Danger at the Haunted Gate

by Jesse Wiley

  As you start to make camp, you can’t help but look over at the Smiths. The little boy is crying now, too, and Mrs. Smith is trying to calm him down as well. She jiggles the baby on her hip and tries to get the boy to sit down. But he just clings to her legs. Mr. Smith is rummaging for firewood and trying to build a fire as quickly as he can.

  You look around to see if anyone else notices. But everyone is busy setting up their own camp and doing their own chores. You help Pa assemble your tents, while Ma starts to make supper. Your family looks tired, too, but no one looks as worn out as Mrs. Smith.

  Pa sees you glancing over at the family again.

  “I can manage this on my own if you want to go over there and give the Smiths a hand,” he says to you.

  You nod.

  As you walk over to the Smiths, you see the baby continuing to cry and the little boy still fussing. Mr. Smith has gotten the fire started and is now trying to get a meal together for his family. You help him warm some bacon and beans, and then carry plates and drinks from their water barrel over to Mrs. Smith.

  “I can hold the baby while you eat,” you offer.

  “Thank you,” Mrs. Smith says. “You’re very kind, but I’m not hungry, and I can manage. Why don’t you drink some water and have a seat? Standing over the campfire must have been hot.”

  The heat has made you thirsty, and you’d like to stop and rest, but you came here to help. Do you push her to eat a little bit, or take the cup of water and sit down?

  If you take the water, turn to page 21

  If you insist that Mrs. Smith eat a little, turn to page 87

  Return to page 60

  I’m scared for us to stay here all alone,” you tell Ma. “Pa knows his way and can catch up with us on the Trail.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Ma says, barely able to fight back her tears. “Pa would want us to stay safe and stick with the others.”

  As you hike that day, you scan the area around you for any sign of Pa. But you don’t see him, and you try to ignore the feeling of dread that grips your heart.

  When you stop for the midday break, you hear a shout from nearby.

  “They’re back!” Caleb says.

  You see an exhausted Pa coming toward you and race out to meet him. He opens his arms wide and gives you a tight hug.

  “Where have you been?” you ask, as Ma, Samuel, and Hannah run to join you.

  “We were looking for the men and followed their tracks for a while. And then we came across a wagon train that had lost half of their party to a mysterious illness.” Pa’s voice quivers as he speaks.

  “Those that were left were weak and sick, and low on supplies, so we helped them hunt and helped them bury their dead,” he continues. A cloud passes over his eyes, and you wonder what horrors he witnessed.

  That night you can’t sleep, even though you’re so relieved to have Pa back. You come out of your tent and hear him talking to Ma.

  “I don’t want to be out here anymore,” he is saying. “It’s too dangerous. Let’s go home.”

  Ma murmurs her agreement, and you know that it’s final. You’re going to be go-backers. And after hearing Pa’s tales of the starving, dying wagon train, you’re fine with that.

   THE END

  Return to page 95

  Excuse me, Pa,” you interrupt. “Can I speak to you alone for a minute?” Pa looks at you with concern, and agrees.

  “I think there is something unusual going on.”

  You take a deep breath and continue, carefully explaining everything you observed.

  As you speak, a woman from a nearby tent runs over.

  “Don’t trust that man!” she shouts breathlessly as she points her finger to the man who has been talking to Caleb.

  “He and his brothers are thieves.” She leans on your wagon to catch her breath. “They robbed another wagon train last week!”

  As the woman talks, the men suddenly hurry away without saying a word.

  “There are good and bad people everywhere,” the woman continues. “I’m afraid the Trail is no different. More than one group of thieves has come through while I’ve been camping here.”

  * * *

  In the morning, as the wagons roll out, your family is near the back. You’ll head along Sweetwater River now, and you’ll have to cross the winding river at different points over and over.

  After crossing a rocky patch following your midday break, you hear a faint rumble, like the sound of thunder. You look around, confused, because the skies are completely clear. Not another tornado, you hope!

  You see Caleb search the horizon and turn.

  “It’s a stampede!” he yells. “Hundreds of buffalo must be headed our way!”

  The rumbling gets louder as the animals barrel over fields and rocks toward you.

  “What do we do?” Ma says. “We’ll all be crushed to death!” Her eyes grow wide with fear.

  “Let’s outrun them,” Pa says. “Hurry!”

  “We can’t! We’ll have to scare them with fire,” Caleb shouts.

  “But isn’t fire just as dangerous?” Ma asks. “What if it gets out of control?”

  “The river and rocks will stop it,” Caleb says. “Let’s move!”

  You look at Ma and Pa. Everyone has only a few seconds to decide. What do you do?

  If you try to outrun the stampede, turn to page 25

  If you set the valley on fire, turn to page 122

  Return to page 134

  You’re glad that Ma and Pa decide to keep the cow. You’ve gotten used to having a little bit of fresh milk and butter every day, and also cream sometimes as a treat. And you find the cow calming. Maybe it’s the way Daisy chews her cud like nothing else in the world matters.

  It’s fun to be at the fort for a couple of days. You and the other kids organize a big game on the lawn. Everyone divides into two wagon teams. You take turns throwing buffalo chips to the other team to catch. If a team catches a chip, they get a point.

  “Catch it!” Hannah shouts, her cheeks flushed from running, as a chip comes right at Samuel.

  Samuel dives to catch the chip and comes up with it. Your wagon group cheers. You won!

  When you aren’t playing, you help Ma and Pa sort through the wagon. Pa is taking George’s advice to unload any extra items. And Ma wants to make sure you stock up on things you are running out of, like salt and coffee. As Ma had feared, everything at the fort is very expensive. But she manages to get the things you need.

  You leave the fort feeling rested and happy. You’ll travel along the North Platte River for a while now. But you soon find that the journey is slower, just like George had warned. There are lots of boulders and rocks to travel over. Your wagon wheels get stuck from time to time, and everyone helps to clear the way.

  You’re traveling higher and higher as you get closer to the Rocky Mountains. The landscape is vastly different from the hard, dusty, dry plains you crossed over the past two months. More trees are a welcome change, and makes it easier to collect firewood for camp. But being higher also makes the air seem a little harder to breathe.

  After a few days of hiking, you have to ford the river. By now, your wagon train has made several river crossings, and you have a set routine. Expert swimmers wade in alone to measure the depth of the water with sticks. Once they find an area shallow enough to cross, they also determine how strong the current is, and then they guide the wagon train across to the opposite bank.

  “Let’s tie up everything tight,” Pa says as the swimmers check the river. You all help to prepare the wagon. The last thing you want is for your precious goods to start floating away. Hannah and Samuel climb into the wagon, while you prepare to wade to help drive the animals across the water.

  Even though you have done it several times on the journey, every time you ford a river you feel nervous. You know there is the possibility of so many things going wrong. Luckily, the water seems calm today, and the banks of the other shore are within sight.

&n
bsp; Pa drives the team of oxen into the water, and you follow behind with Daisy. Archie is a good swimmer and can make his way across the water and climb into the wagon when he needs to rest.

  “Yow!” You brace yourself as the cold water soaks your legs and hits your waist. Then you carefully wade through the sandy bottom of the river, trying to avoid rocks and fallen branches.

  Suddenly the oxen stop and start drinking in the middle of the river. Pa waits for a few seconds and then urges them to keep moving.

  “Come on! Let’s go!” he says, but the oxen refuse to stop drinking.

  You stop with Daisy next to the still wagon.

  Water laps at the base of it.

  “What’s happening?” Ma says.

  “The oxen won’t move,” Pa says, looking worried. “I tried to get them to drink before we entered the river.”

  Pa coaxes the oxen, and you try, too. But they don’t budge.

  “We can try to pull them out with ropes,” Pa says.

  “Or just let them drink for a minute,” Ma suggests.

  What do you all do?

  If you pull the animals with ropes, turn to page 50

  If you let the animals drink, turn to page 83

  Return to page 113

  The “go-backers” have you spooked, and your family is convinced that you should stay far away from Devil’s Gate. Others, including Caleb, want to stay on the Trail, so the wagon train splits into two groups.

  “We’ll meet up with them on the other side,” Pa says. He walks over to Caleb, and they exchange smiles and a firm handshake.

  Pa takes on the role of wagon leader for your small group. He encourages everyone to head out extra early the next day. As you leave the Trail, you see the huge gaping hole in the rocks of Devil’s Gate in the distance, and think about the legend. It’s an amazing sight, but also a bit scary. You’re grateful you decided not to go near it.

  “I think we made the right decision,” you say to Pa. He turns and gives you a warm smile. You’ve been traveling for a few hours when you reach the outer edge of Devil’s Gate. Suddenly you hear a strange rumbling, and you notice that every time your wagon makes a noise, the rumbling gets a little bit louder.

  Just then, the back wheels of the wagon in front of you roll over a large rock and make a huge thud. You look up and see rocks falling down the side of the cliff.

  “Rock avalanche! Run, run!” you shout. Everyone abandons their wagons and starts running as fast they can. The chunks of rock come crashing down with incredible force and speed. Within a matter of seconds, you are buried.

   THE END

  Return to page 122

  I think we should go find the hunters,” you say. You imagine the disappointed look on Pa’s face if he hears that they missed the chance to hunt the buffalo.

  “I don’t want to get in trouble,” Eliza says. “You two can do what you want, but I’m going back to camp.”

  You watch Eliza walk away, and wonder if she’s right, but it’s too late now.

  “I think they went that way,” Joseph says, pointing to a patch of dense trees.

  You walk together in the direction that Joseph pointed, while Archie runs a few paces ahead. Suddenly, something pops up from a hole in the ground in front of you. You catch a glimpse of a little face and tiny nose.

  “What’s that?” you say.

  “A prairie dog,” Joseph says. “I read that they live in burrows under the ground.”

  Archie starts barking wildly, and the prairie dog ducks its head back into the hole. Archie sticks his nose in after it and tries to reach the squirrel-like animal, but it has vanished underground.

  Just then, another prairie dog starts across the field nearby. In a flash, Archie takes off after it.

  “Come back!” you shout.

  “He’ll come back,” Joseph says. “Don’t worry.”

  But Archie doesn’t return, and as the minutes go by, you get more and more nervous.

  “I’m going to go look for him,” you tell Joseph. You set off in the direction Archie had gone, as Joseph follows right behind you.

  The two of you call Archie’s name, but you don’t hear him. When you finally stop, you realize you have no idea where you are.

  “I think we’re lost,” you say, feeling foolish. If you hadn’t run after Archie, you’d probably have found Pa by now.

  “No. I think we’re okay,” Joseph says. “We just need to go back that way.” He points behind you.

  “That’s not right, Joseph. I think we should try that way,” you say, pointing the opposite way.

  “That way is definitely wrong!” Joseph scolds.

  You think Joseph is wrong but you don’t know whether to just go along with him, or insist on going your way.

  If you follow Joseph his way, turn to page 146

  If you insist on your way, turn to page 77

  Return to page 129

  You and Eliza rush back to camp, where you’re happy to see that Pa has already set up your family’s tent.

  When the rain comes down harder, you are safely inside. You feel the tent shaking with the wind and hear the rain pelt its fabric. As the thunder booms, you hear Archie whimpering with fear under the wagon, and you wish he had taken shelter inside the tent with your family instead. He’s always hated storms. You’re glad that so far on the Trail you haven’t faced too many of them. Samuel’s and Hannah’s eyes are extra large as they wrap themselves in their blankets. You know they are scared, too.

  You bury your face in your sleeping mat and wait for the storm to pass. It’s a strong storm but it also ends up being a pretty short one. Soon the clouds break. It’s dark and everything is soaked when you get out of the tent. Your stomach growls. It’s late for supper and everyone scrambles to get things ready. Ma just needs to get a fire going. Then she can cook a stew with some onions and potatoes.

  “How about some cornbread, too?” Ma asks you.

  “That would be nice,” you say. You eagerly help Ma whip up the batter. She’ll cook the cornbread in a cast-iron skillet over the fire.

  “There is still some butter left,” Hannah says, peering into the container. Your mouth starts to water in anticipation of the warm cake-like bread with the sweet butter.

  Ma looks around for a good spot to build the fire. Since everywhere is muddy and damp, she digs a little hole to find a dry spot. The few branches that you and Eliza were able to collect are too wet to use, so Ma pulls out some dried buffalo chips that she saves for times like this. Buffalo dung comes in handy when you can’t find wood on the Trail.

  Ma puts the buffalo chips into the hole, and Hannah hands her the bottle of matches, kept watertight with a cork. When Ma lights a match to get the fire started, the match just burns out. She tries two more times, but the buffalo dung won’t ignite.

  “How about trying some of these?” Samuel suggests, handing Ma a pile of leaves. But they are too damp.

  You see everyone’s faces fall. Like you, they are imagining a cold supper of prairie bread and dry beef jerky. It’s nowhere near as satisfying as a hot meal.

  You stand there looking at the hole, thinking about how hungry you are, when Archie comes and sits down at your side. You bend down to pet him, remembering that he needs to eat, too. You close your eyes for a second, thinking about what to do. Then you turn to Ma.

  “Should I dig another hole?” you offer.

  Ma shakes her head.

  “I don’t think it will help,” she says. “We’d best get out the jerky.”

  Then you remember that Joseph once said that if you sprinkle a bit of gunpowder on fuel that won’t light, you can get a fire going. Gunpowder is precious, and it’s something Pa uses sparingly. But this seems like a good reason and time to use a little bit. If you can’t get the fire going, the food you and Ma have prepared will go to waste.

  You look around for Pa, but he has gone with a scout to assess the Trail ahead for tomorrow.

  If you don’t get the fire started soo
n, it will be prairie bread and cold jerky for sure. If you do get it started, you’ll get to impress everyone with your quick thinking, and you’ll get the meal you’ve been waiting for. Do you get the gunpowder pouch from the wagon and sprinkle some on the buffalo chips? Or do you get the jerky instead?

  If you get the gunpowder, turn to page 85

  If you get the jerky, turn to page 101

  Return to page 118

  I’ll go scout for a tree to make an axle,” Pa says. “Do you want to come with me?” he asks you.

  The two of you leave the rest of the family and hike toward a clump of trees. When you get there, you see that they are a lot smaller than they seemed from a distance. If anything, they are more like large bushes.

  “We’ll just have to make do,” Pa says. “I’ll try to make the axle as strong as possible.”

  Pa chops down the largest tree he can find and cuts off the smaller branches. You help him carry the trunk back to your wagon.

  For the rest of the afternoon, Pa spends his time shaving the trunk to the right size and shaping it into an axle. He has to remove the back wheels of the wagon and the broken axle. And then he has to fit it to the wagon and reattach the wheels.