Danger at the Haunted Gate

by Jesse Wiley

  You hurry to reach the trees, and start to collect branches that have fallen around the base. A few raindrops fall and you move as quickly as you can.

  BOOM!

  A flash of lightning lights up the sky. A loud clap of thunder makes you jump at the same moment.

  “Let’s get back to camp,” you say. You hope the tents are set up already. It’s no fun to spend the night soaked and shivering.

  Eliza looks around. “Let’s wait under this tree,” she says. The tree offers a little shelter from the rain, which is falling harder now.

  You pause, not sure if you should insist on going back to camp or agree to wait.

  If you go back to camp, turn to page 70

  If you wait under the tree, turn to page 23

  Return to page 11

  Let’s try the fire,” Pa shouts. “I’m afraid we won’t be fast enough to get out of their way.”

  You scurry to collect brush and make a line of it in the grass. Others get ready to ignite a blaze, and soon there is a roaring wall of flames. You feel the blast of heat against your face and hope it’s enough to turn the buffalo away.

  “Get moving! Drive these animals like never before!” Caleb says. “We still need to get far away.”

  Pa drives the oxen and your wagon jerks forward. The wheels creak as they bounce over the uneven ground. You run as fast as you can, until the muscles in your legs start to burn and your lungs feel like they’ll burst. The dust cloud is thick and hard to see through.

  “Keep going!” Pa yells over the thunder of hooves.

  You run and run until you can’t go another step. Then finally Caleb halts the wagons.

  “I think . . . we . . . are . . . okay . . .” he gasps.

  The buffalo herd has turned away from the fire. It looks like you escaped the crush of their powerful bodies and hooves. You watch as the flames burn out, just as Caleb thought they would.

  You’re so relieved and exhausted, you fall to the ground and start to cry. Many others have tears in their eyes too, even Pa.

  The oxen are sweating and spent. You give them water and set them loose to graze and rest. There will be no more hiking today.

  “That was too close for comfort,” Ma says, shivering as she thinks of what could have happened.

  And then, you spot a wagon train headed in your direction. It’s a bunch of “go-backers,” pioneers who decided that they don’t want to continue out West any longer. They are headed back East.

  As they make camp near you, a few people wander over and talk to your family. They seem friendly and eager to chat.

  Pa tells them about the stampede.

  “We could hear it,” one man says. “But we were far away.”

  “Enough of this Trail,” a woman grumbles. “Stampedes, death, storms . . . I can’t take any more.”

  “You’ve got Devil’s Gate coming up ahead,” the man continues with a grim face.

  “Yes,” Pa says. “What do you know of it?”

  “Well, legend has it that a powerful evil spirit with huge tusks used to roam Sweetwater Valley,” the man says. “When it was attacked by warriors, it ripped open the Earth and disappeared inside.”

  “That’s just a legend,” Ma says, “to explain how the rocks were formed. It’s not real.”

  “But I’ve heard Devil’s Gate is haunted,” the woman replies, “and that many travelers have died there. I want no part of it!”

  Now you shiver, as you remember the unsettling story from Scotts Bluff of the man who crawled there. You wonder if these are just scary stories, or if there’s really something to fear.

  Ma waves her hand, as if she is trying to dismiss the thought, but some of the others in the wagon train get frightened. After the stampede, they don’t want any more danger. They argue for the wagon train to go far off the Trail to avoid Devil’s Gate. Others think that it is silly to fear a legend, and they want to stay on the Trail.

  What do you do?

  If you continue to Devil’s Gate, turn to page 148

  If you avoid crossing through Devil’s Gate, turn to page 65

  Return to page 57

  We can’t leave without Pa,” you say, and Ma nods her head in agreement.

  “I’m glad you agree,” she says. “But that means we’ll be out here on our own while the wagon train moves on without us.”

  “We’ll be okay,” you say, trying to sound more confident than you feel. “Pa will be back soon.”

  * * *

  The next morning after the bugle sounds, you wake with the rest of the wagon train as usual. You do your morning chores and have breakfast, but when Caleb shouts for everyone to roll the wagons, you stay behind.

  “We’ll miss you,” Eliza says as she prepares to leave with her family. “I hope your Pa gets back and you catch up to us soon.”

  “Me too,” you say, blinking hard as you say goodbye to your friends. The past few days have been difficult on everyone in your family. Hannah and Samuel have been clinging to Ma. Even though Ma has been trying to look cheerful, her eyes were puffy and red this morning, and you think she must have cried all night.

  You pass the day by reading and playing games with Hannah and Samuel. Ma works on the new quilt she has been sewing. Every time you hear a rustle or the slightest sound you stop and look up, hoping to see Pa. But it’s only Archie or a squirrel.

  That night, it gets cool, and you sit close to the campfire to warm your hands. You’re staring absently into the flames, when suddenly you hear the sound of hooves. It’s a horse galloping toward your camp!

  You look up at Ma, and she looks as nervous as you feel. But she wraps her fingers around a knife and stands tall as the rider approaches. As it gets closer, you see Pa’s limp body tied to the back of the horse.

  “Pa!” you shout, running toward him with Ma.

  “Ma’am, I found your husband a few miles from here,” the man says. “He was conscious but was attacked by a bear.”

  You gasp, afraid to see the shape Pa is in, but Ma doesn’t flinch. She helps the man carry Pa off the horse and lay him down on a mat. Then she asks you to fetch some water so she can dress his wounds. Ma works hard to save Pa, but he never becomes conscious again. Ma is in a daze and hardly speaks after Pa dies. You’ve never felt more alone or scared as you realize you are truly on your own on the frontier now.

   THE END

  Return to page 95

  I’m going to hunt with the others,” Pa says, after he and Ma talk it over. The hunting party will leave first thing in the morning in the hopes of catching foxes and maybe even an antelope or two.

  “Can I come?” Joseph asks. Surprised, you look up. You’ve wanted to go hunting, too, just to watch, but have been too afraid to ask.

  “Not this time, son,” Caleb says. “It’s dangerous.”

  The delay for the hunting means that you have a rare free day to explore. After your morning chores the next day, you, Joseph, and Eliza search the nearby area for wild berries and nuts.

  “Let’s climb up that big rock,” Eliza suggests. “We’ll get a really great view from up there.” Sometimes you wonder if Eliza is part mountain goat, since she loves climbing and is really good at it.

  You scramble up the rock, while carefully keeping your balance. When you get to the top, the view of the surrounding area is spectacular.

  “Look!” Joseph gasps.

  You turn your head and see that the valley is filled with a herd of at least a hundred buffalo.

  “Wow,” Eliza says. “Buffalo are even better for hunting than foxes.”

  “Let’s go tell the hunters!” Joseph says excitedly. “But didn’t your father say it was dangerous?” you say.

  “That was before we had something so important to tell them,” Joseph argues.

  “I don’t know,” Eliza says, looking worried. “I think we should just go back to camp.”

  “What do you think we should do?” Joseph asks, turning to look at you.

  If you say y
ou should find the hunters, turn to page 67

  If you say you should go back to camp, turn to page 31

  Return to page 101

  You help Ma mix vinegar and flour in a bucket, which becomes a thick, smelly paste.

  “Let’s add some clean water to it,” Ma says, hoping that will make it easier for the animals to drink. Sometimes Ma has mixed vinegar with a little water, sugar, and citric acid to make a kind of lemonade for you, and it is surprisingly tasty.

  “Here you go, drink up,” she coaxes the oxen, holding the bucket in front of their noses, one at a time. They follow her orders and slurp up the mixture, and Ma looks relieved.

  “Let’s hope this helps them,” she says.

  Pa still wants to feed them some grain, so after they have their drink, he offers them some of that, too. The oxen nibble on it eagerly.

  Over the next few days, your wagon train watches helplessly as several families’ oxen die from alkaline poisoning. Thankfully, Ma’s concoction worked to save yours. Others who gave their animals the same treatment share in your luck and are able to continue the trek. Those who lost teams, or with only half of their teams left, have to make hard decisions about continuing on or going back.

  When you’re only a couple days away from Independence Rock, your oxen start to move slower than usual.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with the oxen,” Pa says. “I don’t want to use the whip on them, but they are sluggish.”

  “Maybe the weight of the wagon is too much for them,” Ma suggests. “The terrain is tougher now.”

  “Or maybe they need extra food,” you add. “They’ve been working so hard and have been through so much.”

  Pa looks at you and at Ma and thinks about what you both have said.

  “We can lessen the load of the wagon some,” he says. “But that means throwing away things that we might need later. If we give the animals extra time to rest and graze, we lose time. We need to save the grain for emergencies.”

  If you lessen the load of the wagon, turn to page 19

  If you give the oxen extra time to graze, turn to page 142

  Return to page 47

  Let’s find another spot to camp,” Pa says. “Look how yellow the grass is. This river is known for alkaline water, and it could make us sick.”

  You’ve heard of oxen getting poisoned by alkaline water, and you don’t want to get sick either. You are a day away from Independence Rock, and you don’t want anything to prevent you from getting there.

  “What date is it?” you ask Ma. Lately the days have become a blur.

  “It’s the second,” she says. “We’re still on track to get to Independence Rock for the Fourth.”

  You’ve heard so much about that famous landmark. It was named by earlier pioneers on the Trail who reached it on Independence Day, and now you get to do the same.

  The next afternoon you catch a glimpse of the enormous gray rock in the distance.

  “It looks like a giant sleeping whale,” Hannah says.

  As you approach the formation, you see wagons and people camped in the fields around its base.

  “The great desert register,” Pa says. You’ve already carved your name into Courthouse and Chimney Rocks along the Trail, but everyone who passes through does this here. You will, too.

  Everyone is giddy with excitement as you corral your wagons. Ma starts to prepare an extra special Fourth of July feast, working with some of the other families. You’ll spend the next day celebrating how far you’ve come, as pioneers and as a nation.

  You take a break from camp, and climb onto the lower parts of Independence Rock with Joseph and Eliza. It’s smooth and shiny in spots. You look in amazement at the hundreds of names and dates already written on it. Some names were written with axle grease and gunpowder. Others have been etched.

  “Let’s carve our names in so they never fade away,” Joseph says, as he pulls out his pocketknife. You nod, wanting to leave your mark there forever.

  * * *

  The next morning you wake to the bugle playing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It’s Independence Day!

  You hurry to dress and gather with the others. Ma stayed up late last night sewing a flag out of scraps of red, white, and blue cloth. It flies on a makeshift flagpole in the middle of the circle.

  The day is spent playing games and feasting on the delicious foods that Ma and the other women made.

  Caleb announces a contest to see which kid can recite the entire Declaration of Independence. The winner gets a piece of chocolate.

  “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” You carefully recall each word. Everyone claps for you, and you win! The sweet chocolate melts in your mouth. You look around, stomach and heart full, as fiddles, harmonicas, and banjos fill the air with the sounds of celebration.

  As you savor your chocolate, you spot three men walking around the wagons while everyone is busy. One of them peers into a wagon, and another looks into a chest of tools. They don’t take anything, and after a few minutes, they leave.

  Later, at bedtime, the strangers approach Caleb and Pa. You hear one of them say that they want to join your wagon train.

  “But you don’t have a wagon,” Samuel blurts out, which makes Pa look at him sternly, even though the others laugh.

  “That’s right,” the man says. “But we do have fine horses, and we hunt and trap better than anyone else on the Trail.”

  The man wears his hat low over his eyes and doesn’t look directly at anyone. Not being able to see his eyes makes you uncomfortable.

  “We can always use good hunters and trappers,” Caleb says.

  You see Caleb and Pa look at each other and smile. A few minutes later, Caleb and the man shake hands.

  Then you realize something doesn’t feel right. You think back to when the men were looking around your wagons. Were they snooping? What if they’re up to something bad? You don’t want to accuse anyone of anything, but maybe you should tell Pa and Caleb your feelings. Or should you just stay quiet and let the adults handle the situation? You don’t want to make any enemies.

  If you speak up, turn to page 57

  If you stay quiet, turn to page 35

  Return to page 79

  Let’s be ready for anything,” Pa says, while the other man nods. “Take cover in the wagon,” Pa says to you kids and Ma. “Wait there until we know more.”

  You, Ma, Hannah, and Samuel hurry to the wagon. Ma lifts Hannah and Samuel inside, and you and Ma take cover underneath it. You peek through a wagon wheel to see what is going on.

  The Cheyenne men ride all the way into your camp and dismount. There are three men, and one has feathers in his hair. Their faces look very serious, and you can’t tell if they are friendly or not.

  One of the men is carrying a large bag over his shoulder. He reaches inside, and you hear the sounds of rifles being cocked.

  The man with the bag raises his arms slowly and shakes his head. The other two men follow his example and wave their hands as if to show that they are unarmed.

  BANG!

  A shot has been fired. It rips through the air and you hear someone fall.

  “Pa!” you shout, running out from under the wagon.

  “My leg!” Pa says, rolling around on the ground.

  The Cheyenne men back away slowly, their hands still raised, and leave on their horses. The man from your wagon who fired the gun rushes forward.

  “I didn’t mean to! It just went off,” he says, giving Ma a pleading look. “I was just trying to warn the horseback riders to stay away.”

  Pa survives the bullet wound, but his leg ends up infected. Soon he can’t walk, and the infection gets so bad, it spreads throughout his body. Pa’s trailblazing days are over. Ma won’t continue without him, so it looks like your trailblazing days are over, too.

   THE END

  Return to page 110

  Everyone agrees it’s best to let the oxen graze longer and get extr
a rest. They have to work very hard to pull the wagons, and if they are unwell, forcing them to keep going can only make them weaker. It’s a good decision, because after a few days the oxen seem to get their strength back.

  The next morning, just as the wagon train is about to roll out, you feel a few drops of rain. Then it gets dark and windy fast, like it’s going to storm.

  “This doesn’t look good,” Pa says, staring at the sky. You look up and notice something different about it. Usually storm clouds are dark gray, but this time the sky is a weird combination of blue and green. And the clouds seem lower to the ground.

  Just then, the wind picks up and the drops of rain now feel like pebbles. The ground is quickly covered with tiny white rocks.

  “What is this?” you ask.

  “It’s hail,” Pa says. You grab one of the pebbles and see that it’s a piece of ice in the shape of a ball.

  The pieces start to come down with tremendous force, and as they hit the ground they bounce back up. Then the skies open up even more and millions of the pebble-size ice pieces start falling. Some of the hail bits are bigger, as big as buffalo chips, and they hurt as they strike you.

  As you run toward your wagon to take cover, the wind picks up. Then suddenly the wagons start moving, pulled by the frightened oxen, who are being pelted by the hail and are running to get away from it.