Chapter 26
It seemed such a long way from the tree stump to the stream, but only a short distance on the return trip.
Sean stopped in front of a stump. “Is this it?” he asked. “It seems kind of small. Wasn’t that tree stump bigger than this?”
Reece frowned and looked through the trees. When she didn’t see the cover they’d created for Nathan, she shrugged her shoulders and stepped forward to continue their journey.
But, Scottie moved ahead of them and stopped. The children stepped back staring up at the largest animal they’d ever stood this near. The horse lifted his head, turned to the left, and trotted forward.
Sean’s forehead shot up. “Where’s he going? We’ll never catch him now.”
Reece ran after the horse while a loud voice raged inside her head asking what she planned to do if she actually caught up with him. Then, Scottie stopped and Reece slowed to a crawl and edged forward. She grinned when she heard Bear yip in excitement. “Come on, Sean; they’re here.”
Nathan released Bear’s collar and the dog squeezed through the branches. Jumping up on the children was strictly forbidden, but he made up for it by leaping up and down, then charged towards the stump and circled Sean three times before heading back to Reece. In his excitement to see the children, he’d ignored the horse. Now, he sniffed loudly which was somewhere between a growl and a whine. But, Scottie was used to a dog’s ways and merely lowered his head and waited. The horse’s patience and the dog’s curiosity came together when Bear edged forward and the two shared a kiss nose to muzzle.
When Sean reached his sister’s side, he saw Nathan sitting up grinning at his horse. “You found my horse! Congratulations,” he said softly without taking his eyes off Scottie. “Okay, let’s move this stuff out of the way.” The rest had helped. Nathan stood slowly then leaned over with his hands on his knees while his head cleared.
Sean borrowed a familiar phrase from Mama. “You’re not ready to get up yet.”
Nathan took a deep breath and slowly straightened. “I’ll be all right.”
The children dragged branches away while Nathan worked from inside the cover. It was nearly cleared away when Scottie lifted his head and neighed softly. Now that the children had returned, Bear let out a few warning barks himself. Everyone turned in the direction of the tree stump. Then came the unmistakable sound of crunching leaves, it was nearby, and it was coming their way.
The impulse to run and hide was great, if only the children could move their feet. When the man came into view, they could only stare. He held a rifle in his hand that looked very much like the rifles carried by the four men. He wore a brown hat that sat high on his head just like the fourth man they’d seen at the stream.
“You’re late,” said Nathan, standing much taller at the arrival of this stranger.
Those were the words Nathan used when he first saw them, and the children felt a small measure of relief and gave the man a closer look. He had Nathan’s sandy hair and eyes. Samuel?
“I know; I got held up. Sorry.” Samuel nodded at the children. “Who are they?”
“A couple of kids who’ve been helping me.”
“Really?” Samuel studied them doubtfully. “At first, I thought they were taking your horse.”
Was this a good time to declare that they were not a couple of horse rustlers like the westerns on TV? Maybe not. Instead, Reece related a piece of information. “On our way to the stream, we saw four men walking through the woods.”
Nathan looked at them sharply. “Which way were they going?”
“They were walking behind us on our way to the stream, so we hid until they passed us,” said Reece.
“Then we followed them,” Sean boasted, but didn’t lay it on too thick. “They stopped at the stream and filled up their canteens then they turned right and walked away. They had the same kind of gun that you do and dressed about the same way, too. They all wore hats.” He squinted as he looked at Samuel’s hat. “Except, their hats were different from yours.”
“Except for one,” said Reece. “Well, one of them wore a hat like yours.”
“Like mine?” asked Samuel.
“I knew they’d stolen my hat!” said Nathan looking at his brother. “I took it off to fill the canteen and splash my face. And, I didn’t have time to grab it before I had to hide. After they left I came back, and it was gone. When I couldn’t find Scottie, I figured they’d taken him, too.”
Samuel shook his head. “Bad luck, but your hat’s a lot easier to replace than your horse.”
“Anyway, these kids found my horse and brought him back,” said Nathan turning to the children. “But, how’d you get him to follow you?”
“I remembered the words you used, and he followed us here,” said Reece.
Sean looked up at his sister. “No, I remembered the words for him to come out of the stream; you remembered the words for him to follow us.”
“Okay, okay.”
Nathan and Samuel shared a knowing look then Samuel said. “I think we’re safe for now. Two scouts just reported back. They spotted the encampments and said some wagons have already moved out. It looks like they’re heading farther west.” He looked at the barrier surrounding the cart. “What’s all this about?”
“Tell you later.”
“OK, well, we need to get Scottie hitched to the cart. Where’s his harness?”
“When Scottie bolted and I couldn’t find him, I finally headed home hoping he’d follow. When he didn’t show up, I was sure they’d caught him. Anyway, I had a lot of this bagged when the kids arrived. They loaded the cart and helped me push it this far.”
Samuel lifted an eyebrow. “You moved this cart all the way from the farm to here?!”
“With them pushing.”
“Unbelievable.” Samuel smiled and nodded his head in appreciation. “How did you end up at the farm? Who sent you to help?”
“Nobody,” they both said at once.
Nathan gave a short laugh. “I think they just wandered in from the other side of the woods.”
Samuel looked at the children pointedly. “You’re lucky you didn’t wander into the wrong people.”
The children didn’t feel very lucky right then. But, since Samuel had arrived and Nathan was on his feet, Reece brought up her reoccurring theme. “We need to go home now.”
Both older boys frowned and shook their heads. “Where’s your parents,” asked Samuel.
“Home,” they both said, which brought on another round of frowns and shaking heads.
“Why didn’t they leave the area last week like everyone else?” asked Nathan.
“Uh, well, it’s not dangerous where we live,” said Reece.
The boys were speechless for fifteen seconds. Then Samuel asked. “Where do you live?”
“On the other side of the woods from your house,” Sean explained. “We know how to get there from here. We could leave now.”
“Do your parents know where you are right now?” asked Samuel.
They’d have to think about that one. “Well, Mama knows we’re outside,” Sean offered.
“Does she know you’ve left your property and are wandering around like this?”
There was no doubt about it. They’d dug a deep and slippery hole for themselves this time.
The Door Into Time Page 26