A Dream for Tomorrow
Page 14
Elizabeth released her, but now the tears were pouring down Mahala’s cheeks. “I was such a fool,” she said. “But I wanted to believe him.”
“I know you did. But I just don’t know why you did.”
“Because…because…” She let out a loud sigh. “It’s just that I…well, I don’t want to be an old maid.”
Elizabeth threw back her head and laughed.
“That’s what Hannah keeps saying I am, Elizabeth. An old maid. She tells me that all the time. And it’s true. Hannah will probably find a husband before I do.”
“That’s nonsense. Listen to me, Mahala. We are headed to country where men outnumber women by a great deal. Believe me, no one as smart and pretty as you has the slightest chance of being an old maid.”
“Really?”
“Of course.” Elizabeth pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her. “Not only that, but there are nice young men right here on this very wagon train—and not Jack Smith, thank your lucky stars. But there are decent young men like, say, Julius Prescott…young men who would be over the moon to be able to court a girl like you.”
“Oh, go on.” She waved her hand. “Why would a wealthy Boston boy notice a girl like me?”
“Can you keep a secret?” Elizabeth knew she might be stepping over a line, but it seemed the right thing to do at the moment.
“What?” Mahala wiped her wet cheeks and then gave the handkerchief back.
Elizabeth held up her hand like an oath. “Promise you won’t tell anyone if I tell you this?”
Mahala held up her hand. “I promise.”
“All right. The secret is that you, Mahala Flanders, caught Julius Prescott’s eye the very first day he met you.”
“No!” Mahala looked truly stunned. “Are you teasing me?”
Elizabth shook her head. “Not at all. I heard it from a very reliable source. The trouble is that Julius is very shy around girls. Especially if he likes them.”
“Oh…?” She slowly nodded. “My brother Ezra is like that too.”
“So, you understand what I’m saying?”
“I think I do.”
Now they both walked along in silence for a while, and Elizabeth could tell that Mahala was deep in thought. Perhaps she was even planning her wedding with Julius. Elizabeth didn’t even care. She was just relieved that Mahala was not going to be trapped by the likes of Jack Smith…if that was his real name. Flo had been right. The man was a snake.
“Elizabeth?” Mahala’s voice sounded worried.
“Yes?”
“Please, don’t tell my mother about any of this.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “I won’t tell if you don’t tell.”
Mahala stopped walking and stuck out her hand. “It’s a deal.”
As they shook on this, Elizabeth was greatly relieved to know that this morning’s strange conversation with Jack Smith would remain their secret. Despite the happy results, Elizabeth wasn’t the least bit proud of the role she’d played in order to reveal that man’s slimy character. She was just as glad to bury it.
Chapter Fourteen
I don’t know how it happened or when it happened, but you’ll hear no complaints from me,” Flo quietly told Elizabeth the next afternoon. They had met on their way to fetch water for the evening meal, and Flo was all lit up.
“What are you talking about?” Elizabeth hooked one of the full buckets on the end of the yoke, balancing it while she put the other one in place.
“Mahala,” Flo whispered.
“Oh?” Elizabeth decided to act oblivious. “How is Mahala?”
“She seems to have forgotten all about that nasty Jack Smith.”
“Has she?” Elizabeth adjusted the carrying yoke over her shoulders, waiting for Flo to join her with a sloshing bucket in each hand.
“At first I feared she was hiding something from me. For all I knew she was planning to run off with the snake.”
“But she’s not?”
Flo shook her head. “No. She seems to have put him completely behind her.” She lowered her voice again. “And unless I’m mistaken, she has set her sights on the Prescott boy.”
“Julius?” Elizabeth feigned surprise.
“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “Julius Prescott.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Well, he should be pleased.”
They were catching up with some of the young women, and Flo changed the subject. “I hear we’ll make it to South Pass City by tomorrow afternoon. Bert’s been making enough money with his blacksmithing that I plan to do some shopping. We’re right low on flour and beans and bacon.”
They continued to visit as they walked back to camp. Flo seemed exceptionally happy as she chatted. It was probably due to her relief that Mahala had come to her senses, or perhaps it was something more. Elizabeth remembered back to when she first met Flo on the riverboat. Certainly, she seemed happy enough then. But it was a giddy sort of gladness that bordered on silliness. At the time, Elizabeth had assumed Flo wasn’t a very deep person, and she didn’t fully trust her. But after all these months on the trail together, watching Flo working hard, caring for her children, being a good wife to Bert…well, Flo seemed to have changed in some good ways. Certainly she was still a fun-loving person. But she also had a little more grist to her. And Elizabeth was proud to call Flo her friend.
“Are you and Bert still set on going all the way to the southern Oregon coast to settle?” Elizabeth asked. “In Elk Creek, like we are?”
“Oh, yes. Bert’s mind is made up on it.” Flo frowned. “However, that means we’ll have to part ways with you folks.”
“You won’t travel on to Vancouver with us?”
“No. Bert says we can’t afford passage for our whole family and all our belongings on a ship. He wants us to take the Applegate Trail. I reckon it’ll take us a while longer to get there. But in due time we’ll catch up with you. And if this place is as pretty as we’ve heard, we will be most grateful to get there.”
“And we will be most grateful to see our dear friends again.”
“Do you reckon the Bostonians will settle there too?”
“They seem to be leaning that way.”
“Oh, good. That will please Mahala to no end.”
Later, as Elizabeth was working with her mother and Ruth to prepare supper, she was thinking on these things, wondering over all the relationships that had been established on this wagon train.
“You’re very quiet this evening,” Clara said after Ruth went to their wagon to get a sweater. “Is anything wrong, dear?”
Elizabeth pushed the pan of nearly baked biscuits back into the heat. “No, Mother, I’m fine. Just thinking.” She told her that the Flanders planned to take the Applegate Trail to join them in Oregon. “And the Prescotts and Bramfords seem to be changing their plans to do the same.”
Clara gave her a sly smile. “Well, I think that Will Bramford has his own special reasons for wanting to follow you.”
“Oh, Mother.” Elizabeth waved her hand.
“Anyway, I think it’s wonderful we’ve made such fine friends on this trip.” Clara stirred the stew and then replaced the lid. “Won’t it be a delight to have them settling in Oregon with us?”
“Yes…of course.” Elizabeth set the plates and silverware out. “I just hope we haven’t been too influential in their decisions.”
“Oh, I don’t think you need to worry. These are strong-willed people, Elizabeth. I doubt that we’d be able to influence them to do anything they didn’t want to do.” She smiled. “Fiona told me that she and Paddy want to join us there too.”
“Oh, that will be so nice for Matthew and Jess. To have a young couple…” She sighed. “Won’t it be sweet to see them raising their children together?”
“At this rate, most of unit five might wind up being our neighbors in Oregon.” Clara poked the fire with a stick.
“Well, except for the Mullers and the Schneiders. They are still determined to settle farther south in Oregon.” E
lizabeth chuckled. “And I do not plan to encourage them to do otherwise.”
“And Mrs. Taylor is still set to go to the mission near Fort Walla Walla.”
“Yes…I know.”
“It won’t be long before this wagon train starts to part ways.” Clara sighed. “I suppose it will be sad in some ways.”
The women were in high spirits as they walked into South Pass City together. The men, tending to livestock, were not far behind. And the young people, eager to explore this town, were not far ahead. They all knew they had only two hours before they must be on the trail again. And so they walked quickly, chatting happily among themselves as they went.
“How many letters did you write?” Flo asked Lavinia with wonder.
Lavinia held up her large bundle of letters. “I want all my friends in Boston to know what a delightful time we’re having,” she told her. “I’m hoping they’ll want to follow our example and come out themselves next year.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Did you tell them the truth, Lavinia? Did you describe the hardships? Or all the times you wanted to turn back? And your plans to stop right here in South Pass City and check into the best hotel and never come out again? Did you tell them that?”
Lavinia chuckled. “Certainly not. That is something they’ll have to discover for themselves.” She pointed to the top envelope now, holding it up for Elizabeth to see that it was addressed to Fort Vancouver. “And this letter is to instruct our shipping company to send our goods on down to Empire City in Coos Bay and to secure us passage on the same ship that your father has booked for your family.”
Elizabeth glanced at her mother.
“So the decision is made,” Clara said happily. “I’m so glad to hear it.”
Flo pointed to the young people ahead of them. Most of them were laughing and making merry, but Mahala and Julius seemed deep in conversation. “I know that news will make one of my children very happy.”
As they came into the dusty little town, going their separate ways, Elizabeth felt unimpressed. Why would anyone choose to live in such a bleak and desolate place? Of course, she knew it was the gold that brought these people here. Fortune seekers. But was it worth it? As they searched for a mercantile, they passed a number of saloons, and Elizabeth tried not to pass judgment on the inhabitants of South Pass City. It was hard not to feel pity for them. No one looked very happy. Oh, folks might be laughing, but they didn’t seem truly happy. She glanced at some ill-clad women lingering outside of a dance hall and flirting with a group of tough-talking men. Such empty lives. And all for the pursuit of gold and fortune? The city seemed to testify that the love of money really is the root of all evil.
While the women were searching for the post office, a fistfight broke out in front of a saloon, and two men tumbled into the dust right in front of them. Elizabeth grabbed Ruth’s hand and her mother’s arm, hurrying them both over to the other side of the street. She wished she hadn’t brought Ruth to this rough mining town, and she hoped Father was keeping a close eye on JT. The sooner they left here, the better.
“Maybe we should have discouraged Brady from coming here today,” she said quietly to her mother. “I hope he doesn’t run into any trouble.”
“Oh, I’m sure your father and brother will see that he doesn’t.”
They found the post office, but to Elizabeth’s dismay, there was no letter from Malinda and John. She tried to conceal her disappointment as they took care of their other errands. At their last stop, the mercantile, Ruth was unable make up her mind about how to spend her half dollar. Tired of this noisy town, Elizabeth felt her patience dwindling, and she was about to tell her indecisive daughter to simply get the candy. Never mind that she had discouraged sweets earlier.
“I will get the colored pencils,” Ruth announced.
Elizabeth smiled. “Excellent choice.”
The final purchase made, they hurried back to camp. Elizabeth knew they hadn’t used up their full two hours, but she was relieved to get out of South Pass City just the same.
“We seem to be the first ones back,” Clara said as she sat down in the shade of the wagon. Ruth was already looking for her tablet, ready to try out the new pencils.
Elizabeth loosened the strings on her bonnet. “I’m sure the others will be along soon,” she told her mother.
“That town was disappointing.”
“Such sad, empty lives.” Elizabeth filled a drinking cup with water, sharing it with her mother.
“I’ve heard that gold rushes bring out the worst in folks.” Clara handed back the tin cup. “I think we saw that with our own eyes today.”
Elizabeth nodded and then took a sip.
“Are you worried about not receiving a letter from John and Malinda yet?”
She hung the cup back up and sighed. “I really thought Malinda would have written to me…and that I would have received it by now. I sent her a complete list of the posts along the way. She’s familiar with how wagon trains work. Why hasn’t she written?”
“I’m sure she did write, Elizabeth. But there’s no telling how dependable the mail service is out here in the frontier. There are robberies and Indians and…well, there must be a dozen ways that a letter could get lost.”
“I suppose.” Then she excused herself and set off to saddle up Molly. With only two more hours left on the trail today, her plan was to ride.
She was just cinching up Molly’s saddle as their fellow travelers began to return from town. Everyone was busily getting into the wagons and preparing to leave, and JT, eager to drive, already had the reins in his hands. Elizabeth had just climbed onto her horse when she looked around. “Where’s Brady?” she asked her son.
He shrugged. “I haven’t seen him since we went to town.”
“He didn’t come home with you and Grandpa?”
“Nope. All he wanted was to get some socks. I thought he came back with you.”
“Wait here while I go ask around.” First she went up to where Matthew’s wagon was just starting to roll. “Have you seen Brady?” she asked.
“Not since town,” he told her.
She looked at the empty seat next to him. “Where’s Jess? Is she missing too?”
He grinned. “Nah, she’s walking with Fiona. They took off a while ago.”
Waving, she turned the horse around, certain that Brady must be with JT by now. But as she rode back, she could see he wasn’t. She hurried over to her parents’ wagon, which was also starting to move forward, but neither of them had seen Brady either.
“What should I do?” she asked her father.
“I don’t know.” He grimly shook his head, slowing his wagon to a stop. “I can’t very well ask the whole train to wait for him.”
“I know.” She glanced over her shoulder toward town, wishing that she’d spot her old friend slowly walking toward them. “JT wants to drive anyway. I’ll head back toward town to look for him,” she said quickly.
“By yourself?” He looked alarmed. “I’ll come with—”
“You can’t leave Mother alone to drive the wagon,” she told him.
“Get your brother then.”
“He’s alone too.” She made a brave smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Can I take your horse so Brady will have something to ride? We can catch up with you.”
“I don’t like this, Elizabeth.”
She was already untying Penny and hoping that Brady wouldn’t mind riding bareback. “Don’t worry,” she said again. “We’ll be back in no time. I’m guessing Brady just got tired. He probably sat down to catch his breath.” She said gid-up to Molly and gave a cheery wave to her parents. “See you soon!”
But as she rode Molly toward town, she didn’t feel nearly as confident as she had put on. The last place she wanted to be right now was back in that horrid little mining town. Still, she couldn’t leave Brady behind. She wouldn’t! She just hoped that no harm had come to the dear old friend. And so, as she rode, she prayed for his safety and welfare.
To her relief it was Eli. “Elizabeth,” he called out. “What are you doing heading into town again—and all by yourself?”
She quickly explained her dilemma. “It’s not my father’s fault. He didn’t want me to come alone. But I can’t just abandon Brady.”
“No, of course not. I’ll help you look for him.”
Exceedingly grateful for his company, Elizabeth held her head high as the two of them rode into town, Penny trailing slightly behind.
“You don’t think Brady decided to leave the wagon train, do you?” Eli asked her.
“No. I’m certain he didn’t.”
“He wasn’t hankering to become a gold miner?”
“I cannot even imagine that.”
Once in town, Eli took the lead, asking everyone they met on the street if they’d seen a Negro man passing through. Although some unkind jokes were made at Brady’s expense, no one seemed to have seen him. They went from one end of town to the other with no luck. Finally they stopped in the middle of town, trying to decide what to do next.
“We’re burning daylight,” Eli told her. “And don’t forget we still have a long ride to catch up with the train.”
“But how can I just leave him?”
“What about your children and your family, Elizabeth? If we don’t go back, you’ll be leaving them.” They were having this difficult conversation in front of the dance hall. Several ill-clad women were still loitering about in the late afternoon sunshine. One of them, a flashy-looking redhead, started to flirt with Eli, commenting on his fringed buckskins.