by Nancy Radke
"Have you told him? Is he ready?"
"Yes." Mr. Hayes was getting impatient. "Now which one of these—"
"I want to pick the spot, first, and I want to change my clothes."
"Fine. But you got to let these men know, so as they can get ready, too."
How to tell them, without saying Trahern's name? They would know who he was for sure. Would they have time though, to do anything? Probably not, but I wasn't one to take chances unnecessarily. "It's a surprise. You all go back to your wagons. My man already knows who he is."
They looked amongst themselves, each trying to see if it was the other. "What?" Mr. Hayes wasn't too pleased, but I wasn't trying to please him. He knew it wasn't Elliot because his son would have told him and he'd have announced it and saved all this hassle.
"I've things to do," I told them and cleared out of there right quick.
I wasn't going to tell Mr. Hayes privately. He'd claim Trahern was too weak to give me any help and insist I marry someone else. But if everyone was present, he'd not be so likely to speak up.
Back at my wagon I climbed in and looked through my aunt's things until I found her lace shawl. I'd not had time nor energy to comb and do my hair. I had only one other dress I had packed out of the mountains and it was dirty and not any better than the plain one I had on, so the shawl would have to do.
If Trahern was able to drive the rig while I got some sleep, it would be worth it to have him with me. I didn't know how badly he'd been injured, but I'd heard enough stories about what happened to folks who had been captured to know he was lucky to be alive.
A scratching on the outside of the wagon cover announced Web's presence and I climbed out to join him.
"I got him over to Axel's wagon, Mallory. Figured you'd want it there."
"Thanks." I paused, a million questions thrusting forward, wanting answers. "What's he like, Web? How old? What's the rest of his name? Where's he from? Have you known him long?"
He chuckled. "You'll find out. But, lass, I'm doing right by you. Don't worry none. Let's go, they're a-gathering."
So this was it, then...what I had dreamed about since I was sixteen and starting to look at the young men who were starting to look back. Mainly the Courtney boys. And Gage Courtney in particular. But this was different. So very different.
CHAPTER SIX
As I walked up to the group, I got my first look at the stranger.
Trahern was propped up by Axel's wagon, unshaven and dressed in some of Uncle Dem's clothes. He looked like a paddy stuffed with straw to chase the crows away from the corn. Was Web right? Was this the best there was?
His gaunt face was still marked from the trouble he'd been through. His gray eyes were deeply sunk under black craggy brows. Long, dark hair that tended to wave slightly. Enough beard to cover his chin and mouth effectively so that I couldn't see anything.
He was a big man...tall and rawboned, carrying his weight in his shoulders and chest. Uncle Dem's clothes were a shade too short for him, and Uncle Dem had not been a short man.
What was I getting into? The reality of all that marriage entailed was beginning to rear up and scare me.
"Who you want to stand up with you? Axel?" Burt Hayes asked, and I looked at Web meaningfully. He had played matchmaker, let him do it. He backed away, but I pointed, insistent. "Web."
"Web?" Hayes didn't know the connection and I wasn't a-going to tell him. "All rightee, then. Let's get on with it. Time's a-wasting." He pointed towards the group of young men standing silently by, a puzzled look on all their faces. "Which one is it to be?"
"None of them." His face darkened and as he began to sputter, I looked over to Trahern. Axel had been standing in front of him, effectively screening him from Mr. Hayes, and now he stepped aside. Trahern stood up and walked slowly over to take his place beside me. "I'm marrying Trahern."
You could see Burt Hayes didn't like it, not at all. A murmur went through the gathered group. No one knew Trahern and my action was totally unexpected.
"Now look here—"
I interrupted him, something I'm not given to do, but I didn't want him tying a knot in my plans. "Trahern is my choice, Mr. Hayes. Now let's get on with it."
He looked at the tall man beside me, quietly observing the goings on, and asked him, "You willing to marry this girl and support her? She's been orphaned twice; she's going to need somebody steady, not some drifter."
"I take care of my own." They were simple words, but boldly stated, and they steadied me a lot. He hadn't denied being a drifter nor had he challenged Mr. Hayes' right to question him.
Besides, I was eighteen now. Yesterday had been my birthday. I was a girl no longer. I looked at Mr. Hayes defiantly and he must have decided that I would cause trouble if I came into his family—which I would have. I would take orders from my husband, but not any father-in-law unless I wanted to.
Burt Hayes shook his head as if to be shut of the both of us. "Well, then. Let's get on with it." Web stepped up beside me and the ceremony began.
Mr. Van de Meyer knew the words by heart and ran through them quickly. I had one of Aunt Edith's rings and I handed it to Trahern to put on my finger. We wrote our names on some paper and as soon as the witnesses signed, Mr. Hayes handed the paper to me and stalked away.
He must have been plenty put out with the way things had turned out. Maybe I would be, eventually, but I had made my choice—or at least Web's—and must now live with it.
There was a quick time of congratulations although I noticed that both Elliot and Calvert neglected to step forward. Hedda gave me a kiss while Axel pumped Trahern's hand, both of them assuring him he'd got a "prize."
I was kissed and wished luck and several would have stayed to talk longer, but I could see Trahern swaying and begged tiredness myself for both our sakes.
Web helped me assist Trahern over to my wagon and we boosted the big man inside where he promptly passed out on the feather mattress.
"Give him a day or two more and he'll be ready to fight," claimed Web. "He was near enough dead when I found him. Western men recover fast."
I didn't know if to believe him or not, but climbed up into the wagon and fell asleep beside Trahern, too tired to worry anymore. I had to be ready to ride herd in the morning.
He was still asleep when I woke up and climbed out to release the mules and saddle up Comfort. I must have woke him though, for when I came in he had a small fire going, coffee made and flapjacks cooking. We shared with Web who had been out scouting around and came in for a bite before he rode off again. I had forgotten the bean pot, but it had a cloth over it and it didn’t look like nothing had crawled in during the night, so I put it back inside.
Trahern was a quiet man, working with no wasted movements. His injuries had taken a lot out of him and he could do only so much and then had to stop to rest. Web helped him into the wagon again while I hitched up the mules and got ready to travel.
I planned to ride for a while, then go back and see to him. I was still exhausted from the past week, but the good breakfast had lifted my spirits a heap and if I could get a little more rest so as I didn't fall asleep driving, I knew I could make it. The mules were trail broke so well they followed the team in front of them without guidance—if only they would keep up. When we had been traveling an hour, I tied the reins up and climbed over into the back.
Trahern had his eyes open when I handed him the canteen that I had filled that morning from the water barrel. He sat up slowly and drank, thirsty, but careful not to spill any.
"Thanks, ma'am." His voice was hoarse, his eyes still swollen red from ant bites, large scabs and dark bruises evident where he had been severely beaten about the face. There was no way to tell what he really looked like.
"Would you like some more?"
"No. I'd best sleep. Get well so as I can help you. Don't want to make extry work for you."
"I'll leave this here. I have another, up front."
"Thanks," he replied, and I left h
im then and moved back forward, figuring he'd sleep better with me away.
A stranger he was; one I knew nothing about. Web wasn't very talkative, but maybe he would fill me in. He must’ve known Trahern from somewhere before they met out here. Or had he? What if he hadn't met him before; just figured anyone would be better than the lot I had to choose from?
The noon stop was brief and Web appeared with some sort of weed he'd found out on the prairie, with instructions for me to lay some on Trahern's wounds and later boil some up and make a potion to bathe them with. I carried the ugly looking weed into the wagon and looked at the sleeping man. Where was he wounded? Loathe to wake him while he was sleeping so well, I laid the weeds beside him and climbed back out.
That day the trail was fairly smooth as it followed the prairie road that ran towards Fort Kearney. We were traveling up the Little Blue, gradually, almost imperceptibly climbing in elevation all the time. It gave Trahern a better chance to recover, enough so he was able to climb out of the wagon by himself that evening and help me pull the wagon tongue around after unhitching the mules. Or maybe it was the weeds that he had put to his wounds while we traveled.
I protested, afraid he'd re-open something, but he moved carefully. "I'll take the mules out. How we fixed for food?"
"Nothing fresh," I admitted. "But I have flour; we can have beans and biscuits."
"Good. Got any pork rind?"
“Yes." I found him some and he hacked off a small slice with a long sharp knife I recognized as Uncle Dem's.
“Add that to the beans. Gives ‘em substance.” He left, leading the mules out to eat and I looked at the empty sling under the wagon. I had gathered no fuel during the day, dozing at the reins. I would have to hunt fuel before I could start a fire.
Madge Ashley looked up as I walked by their wagon and called me to her. "Mallory. Duncan, Barney and I wanted to give you and your man a wedding present. I know you're starting off with Dem and Edith's things and can't take on more weight, but there must be something you would like that we could give you."
"Madge, right now, if you would share your fire, I'd appreciate it much. I didn't have time to gather fuel."
"You're easily pleased. You do that. I was wondering if you could use an extra dress. I'm near your size, and have several."
"Now that sounds nice. I need a dress more'n anything else. I'd sure be glad of another."
"Then put your pans on the coals and while things are cooking I'll look you out one. What does your man need? What's his name?"
"Trahern. He's wearing Uncle Dem's things. You'll have to ask him."
Effie Lind was standing nearby with her daughter Eliza and offered to go from fire to fire with a couple of plates in her hand and get a little food from each family group. "That way you and your man will have a little time together. If we can't give you anything else, at least we can give you that."
"Thank you, Effie. That's a mighty thoughtful gift."
"Come along with me, then. We'll see what we can get." I put my coffee pot on Hedda's fire and took the plate she gave me.
Everyone was generous and I had to stop about halfway around the circle. "We'll get the rest tomorrow night," Effie declared.
It gave me a chance to talk to those I had had to cut short last night and made me feel more welcome than I'd felt before. We took our two plates over to the wagon, arriving just as Trahern got back. He had four fish strung on a line, already gutted and scaled. I explained what Effie had done.
"Thank you, Ma'am," he told her. "That was right neighborly of you. I'll put these fish aside for breakfast." He hung them up, still moving cautious-like so as not to re-open his wounds. "Where'll we eat?"
"On the wagon tongue." Usually we ate near the fire, but today we settled down right where we were and ate that food like we weren't going to get any other. He could put it away, that was for sure, and I got to thinking that I should've taken another plate or two and finished making the circle. Pa had been a good eater, but nothing like this man.
I was full before I had finished everything, so Trey cleaned up my plate, too. When we'd signed the marriage paper, he had written James Madison Trahern, but told me to call him Trey or Trahern. He'd never answered to anything else and probably wouldn't know who I was talking to if I did.
He gave a brief thanks for the food and we ate in silence, for eating is serious business when on a trip such as this. By the time we had finished, the coffee was ready. He was looking stronger every minute and when we were finished and everything put away, I got out the rest of Uncle Dem's things and offered them to him. It was twilight, but still light enough to see. He could use most of the things, and put them back after getting an idea what was there.
"I've got first watch tonight, so I'll need both pistol and rifle."
They were behind the seat and he took them out carefully and put a handful of shells into his coat pocket. The knife he slipped into a sheath underneath his shirt.
I was nodding by then and he wished me "Sleep well" as he walked away. We hadn't talked much and I wondered about the sleeping arrangements. Well, he would have to tell me; I'd never been married and didn't know what a man expected.
It never occurred to me that he might not either.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Next morning I woke to find him beside me, sound asleep on that big feather mattress. Now feathers are cozy and warm and you can dig yourself a hole and they'll come right over the top and close you in. A body can sleep warm on the coldest of night with just your nose peeking out or not. But feathers are not much given to getting folks together and I couldn't even tell he was there until I looked.
The camp was stirring so I dressed quick and took the mules and Comfort out to graze. This was man's work and I'd let my man do it once he was able to go longer between rests, but I figured he needed the sleep.
As it was, two hours later when I came back and hitched up and looked around, he had those fish fried and the coffee hot and he'd done one other thing.
He'd shaved. At last I could see what had been under all that black beard and my first thought was why he hadn't left it on.
I tell you he was the homeliest man I'd ever laid eyes on. Now I like mules better'n most horses and its not because of their looks, but I'd never seen the back end of a mule as ugly as this man. Of course he was still all gaunt and thin and sickly from the treatment the Indians had given him, but he'd never win any beauty prizes. Pa always warned me to judge a man by his character and not by his looks, but this man's character had better be considerable.
He had a square jaw, long face, high cheekbones and deep set eyes. His eyes greeted me, steady gray eyes that took in a lot of territory. "Eat up," he said, offering me a couple of fish and we dug in.
That fish was the best I'd ever tasted. He could cook, but most western men could do some basic cooking, it was cook or starve. His fire was small, big enough to do the job but small enough to cover with your hat. I made note of it, realizing that the rest of us made our fires too big and wasted fuel.
A body doesn't think of going easy on the fuel until he lives in a land where there ain't none. Around here you burned grass and buffalo chips and little bits of twigs and brush. It would be a crime to cut down the trees; there weren't enough of them and those few were needed for shade. Also the fire was easier to put out when we were ready to roll.
We pulled out first in line that morning and for the first time in days I wasn't eating dust. We left the Little Blue and headed northwest for the Platte, figuring to make Fort Kearney before the week was up.
It was mighty nice, sitting there beside him on the wagon seat with nothing afore us except those mules. We sat there quiet for awhile, just enjoying the morning, then we commenced to talking. We hadn't done much to get acquainted, we'd either been working or sleeping. To really talk, serious like, a body needs some time.
I asked him about these western plains for he looked like someone who knew how to survive out here and he did. He knew the plant
s and animals, the weather and the Indian tribes; how to survive a blizzard and what rivers could be counted on to have water. I wasn't going to get it all in one day, but if I could get him to talking a little every day, I'd sure get me an education. One that might keep me alive.
One thing, I wasn't going to have to worry none about food with that man around. He pointed out plants that were edible as we drove by them, things the Indians gathered and ate. They were few and far between, but they were there.
"Tomorrow morning I'll hunt us some fresh meat," he said.
"Sounds good. Uncle Dem wasn't much on hunting and we had to make do on what we could trade from the others."
"If it weren't for the Indians, you could've hunted; you're a good shot." Surprised, I looked my question at him and he added, "Web told me. Bragged on you. He also said I'd better marry you 'fore someone else beat me to it."
"He did, did he?"
"Figured you were in a corner, but beat down tired or you'd have put a gun to Hayes and told him to mind his own business."
His eyes had a twinkle in them and there was a lightening of the lines around his mouth. I smiled too. Web had figured it right. Already I was resenting what Hayes had done.
"Now the way I see it, you and I got married to keep them wolves away from your door. I never took kindly to shotgun weddings; a woman and man had better think well of one another before they try pulling in double harness. So I'll just keep them away until we reach a settlement and you decide what it is you want."
A body couldn't ask for a fairer deal than that. "And if I decide at that time I don't want to be married?"
"Then I'll set you free, Ma'am, and no harm done you."
He was a gentleman, more than any on that train, for he could have claimed a husband's rights if he wished and I would not have denied him. Resented him, maybe, but not denied him.
I had no love for this tall rawboned man, but my respect for him grew mightily right then. How glad I was I'd taken Web's advice and not gotten myself hitched to one of those others.