This Courageous Journey
Page 21
Elias Benbow nodded. “Daylight morning after next. Meet me back here at the gate behind the trade store, an’ make sure your animals are loaded and ready to go.”
“Will do.” Samuel, Seth’s twin brother, extended a hand to the older man.
After taking his turn to shake, Seth stood and turned toward the doorway connecting to store. He needed fresh air. Not because the scents in this room lured him back to his former vices. The opposite actually. The stench in here made his stomach want to heave. God had so deeply carved those old desires out of him, he couldn’t seem to stand more than ten minutes in a gambling den. And only when the situation required it, like now, to secure their guide on this last leg of the journey northward.
Thank you, Father. He’d take the threat of casting up his accounts any day over the way those habits used to clutch him by the throat.
Samuel’s familiar boot steps sounded behind him as they pushed through the hanging buffalo robe that served as a curtain between the gaming room and the brighter chamber where the exchange of goods took place. As the fur swished back into place, mostly blocking out the male voices behind them, a sense of calm settled into his spirit.
The buyer stood behind the counter, sorting through a stack of pelts —mostly deer from the fur peeking out of the pile. The man glanced up as Seth stopped before him.
“We need a bit more feed corn or oats for our horses. Do you have any to trade for gold dust here, or do I need to go to the livery up by the river?” Being as this store mostly did business with the Indians, they likely didn’t appreciate white men using up all their supplies. Even in exchange for gold dust.
The man’s gaze slid over them as he raised one of the furs. “You boys from Helena?”
Seth shook his head. Not that it was any of this man’s concern, but he didn’t mind being friendly. “From California.”
His brows rose. “They run out o’ gold there?” The twitch of his cheek was enough to show he meant nothing unfriendly with the question. Yet the curiosity was clear in his eyes. Why would they leave the gold fields of California to come to the much colder panning in the Montana Territory?
“Nope. But I think we’re done mining for now.”
“Hmm.” The sound didn’t say much, but the knowing glint in his eyes spoke the rest. Clearly, he felt they’d finally come to their senses. This fellow must have spent a month or two himself digging for gold. Seen what kind of laborious work the pursuit was for the pittance the average mine returned.
Seth couldn’t agree more.
“I have a couple sacks of oats I could sell ya.” The man peered up as thought looking over spectacles. “Will that do?”
He nodded. “We’re headed up to the Canadas through the mountain country, so I guess that’ll get us at least part way. Hopefully we’ll find a place to restock along the trail.”
The man’s chinned jerked up. “You know the going’s a sight easier if you head northeast over the prairies.” He spoke as though the trail they took actually mattered to him. Which it shouldn’t.
Seth kept his tone friendly. “I’m sure you’re right, but the fellow traveling with us lives in the mountains above the Marias River. After we drop him off, we’ll head farther north.”
The trader ran a hand over his hair, slicking the greasy strands flat. “You’re the second person today say they’re taking the mountain trail north. Makes for some hard goin’, even in the summer.”
His interest honed. “You mean Elias Benbow?”
The man shook his head. “No, a woman come in here while ye was in the back. Asked me to draw her a map o’ the landmarks. Sure don’t like the thought of any kind of female travelin’ that way alone.”
“How do you know she was alone?” Samuel stepped into the conversation, surely as concerned at the news as he was.
“’Cause she was in here tradin’ fer supplies and askin’ directions on her own. If she had a man, he’d be doin’ that. ’Specially as jumpy as she was. Looked like she was afraid one o’ you men was gonna charge from the back room an’ take her by force.” The opening in the man’s beard where his mouth should be pressed to a thin line.
Seth glanced at his brother to see if he was thinking the same thing spinning through his own mind. The return look and nod made his unspoken answer clear. He turned back to the trader. “Do you know where this woman is staying? Maybe she’d like to join our group. It’ll just be the three of us, but we’ll surely be safer than on her own.”
The man appeared a little relieved. “The hotel’s been full from the passel o’ steamboats that’s hit the levee. She may be in the camp east o’ the fort.”
Seth nodded. “We’ll look for her.” He’d not stop ’til he found her.
The transaction didn’t take long to finish, then he and Samuel each hoisted a sack of horse oats on their shoulder. The moment they stepped out into the bright sunshine, Seth turned to his brother. “You wanna store these with our provisions while I go look for her?”
“Nope.” Samuel didn’t pause to talk, just kept a steady march toward the livery where they were keeping their supplies. “We’ll go together.”
A stab of frustration jabbed Seth’s chest as he trudged forward in his brother’s footsteps. Samuel was right, of course. But curiosity blazed inside him about this woman.
What would make she strike out on her own like that? And why the mountain trail? He and Samuel had good reason—they needed Elias to guide them northward, and Elias was headed to his home in the mountains.
But what would drive her on such a treacherous journey? Something told him this woman wouldn’t be like anyone he’d met before.
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This Treacherous Journey
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This Wilderness Journey
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This Freedom Journey
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This Courageous Journey
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This Freedom Journey
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This Daring Journey
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This Healing Journey
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Hope’s Highest Mountain
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The Lady and the Mountain Fire
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The Lady and the Mountain Promise
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The Lady and the Mountain Call
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A Mountain Christmas Romance
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The Ranger Takes a Bride
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The Rancher Takes a Cowgirl
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About the Author
Misty M. Beller writes romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.
She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Her husband and children now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.
God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.
Connect with Misty at www.MistyMBeller.com
Dedication
To my big brother, David.
You’ve always been my hero.
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are the product of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Copyright © 2018 Misty M. Beller
All rights reserved.