Luke's Gold

by Charles G. West

  “Well, looks to me like she’s fit to do the job.” Then, just remembering, he said, “Your daddy sent you this little mare.” He untied the lead rope and led the horse up beside Loco. Her reaction was one he would have expected from a small child.

  “Oh, she’s beautiful!” she squealed, and immediately took the rope from him. Stroking the mare’s neck, she smiled at White Moon. “Isn’t she beautiful?” The Shoshone woman smiled and nodded.

  Watching the girl’s delighted reaction to her father’s gift, Cade realized that he had expected to escort a little girl to Deer Lodge. Jack had not mentioned it, and it had never occurred to him that Elizabeth might, in fact, be a young lady. It suddenly made more sense now that Jack felt some urgency in exposing his daughter to Cornelia Kramer’s influence. He was tempted to ask her age, but had enough sense to know that might be impertinent. It was impossible for him not to notice the obvious signs of womanhood, now that he had the opportunity to take a closer look. Telling himself that he’d best discourage thoughts of that nature, he brought his thoughts back to the job at hand. “When are you ladies gonna be ready to start out for Deer Lodge?”

  “Oh, we’ve been ready for a couple of days,” Elizabeth replied, still admiring her father’s gift. “We expected Daddy any day, so we can be ready to leave in the morning. It’s a little late to start out today, and it’s a fair day’s ride to Mr. Kramer’s ranch.”

  Cade nodded. “Your dad said you knew the way to his place—said I didn’t have to worry about that, so I reckon you know best. We need to rest the horses, anyway.”

  Cade took care of the horses, turning them out to graze in the lush grass of the ravine bottom for the rest of the afternoon while he sat down near the barn to repair a frayed strap on one of the saddlebags. After an hour or so, Elizabeth came out to join him. “You know, Mr. Hunter—” she started.

  “Cade,” he interrupted.

  “Cade,” she corrected, “you’re welcome to come into the house. I hope you don’t think you have to stay in the barn.”

  “Oh,” he stammered, “well, I had a few things I needed to fix out here.” In truth, he had not been sure of his place, whether he should be expected to follow them into the house or not.

  She took a wooden bucket that was perched upside down on a corral post, and using it for a stool, sat down opposite him. “We’re going to have some supper in a little while, as soon as the bread finishes baking. White Moon bakes the best Indian bread. If you need to wash up, I can lend you some soap, and you can wash in the stream.” She paused to give him an impish grin. “You do bathe, don’t you?”

  Cade blushed. “Pretty regular,” he said, “but I don’t always have soap.” At that moment, he couldn’t think of the last time he had seen a bar of soap. Glancing up to meet her gaze, he realized then that the girl was teasing him.

  “How long have you been working for my dad?” she asked. “You don’t look like you’re much older than me.”

  There it was again, he thought. In answer, he replied, “I’m older than I look—older than you, unless you’re older than twenty-one.”

  She gave him a big smile, then got to her feet and replaced the bucket. “I better go and help White Moon. I’ll fetch that bar of soap if you want it.”

  “All right,” he replied, “I reckon I could use a good scrub-bin’, since I’m gonna be eatin’ in the presence of ladies. I expect I’m totin’ a fair amount of Montana on me.” Laughing, Elizabeth turned on her heel and returned to the cabin. Cade watched her all the way back.

  In a few minutes time, she returned with a big yellow bar of lye soap and offered it to him. “It’s getting kinda chilly to bathe in the stream, but I can heat a bucket of water for you.”

  “Oh, no, ma’am,” he replied. “It won’t be too cold.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “All right, if you say so.” With that, she returned to the cabin. “Don’t be long.”

  After a swift bath in the chilly water of the stream, Cade tried his best to produce shaving lather with the lye soap, but enjoyed little success. He dragged his razor over his face anyway and managed to clear most of the brush—at least enough to leave his face feeling raw. He pulled his clean shirt out of his war bag and hurriedly dressed. Then he gratefully sought the warmth of the cabin. Elizabeth took a step backward and made an undisguised show of appraising the obvious improvements. She made no comment. She didn’t have to. Her wide grin of amusement was all that was necessary. Her reaction caused his face to glow not entirely from the dull razor.

  Supper that night was little more than a pot of beans, boiled with some salty side meat, coffee, and White Moon’s pan bread, but to Cade, it had considerably more taste than the same fare on the cattle trail. Elizabeth explained that the difference was in the herbs that White Moon collected from the stream farther up the mountain. “Well, they’re the best beans I’ve ever had,” Cade said, bringing a hint of a smile to the Indian woman’s face.

  While he finished his coffee, he looked around him to appraise the cabin Jack Walker had built for his wife and daughter. Small, but solidly built with well-chinked log walls and a stone fireplace, it looked capable of weathering winter’s icy blasts. There were, in effect, three rooms—the largest, a kitchen—the other two were actually made from one room divided by a blanket wall to make two bedrooms. The only things that distinguished it from any miner’s cabin were the woman’s touches here and there in the form of curtains and knickknacks hung on the walls for decorations—and the cleanliness.

  When supper was finished, Cade got up to excuse himself. “I thank you for the supper. I expect I’ll get ready to turn in, and I’ll see you folks in the mornin’.”

  “You don’t have to sleep outside,” Elizabeth said, looking surprised that he even considered it. “We’ve got plenty of room in here where it’s warm.”

  Cade was not comfortable with that idea. It was a small cabin, and he wasn’t accustomed to sharing quarters with women. He wasn’t even sure what kind of noises he made when he was asleep, and he had just finished a generous bowl of beans and fat meat. “Thank you, ma’am, but I expect I’d best sleep with the horses. I’ll be warm enough. That way, I can kinda keep an eye on things. I’ll see you in the mornin’.” He promptly took his leave.

  “Suit yourself,” Elizabeth said as he carefully closed the door behind him. When he had gone, she turned to White Moon. “He’s about the shyest man I’ve ever seen, but he’s rather nice-looking when he gets cleaned up,” she said. The big woman fixed her with a scolding stare. “Well, he is kinda handsome,” Elizabeth said with a girlish giggle.

  Her remark brought forth an admonishing grunt from White Moon. “That kind nothing but trouble,” she said. “Miz Kramer teach you how to be proper lady—get you a rich husband.”

  “You mean like John Slater?” Elizabeth asked.

  White Moon frowned. “No,” she replied emphatically. Then her expression lightened. “Maybe you meet some of Mr. Kramer’s friends,” she said. “You never have to work then, and maybe you can take care of White Moon when she is old.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “You’re already old,” she teased. “I’ll take care of you. I don’t need a rich husband to do that.” Her thoughts drifted to John Slater then. He was rich. There was no doubt about that. She thought about the day she first met him in the general store in Butte. Not really handsome, but tall with long, dark hair worn to his shoulders, a thin mustache as his only facial hair. He could not really be considered a dashing figure, but there was a certain wild charm about him, even with the few rough edges so many of the newly rich miners displayed. He had at once asked her permission to call upon her. She had been surprised when he was undaunted by her telling him that she would soon be leaving, saying, “Then I’ll call on you in Deer Lodge. I’m fixin’ to buy a piece of land up that way.”

  Flattered, she had not discouraged him. He appeared to be a few years older than she would have preferred, but not at all too old to consider. He’s not
as handsome as Cade Hunter, she thought, knowing that White Moon would most likely tell her that “handsome” wears off after the first winter, but money keeps you warm for the rest of your life. Oh, well, she thought, I’m not about to marry either one of them. Even so, she found that she was still thinking about the broad-shouldered young man long after he had gone outside.

  Cade awoke in the gray predawn of the morning. By the time the sun made a timid appearance over the mountaintop, he had watered and saddled the horses and left them to graze while he waited for some sign of movement in the cabin. Before long, he saw a fresh plume of smoke drift up from the chimney telling him that White Moon was probably stirring up the breakfast fire. Still, he remained in the barn, not wishing to disturb the two women too early. In a few minutes, White Moon appeared around the front corner of the cabin and crossed the stream to the outhouse on the other side. On her way back, she met Elizabeth making the same trip. Satisfied that the women were dressed then, Cade proceeded to the house in hopes of getting a cup of coffee. He had almost decided to build a small fire outside the barn and get his own coffeepot from his pack.

  “Good morning,” Elizabeth greeted him when he walked in the door, her smile warm and genuine, as if she was really glad to see him. “We’ll have some coffee ready pretty soon, and White Moon is frying bacon to eat with the rest of last night’s pan bread.”

  Uneasy just standing there, he offered, “Want me to chop some firewood or somethin’?”

  “No. We’ve got plenty for now and we won’t need any more after breakfast.” She sensed his uneasiness and decided to tease him. “You just sit yourself down at the table and wait till the coffee’s ready.” She winked at White Moon and said, “I don’t know if we should even feed him, White Moon, somebody who prefers to sleep with the horses instead of staying in the cabin with us. Maybe he thought he wasn’t safe with two spoiled doves like us two.”

  Fully aware he was being teased then, Cade smiled. “The horses didn’t complain about my snorin’,” he said. Anxious to change the subject, he asked, “What are you gonna do about all your things here? You just gonna abandon this cabin?”

  “No,” Elizabeth replied. “Mr. Kramer will send a couple of his men back from the Bar-K with a wagon to get the furniture and trunks. I’m just taking my clothes and a few other things.” That was good news to Cade. He had been wondering if he was expected to move the whole cabin on a packhorse.

  “I’ll go round up the horses again,” Cade said after eating, and went out the door heading for the grassy meadow behind the barn.

  He had not been gone more than fifteen minutes when White Moon said, “There is a rider coming.” She was standing at the back window, the same window where she had seen Cade coming up the ravine the day before. Elizabeth moved over beside her and peered out at the lone horse making its way up toward the boulder.

  When the caller had almost reached the huge boulder that hid the front of the cabin, Elizabeth identified him. “John Slater,” she announced, surprised, then looked at White Moon with an impish grin. She quickly brushed by the mirror, took a moment to smooth her hair, then walked out on the porch to meet her visitor.

  “Good morning, Mr. Slater,” she said. “What on earth brings you way up here this early in the morning?”

  “I do declare, Miss Walker,” he returned, “you’re as pretty in the mornin’ as you were the other day.”

  “Why, thank you, sir,” Elizabeth replied sweetly. “You’ll have me blushing with talk like that.”

  “I remember what you told me last time I was here, that you were leavin’ here to go to Deer Lodge, so I rode up to tell you I’d be happy to escort you and the Shoshone woman over there. I have business with Carlton Kramer, so I’ll be out to his place from time to time, anyway.”

  “But at this time of morning?” Elizabeth replied, finding it an odd time of day to call.

  “That’s just the way I am, Elizabeth—all right if I call you Elizabeth?” She nodded, smiling. He continued. “Once you get to know me a little better, you’ll see I’m a man that don’t waste no time, when I see what I want.”

  Even as precocious as she was, Elizabeth was taken aback by his bold words. “Why, Mr. Slater,” she responded after a moment to think, “that’s a generous offer, but I’m afraid you have wasted your morning.” She nodded toward Cade still down at the barn. “You see, my father has sent one of his men to escort White Moon and me to Deer Lodge.”

  Slater cocked his head to look at the young man leading the horses toward the cabin. After staring for a long moment, he turned his gaze back to Elizabeth and said, “A hired hand? You can tell him you won’t need him. I’ll be happy to take you to Deer Lodge.” White Moon came out on the porch to stand behind her charge. “Of course, I mean both of you,” Slater added when he glimpsed her frown.

  Doing her best to conceal the girlish excitement she felt inside over his obvious infatuation for her, Elizabeth remained calm but pleasant. “Again, my thanks for the trouble you have gone to, but I’m afraid I can’t go against my father’s wishes. He sent a trusted hand to escort me, and the poor man rode a long way to see us safely there.” Slater made no response, turning in the saddle to stare at the man leading the horses.

  Down at the barn, Cade had paused when he saw the stranger ride up to the house, his hand automatically seeking the stock of the Winchester rifle resting in his saddle scabbard. It was plain to see after a moment, however, that it was a social call upon Elizabeth. For a reason he could not explain, Cade immediately disliked the man. Walking the horses slowly toward the cabin, he looked the stranger over as closely as he could at a distance of about forty yards. Sitting tall in the saddle, Elizabeth’s caller looked dressed for a social visit, wearing a black Stetson “Boss of the Plains” hat atop long, dark hair that touched the shoulders of his black morning coat. Slick as a greased weasel, Cade thought. He didn’t like the way Elizabeth laughed and tossed her head demurely in response to conversation he was too far away to hear.

  “Cade,” Elizabeth said when he approached the porch, “this is John Slater. He has kindly offered to escort White Moon and me to Deer Lodge.”

  In that brief instant, Slater wasn’t pleased to find the young man there. He continued to stare at Cade as if challenging him, his brows knotted in a heavy frown. “Yeah, boy,” he finally said with an undisguised note of derision in his tone, “I can save you the ride over to Deer Lodge, and you can go on back to wherever you come from.”

  The remark rankled Cade, but he made no immediate response, taking his time to loop the horses’ reins around a porch post. He tried to tell himself that the man’s comment probably wasn’t meant to sound scornful, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he had taken a dislike to him the moment he first saw him talking to Elizabeth. Considering that thought, Cade had to ask himself what right he had to feel one way or another about who called on Elizabeth Walker. It ain’t none of my business, he scolded, but I still don’t like the son of a bitch. Turning to face Slater then, he spoke. “I expect I’ll be seein’ Miss Walker to Deer Lodge. I promised her pa I’d see her safely there, and that’s what I aim to do.” Looking eye to eye, neither man noticed the slight smile Cade’s statement brought to Elizabeth’s lips. However, White Moon, a silent witness to the confrontation, caught the look on the young girl’s face and issued a soft grunt of disapproval, accompanied by a hard frown.

  Before Slater could answer, Elizabeth said, “There, you see, John, Cade is bound to take me, but you’re welcome to ride along with us if you were going up there, anyway.”

  Not by me, he ain’t welcome, Cade thought, but he held his tongue and waited for Slater’s response. Seeing that his ploy to accompany the young lady was foiled, Slater had no choice but to retreat discreetly, lest he ruin his chances with her. He had already made up his mind he was going to possess the handsome young woman, and if he had competition to eliminate, then so be it. But in the meantime, he must take care not to show his jealous intentions fo
r Elizabeth to see.

  “Thank you for the invitation,” he said to Elizabeth, “but my main concern was for your safety. As it turns out, I don’t need to go to Deer Lodge on business until next week, so I’ll see you up there then.”

  “That would be nice, I’m sure,” Elizabeth replied politely, gracing him with a faint smile. “I must apologize for this morning. We can’t even offer you coffee or something to eat, since we were all packed up to leave.”

  “Think nothin’ of it,” Slater said. “I’ll take my leave now.” Giving Cade a stern parting glance, he said, “You mind you take care of them.” Cade didn’t bother to answer.

  They stood silently watching for a few moments while John Slater rode away. Of the three, Cade was the only one focusing on Slater. Elizabeth’s eyes were on Cade, while White Moon concentrated on Elizabeth. A faint smile of satisfaction played upon the young girl’s lips as she detected the hostile expression on Cade’s face for the departing guest. Turning then to return to the cabin, she confronted the scolding look displayed upon the broad face of White Moon, answering it with a coy smile as she breezed past the disapproving Shoshone woman.

  Cornelia Kramer hurried out to the front porch when her maid and cook, Millie, told her that Elizabeth was here. As she passed the library, she told her husband, and he put his ledgers aside to join her in greeting their houseguest. A few moments later, he stood with his wife as they watched the three riders coming up the lane to the ranch house. Expecting Jack Walker to escort his daughter, Carlton Kramer remarked, “That’s the young fellow we just hired, the one I was telling you about who’s so good with horses.”

  When Elizabeth saw the couple waiting on the porch, now joined by their three young children, her faced blossomed out with a big smile and she waved excitedly. The children ran ahead as their mother and father walked down the steps to meet her, all with eager smiles.