“Well, crap. Olivia, go release the brake please.”
She did, and they managed to move the wagon without unloading it. By pulling and pushing small increments at a time, they managed to turn the wagon around and completed the turn just before dark.
Sweaty and dirty they sat on the ground surveying their work.
Gina frowned, “Now comes the hard part. We have to push it uphill to bring the buggy up to where we dug the bank out. So everyone on their feet. I’d like to have this done when Andy and Sam get back.”
Pushing the wagon in a straight line wasn’t as hard as turning it around, and with Jesse steering it with the tongue, it only took a few minutes. Olivia set the brake, and they went to bring the buggy up. With Joe in between the shafts, holding them off the ground, the others got behind and pushed.
“What’s in this thing? It’s as heavy as the wagon. Are you sure the brake’s released?” Jesse groaned.
“Oh my gosh! Poor Sailor. I just realized why it’s so heavy. We might need to transfer some of the ammunition to the wagon. Damn, I can’t believe we forgot it was in there.”
Gina showed Joe what they had collected from the feed store in St. Regis. The boot was filled with ammunition cans, and the space behind the small bench seat held the boxes with the handguns. The rifles were wrapped in blankets and stacked on top of the handgun boxes.
Jesse and Joe set to work rearranging the load in the wagon, while Journey and Gina divided the load of ammunition. Something they hadn’t done or checked was the caliber of the bullets and Gina was surprised to see they had more 5.56 than any other caliber. The 45 and 9 mil. were equally represented, but very little for her 357 or Journey’s 38. The little they had for Journeys special, Gina had been using in her 357, and she sure hated to think that she would eventually have to switch guns.
Gina didn’t know anything about the 5.56, but she was sure that Sam and Ben would know. Of the rifles they had collected, only two were new, and the others were older hunting rifles. There were several bricks of 20 gauge and 12 gauge shotgun shells and one of .30/06.
When they reloaded, they had divided the ammunition between the two wagons. The buckboard still had a bigger load, but they also had two horses pulling it. They could have lightened the load on it by leaving the fence posts and wire, but John had been adamant about getting it, and she suspected it was the main reason John had agreed to them going. She felt that John thought the fencing supplies were more important than the ammunition or the guns. While Gina would have liked to believe that too, she felt there would come a time when they would have to make every bullet count.
They had been lucky so far in the number of people they had encountered. Lucky in the fact that they had survived the attacks on themselves. She knew it could easily have turned out very differently and it still could. If Sam and Willy were right, John and the others could have ridden right into the middle of a hornet's nest by going down into the Saint Joe River area. The only thing they would have in their favor was that Silas didn’t and couldn’t know who John was and the relationship to Sam. Even if Steve did survive long enough to tell Silas about Sam, they would have no idea that there was any connection to John. But then John would have no idea who Silas was and if he talked…
“Gina? Sierra and I were going to take some water and pemmican to Willy and Kenny. Would that be alright?”
Gina had been wool gathering and hadn’t realized it had become dark. Only the moon shining high over their heads lit up the roadway. Shadows from the trees made the road look surreal.
“Um…sure Jesse, go ahead, but please be careful and make sure they know it’s you before walking up unannounced. How’s Tammy doing?”
“She says she’s better now that the sun has gone down. She’s sitting with Journey and Lucy. Olivia and Joe are sleeping.”
“That’s what we should all be doing because if I know Sam at all, as soon as they get back, they’ll want to go. I’m going to lie down until you guys get back so if you give me a couple of hours then wake me that would be good. Make sure that Willy and Kenny are resting in shifts.”
“Yes, ma’am. We’ll be careful. It’s not like there are too many bad guys creeping around out here.”
When Jesse woke her several hours later, she left Joe sleeping. He had put more effort into turning the wagons around than anyone else. It was like the idea of digging out the bank to give them space to maneuver the wagons around had made him feel responsible for the majority of the digging. One thing she had observed about their newest members was not one of them was lazy or shirked their share of the responsibilities.
“Except Tammy,” she muttered to herself. When they’d re-organized the wagon, Lucy had found a half dozen of the empty baggies they had packaged the pemmican and jerky in. Only one of the baggies had held jerky, the others each held six squares of pemmican. In less than a day, Tammy appeared to have eaten enough food to last the rest of them for a week. “Damn, no wonder she was puking.”
They only had a limited supply until they caught up with John, and Journey had been rationing the squares as well as the jerky. Everyone was aware that they were kept in one of the black duffle bags along with some rice and beans and several of the dehydrated meals from Ben. When they had packed their food to last until they caught up with the others, they had no idea how big their group was going to become, and Journey was worried about their food supplies. Lucy had wanted to talk with Tammy about the stolen bags of pemmican, but Journey had not wanted to confront the girl.
Gina agreed with Lucy, and the two exchanged glances. Lucy smacked one closed fist into her open palm. Gina nodded in agreement.
“Just stop it, both of you. I’ll take care of this. For now, we’ll move the rest of it into the buggy and Lucy; you ride with Olivia. That way no one can get into it without your knowledge.”
They had placed the foodstuff in the buggy where the ammunition had been carried.
Gina had watched Tammy when the food was moved and saw the way the girl followed the bag from the wagon to the buggy with her eyes. Gina hoped it wasn’t going to be a problem, but she had told Olivia, who would be driving the buggy, that Lucy would be riding with her and that no one was to get into it without herself or Lucy giving the okay. Olivia hadn’t questioned Gina but simply nodded her understanding.
When the sky had lightened enough that they could see, Gina woke everyone up except Jesse and Sierra who had been awake the bigger share of the night. Sam and Andy hadn’t returned, but Gina felt sure that they would return soon after daylight and wanted to have the wagons hooked up and ready to go.
Journey passed out one square of pemmican to each person and stored the rest away, holding out some for Willy and Kenny. Gina couldn’t help but notice the way Tammy devoured her in a few bites and watched Joe until he broke off a piece of his to share with her. Gina wanted to rip it from the girl's hands, and Journey must have read her thoughts when she put a hand on Gina’s arm.
“I’ll have a talk with her,” Journey whispered. “The guys need the calories more than us women because they’re the ones who are walking.”
“I’m hoping when Sam gets back Joe, Jesse and Kenny will ride and help move the horses along quicker.”
“Good plan. So I guess we need to go bring them back here?”
Just Sham, Joe, Sailor, and the little mare. Speaking of them, we need to round up the goats and Jesse can load them back up.
Journey woke Sierra and Jesse and gave them their share of the food. As soon as he was done with his piece, Jesse set about rounding up the goats. Journey and Gina walked to the meadow to bring the four horses back.
As they walked, Gina couldn’t help but notice how normal everything around them looked. The standing trees had new leaves, and the brush was filling in with green.
Gina jumped when Journey tapped her arm, “Listen. Do you hear that?”
Chapter Sixteen; Better things ahead
Gina tensed, ready to take off running to the pastu
re. Wide-eyed, she looked around, “What? I don’t hear anything but the birds.”
“Exactly! When was the last time you remember hearing birds chirping?”
Gina thought, she squinted her eyes to better help her think, and pursed her lips. Finally, “Not since before this all started.” She cocked her head to the side and listened again. “Robins?”
Journey nodded, “Let’s go and get those horses. I don’t know why, but I feel like this will be a good day. The birds are an omen promising better things ahead.”
“Ever the optimist, but we can always hope. What do you make of Tammy? Didn’t someone say they saw her throwing up yesterday?”
“That was me. Now I wonder if she had a migraine at all. I think eating all of that pemmican could have been the cause. It’s pretty rich especially when you eat that much.”
“Why do I think this girl is going to be a problem. Do we know anything about her? Other than she’s Joe’s girlfriend.”
Journey laughed, “For someone that’s supposed to be his girlfriend, he sure goes out of his way to avoid any contact with her. Maybe you need to ask him.”
“Maybe I’ll just do that. Now, look how nice this is.” Gina waved her arm in a wide arc as if putting the meadow on display.
They had reached the meadow and Journey looked through the fringe of evergreen bows, and she could see rich green grass sprinkled with buttercups or some type of yellow flowers. The horses were spread out with their noses buried in the green.
“It’s too bad we couldn’t just stay here,” Journey said wistfully. “Hidden in the mountains away from the dangers.”
“And the people.”
“The people are the danger. I find it hard to believe anyone would venture up here looking for anything. We would be safe up here.”
The two friends laughed. Sailor must have heard them and raised his head, looked their direction and let loose with a high-pitched neigh of welcome. He looked toward a tree where they could just make out Willy standing and when Willy waved in their direction Sailor came at a gallop.
“I swear you and that horse are tied at the hip. You never see Bess or Joe reacting like he does. They’d just as soon go the other direction.”
Sailor stopped at the edge of the tree line and waited for the women to pick their way through the brush. He arched his head and placed his muzzle on Gina’s shoulder in greeting. She gave his face a scratch and ran her hand down his body as she walked passed him. He turned and followed. Picking their way across the grass, Gina realized her feet were splashing in water hidden by the new grass.
Willy waved them to come around to his right side, and soon they were walking on the firmer ground. Sailor moved off toward the other horses. As soon as they got close, Willy waved at Kenny who stepped out of the trees about a hundred yards away.
“Hey Kenny,” Journey hollered in greeting.
He started to wave his arm and smile when out of nowhere, “Hee haw, hee haw, hee haw!”
Gina rolled her eyes, “Are you kidding me?” They turned and saw Gus, a short length of rope hanging from his halter, jogging toward them.
“Gus?” Willy laughed, “when he showed up here last night, Kenny almost shot him. All we heard was something loud coming through the trees. Him letting out a couple of those noises is the only reason he’s still alive. Then when he went right to that big horse of yours, we figured they knew each other by the way they were acting.”
Gina laughed, “That they do. Willy, meet Gus. He’s Journey’s mule, and I suppose Sailor’s best friend. The question is, what’s he doing here and better yet, how did he get here?”
Once Gus had greeted both of the women and gotten his scratches from each of them, he turned away and trotted to Sailors side. Once there, he watched the other horses to make sure they weren’t getting too close and dropped his head and began to graze. When Sham ambled toward them, Gus dove at the buckskin with his teeth bared and his ears pinned to his head, Sham turned and went the other way.
“Guess he has already established the pecking order. I’ve read quite a bit about mules, but I didn’t realize they could be so protective or possessive.”
“Well before Journey goes into a tirade about how Gus saved our lives, we should catch Sham, Sailor, Joe and that little chestnut mare. I’d like to be harnessed up and ready to go for when the men get back.”
Willy rubbed his hands together, “Best we get started then. I was giving some thought to turning those wagons around and by God, if Kenny didn’t come up with a great idea. He thought we could dig out the bank and use the extra space to turn them around.”
Gina looked from Willy to Journey, “You can sure tell those two are brothers.” They laughed while Willy frowned at them.
“Already done. Joe came up with the same idea, and we turned them last night.” Kenny beamed his approval.
“See Willy, I told you it was a great idea; I’m just glad I didn’t have to do the digging. So you do have to admit I did come up with a very good idea, and it’s not my fault that I wasn’t there to carry it out.”
“Kenny, why don’t you help me catch the horses.”
“I'll go and catch them with the boy. Walking helps me stretch my muscles out some. You were right about being sore today Miss Gina. Today I can hardly put my knees together without feeling the pain.” He laughed and turned to follow Kenny, who had picked up the couple of lead lines they had used bringing them there.
“No, it’s okay Willy. I’ll go. I want to talk to him anyways.”
“Sure enough then. I’ll just gather up our belongings.”
When Gina caught up to Kenny, who was snapping the lead on Sham, she stopped in front of him, “How well do you know Joe’s girlfriend?”
“His girlfriend? Who? Joe doesn’t have a girlfriend…” He chuckled, “You must mean Tammy? She’d like to think she’s his girlfriend. She’s done everything but climb in his sleeping bag. He tolerates her and barely at that.”
Gina frowned, “Didn’t someone at your farm tell us that she was Joe’s girlfriend and that she’d lost her parents or something to that extent?”
“When we had the problems in Missoula, we found her hiding, and she came with us. Joe used to know her older sister, but that was back in high school. She originally told us she was trying to get to her family the other side of Mullan. Joe and I thought that she would go with Betty and Calvin but they didn’t want to be responsible for her and they told her that right off so she attached herself to Joe, and he’s done everything but tell her to get lost.”
As soon as Kenny mentioned the name Mullan Gina got the ‘feeling.' With the shiver up her spine, she felt they already had a problem. Gina wasn’t going to say anything until after she talked to Sam, but how many people lived in Mullan and what were the chances that Tammy was related somehow to the few they had already met? She would let Sam ferret the details out, but until then, they would need to keep an eye on her.
They led the four horses back to the tree that Willy had his back propped against, relaxing. Journey was sitting on the ground beside him, laughing about something he had said.
Before Gina could ask if Journey was going to leave Gus with the extra horses, he let out a bray and came trotting up. “Guess he wants to go too.” Gina looked down at Journey, “You want to wait here with Willy?”
“I could as long as you remember to mind your manners. You tell Lucy no boot-thug tactics.”
Gina glared at Journey, “Seems like the open, up-front tactics produce the quickest results, but I’ll wait. Just because you asked.”
“Kenny, if they’re not there when you get back, if you’ll pack my nippers and rasp down here, I could be working on some of these horses feet while I wait. Oh, and my foot knife. May as well do something to occupy the time.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll do that. Anything else?”
“I don’t suppose these horses have had anything to drink?”
Willy nodded, “Just the other side of the meadow is a smal
l creek. It really hasn’t defined its borders yet, and that’s why I waved you over like I did. That water is just going all over.”
“Maybe I should send Olivia back with a pot and some empty bottles. We could sure use some water; it seems like it’s disappearing awfully fast.”
“You need to tell Tammy it’s not for washing up in because when I told her it was drinking water only, she told me where to go and what to do when I got there. She might listen to you.”
“Strike two,” Gina muttered, and with another carefully aimed glare at Journey, she led Sailor and the mare off with Gus sticking close by the big horse's side.
She heard Willy ask Journey what Gina had meant by her departing comment, but didn’t hear Journey’s answer. She knew that Journey was too polite and forgiving to broach Tammy about their camp rules and etiquette, but Gina had never been politically correct or forgiving. She was determined to have a word about rationing as soon as she got back.
Before she and Kenny got back to the wagons, she heard Sam’s throaty laugh and wondered what had put him in such good humor. He had been a bear before he left, but Gina understood his ill temper. Fear made people act strangely, and she had not been offended. Maybe they had found the road around the slide, or they had made contact with John. She knew it was impossible within the time frame unless John could have been on his way back with Charlie to get the rest of the grain.
As soon as he saw them leading the horses, Sam came to her and gave her a hug. He was stingy with public demonstrations of affection, and it surprised Gina. When he kissed her on the forehead, she leaned her head against him for a brief second enjoying the contact and pulled back.
“Tell me what you found.”
“We didn’t find a way to get to this road, but we did find another road that goes to the same destination. Or, at least we think it does. There was a forest service sign pointing down a trail that said, Avery seven miles. The roadway is not clear, but with some work on our part, we can get through, but that’s not the best part.”
Beyond the New Horizon (Book 3): Living on the Edge Page 24