by Lee Clinton
‘What complications?’ asked Gus.
‘Firstly, as Chrissy is over the age of fourteen years, she must consent to the adoption.’
‘That’s no obstacle,’ said Gus.
‘Has she has told you that she is willing to be legally adopted into your family, then?’
Gus hesitated.
‘And I mean, told you,’ said the judge, ‘not just nodded her head. Because that is what she has to tell me as both a witness and as the authority for adoption.’
‘She must tell you?’ questioned Gus.
The judge got up and went to the bookcase besides the gun rack and pulled down a law book. He flicked through the pages, stopped, and read. ‘Section 3 of the Adoption of Children Act. If the child be of the age of fourteen years or upwards, the adoption shall not be made without their consent.’
‘And you want to hear her consent?’
‘Not want, Gus, need. I need to hear, especially under the circumstances.’
Gus was a little puzzled. ‘Under what circumstances, precisely?’
The judge leant forward a little towards Gus. ‘That is the second complication. Chrissy is the last surviving Mayfield and her family property has a value.’
‘Meaning?’ asked Gus.
‘I don’t know how else to say it, Gus, but it has to be said.’ The judge drew in a sharp breath. ‘You don’t want to leave yourself open to any allegation that you are seeking personal gain out of any such adoption. Especially as you are the law in Laramie.’
Gus couldn’t believe what the judge had just said. ‘Do you think Martha and myself are seeking personal gain out of adopting young Chrissy into the family?’
‘No,’ said the judge, ‘I don’t. But that doesn’t stop rumour and spiteful talk. I’m only telling you this to protect you.’
‘I would hope that no such false gossip would come to pass,’ said Gus.
‘So would I, but if I know people, which I do, some tattle is bound to occur. I’ve already been approached with an offer to purchase the Mayfield land. A pretty persuasive offer that would see the money paid into the trust along with the cattle money already held. And where money is involved, we need to be careful, and being careful is following the letter of the law. And what complicates all of this even further, is Chrissy remaining mute.’
Gus was now feeling a little light-headed. He had not expected any complications at the start of this meeting, but now they seemed to be everywhere. His mind began to spin with aspects of the law, community gossip, his reputation and possible sale of the Mayfield property. ‘I see,’ said Gus with a sense of despondency, ‘and I thought it would be a mere formality.’ Gus slowly got to his feet. ‘I’ll have to talk to Martha. She will be disappointed.’
‘Don’t lose hope, Gus. I know that Chrissy is being well cared for and I have no intention of changing that situation. She is best where she is and maybe she just needs a little time to get back to being herself.’
‘Doc Larkin says the same thing,’ said Gus in consolation.
‘There, if a medical man says it is so, so should it be.’ The judge was trying to be a little jovial.
Gus put his hat on to leave, but as he was about to depart, he said, ‘Just out of interest. Who made the offer on the Mayfield property?’
‘Rufus Cole,’ said Judge Morgan. ‘He wants to run his cattle on it, which now includes the Mayfield livestock. It all makes perfect sense to me.’
‘Rufus Cole?’ Gus felt his stomach churn and the burning of dyspepsia rise to his throat. ‘Rufus Cole wants to purchase the Mayfield property?’
CHAPTER 21
MOTHER NATURE
The Right Solution
When Gus spoke to Martha about his conversation with Judge Morgan, he left out most of the detail as he didn’t want to dash hopes or worry her. He preferred to say that certain aspects of the law had to be met and that the law moves slowly. ‘It has to get things right,’ he said, so they just had to wait a little while. ‘Just like we need to wait for Chrissy to find her voice again,’ Gus added.
Martha was both disappointed and confused, but said nothing. She trusted Gus, as he knew the law – she didn’t. Instead, she would turn to prayer and that was sure to work, she told herself.
Gus was much more open with Henry. He had to be. He now needed his help. ‘We have to look after Chrissy,’ were his opening words. ‘She took fright the other day.’
‘I know, Ma said it was being around people and it was her fault for making Chrissy go with her,’ said Henry.
‘Chrissy may be a little anxious around people,’ said Gus, ‘but I don’t believe that was the reason why she took fright in the store. I think Chrissy saw someone that she recognized.’
Henry eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean, recognized? How?’
Gus knew that he had to be careful how he voiced his suspicions, but it was going to be difficult. ‘I think she saw one of the men who came to kill her and her family, and it sent her into a state of fright again. A very severe fright.’
‘Do you know who?’ asked Henry, but before Gus could answer, he said, ‘We should bring him in.’
Gus spoke slowly and softly. ‘I don’t have the evidence to bring anyone in, Henry.’
‘But if we question him, then—’ Henry was getting a little frantic and it looked to Gus as if his son wanted to go and make an immediate arrest.
‘Just think this through for a moment.’ Gus reached over and placed his hand on his son’s forearm. ‘We have to be smart about this. Yes, I have my suspicions and I want justice to be served. But if I bring him in, he will deny any involvement, and all we would have done is alerted him and any accomplices also involved—’
‘Who is it?’ butted in Henry.
Gus paused a little before saying, ‘Best I keep my suspicions to myself, just for the moment. But when it is time to move, I am going to need you.’ Gus squeezed Henry’s arm.
‘So, it’s not Cheyenne?’ questioned Henry.
‘No, I don’t believe it was, even from the start.’
‘Someone in this town?’
Gus nodded. ‘But don’t you worry about that for the time being. I want you to concentrate on Chrissy and look after her.’
Henry nodded willingly.
‘In fact,’ said Gus, ‘we must all protect her, like she is a member of our family. You should shield her as if she is your little sister. Your mother sees Chrissy as a daughter, much the same way she saw Grace as her future daughter-in-law. And that’s why Martha would like to legally adopt her.’
Henry’s head jerked back and his mouth opened a little. ‘Adopt?’ It was said with wonder.
‘Yes,’ said Gus, somewhat surprised by his son’s response.
‘Then she would be my sister, legally, like.’
‘Yes,’ said Gus. ‘In the eyes of the law, that’s correct.’
‘But—’
‘But what?’ asked Gus.
‘I, I, was thinking different, like. Like, I’ve found myself becoming attached to her.’
‘We all have.’
‘Yes, but if she became my sister then I couldn’t marry her.’
A look of wonder was now upon Gus’s face. Not for a moment had he thought of such a prospect.
That evening Gus quietly raised with Martha what Henry had proposed. Her response was one of stunned silence, before saying, ‘I don’t know what to say.’
Gus had done a little more digesting of the proposition. ‘Yes, it took me by surprise too, but on thinking about it, well—’
‘But he can’t substitute Chrissy for Grace,’ said Martha.
‘I don’t know if that’s what he’s doing,’ said Gus. ‘I think he has developed a genuine affection for her and on reflection we should have noticed.’
‘But she is so young.’
‘She is fifteen, three years younger than Grace.’
‘You aren’t proposing that they marry next year, are you?’ It was said as if to exaggerate Gus’s argument
.
‘No,’ said Gus. ‘I’m not proposing anything at all. I’m just saying, a fifteen-year-old can be legally married with parental approval, and at eighteen they are free to marry of their own volition. We just have to realize that Chrissy is fast becoming a woman.’
‘Chrissy and Henry, it’s a sur—’ Martha looked down at the floor as if she was searching for something.
‘It is a surprise,’ conceded Gus, ‘but these things happen. It happened with you and me.’
‘I was older, much older.’
‘You were seventeen.’
‘But we married when I was older, much older.’
‘Nineteen,’ said Gus.
‘Times were different then,’ protested Martha.
‘Times were better then, back in Vermont, worse here, now.’
‘In what way, worse?’ said Martha disbelievingly.
‘For every woman in Wyoming, there are six men,’ said Gus. ‘When Grace accepted Henry’s proposal to marry, he became one of the lucky few to find a wife. Henry knew that. Is it any wonder that he has become attracted to Chrissy? There is nobody else now or in his future.’
Martha wasn’t disagreeing, she was just lost in her own thoughts.
‘I say we just let Mother Nature find the right solution. She usually does,’ said Gus. ‘After all, she found it for you and me.’
CHAPTER 22
SACK OF FLOUR
Departures
When Gus walked in on Martha she was in a dither. It wasn’t like her. She also seemed to be a little disorganised and that wasn’t like Martha either. By nature, she was a planner who considered, arranged and prepared. Now, however, she was halfway through a bake and had run out of flour. He watched as she did her best to scrape up what was left on the table top, but there wasn’t nearly enough to finish. She needed sufficient pastry to top the last two pies and from what Gus could see, she’d be lucky to stretch it to one.
‘You can’t depend on anyone any more.’ She wasn’t looking at Gus as she spoke. ‘I asked Henry to get me a sack of flour.’
Gus had never heard her cast blame before. ‘Where is Henry now?’ he asked.
‘Out riding. He took Chrissy.’
Was that really the matter, wondered Gus? That Henry had enticed Chrissy away from helping Martha? ‘Chrissy loves riding, it is her only outing. It was riding with Henry that led to her first words,’ he reminded her.
He could see that his wife was in no mood to accept explanations. Something had upset her. She could wait for Henry to return, but by then it might be too late to get to the store. She could have gone herself, but of course she would have to ‘smarten herself up’, as she was fond of saying.
‘I’ll go,’ said Henry.
‘No need,’ was the curt response.
There clearly was a need, or was the need to stay angry? But at who – Henry, Chrissy, the pies? Gus walked over and took her in his arms.
‘I’m busy, Gus.’
‘No, you’re not,’ he said.
‘Am so.’
‘Can’t be.’
‘Why can’t I be?’
‘You’ve run out of flour,’ said Gus and he felt his wife sink into him.
‘What are we going to do?’ said Martha and it came out like a whimper.
He was about to say, I’m going to get you some more flour, but he knew that was the wrong answer, so he just shut up. It was a lesson he’d learnt after twenty-six years of marriage.
‘Chrissy, our Henry, us, what are we going to do?’
Gus patted her back. ‘It will all work out. It always does.’
‘No, it doesn’t, Gus. Not always. Sometimes it goes bad, really bad. You know this Saturday coming was to be the day that Henry and Grace were to be married?’
Gus didn’t. It had been a date sometime in the future – a date forgotten out of necessity by Gus. He hugged his wife tight as if to protect her.
‘No, that’s all, just a sack of flour,’ said Gus to Ben Edmonds at the store.
Ben, always the salesman, said, ‘Ever seen one of these before?’ He placed a strange-looking device on the counter.
Gus had no idea what it was as he picked it up and examined the wire loops that extended from the handle.
‘It’s called a whisk. It’s new from France. Just got ’em in.’
Gus was frowning as he asked, ‘What does it do?’
‘It takes the effort out of blending. Better than a spoon. Mixes quicker.’
‘And that’s good?’ questioned Gus.
‘The Frenchies think it is.’
‘Do you use it in baking?’ asked Gus.
‘My word.’ Ben picked up the utensil and waved it close to Gus’s nose. ‘You beat together ingredients when baking. Just the thing to use with flour.’
Gus pulled back a little and saw in the waving whisk an opportunity. ‘Better give me one, then.’ Only to enquire on the cost after he had bitten on Ben’s dangling hook.
‘Two dollars and fifty cents.’
It sounded expensive, but it was too late. Hopefully a French wire thing for beating up flour would cheer Martha up.
‘Have you been over near the Mayfield property of late?’ asked Ben in general conversation as he wrapped the whisk.
‘No, why?’
‘Had Fred Elwell come in and settle his account. Looked as grim as hell. Says he’s heading back East.’
The shape of the whisk was clearly outlined in its wrapping and it looked odd. Gus was regretting his purchase as he asked, ‘Did he say why?’
‘No, he was in no such disposition. I think he was angry,’ said Ben.
‘Over what?’
‘Don’t know, but that makes the third family to quit in as many months.’
‘Third?’
‘Yep, the Hoods and Batchfords have already left. Are you after any smoking tobacco or maybe cheroots? Got some Old Virginia in yesterday.’
Gus didn’t answer as he picked up the sack of flour and his gift for Martha. In fact, he didn’t hear the question, he was deep in thought. ‘The Elwell, Hood and Batchford families have all quit!’ he mumbled to himself. Three families in three months. Why would they possibly do that, after all the effort and work required to establish their properties? It just didn’t make sense. No sense at all.
CHAPTER 23
UNDER A ROCK
Bev and Her Boy
Early the following morning, Gus asked Ivan if he knew that the Elwell family had quit to go back East.
He didn’t. ‘I know the Batchfords and the Hoods sold up and went back East a month or so ago,’ he said. ‘With the Elwells that now makes three families.’
‘I know,’ said Gus. ‘Three in three months.’
‘Who told you about the Elwells?’ questioned his deputy.
‘Ben Edmonds, down at the store.’ Gus thought for a moment before asking, ‘When did you last patrol out there?’
‘Been a while,’ said Ivan a little awkwardly.
‘Should be every six to eight weeks,’ said Gus.
‘Yeah, I know, but we’ve been busy.’
‘Not that busy.’ The words came out with a little annoyance at what seemed to be an excuse.
Ivan responded by saying, ‘We’ve been a bit short-handed of late.’
The words hit their mark and Gus got it. ‘Right,’ he said. Both Ivan and Joel had been covering for Henry. ‘I’ll take a ride out and check on the other properties.’
‘I should go,’ said Ivan quickly. ‘It’s my circuit.’
‘No, no,’ said Gus, ‘he’s my son that both you and Joel have been covering for, and I appreciate it. The least I can do is ride the western circuit. You hold the fort.’ Gus looked around his desk. There was nothing there that couldn’t wait. ‘If I leave now, I’ll be back tomorrow sometime, hopefully not too late.’
Gus picked up a mount from the livery and rode back home to tell Martha that he would be away for the night. She responded, as always, by packing his saddle-bags and p
ulling out his bedroll from under the linen shelf. When she kissed him on the cheek to say farewell, she squeezed his arm just a little tighter than she usually did. Gus responded with the words, ‘I’d be lost without you, Martha Ward.’
‘And I’d be lost without you, Sheriff August Ward, so you take care,’ came her response, before she quietly said, ‘If I was ever lost in this world, may it be with you.’
Gus kissed his wife on the lips and replied, ‘As long as we have each other, we’ll find our way.’
He was out at the Mayfield property by just after midday, where he stopped to water his horse from the home trough. As he stood, gazing at the ruins, he felt the urge to remove his hat and say, almost in prayer, ‘I’m trying to find out who did this and bring them to justice, Abe. Believe me, I’m trying.’ As he went to put his hat on, he stopped to say also, ‘And our family will protect your girl, you can depend on that.’
It was the noise of cattle that caught his attention as he was about to mount. He looked across to the top yard, which was congested with stock. The property was being used. Was it by the neighbours or had Rufus Cole laid claim by running his cattle, the Mayfield herd, back on the Mayfield property? He would need to check.
Gus rode north-west, first to check on the Hood homestead as it was closest. Even from afar the place looked abandoned. Inside it was stripped bare. Yet, when he opened the stockyard gate to ride across to the Elwell property, there were cattle tracks that could not have been much older than a day or two. This caused him to consider, was Cole using this property as well?
The Elwell homestead was like the Hood property, and so was the Batchford place. Each now silent and empty, which left Gus with a feeling of cold despair. He had never been a farmer and he’d never run cattle, but he knew only too well of the hardship associated with making a living off the land. Sit and listen to any settler family and they will tell you that the first, second and sometimes third winters were a knife-edge struggle to survive. It took fortitude not to give in and give up. Long, relentless hours of hardship were the rule and a decision to leave would squander that hard-won legacy. Yet all three families had well-established properties and seemed set.