Winter Crossing

by James E Ferrell

  Behind, the horses shied and began to move nervously. Nolan stopped and looked back along the tracks. Through the blowing snow he saw shadows moving back and forth along the tracks. He realized a pack of wolves had picked up the scent of his blood and had been stalking him. The realization of the shadows behind him jolted Nolan out of his weary trance. Mustering all his strength, he gathered the reins tightly and pressed on. He hadn’t moved far when his foot slipped through a crack in the tracks. Sluggish from exposure to the elements, he was not able to react fast enough. He fell back hitting his head on the rail. The wind about him raged and within minutes he was covered with snow. The tension on the reins went slack and the horses slowly turned from his fallen body to move their heads out of the wind. Nolan’s mind began to see images of Nora standing on the train. Slowly, he drifted into a warm sleep.

  Fear crossed his mind as he struggled to regain consciousness. Again, his name was on the wind. This time he looked around, trying to determine if the voice was real. Finally, focusing in the direction he thought the voice was coming, he saw Bull Curry and Jericho standing over him covered with snow and almost as done in as he was.

  “Git up, Pilgrim, or you will freeze to death. Remember the children, we must find them. Git up and help me!” Jericho said. The dream gave Nolan the strength to rise and stand with the help of Bull. It was a struggle to stay on his feet. The apparition held him up. Together they worked their way down the trestle and along the stream. The wind increased and the snow thickened. Within minutes, visibility became zero. Under cover of the thick trees, they received a little break from the fierce wind. A frozen layer of ice mostly covered the stream as it made its way under the trestle.

  “Bull--Jericho, you are real! How did you two git here?” Nolan asked.

  “The storm drove the search party back, but we kept comin’.” That was all Bull could say. He just sat with his head down. Nolan realized Bull was in bad shape and Jericho was at his limit. Frantic, Nolan started looking around and for just a moment the air cleared of snow. Nolan said, “I think I saw a cave in the side of that mountain.”

  “Nolan, we got to find somewhar fast,” Bull said as he struggled to rise.

  “Come on, Banner. Thar is shelter from this storm,” Nolan said to his horse.

  A big wolf trotted away from the entrance as they approached, his red eyes glaring at them. The smell of a campfire penetrated the darkness as men and animals entered the cave. Bull uttered a silent prayer. Except for the glow of the coals, the cave was in darkness. There was enough light to see the wood stacked to one side of the room and a large figure leaning against the back wall. Nolan piled more wood on the red glowing coals and almost instantly the fire blazed up illuminating the cave. Against the back wall Elam lay. Beside him, a buffalo robe covered what must be the bodies of the children.

  As the fire climbed, Nolan fell to his knees looking at the two blond turfs of hair sticking from under the robe. Ever so slowly the little head moved, and a set of blue eyes peered out at him. “Mary, it’s me--Nolan,” he said, his eyes dimming with tears.

  “I knew you would come,” Mary said weakly.

  Danny’s head moved, and he peered out from under the robe. Looking at Danny, Bull indicated Elam.

  “He found us. I don’t know when, but he built a fire. If he hadn’t found us, we would not have made it. He is all done in, but he’s alive,” Danny said.

  Bull crawled over to Elam and listened to him breathe before pulling himself upright and removing the saddles and packs. Dragging the packs over to the fire, the two men pulled out all the blankets and robes they had. Jericho handed a bag of jerky to Danny and Mary. “Don’t you go a-gittin’ yourself a bellyache, a-eatin’ this hard meat! I will find some fresh meat after I rest,” he said. Covering Elam with a buffalo robe the three men carried their bedroll next to the fire and went to sleep. For the next few hours no one moved. Danny occasionally woke long enough to add a log to the fire. The following day the children woke to the smell of something cooking. For a moment, Mary watched as Nolan stirred a pot while Bull and Elam brought more wood to the fire. Bull had risen early and killed a deer. A spit hung over one edge of the fire where a large chunk of meat sizzled and a pot held more meat boiling.

  Mary crawled from the covers and investigated the items removed from the packs. The wooden box that carried the telegraph key caught her eye. Danny lay smelling the aroma of the meat sizzling on the spit and listening to the clicking sound for several minutes before his eyes popped open. Suddenly, he turned to see his sister working the key. “Mary, where did you get that?” Danny asked.

  “It’s mine and you can’t have it,” Mary said.

  “We used it to find whar the telegraph wire wuz down on our way to find you,” Nolan said.

  “Do you know how to use it?” Danny asked.

  “No, we just clicked the clicker to let the station know while we war a-lookin’ for the downed telegraph line,” Nolan said.

  “Nolan, my dad was a telegrapher. He taught me how to send Morris code. I can send messages on that key,” Danny said.

  Bull chuckled, smiled at the other two men, and said, “Danny boy, I know a lady or two that would love to hear your voice in that wire out there.”

  C28 Distance Cut Short

  The Pinkerton men sat in the caboose of the eastbound train. They had been driven back by the storm. Now, all they could do was wait for the weather to break before heading back to search. Everyone on the train feared the worst for both the men and children and anxiously waited out the storm.

  The trains sat beside each other on parallel tracks. Before the snow hit, there was a freezing ice storm that left a sheet of ice. Then the snow covered both trains. Inside the passenger car, Tillie and Nora sat staring through the window at the dismal winter scene.

  “How could anyone possibly live in a storm like this?” Tillie asked. Nora didn’t bother to answer. Despair had settled in. Everything they had ever loved was out there in that snow-covered wilderness. A year in the wilderness had been nothing short of a life and death struggle for Tillie and her children. Now the children may have paid the ultimate price trying to get back to her. A few feet from the trains, Mira stood next to a stove warming her hands and talking to the telegrapher.

  “Did you get a response to my wire yet?” she asked.

  “No ma’am, but I sent it again this morning like you said and got a reply that it had been received-- again. I can’t do no more. I imagine it’s snowing in Hunter just as bad as here,” the telegrapher said.

  Suddenly, the key began to click and the telegrapher let out a sigh. “Well, maybe this is your Mr. Jewel Marsh now,” he said.

  The events of the last few days had broken Mira. She was determined to rectify some of the wrongs she had done, starting with Jewel Marsh. She had fired him for his inability to make Buck disclose the whereabouts of the children. Marsh had fallen on hard times, not being able to find work, which was also her doing. Had it not been for the small church that Jewel and his wife had joined, he would have had to leave town to get away from her sphere of influence. Jewel had become a different person since his encounter with Buck, forsaking his nightly rounds of the local taverns. He no longer frequented them on his way home from the mill. His legendary temper had seemed to simply disappear, which was more than his friends could take. They watched his every move and taunted him as he passed on his way home from odd jobs each day, but Jewel had never wavered telling everyone he met what a great man Buck had been and of his conversion the night of Buck’s death.

  This situation brought Mira to her knees. She knew she alone was responsible if the children perished. Her evil ways had probably destroyed the only two children she loved and she would make amends starting now. First, she had tried to contact Jewel and put him in charge of the mill. He could have the old Baker homestead she owned, free of charge. He surely needed a place for the dozen kids he had running all over Hunter. Hiring Jewel would ease her conscience a bit. Now
she faced those on the train and would try to rectify her wrongdoings, or at least ask for forgiveness. With a great sigh of relief, she made her way down the car to the couch where Tillie and Nora sat. Removing her hand muff, she pulled out a fold of yellow paper she had taken from the telegrapher.

  “Tillie, I have a telegraph message for you, but before I give it to you, I have something to say. Up to now everything in my life has been for the wrong reasons. I ruined Buck, a kind and trusting man. I am responsible for my own son’s death. I was jealous of you and the character you displayed. Even though I am rich, you are much happier than I. Looking back over the years, if I had left you and Phil alone, he might well have made a turn in his life. With your help, a change may well have brought a different outcome. I made steps to rectify my wrongdoings with the people of Hunter, but all I have been praying for has just come through in this telegraph,” Mira said.

  Tillie stood looking out the window, not wanting to listen to Mira and said, “Who would be sending me a telegram?”

  Mira’s eyes were full of tears and for a moment she looked at the yellow paper then she said, “Tillie, this yellow paper you will put in your family Bible and cherish for the rest of your life, for it is precious as gold. Handing the paper to Tillie, she turned and walked back to her coach.”

  Her heart skipped a beat when she unfolded the paper. ‘Mother, Mary and I are fine, Elam, Nolan, Jericho, and Bull found us. We are all here together and will be coming in as soon as the weather breaks. For now, we are cooped up in a cave with Mary talking our heads off. Stay put. We will come to you.’

  Love Danny

  The burden of despair and grief melted. All was well now. It was a short walk back to the sleeper where they could finally rest. Morning brought no change. The storm continued to blow; piling drifts of snow high against the sides of the stranded trains. At noon, abruptly the storm stopped and an eerie quiet settled across the mountains. Directly above the trains, the snow clouds disappeared, and the sun revealed a world covered in a blanket of white.

  The Pinkerton men saddled up and leading extra horses and supplies they started down the tracks. They were hoping to give aid in getting the children back to their mother. Tillie and Nora watched them go as they stood in the caboose of the eastbound train. As they vanished from sight down the tracks, Mira stepped into the caboose.

  Seeing her reflection in the pane, Tillie turned to face her and said, “I never answered your question yesterday, Mira. If my children had not survived, you would have had a burden to carry for the rest of your life. But thanks to God, that didn’t happen. I cannot let your ways rob me of joy and peace of mind, so I forgive you.” Tillie let the long-held animosity against Mira fall from her shoulders and peace of mind settled over her as Mira turned and walked away.

  Late the next afternoon, two young children and four tired and cold men walked onto the train platform followed by the Pinkerton Detectives. Tillie and Nora raced to their loved ones and embraced each for what seemed to be a lifetime. Danny and Mary, although pale and in need of a good night’s sleep, were caressed and smothered with kisses and hugs from all that were present. God had indeed heard the prayers of the innocent. Danny’s faith had held him to the course and he had finished the race.

  That evening a party was held in the dining car. Tillie called for her children. “Danny, I have a favor to ask of you and Mary. I want to know if you are big enough to do it for me?” she asked. In a few minutes, she called Elam over to her and said, “I need you to escort these two down to Mira’s.”

  Elam had a questioning look on his face, but he agreed. A few minutes later the door opened to Danny’s knock and the two children stood looking at their grandmother. “Danny...Mary, I...” was all she got out before Danny said, “Grandmother, we are having a party in the dining car and we came to escort you to it.”

  “You want me to come to your party after--,” was all Mira was able to say before Mary spoke up.

  “Grandma, you are the only grandmother we have. It wouldn’t be a party without you. Come on, we better hurry before they eat up all the goodies!” Mary said.

  “Mr. Franklin, what do you think about this?” Mira asked.

  “Mira, it’s all behind us now. Somethings are better just left back there. We better hurry ‘cause them Pinkertons are a-puttin’ away the punch mighty fast!” Elam exclaimed.

  Mira had been shaken by the whole affair and was genuinely repentant. She began to realize she would have to answer for her life’s decisions just like everyone else.

  Months passed and as quickly as winter came the skies cleared and patches of earth began to appear. High above the wilderness floor under mounds of snow, small streams of water trickled down the vast mountainsides joining with other small streams to form waterfalls and mountain pools deep and clear.

  The troubled days of the past shaped Danny into a man of patience and character. He was forever changed by his year in the wilderness. The survival of Tillie’s children and herself from this year was a testament to the grace of God to those who love Him. Now she had to instill in Danny wisdom to complement his manhood. Then there was Mary. Tillie smiled as she thought of the work she had cut out for her raising the gabby, headstrong little girl.

  Months passed like the seasonal changes of the wind. Wrapping her shawl tightly around her shoulders, Tillie stepped from a new wilderness cabin followed by her family. They walked across a field that the wildflowers would soon cover. The four stood arm-in-arm as a new spring manifested itself through the mountain range. Above them, a rainbow spanned the mountains, a reminder of a great and ancient promise of yesteryear.

  THE END

  ###

  List of Fictional Characters

  Sheriff Pete Bailey - Town of Buckley’s sheriff

  Elam Franklin - Mountain man from Tennessee

  John Morgan - Mountain man, owner of 1611 St. James Bible

  Tillie Bonner - wife of Phil, mother to Danny and Mary

  Mira Bonner - Tillie’s Mother-in-Law

  Buck Bonner - Tillie’s Uncle, Brother-in-Law to Mira

  Dean French - town of Hunter’s low life

  Hannah Wilson - friend of Tillie in Hunter

  Phil Bonner - husband of Tillie

  Judge Herman Hayes - judge in Hunter

  Danny Bonner - son of Tillie

  Mary Bonner - daughter of Tillie

  Ethyl Groggins - town of Hunter busy body

  Jack Bonner - brother of Buck, Mira’s husband

  Sandy Crow - mule-team driver; friend of Buck Bonner

  Jewel Marsh - town drunk in Hunter

  Colonel John Fredrick - wagon master and owner of Red

  Nolan Tolivar - mountain man

  Nora Smith - owner of eatery in Nichols Township

  Bull Curry - preacher and former buffalo hunter

  Gilbert Shiver - Pinkerton detective, hired by Mira Bonner

  Jericho Dawson - mountain man, rescued Nolan

  Pace Jacobson - Cutthroat Creek town slacker

  Doris King - Snake Bit Saloon manager

  Jake Burns - Blacksmith

  Bart - Pinkerton man

  Cecil - Pinkerton man

  Abraham Lincoln Cole - 14-year-old orphan

  Walter Snow - telegraph operator

  Betty - saloon girl

  Shirley - saloon girl

  Amy - saloon girl

  Chet Ringer - gambler

  Judge Carr - circuit judge

  Previews

  This book is a great read for anyone. The development of characters, the growth and change in them is extraordinary in my reading experiences. A moving and encouraging and uplifting “bang” of a book!

  Bro. Robert Nichols

  I love the unique way the author uses nature and ways of the wilderness to bring adventure and excitement to the story. I was drawn to each character as their true grit was displayed to protect those they loved.

  Lynda B.

  It is always a blessing to find books
that lift up God and you do not have to be concerned about bad language. James Ferrell does a masterful job at both.

  N. Marshall

  Acknowledgment

  Life’s highway is a blink of an eye experience of good and bad choices, adventures, regrets, and a host of experiences that are gone in as few as one thousand months of life if we are fortunate. In that whisper of time, many people cross your path or interact with you in whatever way necessary. I am somewhere in the 884 months or close. If that sounds like a long time, you must be very young. In the quest to publish books I have written, my editor and I sought out those who could contribute information and help to get my manuscripts in paperback as well as e-book form. This process has taken quite a few of the months of this life God has allotted me. But for me, as well as my editor, it has been fantastic. The end product of a self-published book is very gratifying when so many have been so kind in their assessment of the books they have read.

  Self-Publishing is a process of taking a manuscript and making it book ready for the reading public, and that is no small feat. Every grammatical error is a step back if overlooked. Then one has to rely on the wisdom of those professionals in the different crafts necessary to get a manuscript to the final draft in the configuration needed for either print or eBook. I dedicate this book to those in the different areas of expertise that we needed to take my manuscripts from words on paper to a completed book. Because of you, I received many kind words from readers who contacted me expressing how much they enjoyed the read. To the professionals listed here, I thank you: Editor, Beta Readers, Smashwords, Library of Congress, CIP Block creator, United States Postal Services, America’s Press, and libraries that have requested my books.