“Exactly my point,” Juliana said. “If it hadn’t been for my mother’s teaching me after we left Kansas, I wouldn’t have a job right now, that’s for sure. Then where would I be?”
“You would live as you are now, with us, then find a good husband who would take care of you,” Marion answered.
“Marion, times are changing. Some women don’t want to just automatically get married. Some are actually becoming doctors these days. That sounds exciting to me.”
“Don’t you want to get married and have a family?” Marion’s voice conveyed complete shock.
“Someday, yes. But I’m not in any hurry. I’m enjoying writing articles for the newspaper. I don’t want to repeat the same course my mother did, following my father’s dreams only to be abandoned.” Juliana didn’t mean to sound bitter, but she believed her mother felt she’d had no choice, traipsing from town to town with her husband’s great schemes to get rich.
“She did what she thought was best, Juliana. Could be that it turned out best for you.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible, since my father left to go look for gold. He didn’t care what happened or how we got by. A few times he sent money, but later, even that stopped. How can someone not want to see his wife and daughter? I just don’t understand it at all.” She shook her head in agitation, fighting back angry tears.
“But your mother took great care of you and educated you. She never left you. Yes, you didn’t live the best kind of life, but you had a godly mother who was positive about life and you. I admire her for that. It couldn’t have been easy for her.”
Marion’s reminder made Juliana feel very selfish. “You’re right, of course. She taught me to believe the best in people and always give a lending hand. I guess since she died, I’ve gotten a little cynical, haven’t I?”
“It’s okay to question everything. It means you’re seeking what’s best in life for you. God has a plan for each of us. Trouble is, most of us don’t ask and don’t want to listen.”
“You really believe that?” Juliana sighed. Maybe Marion was right.
“Yes, I really do.” Marion paused in front of Helen’s gate before opening it, then turned to Juliana. “If He cares about the lilies of the field, how much more does He care for you?” Without waiting for a reply, she swung open the gate for Juliana to pass through, then slipped the wrought-iron latch into place.
Juliana tucked the remark away for the time being. She didn’t really understand it anyway.
15
The musky smell of sheep dung and the bleating of lambs woke Josh out of his deep sleep. The sun warmed his unshaven face through the crack of rough boards on the sheepherder’s wagon. He smiled wistfully. He’d had a strange dream. In it, Juliana was reaching out to him, beckoning him to come closer. Her face was etched with concern, and her blue eyes exposed deep emotion and tears, but as he reached for her, she receded into the background of his foggy dream. He wanted to take away whatever was upsetting her. Was she in trouble? He hoped not.
He rolled over to the edge of the bed that was built across the wagon’s back and sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. May as well get started, he thought, reaching down to pull on his boots. Shebe shifted, yawned, and stretched when Josh reached down to scratch her behind the ears. When she wasn’t herding, she hardly ever left his side. “Morning, girl,” he said. The soft brown eyes seemed to smile back at him, and she gave a small yap, then tore for the outdoors when Josh pulled back the door.
The first chance he got, he planned to seek out Jake Hoover about the sapphires he’d found a couple of weeks ago. Maybe they could see about working something out with mining the stones. When Charlie told him that Hoover and his partners had already washed the same sapphires out of the lower part of Yogo Creek last season, he’d wanted to know more about the stones. He figured there were more sapphires to be found.
“You up, Boss?” Andy stuck his head into the opening of the wagon, holding a steaming cup of coffee.
“If you want to call it that. Why did you let me sleep so late?” Josh asked, taking the proffered cup from the young man.
“It’s not late. The sun just came up over those hills.”
“Every time I sleep too long, I wind up having a bad dream.” He blew on the hot coffee.
“Want to talk about it?”
“No, it was just unsettling.”
“Okay, whatever you say, Boss. Hungry?”
Josh’s stomach growled. “Yeah. Have any of those sausages left over? We could just stick them between a biscuit for now to have something quick.”
“I’ve already thought of that.” Andy stepped back down into the clearing. “They’re in the skillet now just waiting for me to warm ’em up a little on the stove. I was waiting for you to stir. Tonight I’ll fix us a right nice supper.”
“Sounds good to me.” Josh hauled his stocky frame down out of the wagon and donned his jacket against the morning chill. “Would you like to ride with me over to Hoover’s place I was telling you about? It’s about three miles. We won’t be gone long, and the sheep seem pretty content today. I want to talk to him about the sapphires I found.”
“A short break might be nice, if you think the lambs will be okay.” He motioned toward the herd.
“Sure, for a short time. It’s your call.”
“Okay then. I’ll just stick these on the stove to heat. It won’t take but a minute, unless you want yours cold?”
“No, I don’t. I’m not in that big of a hurry.” Josh grinned at the young sheepherder, who scampered up the steps to the stove behind the Dutch doors. Andy was a real treasure, almost like Josh’s own son. Like a gift from God. They enjoyed each other’s company, and Josh reveled in the knowledge that sometimes they could go for hours without speaking and still know what was on the other’s mind. The age difference didn’t seem to matter to either of them.
Pig Eye Basin was on the Judith River, south of Utica and just west of Lewistown, not far from Josh’s property. The warm spring sun had melted some of the snow along the eastern slope of the basin, and Josh could hear the gurgle of rushing creek water below from the melting snow. He enjoyed springtime in the mountains and watching the fledging meadowlarks. Tender green leaves of the cottonwood trees gave the impression they had unfurled from their deep winter’s sleep. Josh looked at the towering ponderosa pine clustered near the grassy bench lands. The air was fresh and invigorating. It was a great day to be alive. Shebe was happy to be following along with him and Andy and would scamper off to investigate movement in the brush, then run back to catch up with them.
Josh and Andy followed the wagon road that led to Hoover’s small ranch and were greeted by the yapping of a couple of dogs. They rushed up to greet the strangers, barking loudly at Shebe until a man opened the door and called the dogs off. They backed away with wary eyes but obeyed their master.
“Can I help you gents?” the man said, stepping out to the front porch. He had curly brown hair, a long, thick moustache, and several months’ growth of beard, typical of a miner and trapper. He sported a flannel shirt and duck pants tucked into his boots.
“I’m Josh McBride, and this is Andy, my ranch hand.” Andy nodded a hello. “I run sheep in the bench lands about three miles from you.”
“I’ve heard of you, Josh. You filed a couple of claims after finding those Yogos, didn’t you? Pleased to meet you. I’m Jake Hoover. Step down off your horses. The dogs won’t hurt you.”
“Don’t mind if we do.” Josh slid off his horse’s back and lightly held the reins. Andy followed suit. “It was the Yogos I came to talk to you about. I met up with a friend of yours by the name of Charlie Russell, who was just passing through on his way to Great Falls, and he told me you were mining gold and knew about sapphires.”
The older man scratched his head and laughed. “You mean ‘the Kid’? He is forever drawing or painting. A better friend a man never had!”
“He said the same thing about you.”
Hoov
er motioned for them to come in. “I’ve got a pot of coffee on the stove. We can talk sitting down.”
They followed him inside the modestly furnished cabin. Josh noticed the usual tools of a prospector as well as a trapper scattered about the cabin. A low fire crackled in the grate. “Here, have a seat, and I’ll dig up some cups.” Hoover bustled around, whipped out three enamel cups, and plunked them down on the pine tabletop. Lifting the speckled enameled coffeepot with a folded dishrag, he poured the dark liquid into each of their cups.
“I first discovered gold at the lower part of Yogo Creek in ’94. I knew what I’d found was gonna be more than me just using picks and pans to discover the extent of it.” Hoover paused to take a swig of coffee.
“Do you have a partner?” Josh asked.
“Yes, I do. Hobson, a rancher and president of Fergus National Bank in Lewistown. My other partner is Bouvet, a veterinarian. Quite a combination, eh?”
“I’d have to say that’s an interesting partnership,” Josh said thoughtfully, and glanced over at Andy. Bet Andy’s enjoying someone else’s coffee for a change.
“They put up most of the capital for our promising mining venture, and we hired an engineer to dig a ten-mile ditch to divert water from the upper Yogo down to the lower end, knowing the strike was from a secondary deposit. It took us two months.”
“So you struck it rich?” Andy finally spoke, his eyes wide with interest.
“Nope. Nothing like that. We spent nearly $38,000, and the rest of our capital was spent on laborers I supervised all summer long to build sluices, but it was a bust. We spent more than we collected.” Hoover’s eyes squinted as though recalling a bad misfortune. “Anyway, I began looking in the sluice concentrates for blue pebbles I’d seen earlier. Apparently they were washed out of the lower Yogo Creek. The dike cuts through the creek and washed the sapphires downstream, concentrating them with what little gold we found.”
“So, how did you know they were valuable?” Josh asked, enjoying his second cup of coffee.
“When I first discovered the Yogos, I wasn’t sure what I had. It took me awhile to collect enough stones to fill a cigar box to send to Tiffany’s in New York. An assayer named Dr. George Kunz thought they were valuable enough to pay me quite well for them.”
“Sounds like you’ll need the right kind of equipment, not to mention financial backing.” Josh lifted his cup, swallowing the last sip. “And you make a good cup of coffee.”
“Glad you like it.” Hoover paused to drink the remainder of the coffee in his cup, then wiped his mustache on the back of his hand. He set his cup down, looking directly at Josh. “From what the engineer says, your claim is situated between our properties on the Judith River. He said that would interfere with our access, and if we bring water to the bench lands to the site for washing, that’s gonna interfere with disposal of the tailings. That’ll involve a whole new set of problems.”
Josh shifted in his chair. “What are you saying?”
“Are you interested in partnering?” Hoover refilled his own cup, then Andy’s. “Could be that we hit it big, you know. We could both be wealthy men.” Hoover smiled, his eyes flashing.
“I’ll have to think about that.” Josh was a cautious man. It sounded like a lot of work to him, and he wasn’t sure it was worth the risk. It’d take money to invest, and right now he hoped to sell his claims and finish building his house—for a wife he hoped for soon. He was tired of living outside or in the sheep wagon.
“You ought to have some of those stones cut and polished by an assayer. Then you can really see their value,” Hoover said.
“I intend to,” Josh said, rising from the kitchen table. “We’d better be getting back to the herd.” He motioned to Andy, who stood, pushing his chair back under the table.
“Nice meeting you, Hoover,” Josh said.
“Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll be talking further,” Hoover said, shaking hands with Josh and Andy. He followed them out the door. “Give it some thought and keep in touch.”
“I’ll do that. See you soon.”
Josh was pensive on the ride back to the camp, and Andy, who was used to Josh’s habits, stayed quiet. Josh wasn’t sure what to do. This mining venture could make him wealthy, a success in his father’s eyes. Is that what he really wanted? He could give Juliana everything she ever wanted to make her happy. That, he knew he wanted. Yet taking up mining meant losing Juliana—and he didn’t want to imagine life without her. Lots to think about.
Maybe on another trip into town he’d leave a couple of the stones to be cut and polished. He could probably pay the jeweler’s fee out of the other stones if they were very valuable. Another great excuse to call on Juliana and return her coat.
Andy interrupted his musings by saying softly, “There’s someone in our camp up ahead.”
“You sure?” Josh slowed his horse, being careful not to make any sudden moves.
“Yes. I saw someone slip into the wagon. What do we do?” Andy shifted in his saddle to turn toward Josh.
Josh squinted to see if he could make out any movement. He saw someone step down out of the wagon, flinging the door back on its hinges. Josh eased his .44 out of its sheath and turned to Andy. “Easy and quiet now. Drop back a ways. I’ll give that no-account something to think about before he goes plundering again.” Josh gave his horse a slight kick in the side, with Shebe running close behind him. “Yee haw!” he yelled, charging toward the camp. Slowing at its edge, he fired a few random shots in the clearing to scare the person off. A dark-haired man ran from the wagon and hopped on his horse, ducking the flying bullets. He crashed into the woods.
Josh and Andy gave chase. They ran right through the herd, scattering bleating sheep. Shebe trotted over to the flock instinctively to calm the frightened sheep, swerving this direction and that and keeping them all together with her sharp barking. The man had a head start since he was on the other side of the sizable herd, and Josh and Andy lost his trail in the woods.
Josh pulled back hard on the reins. “Let’s head back. He’s long gone now.”
“Wonder what he was after—money?” Andy turned his horse back toward camp.
“Probably. Guess he thought a sheepherder would be a good target, but he should’ve known there wouldn’t be much for the taking.”
“Maybe he heard you discovered the sapphires,” Andy said, patting his horse, whose sides were heaving from the hard run. “Could be. Even Hoover had heard the news. I guess word gets around somehow.” All the more reason for taking the stones back to the assayer now, he thought.
Back in the clearing, they found the camp was a mess. The man had ransacked the wagon, apparently looking for something, but nothing was taken. Josh felt like Andy’s suspicions were right. But it wasn’t worth losing their lives over. Now they’d have to watch their backs.
Shebe was lying in the shade, her tongue hanging out from working the sheep, which she had managed to keep together. Josh brought her a bowl of water as his thanks. “Good girl, Shebe. I declare, you’re the smartest sheepdog around,” he said, watching her lap greedily from the bowl.
Andy laughed, slapping his thigh. “She’s the only sheepdog around!”
16
Working at the newspaper gave Juliana a sense of being in control of her life, and she felt great satisfaction that she and Albert worked well together. No male had materialized to take her job, so she felt she could relax a bit. She had been allowed to not only write articles about the Ladies Social Club or the price of beef or sheep for the market, but also design snippets of some of the shopkeepers’ ads, which helped bring in some more business. Coming up with a catchy phrase or slogan was fun and challenging. Many days she and Albert would spend part of the afternoon drinking coffee, laughing, and brainstorming their ideas while pouring over layouts for ads. She knew this was important because the cost of the ads paid to keep the newspaper in business.
Tonight Mark had invited her and Marion to supper at the hotel, and s
he was looking forward to spending Friday night over a good meal with friends. Maybe she’d even sleep late on Saturday morning. Now that would be grand. Something she had never done, actually.
The bell above the door jangled, and Mark gave her one of his warm smiles. “I’ve come to walk you home before supper.”
“You didn’t have to do that, you know. It’s only a couple of blocks from here.” She cocked one eye at him as she continued to tidy her desk. Juliana wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about Mark, because for the first time in her life, she enjoyed her bit of independence. Finally she was being paid for something she actually enjoyed doing.
“I feel honored to be able to walk a pretty lady anywhere.”
“Any lady?” she teased.
His face turned as red as a ripe tomato, and he ignored Albert’s chuckle. “Correction—one pretty lady.”
She could feel the pink creeping into her face, so she turned to gather her cloak hanging on the coat rack behind her.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Mark said, reaching to drape the cloak about her shoulders. The act seemed intimate and brought his face close to hers. Close enough that she could smell his shaving lotion, and she noted his trim, manicured nails on long fingers. A surgeon’s fingers. Any woman would be proud to become his wife. Josh’s hands flashed in her mind. Strong, capable hands that were calloused yet gentle with his dog or a baby lamb. She turned the thought off as quickly as it came. It just wouldn’t do.
“I’ll lock up, Juliana. See you at church Sunday?” Albert’s eyes crinkled with mischief.
“Yes, of course,” she answered. She was going only to pacify Marion and get to know the townsfolk a little better. Church was a good place to meet new people. The ladies in the social club normally attended, so who knows, she might pick up a tidbit for the paper. Other than that, she found the minister’s sermons boring.
The Jewel of His Heart Page 10
