Ginny was stunned, her heart was tormented, and her mind was dazed. How could he ride away like this? No good-bye. No warning. No mention of a return. She stared at the money with parted lips and wide-eyed disbelief. She fretted that he was paying her off as some… fille de joie. Why hadn’t he at least included a short note of explanation? Just a few words would have been sufficient. Gone… He didn’t want her. He was deserting her, betraying her. He had told her he had another job waiting that could take weeks or months. He could be going anywhere, be miles away by now. He hadn’t asked her to wait for him. She remembered his words on the trail; “If I leave, I won’t come back. Don’t ruin your life waiting for something to happen that never will.” Had that been all the message he felt was necessary? He had said, “I’m sorry it has to be this way.” So was she, undeniably more than he was!
After all that had happened between them, how could he do this cruel thing? He had turned in his prisoners, but what about the gems? They were worth a fortune, perhaps one large enough to tempt even an honest man, and surely a penniless drifter. Yet he had tracked and captured the gang easily and quickly like a trained expert. Was there still more to Steve Carr than what he alleged? Was there a crucial reason he couldn’t expose the truth to her? How could she check out -her suspicions?
No matter his motive, he had done her wrong. Anger seeped into her body and dulled some of the shock and agony. How dare he use her and discard her this way! What reason could justify his behavior? None, she concluded.
As the hours passed, she began to doubt herself and him. Maybe she wasn’t what he needed and wanted. Maybe he never had real feelings for her, only lust. How could she have misjudged him so badly? Or had she? There was one place she could check for him or news of him. Until she gathered the truth, it was unfair to suspect him of wrongdoing.
Ginny went downstairs and had her horse saddled and brought to the front. She rode to the fort and asked to see Captain Jake Cooper.
The private in charge of the officer’s affairs told her, “Sorry, ma’am, but he left about dawn to handle a sudden problem in Indian Territory.”
“Did Steve Carr go with him?”
“Don’t know any Steve Carr, ma’am.”
“The man who brought in the five prisoners yesterday.”
“Him? No, ma’am. He talked with the captain last night and left town. Is there a problem I can help you with?”
“Thank you, but no. When do you expect Captain Cooper to return?”
“About a week, ma’am. I can tell him you want to see him.”
“That won’t be necessary; I’ll be gone by then. Thank you.”
Ginny returned to her room. She paced and worried. Mother, Father, Johanna, if only one of you were here to advise and comfort me. She didn’t know what to do or think. She realized she could stay there forever and he might never come back. If he needed time away from her, should she give it to him? Would that do more harm than good to their uncertain relationship? She wondered if she should go on to Texas. Let him worry for a change. If he wants me, he has the skills to search for me and find me. She asked herself if she should give him today, perhaps a few days, to change his mind and return. Yes, that’s only fair. Perhaps he hadn’t thought a message was necessary or had forgotten to include one in his rush to depart. Perhaps he thought she trusted him enough to realize he would come back soon. Maybe it was an innocent mistake. Surely he would grasp his oversight then send her a message by letter, telegram, or friend.
But the next day passed without word from Steve. Ginny’s hope dwindled and her apprehensions increased. Her troubled thoughts and misty gaze kept shifting to the packet of money, causing her to dread its meaning. Though he had deserted her, he hadn’t left her without funds for her support, at least for a while. Yet the money could have been left only to ease his conscience for what he’d done to her. But a man, a drifter, couldn’t have much money to spare. Where had he gotten it? A bounty payment on the outlaws? An advance on his salary for his assignment? No matter, she could either use it to wait here for a miracle or use it to get to Texas. There wasn’t enough to do both, so a difficult decision was at hand.
By Monday morning, Ginny had convinced herself she must accept reality: Steve had betrayed her and abandoned her, just as Bennett Chapman had done to Johanna. Now, she fully understood how her friend had felt. As Johanna had, what she truly wanted was a logical explanation and happy reunion, not revenge. Yet, it was different with Mr. Chapman. He was a father; it was his duty, responsibility, and moral obligation to love, protect, and support his own child. He owed his daughter something and she must collect that long-overdue debt as she’d sworn to do on Johanna’s deathbed.
She couldn’t force Steve to love her or to return to her. She couldn’t do anything about his cruel desertion, as she could about Bennett’s. If Steve was that kind of man, he was wrong for her. He would bring her more anguish than joy. She must put him out of her mind and heart. She must focus on her original goals of locating Bennett Chapman and Mathew Marston. It would not be simple or painless to get over Steve, but she must get him off her mind and set her important tasks in motion.
Besides, she had realized that Steve’s boss, the government, might not be as trusting and lenient with her as the scout had been. Either someone might believe Bart’s accusations or Timothy Graham could lie about her. She couldn’t ignore the possibility that something might incriminate her. The law could come after her at any moment. There were no witnesses she could call upon who wouldn’t create problems for her and her father. She needed to get to the Chapman ranch and stay there until the investigation was completed. She needed Johanna’s identity to hide behind for protection of her life and freedom.
She considered telegraphing Bennett for travel money and refusing to accept Steve’s, but she decided that required too long of a wait. She could repay Steve later, if she ever located him in the future. If they were fated to be together, destiny would cross their paths again. Until then, she had work to do. She mustn’t spend valuable time; emotions, and energy on self-pity. She got busy on her new goal.
Ginny sent her two extra sets of clothes to a laundress. She put the money in her skirt pocket and pretended to take a stroll to view the town, as she dared not ask for directions. In spite of dirt streets and few sidewalks, she realized how large and lovely the town was. It was busy and noisy this morning, so she mostly went unnoticed. She passed many businesses and the people who worked in them, passed schools, churches, and houses she was certain were fancy bordellos.
She saw the Missouri & Western Telegraph office, but had decided against sending Bennett Chapman advance warning of her impending arrival, as a telegram could be recalled and traced. Steve had told her most of these businesses and merchants had been here before 1860 when the last census of the area was taken and listed the population at over seven thousand. She saw Federal Marshal Luther White’s office, and cringed in anxiety. Steve had related information about that lawman: he had strong Union feelings and ties, had been appointed by Lincoln, and was also a doctor. Surely a fiercely loyal Union man wouldn’t lean kindly toward a suspected Klanswoman. She hurried past that office.
The town seemed to be expanding to the south and east with rapid growth. She noticed construction in many locations where laborers worked with skill and efficiency. Steve had told her that outside of town were farms of all sizes. Soldiers, from the post and ex-military men from both sides in the war, were everywhere. She suspected a few of the rough-looking men were gunslingers and outlaws. She saw some Indians and remembered Steve had said the neighboring land was Indian Territory. She hoped there wasn’t terrible trouble there that might delay her plans.
She halted and pretended to window shop so she could listen in on two soldiers standing nearby whose words had caught her interest.
One said, “I don’t wanta be sent to Texas where them Injuns are kicking up a fuss again. Myers and his unit should be at Belknap by now.”
“I thought F
ort Belknap was abandoned before ‘60.”
“It was, but Texas troops used her during the war, and the Army’s using her again until Richardson is built near Jacksboro. Hell, that’s only seventy miles from Injun Territory. The boys at old Fort Richardson were split up last month and sent to Belknap and Buffalo Springs. They’ll all go back to Richardson when she’s underway in a few months. Some of the rest of us might be sent down afterward. I sure hope it ain’t me.”
“Did Myers take that pretty wife of his with him?”
“Cora’s to join him in the next month or so was what he said. Too bad she won’t have time to get lonely and lean toward you, right, Harry?”
“Maybe she will. Being so far out of town, she hardly sees anybody. Most folks around here don’t even know she’s alive and out there. She’ll probably need help with the farm and chores, don’t you think?”
As the two men drifted into lewd whispers, Ginny left the scene. She relaxed when she saw the sight she wanted. She went into the stagecoach office and purchased a ticket to Fort Belknap for Tuesday morning under the name of Mrs. Cora Myers. She told the agent she was going to meet her husband who had been transferred from Fort Smith to Fort Belknap. She assumed the man couldn’t know every soldier at the nearby post, and he appeared to believe her. While he prepared her ticket, she chatted cunningly about what she had overheard the two soldiers say. She had studied the map and schedule on the office wall while he was busy with someone else, so she knew the Oxbow Route would put her about one hundred and twenty miles from Dallas. She could either go to the Texas fort and catch a stage to Dallas from there or she could catch one to her real destination, the Chapman ranch, on a spur route after they entered the Lone Star State. The trip would require four and a half days. By Saturday night, she figured, she would be near or at the Chapman ranch, out of danger from any repercussions from her ruse as Anna Avery.
During her return stroll, she entered a nearby store and bought one simple dress for the journey ahead, all she could afford. After she reached the hotel and put away her purchase, she took Charles Avery’s horse and saddle to a farm near the edge of town and sold them for less than their value. She told the happy buyer she wanted to make certain her beloved animal had a good home and she couldn’t be sure of that if she sold him to one of the stables in town. Her action would make tracking her harder for Steve or for anyone else, as he could be assigned to come after her if things went wrong. There was one last precaution to take: She told the desk clerk, who was also owner of the hotel, that she was departing on a steamboat for home the next day and paid him to give a letter to her “brother” when he returned.
Ginny readied herself to leave in the morning. She took a bath and ate a good meal downstairs, her last for many days. Her laundry had been returned, so she packed her scant belongings. She hoped the wagontrain would arrive in Dallas soon so she could recover the rest of her possessions. Of course, everything could be replaced except for the doll her mother had made for her as a child. She hadn’t wanted to’risk losing it on the trail with that awful gang, and she would be glad to be out of the same town with them. If possible, she could see her four friends again in Texas.
Ginny looked around the room. Every precaution had been taken. The skilled Steve might be able to track her movements and locate her. If he did come after her, she hoped it was for the right reason. She thought about the message waiting for him with the hotel owner:
Dear Steve,
If I’ve misunderstood your motive for leaving me here without a word or note, I’m sorry, but what am I to think? I don’t want to believe you would use me, betray me, and desert me in this cruel way. But it appears as if I’ve been paid off like a strumpet you hired to share your bed on a few occasions or have been paid off to soothe your conscience for deceiving me. Perhaps I was wrong to think there was something special between us. Your disappearing without a word tells me I was mistaken about you and about us. Perhaps you’ll have a reasonable explanation when we see each other again, if we do.
I was going to confess everything to you Sunday morning, but you deserted me and took away that opportunity. I’m not convinced you’ll return and get this letter, but I felt I owed you this much, although you didn’t do the same for me. You’ll be told soon where to locate me, if you have a desire to do so.
I can’t wait around to see if you’ll come back because I have an important and secret task to do. After your desertion and tricks, surely you grasp why I’m not disclosing it. In about a month or two, I’ll send you a letter in care of Captain Cooper to tell you where I am. Perhaps by then, we’ll both be ready to be honest about our lives and feelings. We’ve duped each other more than once, but perhaps there’s still a chance for us to forgive each other and have a happy future together. If you care about me like I care about you, check for my message later. I’ll pray I didn’t misjudge you. I’ll miss you.
Love, Anna
On Tuesday morning, Ginny was assisted into the brown stagecoach with its sunny yellow trim by a polite and friendly gentleman. If any passenger knew or suspected she wasn’t Mrs. Cora Myers, none called her bluff. Yet her heart raced, her body quivered, and her tension increased. She heard the driver give commands to the team by words and whip. The coach jerked and creaked. She was on the way to become Johanna Chapman and would soon decide if she must be cruel or kind to her best friend’s traitorous father. She was leaving Fort Smith and her misadventures behind. If only she knew if she were also leaving her love behind forever.
CHAPTER 14
Arkansas was quickly left behind. The stage crossed into Oklahoma Territory, more frequently called Indian Territory because the Osage, the Five Civilized Tribes of southeastern America, and other Indian tribes lived there. At first they journeyed near the Poteau River which caused bittersweet memories to fill Ginny’s head. Their last night on the trail had been spent on the banks of that river. She didn’t want thoughts of Steve to trouble her, so she distracted herself with recalling as many as possible of the often amusing rules posted at the station for Stagecoach Etiquette.
As other passengers talked with each other and a few times with her, Ginny stuck to her fabricated story. It was obvious, to her relief, that no one knew Cora Myers or her husband because nobody cast her a doubtful or suspicious glance. Nor had the three men who were riding outside: a driver and two well-armed guards.
She gazed out the window as she realized a stage journey was more bouncing, bruising, and jarring than one on a wagon. The pace was faster and more dust was kicked up because of the rapid speed and any motion was more noticeable as passengers were jostled against each other. The confines were close and tight in the small coach with its three benches. Nine people were crowded together three to each hard wooden seat. Fortunately she had one of the best seats, located behind the driver. The middle one had no back rest and those on it constantly bumped knees with those on the rear seat. With little breeze coming through the tall and narrow windows, she could imagine how the cramped interior would smell in a few days as people went without baths. She hoped it didn’t rain, which would compel them to lower the leather shades and block off all fresh air.
A mixture of sounds filled Ginny’s ears: luggage thudding against the wood of the coach, the jangling of harnesses and snap of a whip in the jehu’s hand, the flick of reins on horse flesh. She listened to driver’s shouts as he urged the animals to a faster pace, the rumbling of wheels and pounding of twenty-four hooves against hard ground, and the voices of passengers as they chatted to while away the boring hours.
A routine was established immediately upon their departure. The half-wild horses were run at a swift pace for sixteen miles. At the end of that leg in two hours, they halted at a relay station where the exhausted team was unhitched and a new one was harnessed in less than ten minutes while the passengers stayed aboard. The process was repeated twice more until a twentyminute lunch break and driver change during their third stop. Two more rapid runs lasted about two hours, when th
ey halted at almost primitive home stations for the night. The schedule allowed for eighty miles travel each day with five stops. In a little over four days, they would reach Fort Belknap.
It didn’t take the Kiamichi region long to become a familiar sight of mostly flat terrain with verdant bushes, trees, and grass. A little variety came by lunchtime; with scattered rocks and a scrubland look where even cottonwoods, oaks, and redbuds grew along waterlines. Hills and ridges greeted them before their third short stop where biscuits with fried meat were downed with coffee and milk. The customary meal was a rushed and almost tasteless one; taken at the station near the end of the Poteau River and south of the San Bois Mountains.
Their next stop was at Wilburton, which according to one man was notorious for sheltering outlaw hideouts in the nearby sandstone cliffs and caves. Four passengers got off and two more got on the stage.
During the last leg of the first day’s travel, buffalo, deer, antelope, and coyote were seen foraging. Ginny realized what lush and beautiful grazeland they were crossing, the property of the Indians by treaty. One of the men mentioned how cattle drives passed through this area on their way to market, which reminded her of Bennett Chapman and the reluctant deception looming before her.
Ginny was relieved that no Indians, outlaws, or rustlers attacked them while traversing this perilous region. She didn’t know what kind of trouble had drawn Captain Jake Cooper into this neighboring territory in such a hurry, but they hadn’t seen any trouble, nor had the station keepers’ known of any. She prayed it continued to be safe for all of them.
Each time they halted, dust surrounded the stage and team and wafted inside the coach, causing most passengers to cough. At morning boarding, at lunch and at dusk tonight, polite men assisted her from the stage. The home station was comprised of corrals, stables and smithy for the horses, privy, and two crude shacks where the keeper, sometimes with a family and his workers, lived in meager conditions.
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