’t go on. I’m going to have to put him down.”
Elise’s eyes widened with fear. “What? But what are we going to do without the wagon train? Traveling on our own is dangerous, and we won’t be able to find more supplies until the next town. We can’t both ride on a single horse and also take supplies.”
“I know. I know. It seems bad, but it will work out. Look, we will fall a bit behind and reorganize everything, then we will catch up and continue with the wagon train. Others will have to reduce supplies up ahead; we can take some of those to survive and take turns riding the horse.”
Elise seemed uncertain, but after a long minute, she nodded her head in agreement.
“We have to tell Mrs. Winters.”
“Yes, and Martin, so that the wagon train isn’t worried about us.” Even as Ronan said the words, he knew that the wagon train wouldn’t exactly be worried about them. They had other things to worry about. They couldn’t keep an eye on everyone in the wagon train at all times. It was a big reason that some people were lost or abandoned off the wagon train quite frequently.
He was about to suggest that Elise go to find Mrs. Winters when Mrs. Winters appeared as if she was stepping out of nowhere. One minute she wasn’t there, and the next, she was walking around the wagon in front of them.
“I figured I would come by and see how the two of you are doing this morning. I heard that it’s only about two weeks away from the next town. You could buy a horse there.” Mrs. Winters looked excited as she said the words.
Ronan wished they had two more weeks to get to the next town. The fact was, they had run out of time. It was cruel to force the horse to keep going in the state it was in.
“We’re going to stay behind for a little while to reorganize things.” Elise spoke strongly about Ronan’s plan as if she had helped come up with it herself.
It made Ronan proud to hear her. For a moment, he forgot how much Elise disliked him.
“What? That’s terribly dangerous. What if something happens to you?” Mrs. Winters frowned.
“It’s not going to turn out badly. I’m sure we will catch up soon enough.”
“I could stay behind with you. Maybe three sets of hands and three minds working together would help the work go faster. I know that it is a lot of work to decide what to take and what not to take. Then we could all catch up together.” Mrs. Winters’ eyes brightened as she spoke.
“No. You should stay with the train. I don’t know how long it will take. I have to put the gelding down, and we will need to ride together. Three people can’t ride. We appreciate the offer, though. You’ve been a great friend to both of us here since we arrived. If you want to help, you can take a bedroll for us and see if someone could put it in their wagon. I’ll pack a few supplies on our remaining horse.” Ronan looked over toward Elise.
He could tell she was disappointed that Mrs. Winters wouldn’t be going with them, but he could also see that she understood.
“If you change your mind, I will be with the Franks. Have you talked to Martin yet? He will want to know you are falling behind.” Mrs. Winters still looked worried, but Ronan couldn’t reassure her that they would be back at all. He knew all too well that things could go wrong. He was fairly certain he shouldn’t have made the promises or reassurances to Elise that he had. The fact was, anything could happen, and whether they were prepared to deal with that or not, they would have to.
A Long Way to Love: A Historical Western Romance Book Page 10