Sarah's Choice

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  Elias shook his head slowly as he rolled his eyes. He wished Ned would give up that nasty habit, but he’d been doing it for a good many years, so it wasn’t likely he’d give it up now. Some things, no matter how much he wanted them, just weren’t meant to be.

  “Does that shake of your head mean we’re not stoppin’ at Walnutport?” Ned asked, bumping Elias’s arm.

  “Of course we’re stopping. I want to check on Carolyn. I was shaking my head because I can’t understand why you think you need that awful chewing tobacco.”

  Ned merely shrugged in reply; then he leaned over the boat and hollered at Bobby, “Get them mules movin’ faster! When they start laggin’ like that, you need to take control!”

  Bobby swatted Wilma’s rump, and the next thing Elias knew the crazy mule let out a loud bray and kicked her left foot back. Bobby screamed and crumpled to the ground.

  Chapter 25

  My leg hurts!” Bobby wailed. “I’ve never had anything hurt so much!”

  As soon as Elias looked at Bobby’s twisted leg he knew it was broken. White-hot anger boiled in his chest. That stupid mule the blacksmith sold him had caused nothing but trouble, and now his young mule driver had been put out of commission because of the stubborn, temperamental critter.

  “I’m real sorry,” Bobby said, tears streaming down his face. “I shoulda never slapped that ornery mule on the rump.”

  Elias scooped the boy into his arms and carried him onto the boat. “It wasn’t your fault. You were only doing what Ned told you to do.”

  “I know, but I shoulda realized Wilma was still fidgety and might decide to pull somethin’ on me.”

  “It’s okay.” Elias carried Bobby down to his cabin and laid him carefully on the bunk. “We’re almost to Walnutport, and as soon as we arrive we’ll take you to see Dr. McGrath.”

  “B–but who’s gonna lead the mules?”

  “I will, and Ned can steer the boat.”

  Elias splinted the boy’s leg with two pieces of wood and then tied a strip of cloth around it. “Now just lie here and try to relax. We’ll be in Walnutport soon.”

  The first thing Elias did when they arrived in Walnutport was to take Bobby to see Dr. McGrath. While the doctor took care of Bobby’s leg, Elias went to tell Bobby’s aunt Martha what had happened. After he returned to the doctor’s office and picked up Bobby, he took him to the boardinghouse so his aunt could care for him, then he returned to the boat where he’d left Ned.

  “How’s the kid?” Ned asked. “Did ya get him to the doctor okay?”

  Elias nodded. “His leg’s broken pretty bad, and he’ll have to be off it for a good many weeks.”

  “Figured as much.” Ned grunted. “Now you’ll need to find another mule driver somewhere.”

  “You’re right, and another mule, too.” Elias frowned. “I’ve had it with that animal! In fact, I’m taking her right back to the blacksmith!”

  Ned’s forehead wrinkled. “What if Patrick don’t want the critter back?”

  Elias shrugged. “I won’t know until I go over there and ask. Are you coming or staying?”

  “Think I’ll come along. If Patrick gives you a problem about the mule, I wouldn’t wanna miss out on a fight between you two.”

  Elias shook his head. “There won’t be any fighting. I’m just going to take the mule back and ask Patrick to refund my money.”

  Ned let out a low whistle. “This I’ve gotta see.”

  Patrick had just finished repairing the wheel on a wagon owned by one of the farmers in the area, when Elias showed up. His helper, Ned, was with him, leading the mule Patrick had sold Elias several weeks ago.

  “What can I do for you?” Patrick asked.

  “I’m here to return your mule.”

  Patrick shook his head. “She ain’t my mule. You paid for the critter, fair and square, so she’s your mule now.”

  “She’s not working out for me,” Elias said. “She’s been nothing but trouble since the day I got her.”

  “That’s not my problem. Maybe you just need to work harder with her…get her trained.”

  “We’ve been working with her, and as far as I’m concerned, she’s not trainable. The stupid animal kicked my mule driver this morning and broke his leg.”

  Patrick ground his teeth together. “If I’d have known the fool mule would do somethin’ like that, I’d never have sold her to you.”

  “Then you’ll take her back?”

  Patrick shook his head. “Don’t know what I’d do with her if I did.”

  “You could sell her to someone else,” Ned spoke up. “Someone who has the time and patience to work with her.”

  Patrick contemplated things a few seconds then finally nodded. “Tell ya what I’ll do. I’ll take the mule and give you back half your money.”

  Elias’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why only half?”

  “You’ve used her awhile, so she’s worth less to me now.”

  A muscle on the side of Elias’s neck quivered. “That’s not fair. The mule’s worth what I paid, and—”

  “Take it or leave it.”

  “We’ll take it,” Ned cut in. He handed the mule’s rope to Patrick. “Any idea where we can find another mule?”

  Patrick scratched the side of his head. “Let’s see now. I believe Slim Collier has a couple of mules he uses on his farm, but I doubt he’d be willing to part with either of ‘em.”

  Elias frowned. “Do you know of any other mules I might buy?”

  “I think maybe Gus over at the livery stable has one now.”

  “Guess I’ll head over to his place and see.” Elias hesitated a minute and then held out his hand. “What about the money you owe me for returning your mule?”

  Patrick reached into his pants pocket and pulled out twenty-five dollars. It irked him that he had to take the mule back, but he didn’t want the fancy boatman going around town blabbing to everyone that Patrick O’Grady was unfair in his business dealings. So he’d take the dumb mule and hopefully make a profit when he found someone else willing to buy the critter.

  “Isn’t that Elias’s boat tied up over there by Mike and Kelly’s store?” Sarah asked Carolyn as the two women hung clean clothes on the line.

  Carolyn shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun. “I believe it is. I don’t see any sign of Elias or his helpers, though.”

  “Maybe they’re in the store. If you’d like to walk over there and see, I’ll finish hanging the last of these towels.”

  “I’ll wait until we’re done,” Carolyn said. “That way if a boat comes through and you need to open the lock, I’ll be able to finish hanging the laundry for you.”

  Sarah smiled. Carolyn was such a thoughtful person. “I appreciate your help, and I’m going to miss you when you join Elias on his boat again.”

  Carolyn smiled, too. “I’ll miss you as well. These last two weeks have been fun, even though I was in a lot of pain the first few days.” She glanced at her hand, almost completely healed from the burns.

  “They’ve been fun for me, too. Between you and Hortence, I’ve had more help than I know what to do with.”

  Carolyn chuckled. “I can’t believe you said that. No one as busy as you can ever have too much help.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Sarah glanced at the towpath and saw Elias heading their way, while Ned, leading a mule, turned in the direction of Elias’s boat. “Here comes your brother now,” she said, pointing in that direction.

  Carolyn squinted. “I don’t see Bobby though, and I wonder if Ned’s leading the mule because they took it to the blacksmith to have it shod.”

  Sarah shrugged. “I don’t know, but that looks like a different mule to me.”

  A few minutes later, Elias joined them under the clothesline. “Hello, ladies.”

  “Hello, Elias,” Sarah said.

  “It’s good to see you.” Carolyn stepped forward and gave him a hug.

  “It’s good to see you, too. How’s your hand?”
>
  “Much better. Dr. McGrath said as long as I keep it clean and continue to put the ointment on, I should be fine.”

  “That’s good to hear, because I really need you on the boat again.”

  “How come? Hasn’t Ned been feeding you well enough?”

  “We’ve managed okay until this morning.”

  “What happened?” Sarah asked.

  “That troublesome mule I bought from the blacksmith kicked Bobby and broke his leg.” Elias groaned. “I returned the mule to Patrick and got half my money back; then I bought another mule from the man who runs the livery stable. This creature seems to have a more agreeable temperament, so hopefully she’ll work out better than the last one. My big concern is that I have no one to lead the mules.” He scuffed the toe of his boot and looked at Sarah. “I don’t suppose you’d consider letting Sammy come to work for me until he goes back to school at the end of summer?”

  Her spine stiffened, and she glared at him. “How can you even ask me that? After my reaction when Sammy ran off to lead your mules before, you ought to know how I feel about it.”

  “I understand your concerns, but I’ll take good care of him and make sure—”

  “Absolutely not! None of my kids will ever work on this canal!” Sarah turned and tromped into the house.

  Chapter 26

  As Elias’s boat headed toward Mauch Chunk, with Ned steering and Elias leading the mules, he fumed with every step he took. He didn’t like having to lead the mules when he should have been on the boat. Well, at least the new mule he’d bought was more cooperative than the last one, and since Elias had no one else to lead the mules, he had no choice but to take over that responsibility. If he could only have had Sammy working for him, it would have helped a lot, but that wasn’t to be.

  Elias knew he’d upset Sarah by asking if Sammy could work for him and wished he hadn’t brought it up. He figured he’d ruined whatever chances he may have had with Sarah—if he’d ever had any chance at all. He’d seen the way she couldn’t make eye contact with him most of the time. She probably couldn’t stand to look at the ugly red mark on his face.

  As they drew closer to Mauch Chunk, Elias spotted a young, red-haired boy running after a chicken along the edge of the towpath.

  “What are you doing with that chicken?” Elias called.

  The boy screeched to a halt and turned to face Elias, his eyes wide with fear. “I…uh…”

  “Is it your chicken?”

  “No, sir. I was tryin’ to catch it so my ma would have somethin’ to fix us for supper tonight. Somethin’ besides beans.”

  Elias studied the boy a few seconds. He was barefooted, wore a pair of tattered trousers and a faded blue shirt, and looked to be about ten years old.

  “What’s your name and where do you live?” Elias asked.

  The boy stared at the ground and dragged his big toe through the dirt. “My name’s Frank. Me and my two sisters live in a shack with our ma.”

  “Near Mauch Chunk?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What about your father? Is he a canaler?”

  Frank shook his head. “Pa used to work at the coal mines in Mauch Chunk, but now he’s dead. Ma washes clothes for the boatmen sometimes, but she don’t make much and can’t hardly feed us no more.”

  Elias’s heart clenched. There were so many poor people living along the canal. He wished he could help them all.

  “How would you like to come to work for me?”

  “Doin’ what?”

  Elias motioned to his mules. “Leading them while they pull my boat.”

  Frank’s pale eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

  “That’s right. The mule driver I had has a broken leg, so I need someone to take over the job for the rest of the summer.”

  “I’d like to earn some money to help my ma, but I’ve never led a mule before.”

  “I’ll teach you.”

  “That’d be great.” Frank nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll have to run home and tell Ma first, though.”

  “I’ll tell you what,” Elias said. “I’ll get my load of coal in Mauch Chunk and meet up with you here in a couple of hours.”

  Frank offered Elias a toothless grin. “Sounds good to me.”

  Elias reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill. “Give this to your mother, so she can buy something to eat. And no more stealing chickens,” he added as he handed the money to Frank.

  “Wow! Thanks, mister.”

  “My name’s Elias Brooks, but you can just call me Elias.”

  “Okay. See you soon, Elias!” Frank waved and hurried away.

  Elias hoped he hadn’t made a mistake. For all he knew, Frank might not even be the boy’s real name. For that matter, he might never see the boy again. Well, if that was the case, then so be it. Elias had done what he felt was right, and he’d just wait and see if Frank was waiting for him when he came back.

  As Patrick headed for Cooper’s store, he struggled with the urge to stop over at the lock tender’s house and talk to Sarah. After he’d blurted out the way he felt about her the other day and suggested that they get married, he wasn’t sure if he should give her some time to think about things or keep trying to pursue her. One thing he knew was that he’d never get anywhere with Sarah if he couldn’t spend more time with her so he could show her what a good husband he’d make. Since Sunday was her only day off and she spent part of it in church, he’d come to the conclusion that he needed to attend church, too. Maybe Sarah wouldn’t mind if he sat beside her during the service.

  Of course, he reasoned, that will mean sitting beside those kids of hers, and one in particular doesn’t like me very much.

  Patrick leaned over, picked up a flat rock, and tossed it into the canal, the way he’d done many times when he was a boy. There had to be some way for him to win Sammy over.

  When he entered the store a few minutes later, his gaze

  came to rest on the glass-topped counter full of candy. Ah, that might be just what he needed!

  He studied the variety of candy—gumdrops, lemon drops, horehound drops, licorice ropes, peppermint sticks, and several kinds of lollipops. Hmm…which one should

  I choose?

  “Can I help you with something?” Mike asked, positioning himself on the other side of the counter.

  “I’m lookin’ to buy some candy, but I’m not sure what kind. Have you got any suggestions?”

  “Guess that all depends on what kind you like.”

  Patrick shook his head. “It ain’t for me. It’s for Sarah’s kids, but I was hopin’ to get the kind that Sammy likes best.”

  “Oh, that’s easy then. I know exactly what my nephew likes.” Mike picked up the jar of lollipops. “Sammy likes cherry—although he’ll eat most any kind except orange. His little sister likes orange, though. I think Willis does, too.”

  “All right then, I’ll take two orange lollipops and one cherry.” Patrick smiled. He could hardly wait to see the kids’ expressions when he gave them the candy on Sunday after church.

  As Elias led the mules down the towpath coming out of Mauch Chunk, he looked for Frank, but saw no sign of the boy. He’s probably not coming, Elias told himself. Either his mother said no, or he took off with the money I gave him and never said a word to his mother about working for me. He flicked at a fly that kept buzzing his head. Guess that’s what I get for being so nice, but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the boy.

  “Hey, mister—I mean, Elias. I’ve been watchin’ for you!”

  When Frank stepped out of the bushes, Elias jumped, causing both mules to bray and nearly run into his back.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare ya.” Frank looked up at Elias and squinted his blue eyes. “If ya haven’t changed your mind about me leadin’ your mules, I’m ready to go.” He lifted the small satchel he held in his hands. “Don’t have many clothes, but Ma said I’d need another pair of trousers to wear, and I’ve also got an old pair of my pa’s boots, �
�cause she said I might need ‘em if my feet get too sore from walkin’ the towpath.”

  “Does that mean your mother’s okay with you working for me the rest of this summer?”

  “Yeah, sure. Said I could work clear up to the time the canal closes for the winter.”

  “What about school? Won’t you need to quit so you can return to school in the fall?”

  Frank shook his head. “Don’t need no schoolin’. Pa didn’t have much, and he got by.”

  Elias was tempted to argue with the boy but figured he’d wait until summer was nearing an end and then bring up the subject again.

  “So what should I do to make the mules go?” Frank asked.

  “If you walk along with me for a while, I’ll teach you all you need to know about leading the mules.” Elias gave the boy’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

  “What are their names?”

  “The lead mule is Dolly. She’s been with me since the beginning of the season. I just got the other mule and haven’t named her yet, so if you have any ideas, I’m open to suggestions.”

  “How ‘bout Jenny?”

  Elias considered that a few seconds and finally nodded. “Jenny sounds like a good name to me.”

  They walked together for a time; then Elias handed the lead rope to Frank, staying close to the boy to be sure both mules cooperated.

  When they reached Walnutport sometime later, Carolyn leaned over the edge of the boat and called to Elias, “Can we spend the night in Walnutport and go to church tomorrow morning?”

  “I don’t think so,” he shouted in return.

  “Why not?”

  “I just hadn’t planned on stopping, that’s all.” Elias wasn’t about to tell Carolyn that the reason he didn’t want to stop was because he was sure Sarah was angry with him for asking if Sammy could lead his mules again. He especially didn’t want to talk about it in front of young Frank, who was staring up at him with a curious expression.

  “I’d really like to spend the night in Walnutport,” Carolyn persisted. “I miss Sarah and was hoping for the chance to visit with her.”