Undesirable

by Laura Stapleton

  Sam and the others laughed, and Lefty grinned. Wanting to reassure the young man, he said, “We’ll tie a rope to you. If we see you get near boiling water, one of us will reel you back in like a fish.”

  “Don’t know if that’s necessary,” he retorted.

  Lucky wrung out his own clothes and loosely folded them. “I’ll keep an eye on you tonight. If you try to jump into the cook pot, we’ll know for sure what to do.”

  He paused while placing the folded clothes in the sack. “You reckon that’s possible?”

  All three of the other men laughed. Sam patted him on the back. “No, we’re just funning with you. You can lead the animals to camp while we trade off carrying the clothes.” The wet and dripping cloth made staying dry tricky. Trudging up an incline didn’t help. They handed off the load a lot more often now than before due to the difficulty. He caught sight of Marie and nodded, enjoying how she smiled back at him. The boost in his mood didn’t last long. Back at camp, each minute ticking by made staying awake challenging. He noticed even Lucky looked tired as he began cooking supper.

  While Lefty and Joe hung up the laundry to dry, Sam unsaddled Scamp for the night. He gave the animal a good brushing before staking him out near the wagon. Returning to the campfire, bedrolls had been laid out, and the men sat warming their hands with the campfire. He grinned and joined them, liking how the heat spread through his fingers.

  They ate, quiet from hunger and fatigue. Sam envied Arnold and Joe their sleep for the moment, knowing in a few hours, they’d be envying him and Lucky. He glanced over at the other man keeping watch. Lucky snored sometimes, and Sam hoped to fall asleep before hearing it. They stayed at opposite ends of the wagon circle, trading off to keep awake. His feelings tugged at him whenever walking past Marie’s family. This time of night, he didn’t look in on each family, wanting to give everyone their privacy.

  He glanced up at a sky brimming with stars. With no full moon to guide him, Sam needed to take care with each step. A couple times around the circle and he knew where most of the bigger rocks lay. The starlight, though lovely and reminding him of Marie’s eyes, didn’t illuminate much of his path. He passed by the Warrens again. Every night, they’d been the quietest family of the group. With some, he’d worked to not hear the giggles or rustles of bedding. The silence every night in Marie’s camp made it far easier to consider Mr. Warren more like her father than anything else.

  Remembering when she’d asked him for a kiss at Fort Laramie broke his heart. How her fool of a husband disregarded her continued to anger him. He shook his head. Every day, he saw how she looked at Warren as if waiting for more. Sam knew one day she’d stop expecting the man to live up to his vow. He paused, licking his now dry lips. What would a passionate, giving woman like her do then? He wouldn’t be so low as to steal a man’s wife but couldn’t blame a man for trying.

  Sam heard Lucky before seeing him and nodded when they met and continued on their routes. By now, he noticed, all the various groups’ campfires had faded to dull red or black. A couple more rounds and it’d be time to wake up Arnold and Joe. His oldest employee’s voice stopped Sam.

  “Mornin’, boss. Arnie and I are ready to take over now.”

  Returning Uncle Joe’s yawn interrupted Sam’s grin at Arnold’s nickname. “Try to stay awake.”

  “Always do, sir.” Joe tipped his hat, strolling to his post for the remainder of the night.

  Sam settled into his cold bedroll, shivering. While doing dishes, he’d retrieved water for the morning. He’d be surprised if the pail didn’t have ice in it by dawn. A poke at the embers stirred the campfire a little, warming him and Lucky. The next thing he knew, the smell of breakfast, morning sun, and rustling people woke him.

  He sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Seeing Lefty at the fire, he asked, “Has the coffee melted yet?”

  The young man laughed. “Yeah, looks like it, boss.” Without being asked, Lefty poured Sam a cup and handed it to him.

  He hugged the mug, soaking up the warmth. Still too hot to drink, Sam instead put his lips to the brim, hoping the smell worked as well as the drink. “We’ll need to stop at Pacific Springs for noon.”

  Lefty nodded. “I’ve wanted to see them for myself.”

  Uncle Joe joined them. “Pacific Springs? It’s a low, boggy spot. Not a lot there except it all goes west from here on out.”

  Sam agreed and added, “It’ll give the animals a chance for water and maybe decent grass.” He shrugged off the blankets. “Is the food nearly ready?”

  “Yes, sir, in a few minutes or so.”

  He nodded, standing and stretching. “Good, it’s making me hungry.” Going to check on Scamp and the other horses, he ran straight into Marie. “Why, hello, ma’am.”

  “Oh! Please excuse me, Mr. Granville.”

  He smiled at her disarray. Her hair looked messy as if she’d not had time to fix it when waking. The more Sam tried to walk away, the more put his feet stayed. He didn’t have a chance to stare at her like a besotted calf. Judging by the bucket she held, Marie came here for a reason as well.

  She frowned. “You’re making me a little uncomfortable. Is there a bug on me?”

  Sam laughed, “No, I’m just admiring how you’re a little darker skinned each day.”

  “I know.” She exhaled in exasperation. “I’ve neglected my bonnet too much recently. Charles warns me I’ll resemble shoe leather by the time we reach Oregon.”

  “Your skin is a beautiful ecru, not too brown and not too spotty. Does that help?” Sam offered.

  She smiled at him. “A little, yes.”

  “If I were any more honest with you, your husband would tan my hide, and that’s if he’d let me keep it in the first place.”

  “You’re so foolish; Charles isn’t the possessive type at all.” She turned, leading the way to the water’s edge.

  Sam couldn’t admit how jealous Warren should be towards him. Changing the subject so he didn’t confess anything to her, he said, “Rest up tonight. We’ll be crossing a thirty-mile desert tomorrow evening.” Her eyebrows raised and before she could ask, he answered, “There’s nothing between the Little Sandy and Big Sandy rivers except dirt. We can carry some water, but not so much the animals are killed pulling the loads.”

  She went to fill her pail and paused. “I’ve not read that far in the guidebook.”

  “Take your time with it. I know reading and walking is difficult to do at the same time. Especially in this terrain.”

  “All right, I’ll tell the Warrens to be prepared.” While Marie retrieved water, she continued saying, “I appreciate how much you know about life out here. We’ll hear of other misfortunes befalling those traveling alongside us. You keep us both out of danger and out of trouble as much as you and your men can.”

  Her compliment both pleased and embarrassed him. He loved how she held him in such high esteem. “Do you know how I’m so knowledgeable?”

  “I never thought about how someone becomes a trail guide. Do tell.”

  Sam leaned over to her and said, “I’ve been in all the dangers and trouble a man can find out here. If you’ve made every mistake, you learn how to fix or avoid them. Excluding the deadly mistakes, of course. I’ve managed to avoid them so far.” When she laughed, Sam straightened and smiled. He scoured his brain for an excuse to tarry here with her but had none. “Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I’m neglecting my morning chores.”

  “By all means, you’re excused,” she said and went back to her camp.

  He walked away, grinning like a fool. Getting the animals and their gear ready distracted him from dwelling on Marie. Once on the road, he followed upwind of the group. Arnie and Lucky rode on the other side of the long line of wagons. They stayed ahead, scouting the way. The morning wore on. A midday sun warmed him even as gusts from the north brought air chilled from the snowcapped mountains. Reaching Pacific Springs for noon his own goal, Sam resisted the urge to encourage a faster pace. He took a deep br
eath of the high desert air. The animals needed the slow walk over the difficult road.

  Glancing over the people in front of the group, he saw how most of the ladies wore shawls and children had dressed in winter clothes. A wave from Ellen caught Sam’s attention. She motioned to him, and he rode over to where she stood with Jennie and Marie.

  “Good morning, Mr. Granville,” Ellen said. “Tell me, will we ever reach South Pass today?”

  Marie retrieved his guidebook from her pocket, saying, “I’ve been pouring through the guide and found little about the Pass.”

  He laughed before catching himself. Sliding off Scamp, he said, “We’re crossing the pass now.”

  As if one person, the ladies paused and then laughed. Jenny spoke first. “Mr. Granville, we’re not the foolish sort. Maybe the children will believe you, but us?” She looked at the other two. “We’ve seen nothing resembling a pass today.”

  Knowing what they’d expected, he grinned at her disbelief. No signs marked the Continental Divide, yet, all of them had crossed it sometime this morning. “This pass just happens to be wide, not a narrow crevice like you’d expect.” He turned and looked where they’d been. “See those two hills opposite each other, like posts for a large gate?” The three said yes in unison. “When we went through there, we rolled over the middle of the Pass. Not including the various ravines, we’ll be going downhill from here to the Green River.”

  “That was it?” asked Ellen.

  Before he could reply, Marie said, “You could have warned us.”

  Jenny nodded. “Yes, we wanted to hop over the halfway point.”

  Sam gave Marie a curious look, and she replied to his silent question. “Those two, mostly. I just wanted to cheer for them.”

  “I see.” He resumed walking west, and they joined him. “My explanations have been lacking, and it’s an easy correction. Either I or one of my men will inform you of the landmarks we pass from now until Oregon City.”

  Ellen peered at him through her glasses as if not quite believing him. Marie seemed a little shamed, while Jenny replied, “That sounds perfect. Thank you, Mr. Granville.”

  “You’re welcome. In fact, in about a mile or so, we’ll be reaching Pacific Springs.”

  “The Pacific? That can’t be, of course,” Marie protested.

  “No, just the springs.” The flicker of sadness on her face led him to continue. “It’s the first water we’ve reached that flows to the Pacific.”

  “Will we be stopping there for noon?” asked Ellen.

  “Yes, I’m expecting we will,” he replied.

  Ellen nodded, saying, “My family will need my help before then, please excuse me.”

  “I’m not sure if mine does.” Jenny bit her lip. “I’ll need to find them and ask. Excuse me as well.”

  Sam and Marie strolled for a while until he asked, “Am I keeping you from anything?”

  She smiled at him. “No, but you’re on foot and don’t have to be.”

  “Walking suits me just fine at the moment.” He grinned at her. “We’ll reach the springs soon enough and separate to do our various chores. Right now, I’m just enjoying this.” He glanced over at her, liking how her face glowed with a blush.

  “I am, too. The idea of being so close to the ocean thrills me. I can’t wait to hear seagulls again, smell the salt in the air instead of crunching it on the ground, and feel the wet sand under my feet.” She looked at him. “Everywhere we’ve been so far has a wild, rugged beauty of its own. I’ll just be glad to reach the Pacific soon.”

  Seeing the familiar dip in the landscape, he nudged her shoulder with his. “Soon, huh? The best I can do in that short time is this up ahead. The water there isn’t bad. It meanders toward the Pacific, and probably tastes stagnant most of the time.”

  “Oh. That doesn’t sound promising.”

  Ahead of them, Uncle Joe signaled him. Sam swung up onto Scamp. “It’s not poisonous, or shouldn’t be.” He stared down at her, not wanting to leave. “I’m being summoned. If you’ll excuse me?”

  “By all means, sir.”

  He returned her smile before riding over to Joe. “We need to make our next stop short if we’re to reach Little Sandy before dark.”

  “We’ll lay by at Big Sandy?”

  “Yes, early tomorrow. It’ll make crossing the desert to Green more bearable for us. You tell Lucky, and I’ll find Arnie.” Waiting until Joe nodded his assent, Sam rode off in Arnold’s direction.

  “Boss, we got a problem.” He tilted his head toward their supply wagon. “One of the oxen is lame, and the other three aren’t faring too well.”

  Sam shook his head, not liking the news. One weak animal meant the other three worked more to catch up the slack. This increased the odds of every ox being unable to pull themselves, never mind supplies for at least four men. “Any others?”

  “No one’s complained, but I’ve noticed a couple of the families moving slower than usual.” At the questioning look, Arnie explained, “The Allens mostly, even more than the Winslows.”

  Sam failed to keep the sarcasm from his voice. “That’s a surprise.”

  Arnie grinned at the tone. “Yeah, that’s why I thought you should know.”

  “Very well. We’ll overnight at Pacific Springs instead of Little Sandy.”

  “I’ll tell the others.” He nudged his horse and galloped to the far end of the line.

  Watching him leave, Sam began to inform everyone of the decision. He didn’t stay long after talking to each head of a family. With some, chatting led to arguing and he’d prefer to avoid a heated discussion. Soon he reached Jenny Allen’s family. A quick examination showed him just how injured their ox was. He slid down from Scamp and led the horse to their wagon. “Good afternoon, Mr. Allen. I see you’ve got a problem.”

  Mr. Allen pulled back on the reins, stopping them all. “Aye, he’s not walking the best. I was hoping he’d improved over the course of today, but no such luck.”

  “If you all can make it to Pacific Springs, we’ll be staying for the night.”

  Jenny peeked out from inside the wagon. “It’s not on account of us, is it?”

  “No. This road is tough on feet, human or animal. The trading posts between here and Fort Hall do a good business in boots and shoes.”

  Mr. Allen peered at Sam. “I’ve noticed our clothes are fast wearing out from the hard water since Fort Caspar.”

  He nodded. “That happens, too.” Patting the hurt ox’s back, he said to all of them, “We can use rags to wrap feet of all kinds once we reach camp. We don’t have far to go, a half mile or so.” Convinced the animals would last for a little while longer, Sam got up on his horse. “Let’s go. The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll be done.” The wagon began rolling.

  Sam scanned the group for the Winslows to tell them. He wanted the excuse to see Marie but spotted Lucky talking to Hester and Charles. They already knew, then. Disappointed, he trotted far up front, scouting for the springs.

  Not until far into the night did Sam slide into his bedroll, exhausted from the day’s work. Everything from animal hooves to wagon wheels had needed his attention today. Everyone too, from Allens to Winslows, excluding Marie, the one person he wanted to spend time with today. He turned to the waning fire, wishing she lay between him and the warmth.

  He must have slept as soon as his eyelashes brushed his cheek. Opening his eyes, Sam saw his breath as he exhaled into the frosty morning air. He looked over to see the campfire embers burned to ash. Frost coated the vegetation surrounding them. Lefty glanced up at him from where he sat. The young man gave a nod and went back to reading his bible. Lucky‘s snoring almost drowned out Uncle Joe’s and Arnold’s footsteps crunching through the grasses. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, sir,” Arnold replied first. He and Joe began building up the fire. “All we could find was this scrub brush.”

  Joe added, “Works fine, though, doesn’t it? Smells good, too.”

  Propped up o
n his elbows, Lucky said, “I’m missing the piney smells of home.”

  “I am, too,” Sam admitted. He sat, rubbing his eyes free of sleep. The sun’s rays still hid behind the eastern horizon. The chill lingered in the still morning air. As the fire roared to life, the five men held their hands out as if doing a familiar dance.

  Lucky hopped to his feet and slid on his boots. “I’ll get water for the coffee.”

  “And I’ll get the coffee.” More slowly than his employee, Sam also got to his feet and put on boots. He frowned at the three amused expressions staring back at him. “I’m just cold.”

  Arnold snickered outright. “Of course, sir.”

  “Has nothing to do with your age, I reckon,” Joe joined in with a chuckle.

  Lefty added his opinion while sliding his book into a pillow case. “Nothing with age and everything with the cold ground.”

  Unsure if they meant what they said, Sam decided not to press the issue. Instead, he brought out the coffee pot and beans from the back of the wagon. He shivered, already missing the fire’s warmth. They’d planned on staying put today, he realized, and everyone could rest for a while longer. Good, he thought. No need for Lucky to play that infernal bugle this morning. He’d like to have the chance to miss the sound. Rubbing the stubble on his face reminded him a shave would be nice. He and the others might hunt for where the water bubbled up through the ground.

  Lucky returned, frowning at the bucket he carried. As he approached, he said, “It’s not the best water I’ve ever seen. We need to find the wellhead to the springs.”

  Having the solution in mind, Sam went back and scooped up another handful of coffee beans. “I thought we’d dig around this morning and find a better source for later today. It’d be a good idea to store some for later. Little Sandy may be drier than we’d thought.”

  Joe nodded, adding, “When was the last time we caught rain, before Sweetwater?” He stood up and went to the wagon. They heard rattles as the man dug around for breakfast and cookware.

  “It seems so long, I don’t remember,” replied Arnold.

  After he had placed the full coffee pot on the fire, Lucky said, “Prospect Hill is the last I remember. Since then there’s been a few flakes, nothing serious.”