by Debra Samms
He cocked his head at her. "You're right. You did pay attention."
She merely shrugged, trying to act as though it did not matter – though she could see that he was pleased.
"I'm a river rat," Bradley went on. "I walk on the logs and drive them with that pole."
Delilah turned back to him and smiled. She'd got it right and he did look a little happier.
"But I do it while drinking more than any man alive. I can stay awake for days and then sleep for days, and not even notice. And it's not a good day if I haven't walked a hundred logs or fought five men to a standstill. Or both."
Then he stared at her, and she knew he was seeing the stunned look on her face. Delilah turned away again. "What other flavors of rock candy do you like?" she said, a little nervously. "I think there may be maple syrup flavoring that I could use, or even ginger to make ginger sugar candy."
Bradley set down the bag of candy, stood up, and paced a few steps towards the trees. "Next Sunday afternoon, there's gonna be a log-rolling contest. You and your friends should come down and watch."
She drew back a little and looked up at him. "You mean – you want us to come into the camp?"
"Sure. Get that sheriff to go with you, if you're scared. But bring a few of your friends from the Ladies' House and come down and watch."
Delilah considered, and could not help smiling up into his handsome face. "Perhaps we will. So, what exactly is the contest?"
"I just said. It's log rolling. Two men on one log. You spin it with your feet. Stop it, start it. First one in the water loses."
"Well – it sounds simple enough. Is it difficult?"
He scowled a little. "Harder than it looks. A lot harder. Come and see for yourself."
She nodded. "Thank you for asking me. I will consider it."
Bradley walked back over and took out another couple of pieces of rock candy from the bag. "So, tell me, Delilah," he said, crunching up the candy. "You came out here to get married. What are you looking for in a husband?"
At that, she stood up and walked along the rail fence of the tree-shaded corral that was attached to the barn. He took a few slow steps, following her. After a moment, she said, "I always said I wanted a man who is educated."
There was a long pause. "Educated?" Bradley finally asked. She could see that he looked both baffled and disappointed. "Aren't there men who can read back there in the east? Why would you have to come all the way out here for that?"
Delilah felt a little flustered at his questioning. "Just being able to read isn't the only thing."
He snorted. "Well, that's good. Out here you'll find men who work hard. With their hands. Hope that's good enough for you."
She looked closely at him. "Of course it is. But maybe I can find a man who likes to read as well, during some leisure time. I do love books and I even brought a few with me. Maybe we could discuss them! It could be a fine way for us to learn more about each other."
He just stared at her.
"I want to start my own salon, too," Delilah continued.
"Your own – what? Did you say 'saloon?'"
She laughed. "No, no. A 'salon' is a group of people who enjoy discussing books and ideas. They get together in someone's parlor once a week or so, or maybe on their front porch, for tea and cake and pleasant conversation."
Bradley just nodded. Delilah sighed, and told herself that a man who worked with his hands, as he did, probably didn't spend much time reading novels and wasn't going to be too romantic in any case. About anything.
She started to look up at him and smile politely, thinking she should be getting back to the Ladies' House – and then, as she stood in front of the corral, Bradley walked over to her and took her hand.
"Marry me, Delilah," he said.
Delilah could only stare up at Bradley. "What did you say?"
"You heard me. I want you to marry me."
She could hardly get her breath, even as he held on firmly to her hand with both of his own. "I thought – you didn't like me. At all. Don't you remember the tea in the parlor? And the picnic?"
But he only shrugged. "You're about the prettiest girl I ever saw – a lot prettier than any woman I expected to see out here – and the prettiest of all the ones who did come here. And you're sweet."
Delilah tried to think, but had no answer for him. She got to her feet, even as he still held on to her hand.
Bradley began to look a little frustrated. "I'm asking you to marry me," he said. "Isn't that what you came out here for? And I'll tell you something – it seems strange to me that you aren't already married. Pretty as you are, I don't understand why you'd have to come out here to find a husband."
Suddenly Delilah pulled back and turned away from him, leaning against the rough rail fence with both hands.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Fisher," she said faintly. "I just wasn't expecting this."
She turned around to face him again, trying to speak calmly. "After all – where would we live? I'm afraid I don't want to live in a tent down in the loggers' camp. That's where you live now, isn't it?"
"All I'd have to do is save for a little while and buy a house. Or a cabin. They're building more of them on the ridge above the town, right behind that Ladies' House where you live now. I'm sure you know about that."
Delilah backed up against the rails and tried to think. "I'm sure a cabin would be fine," she stammered. "But I just can't give you an answer right now. I'll have to think about it."
He looked down, scowling and frustrated, almost angry. She was puzzled by his reaction. Surely he'd understand how sudden this was!
Just then there was a nudge at her shoulder. Delilah turned around to see that a little Appaloosa mare had come over to the fence to see her.
"Butterfly!" She reached out to stroke the mare's neck. "She's a Palouse horse – or Appaloosa, as some say," Delilah said, relieved to have the distraction. "She belongs to Sheriff Strong. He got her in one of the Indian Wars over in Idaho Territory, where he and Molly lived before they came out here."
She reached for the bag of rock candy and broke off a piece. "I think this is what she's looking for," Delilah said with a little laugh, as the mare lipped the candy up out of her palm.
Then Delilah looked back to see – much to her relief – that Bradley was smiling. "Guess I'll have to get extra next time," he said. "And I'll see about getting a house. Think about it. Please."
Delilah gave him a brief nod. "I'd best be going." Bradley walked her to the switchback, where she thanked him for the walk and the candy and then started back up to the house . . . and she did not look back.
CHAPTER FOUR
Bradley walked with long strides through the maze of tents that was the loggers' encampment, and finally got to the one near the river that he shared with George Conyers.
"George!" he shouted, the moment he was close enough.
George, who was mostly known as "George the Giant Ox," was one of the few men in camp who was very heavily built and not whip-thin like the rest. He was also one of the few who almost never said a word, which was one reason why Bradley was glad enough to share a tent with him.
George poked his massive head out of the tent, but Bradley pushed past him and the two men sat down across from each other on their wood-framed cots.
Bradley just shook his head and struggled for words. "I asked her. She didn't say no. But she didn't say yes, either."
George just shrugged, and then reached under his cot and pulled out a fairly large wooden box. From the box he took out a piece of paper along with a sliver of charcoal, and sat waiting.
Bradley sighed. "I don't know. I just wanted to get her to marry me now, before she finds out. She's so pretty. I can't figure why she ain't married already."
The other man just nodded, and sat waiting.
"Say, George – do you ever read books? She kept saying she likes to read. Maybe I could learn something about a book she likes, and – "
George set the paper and charcoal asi
de, and reached under the cot for the same box. He searched through it for a moment and then pulled out two books.
"Hey, you do have books. I thought you might. Which ones are they? Can you tell me about them?"
George just frowned, and tossed the two books over on Bradley's cot. "Huh," was all he said, and then he got up and walked outside. Bradley picked up the books and ran his fingers over the battered leather covers and the scuffed gold letters on one side.
Two books. It was a start.
***
Just as Delilah came in sight of the Ladies' House up on the ridge, she saw her friend Jessamine Black hurrying down the street to meet her – and Delilah ran to meet her as well.
"How did it go?" Jess asked, breathless.
Delilah just shook her head, taking her friend's arm and walking up to the porch with her. "Well – he – "
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Sounds like he disappointed you."
"He asked me to marry him."
Jess caught her breath, and her eyes widened. "Oooh!" she squealed, trying to keep it silent. "He did! He really did?"
"Shh. Shh! I don't want anyone else to know yet." The two of them sat down in a couple of the chairs on the porch.
"Well, what did you say? Did you accept?"
"I said – that I'd think about it."
"Oh." Jess looked very disappointed, but then seemed to think again. "Maybe you're right to think about it. He's – I think they said a 'river rat?' And he was terribly rude to you at the tea and at the picnic."
"They were all rude. But today was – better, I can say. And – " Delilah leaned down, making sure no one might hear. "I suppose I'd best not turn down any offer I get. I might not get another – not after what happened before I came here."
Jess nodded. "No one need know. I promise, I've told no one. And I won't."
CHAPTER FIVE
Three days later, on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, there was a large gathering of men down at the side of the Umpqua River – and this time, not a few women joined them.
Delilah walked with Jess and another half-dozen of the braver women from the Ladies' House. With them was Molly Strong, the sheriff's wife, along with Mrs. Frost, whose husband owned the mercantile.
And walking very closely beside the group of women was Carl Mitchell, the camp boss. He carried his shotgun with him and made sure it was not hidden.
But today, most of the attention was on the contest about to take place on the river and on the widespread gambling taking place among virtually every man on the shore. The women found a spot where they could see the water and then stayed gathered together as the contest got underway.
The center of the river had swift rapids in it, but along the sides it was much calmer. Floating near the shoreline were a number of enormous Douglas fir and spruce logs. Delilah could see that they'd been trimmed of their branches, but they were still very rough and knobby and anything but smooth.
"They're really going to walk on those logs?" asked Jess.
"That's what Bradley told me," Delilah replied. "Two men on a log. The object is to keep it rolling and, by stopping and starting, put the other man in the water."
"Why not just push him off?"
"Not allowed to touch him."
"Oh." Jess glanced back at the river. "Oh! They're starting!"
To begin, a few men walked out onto the floating logs in their spiked boots. They each carried a long wooden pole with a metal point and hook at the end, like a spear, and using the poles they skillfully pushed and arranged the carpet of logs to their liking until there was an open space of water and just one enormous log – apparently the biggest one they could find – floating in it alone.
"Like cowboys herding cattle," remarked Molly Strong, and the other girls nodded.
"Just so," said Mrs. Frost, nodding in agreement. "They even brand the logs to mark ownership of them, before starting them down river to the sawmills."
Then two men – neither of whom she recognized – stepped out across the carpet of logs and onto the one floating alone. Immediately all the men on shore began whooping and yelling. Delilah watched as the two on the log sent it spinning with their boots, moving as lightly as any dancers she'd ever seen.
Suddenly one man seemed to stop the log. The other tried to keep his balance but promptly splashed into the water, and all the men watching shouted and slapped each other on the back and began exchanging money as they paid off their various bets.
Delilah glanced around at the men on shore, looking for Bradley, but she did not see him anywhere. The competition continued with different pairs of men. She could see that each man got to continue until he fell off, and then a new man took his place.
This went on for perhaps a half an hour, with a dozen or so men being eliminated. And then, when yet another man fell into the river, a huge roar went up from the crowd as Beast Bradley stepped out onto the log.
She caught hold of Jess's arm and clutched it tightly. He really was the tallest of all the men here and looked as strong and graceful as a cougar. Delilah watched, fascinated, as Bradley got the log to spinning faster and faster. The man beside him hurried to catch up, watching his opponent's feet very closely –
And then, to Delilah's horror, Bradley forced the log to slow down even though the other man kept running. His spiked boots got caught, and he was thrown down forcefully into the water and yanked up on the other side – floating there with one of his boots still jammed into the log.
The men laughed and laughed, and a couple of other river rats poled their way out to pull the stunned man out of the river. And then another came out to take his place on the log beside Bradley and the competition went right on.
Soon there were no more challengers. The crowd roared with approval as "Beast" Bradley Fisher was declared the winner.
Delilah and Jess glanced at each other and smiled, and Delilah could not help but feel proud. "That does take some skill!"
Then, as Bradley stepped across the carpet of logs on the way back to shore, he was handed a large cardboard envelope by one of the men. "Your winnings, sir!" said the man, and Bradley opened the envelope.
Delilah had thought it would contain the money he'd won, but apparently there was only a sheet of paper on it – and after staring motionless at it for a moment, and glancing at the crowd with a serious expression, he suddenly laughed and threw it in the water. Then he stepped lightly across the logs and walked back onto the shore.
"That's your winnings, Beast!" yelled the man who'd given him the envelope. "Did you see how much? You'll get it as soon as we finish collecting it!"
"Sure," said Bradley, pushing the man out of the way. He walked straight over to Delilah, and smiled at her, and she forgot everything else as she looked up and up into those cold blue eyes.
CHAPTER SIX
The log-rolling continued with pickup matches, mainly so the gambling could continue, and Bradley took Delilah's arm and walked with her away from the river.
"That was wonderful!" she said, with that pretty little laugh he'd already grown accustomed to hearing. "I've never heard of anything like it. I can see that it takes a great deal of skill."
"Aw, I was just having a little fun. And winning a little extra. I'll put it aside for the cabin I want to buy."
She smiled, and shyly looked away. He noticed that even in the soft light of the cloudy day, her blonde hair shone like the sun.
Then she turned to him again and reached into the little drawstring bag she carried. "I wanted you to have this," she said. "I made it. For you."
Delilah handed him a small cardboard envelope. He smiled at her, and tucked it inside his shirt. "Thanks."
She cocked her head a bit. "Aren't you going to open it?"
He only shrugged, and glanced away. "Later. Right now I'd rather walk with you while I can. I'm leaving tomorrow."
She drew back, startled. "Leaving? Tomorrow?"
Bradley was pleased to see her dismay, so he merely shrugged again. "I'll be at a
nother cut site for a few weeks. That's all."
"Oh. Well, then, Mr. Fisher, I'm glad I brought my little gift for you today. Maybe you can take it with you!"
"Sure I will," he said, patting his shirt where the envelope rested. "Sure I will." He smiled at her and then walked with her along the river, telling her all about the work he did, until it was time for her to go and he watched her walk back towards the town with the other women.
The envelope she'd given him still rested unopened inside his shirt.
***
For the next several weeks, Delilah kept herself busy with life at the Sawyerville Ladies' House. There was always plenty of cooking and cleaning and washing to be done, what with more than forty women living there; but always her mind was on Bradley.
Even when a couple of the other men from the camp asked to call on her, she turned them down. The tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed "river rat" was the only one she thought of.
"When's he coming back, Delilah?" asked Jess.
She could only shake her head. "I'm not sure. I thought he said around mid-July. Maybe later."
"Seems like forever," said Jess.
"It does. But I gave him a little something to remember me by," said Delilah. "I took my pink linen handkerchief and embroidered pink and white roses on it. You see, I read a novel called Ivanhoe on the journey here. The knights of old would take kerchiefs and sleeves and things from their ladies – they called them 'favors' – and carried them for luck and remembrance. I only hope Bradley will feel the same way."
***
Bradley had been off at the distant cut site for a few weeks now, and today was the last day. He'd thought of little else except seeing Delilah again and often patted the envelope she'd given him where it rested beneath his shirt.
"Beast! Where's my axe?" yelled Hammerhead Whitley, one of the fallers on the site. "Sun's up already! We're burnin' daylight."
"Axe is right here. Told you I'd sharpen it for you right. You still need to learn to do that. You've only been doing it for ten years and I can still do it better. Try it now."
