THE Prairie DREAMS Trilogy

by Susan Page Davis

  A few steps away, Wilbur was saying, “Well, good night, Miss Anne. I sure did have fun.”

  “So did I, Wilbur. And thank you for walking me home.”

  Eb smiled at Elise, as though they were indulgent parents to the pair of energetic young people.

  “Reckon I’d better go find Rob. Looks like things stayed quiet in camp though.”

  “Good night, all,” Wilbur said. He turned and walked away.

  Elise opened her mouth to bid Eb a good evening when a sharp cry came from Anne.

  “Elise! Look. Someone’s been in our tent.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Eb and Miss Finster hurried over to the tent. Eb eyed the little canvas structure closely. Miss Stone had already untied one side of the front door flap and raised it, but she had no illumination other than the moonlight. It shone bright, more than halfway across the sky in its circuit, but even so, the interior of the tent lay in darkness.

  “How can you tell?” he asked.

  “There’s a clod of dirt on my bed, and the blanket is mussed.”

  Eb stooped and peered inside, careful not to block the moonlight. The two bedrolls in the tent were smoothed over, except for a couple of depressions on one, as if someone had knelt on the blankets. He could plainly see the clump of dirt she’d mentioned, too, on the foot end of the bedroll, near the opening.

  “Anything else out of place?” he asked.

  Miss Stone frowned and studied the dim interior. “Not that I can see.”

  Eb straightened. “Miss Finster, want to take a look?”

  Miss Stone stood back and let her friend move closer. Miss Finster went to her knees at the tent door and sat motionless for a long moment. She turned her head and looked up at him.

  “Anne’s satchel has been moved. I tidied up before we left camp, and I’m sure it wasn’t crooked like it is now.”

  Eb nodded. “Do you want to light a lantern and look through your things tonight?”

  Miss Finster looked to Miss Stone for the decision.

  “Yes,” the young woman said. “This makes me cross. I wouldn’t be able to sleep, wondering if anything’s been taken.”

  “We’ve a small lantern in the tent,” Miss Finster said. “There’s another in the wagon.”

  “Let me get the one from the wagon,” Eb said. “That way you’ll be able to see everything without having to make a disturbance while you get the lantern.” As an afterthought, he said, “Perhaps you’d best check the wagon, too, and see if it looks ransacked.”

  The women walked with him to the back of their wagon. A lantern hung just inside the back bow, and Eb took it out and lit it. He held it up so they could look inside. Miss Stone climbed up and surveyed the contents of the wagon for a minute.

  “I think it’s all right,” she said.

  Miss Finster gave her a hand, and she hopped down. Eb carried the lantern back to their tent.

  Miss Finster crawled inside then turned and took the lantern from him. After a minute, she came back to the flap.

  “I think both our satchels were gone through. I checked mine, and everything seems to be intact. Anne, here’s yours.”

  She passed a large leather carryall through the opening. Eb took it and set it on the ground. He held the lantern while Miss Finster came out of the tent and Miss Stone opened the satchel.

  After thoroughly inspecting the contents of the bag, which Eb decided he’d better not observe too closely, she caught her breath.

  “The letter.”

  “Letter?” Eb asked.

  “The last letter my uncle David sent from St. Louis. It’s missing.”

  Eb thought about that. “Anything else?”

  “No.”

  “Your marcasite necklace?” Miss Finster whispered.

  “It’s here.”

  Miss Finster turned to him. “She left most of her jewelry in a vault in England, but she brought a few less valuable pieces. The garnet necklace she’s wearing is one. The marcasite pendant should have been attractive to a thief. I think that tells us something about him.”

  “What?” Miss Stone asked.

  “He’s more interested in your uncle than he is in your jewelry,” Eb said.

  Miss Finster nodded. “Precisely.”

  So many thoughts pummeled Eb’s brain that he wanted to get away, off by himself under the stars, to think. Miss Stone had valuable jewels in England. Miss Finster apparently had none. Somehow that fit with the protective manner he’d observed in the older woman taking care of the younger. But it also reinforced little things he’d observed—Miss Stone held the purse strings on this expedition. Miss Finster might make most of the practical, everyday decisions, but the important questions rested with Miss Stone. And this missing uncle—who was he? Why would anyone outside his family care whether or not the ladies were able to locate him?

  It was none of Eb’s business of course. But thievery on the wagon train was his business—his and Rob’s.

  “I’d like to fetch Rob Whistler and discuss this with him, if you ladies don’t mind.”

  As he’d half expected, Miss Finster looked to Miss Stone, who pressed her lips together, frowning. After a moment, she nodded.

  “That’s fine,” Miss Finster said. “We’ll wait here while you get him.”

  Eb strode toward his and Rob’s campsite. Rob was spreading his bedroll a few feet from the fire ring.

  “I need to talk to you,” Eb said.

  Rob looked up at him. He dropped the edge of the blankets and stood straight. “What is it?”

  “Trouble at the English ladies’ camp. Someone went in their tent while they were gone and took something.”

  “What?” Rob asked.

  “You know that famous uncle of Miss Stone’s that they’re looking for?”

  “Well, I dunno how famous he is,” Rob said with a hint of a smile.

  “He’s famous enough that someone stole his letter out of Miss Stone’s bag.”

  Rob whistled softly. “They’re sure?”

  “Yeah. I could see someone had been in there. Those ladies are neater than a pin, and their bedrolls were mussed a little. Miss Finster said her stuff had been looked through, too, but she didn’t think anything was missing. I expect they fold every piece of ribbon just so, and they’d know if someone pawed through their baggage.”

  Rob nodded. “So…this letter. Why would someone take it?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m thinking we should take the ladies off a little ways, where no one else can hear us talking, and get the full story. Because there’s more to it than we know.”

  “All right.” Rob looked around. “I reckon we can go over near the bonfire. Most everybody’s left there.”

  Eb could see that the big fire had burned down to embers just about right for roasting a prairie chicken, if anybody had one to roast.

  “There’s still enough firelight that everyone would see us.”

  “You think it’s that important?”

  “I do,” Eb said. “We don’t want to draw much attention to this.”

  “All right. I’ll go out a hundred yards toward the river from their tent. You get them and meet me out there. Should I put another guard on to watch their camp?”

  “Whoever did it got what he wanted.”

  “Right.” Rob settled his hat more firmly and headed out onto the grassy expanse toward the river.

  Eb hurried back to the ladies and led them to the meeting place. With the moon still high and bright, Rob’s pale shirt made him easily visible if anyone was looking. The ladies’ dresses were darker, and Eb had his leather vest over a chambray shirt. He placed himself between Rob and the wagons as a minor precaution.

  “Evening, ladies,” Rob said softly. “Eb’s told me what happened. We thought maybe it’s time we knew more about your uncle, Miss Stone, and why this letter would be valuable to someone outside your family.”

  Miss Stone looked at Miss Finster—an instinctive movement, Eb realized. She looked to
her friend for advice, and Miss Finster looked to her for authority.

  “First off,” Eb said, “I don’t mean any offense, but it might help us if we clear one thing up right now. You two aren’t just friends, are you?”

  After a pause during which those significant looks again cut the air, Miss Finster turned to face him squarely. “That is correct, Mr. Bentley. Miss Stone is my employer.”

  Eb nodded. He’d guessed it, but how many other people had? Not Rob, that was certain. He stood there staring at Miss Finster like a thunderstruck buffalo calf.

  “Your employer?”

  “That’s right, Mr. Whistler,” Miss Finster said. “I’ve worked for the Stone family for more than twenty years. First I was a housemaid at the earl of Stoneford’s home. Then I was elevated to the position of lady’s maid for the countess.”

  “Countess?” Rob’s idiot expression grew more pronounced.

  Miss Finster nodded toward Miss Stone. “Yes. Lady Anne’s mother.”

  “Lady—” Rob caught a quick breath and whipped around to stare at Eb now. “You knew this?”

  “Nope.”

  Miss Stone smiled and held out her hand in supplication. “Please, gentlemen, don’t be concerned about that. This is exactly why we’ve kept quiet about my…connections.”

  “But why—I mean—they let you just—” Rob broke off and shook his head in bewilderment.

  Miss Finster touched his sleeve and said softly, “Lady Anne’s father passed away last October, and he had no male offspring to inherit his title. Lady Anne has no brothers, you see. But the earl did.”

  Miss Stone’s sad smile was tragic in the moonlight. “That’s correct. My father had two brothers, but one of them predeceased him. That leaves only Uncle David.”

  “And Uncle David is the new earl,” Eb said slowly, thinking it out as he went.

  “Yes, if we can find him,” Miss Finster said. “He has to return to England to claim his title and Anne’s father’s estate.”

  Rob blew out a long breath. “I’m guessing this estate would be worth claiming.”

  “Oh yes.”

  The two ladies stood in silence while Eb and Rob absorbed the information.

  “Do you have any idea who might have done this?” Rob asked at last.

  “I have an idea,” Miss Finster said. “I caught our hired man poking about in the wagon another time, and he claimed he was only getting something from his own bundle, but he’d changed his story, and I thought at the time he looked guilty.”

  “I remember,” Eb said. “You’ve had some trouble with him shirking his chores, too, haven’t you?”

  “Some.”

  “What do you think we should do?” Rob asked Eb.

  Eb thought for a moment. “Search him.” It might cause trouble in the train if nothing turned up, but he didn’t like the idea of a ne’er-do-well skulking about the ladies’ camp.

  “I’ll do it,” Rob said. “Where does he keep his bedroll?”

  “In the back of our wagon,” Miss Finster said. “I think he usually sleeps near the men who are tending the livestock.”

  “You ladies can retire,” Eb said. “We’ll make sure the guards pay close attention to your camp tonight.”

  “Thank you,” Miss Stone said. “That will be a comfort.”

  She and Miss Finster headed off across the grass toward the encampment.

  “Let me get Costigan,” Eb said.

  “No.” Rob started walking.

  It didn’t take Eb long to catch up. “Why not?”

  “You’ve got it in for him. If he’s not forthcoming, I’ll get one of the other men, and we’ll search his person, like you said. But check his bedroll first, and any other gear he has. I don’t want this to get personal.”

  “Why would it?” Eb growled.

  “You tell me.”

  Eb grabbed his arm and stopped. “What are you talking about?”

  Rob dropped his voice to a whisper. “Come on, Eb, you know you’ve got it bad for Miss Finster. I don’t want you giving Costigan a reason to hold a grudge. Don’t worry—if he’s got that letter, we’ll get it. But if it’s on him, I don’t want you to be the one to take it off him.”

  Eb’s jaw worked as he tried to decide whether to laugh or yell at his friend.

  Rob laid a hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy. It’s all right.”

  “Take back what you said.”

  Rob’s face puckered in a frown. “What? That you like her? Don’t be ridiculous. It’s obvious.”

  “I don’t treat her any different than I do the other ladies.”

  “Oh sure. Back in Independence, you wanted me to refuse to let them join us. You were positive those two would cause trouble. Well, guess what? They’re not the ones causing trouble. I can’t see that they’ve held us up any either—except maybe that first morning. But the first day is always chaos. And now, every night when you come in from scouting, you stop by their wagon to see if they’re doing all right or if they need something. It’s fine, Eb, but you might as well quit denying that you like her.”

  Eb had no reply. He glowered at Rob for a moment then turned on his heel.

  Thomas tossed down his poker hand in disgust. He’d lost almost a dollar, and he’d only been playing for half an hour. This just wasn’t his night.

  “Costigan.”

  He glanced up. Rob Whistler was standing just outside their little circle of five. This couldn’t be good. Probably he’d get ragged on for gambling with the boys. Some of the parents took exception to their kids playing cards.

  “Yeah?” It was hard to stare Whistler down when you were sitting on the ground, so Thomas stood.

  “Word with you,” Whistler said and walked away.

  Thomas sighed. “Deal me out, boys.”

  He followed the wagon master away from the drovers’ camp. Whistler stopped and waited for him.

  “What do you want?” Thomas asked.

  “When you were on guard duty, did you see anything unusual?”

  Thomas squinted at him. “No. Something happen?”

  “Miss Stone says someone took something from a bag in her tent.”

  Not what he’d expected. Those English dames were sharper than he’d thought. He’d figured she might notice it tomorrow or the next day.

  “I didn’t see anyone nosing around.”

  Whistler held his gaze for a long moment. “In light of some other things that have happened, we’ll need to check through your stuff.”

  “What things? You got no right.”

  “Yes, I do, Costigan. We’ve got no law out here except me. You and all the others agreed before we left Independence that what I say goes. Now, Miss Finster says you were snooping around in their wagon a while back.”

  “I was looking for her washtub. I didn’t know she’d already set it out. Oh, good night!” He turned away.

  “If I were you, I wouldn’t make this difficult.” Whistler’s tone was icy. Funny, Thomas had always figured Bentley for the tough guy of the duo. Where was Bentley, anyhow?

  “I’m telling you I didn’t take anything of theirs.”

  “Then you don’t mind us searching your stuff.”

  “Yes, I do mind. When those women hired me, I didn’t expect to be accused of stealing. Listen, I put up with late meals—and burnt half the time at that—and those two not knowing a linchpin from a rattlesnake. If you think I’m going to stand for this—”

  “You will stand for it if you want to stay with us,” Whistler said.

  “Rob!”

  Thomas looked toward the voice. Eb Bentley and Wilbur Harkness were coming toward them from the drovers’ campsite. Bentley waved something small and white in the moonlight. Thomas clenched his teeth.

  “What have you got?” Whistler asked as they drew nearer.

  “It’s a letter addressed to Miss Stone’s father, in England.”

  Whistler eyed Thomas narrowly. “Now isn’t that a coincidence. That’s the exact item Mis
s Stone told us was taken from her bag.”

  “You planted that,” Thomas said to Bentley. “You haven’t liked me since that first day, when I was late. That couldn’t be helped, but you’ve held it against me ever since. You filched that while we were on watch, and now you’re using it as an excuse to get me in trouble.”

  “Oh, be quiet,” Bentley said.

  Thomas turned to Whistler. “I’ll bet those women don’t want to pay me, that’s it.”

  Whistler asked Bentley, “You got a witness?”

  “Yes. Wilbur went with me to where Costigan’s bedroll was stashed. He watched me go through his bundle.”

  “That’s right,” Wilbur said. “Eb found the letter rolled up inside a shirt.”

  “What’s your interest in this letter?” Whistler asked Thomas.

  “Nothing. I didn’t take it.”

  Whistler shook his head. “You can’t bluff your way out of this. I’ll advise Miss Finster to pay you off, and you’ll be leaving us at the next civilized place we come to. I reckon that’ll be Schwartzburg. We’ll be there in a few days. It’s not much, but you’ll be safe there until another train comes along, or you can go back East if you want. Now, I’m not going to do anything to you, so long as you behave yourself. One more stunt like this, and we’ll confine you until we get to a place where we can turn you over to the authorities.”

  Thomas knew he was beat. He’d just have to send word to Peterson that he’d failed. He didn’t like that idea. Maybe he could figure out a way around it. No time to think now. Whistler was jawing again.

  “On second thought, I’ll get your pay from the ladies and bring it to you. You keep clear of them while you’re with us, you hear me, Costigan? Them and their belongings and their livestock.”

  “Oh, I hear you all right.” Thomas walked away before he could say more.

  CHAPTER 18

  The next morning, the ladies dressed in the dark tent and stepped into the cool daybreak in the shadow of the great rock.

  “Our laundry is done up,” Anne observed. “What have you planned for today?”

  Elise walked toward the back of the wagon. “Baking. I want plenty ahead—maybe enough to last us all week. Although we won’t need so much, since we’re not feeding Thomas anymore.”