The Amen Trail

by Sharon Sala

  “Well, then,” Letty said, somewhat surprised to realize how similar their lives probably were. “Let’s go.”

  Little Bird got up, tore a limb from a small bush and began brushing out any signs of their passing as they retraced their steps. It wasn’t until they were back where they’d first met up, that they stopped and spoke.

  “There’s my wood,” Letty said, and began gathering it back up in her arms.

  “I go,” Little Bird said.

  Letty nodded. “Goodbye, Little Bird.”

  She eyed Letty thoughtfully and finally smiled.

  “Secret,” she said.

  Letty smiled back.

  “Secret.”

  Little Bird lifted her hand in a gesture of farewell and disappeared into the woods.

  Letty gathered up the firewood she’d dropped and headed for camp. By the time she returned, Eulis was up, reviving the embers of the dead fire with the last of their kindling. When he saw Letty coming back into camp with the firewood, he grinned.

  “Wondered where you were. Thought you might have gone fishin’.”

  “Nope. Just getting wood for the fire,” Letty said. “I reckon it’s too cold for fish to be moving this early.”

  Eulis nodded. “Probably. Have we got any flour left?”

  “A little,” Letty said.

  “Then I’ll make us some flapjacks. Soon as we eat, I reckon we’d better hitch up the team and make a trip down for supplies.”

  “And maybe see about wintering in town.”

  “Yeah. Maybe, although I reckon we might have left that a little too late.”

  Letty frowned. That was the story of her life. Too late and a dollar short.

  “And maybe not,” she said. “Won’t know until we try.”

  NO ROOM IN THE INN

  Letty and Eulis began the trip into town just as the first flakes of snow began to fall. They looked nervously at the sky, then at each other before Eulis clucked to Rosy and Blackie to hurry them along.

  “Don’t worry, Letty. This don’t mean winter has set in. It’s just a few flakes of snow. I doubt it will last long.”

  “Right.”

  “Just in case, we’ll go ahead and get a good bait of winter supplies, but I don’t think this is gonna amount to much.”

  She didn’t doubt his prediction, but she was concerned about the future.

  “Eulis… exactly where are we gonna spend the winter?”

  “Oh, we’ll get us some rooms in town. Lay out pannin’ for the winter and get fat and sassy.”

  She tried to laugh, but fear of the unknown didn’t let it get past a smile. She didn’t want to put a damper on the plan by reminding him of his earlier prediction that there might not be rooms to be had. She decided to wait until misfortune fell before she started to bemoan the fact that if they couldn’t find a room they might not live to see another Spring. But something odd began to happen as they drew closer to town. As frightening and uncertain as their future was, for the first time in her life, Letty felt like she was truly alive.

  Suddenly, Eulis pointed up in the trees to their right.

  “Look at that! Ain’t he a fine one!”

  A twelve-point buck was looking down at them from a jut of rock off the ridge. The majesty of the animal in its natural habitat was stunning, but Letty was too practical to ignore the opportunity that had just been presented. Reality raised its ugly head as she reached for the rifle. As if sensing imminent danger, the buck leaped from the rock and into the trees. Seconds later, it was gone.

  “Dang,” Letty said. “That buck would have been good eating.”

  Eulis nodded. “Still… it was a beaut. Sorta glad it got away, you know?”

  Letty shrugged. “It didn’t really get away. As long as it stays around here, it’s only a matter of time before someone shoots it. Might as well have been me.”

  Eulis eyed Letty critically.

  Letty saw the look and frowned. “What?”

  “I don’t know… just thinkin’.”

  “About what?” Letty asked.

  “’Bout how much you’ve changed.”

  Suddenly, Letty felt threatened, which was an odd emotion to be feeling around Eulis.

  “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “You know… before when we were at Lizard Flats, your emotions and all… well, they were hard… you were hard.”

  “And now?” she asked. “What about now?”

  “Well, we got things tougher now than we ever had ’em, and I reckon that would make anyone, man or woman, tough and hard. Only you ain’t that way anymore.”

  Letty turned around and stared, not believing what she was hearing.

  “Are you calling me a sissy?”

  Eulis’s eyes widened, then he started to grin. Wisps of Letty’s hair had come undone from her braid and the hat she was wearing had one of the widest brims he’d ever seen. There was a scrape on her chin and her fingernails were broken and dirty and she thought he’d just called her a sissy. He laughed.

  “Not hardly, Missy.”

  Letty frowned. “You’re laughing at me.”

  “Well, lordy, Leticia, you are the touchiest woman I ever knew. I wasn’t callin’ you no sissy, and I wasn’t talkin’ mean about you. I was tryin’ to pay you a compliment.”

  “Then you better keep talking, ’cause I haven’t heard one yet.”

  “What I was tryin’ to say was that no matter how tough we’ve had it, you just keep gettin’ stronger. You ain’t hard-hearted anymore, Sister Leticia. You’re strong, and one might even say you got tough, but tough is good. It means life can’t beat you down anymore.”

  Letty didn’t know what to think. She’d been too busy trying to stay alive to think about the past. She sat there for a few moments, then looked at him and grinned.

  “That was the compliment, wasn’t it?”

  Eulis nodded. “That was it.”

  “It was almost a good one.”

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “No… thank you.”

  Eulis smiled. He hadn’t felt this good in a long time.

  Letty rubbed her hands together and then put them in her pockets. The snow was coming down a little harder now.

  “Good thing we’re almost there,” she said. “It’s snowing heavier.”

  “Looks like goose feathers,” Eulis said.

  “But not nearly as comforting to sleep on,” Letty countered.

  The wagon continued to roll. Once Letty shivered, then quickly looked behind them, as if expecting to see danger on their heels, but saw nothing except snow. Shrugging off the feeling, she turned back around and pulled the collar of her coat up around her ears.

  “Still wish I’d gotten a shot off at that buck.”

  Eulis threw his head back and laughed, but the sound was smothered by the snow as they started down the hill into town.

  ***

  Because of Leticia Murphy’s revelation months ago at Four Mile Inn regarding Boston Jones gambling habits, he had been forced to clean up his act. Word had spread quickly that he’d been accused of using a marked deck, so he’d had to rely solely on his wits and skill to skin the miners out of their pokes. As a result, he didn’t have nearly as much socked away as he’d planned. Now winter was upon them and he was stuck in Denver City until Spring, which was also not what he’d planned. It galled him greatly to know that a woman’s inability to keep her mouth shut had hampered his business, and often daydreamed about the various ways he might get back at her, although nothing ever came to fruition.

  Today, as it was his habit to do so every morning, he was in his room, sitting at the window overlooking the road that led in and out of town. He was contemplating the fact that it was beginning to snow when he saw Letty and Eulis coming into town in their wagon. He recognized the mules first, and then the wide-brimmed hat that Letty had taken to wearing.

  The streets were jammed with miners who’d come into the city to winter. He grinned to himself as Le
tty and Eulis passed beneath his window, because he knew there were no more rooms to be had—hadn’t been for more than a week. Even the stable and the bath house had been turned into rough sleeping quarters. For the men who’d been sleeping in tents strung along Cherry Creek and the South Platte, the cold nights had been warning enough for them. The town was teeming with more miners than rooms, so much so that a good number of them were buying available horses and wagons and leaving the mountains before it was too late.

  Boston struck a sulphur match and lit the thin, dark cigar he’d been holding, then drew three good puffs from the tightly rolled tobacco leaves before it flared properly. The scent of a good cigar and a warm room made him smile. Add a soft, feminine woman who knew when to keep her mouth shut, and he’d be set for the winter.

  He leaned forward, watching until the used-to-be preacher’s wagon rolled out of sight, wondered how soft Sister Leticia’s body might be, then shrugged off the thought as he remembered how she’d grabbed his dingus and given it a yank. Trying to cuddle up to her, would be like cuddling a rattlesnake.

  He kicked back in his chair, propped the heels of his boots on the windowsill, and enjoyed his smoke, knowing full well whatever goods were still for sale in this city had gone sky-high, and hoping they didn’t have enough gold dust to buy a can of beans. It would serve them right.

  About half-way through his cigar, someone knocked on the door. He got up to answer and found a small Chinese man holding a stack of freshly washed and ironed shirts.

  “Gottchee wash. You give two bits.”

  “Put it on the bed,” Boston said, as he dug the money out of his vest.

  The Chinese man put down the stack of clean clothes, and pocketed the money Boston gave him on his way out the door. Boston watched the little man scurrying down the hotel hallway with his long black braid swaying like the pendulum of a clock.

  He frowned as he closed the door. Odd people, those Chinese. They would work like dogs for next to nothing and seem all the more happy for it. Boston would have been shocked to know that the man who’d brought him his laundry was worth more than the hotel owner three times over. His belly growled as he put his shirts away. As soon as he was done, he reached for his hat and coat. It was time for breakfast.

  ***

  Letty was brushing snow from her coat as she entered the general store. The warmth from the pot belly stove put a smile on her face, but the smile quickly disappeared when she realized that the shelves inside the general store were close to empty, and there was a line of people at the counter. The nervousness of the men standing in line was contagious. There wouldn’t be enough food to go around, let alone enough to get them through the winter. She thought of all the hard work she and Eulis had put in just to garner the small pouch of nuggets they had now. But dust and nuggets were of no use if there was nothing to buy. She headed back out the door, meeting Eulis as he was tying the team off at a hitching post.

  “Eulis.”

  “What? Whatcha’ doin’ out here?”

  “There’s nothing left,” she said.

  Eulis’s smile faded.

  “What do you mean, there’s nothing left?”

  “The shelves are almost empty and there’s a line of customers halfway to the door. What are we gonna do?”

  Eulis hid his panic. They’d left it too late. Finding gold had seemed the most important thing to do, and now that they had some, there was nothing left to buy. He looked up, blinking rapidly to deflect the snow, then turned to Letty and jammed his hat down on his head.

  “Wait here. I’m gonna go see about getting us a room.”

  Letty grabbed his arm as he was walking away.

  “What?”

  “If there’s no food to be had, we’ll just be paying for a room to starve in. I’d rather take my chances on the mountain. Remember that buck? At least there’s game to be had.”

  He nodded. She was most likely right about that. However, they couldn’t winter in a tent. They needed a saw and an axe, and whatever goods they could buy. He wasn’t willing to leave without giving it a try, and standing in line was easier than standing knee-deep in ice water trying to find gold.

  “Most likely they’ll be gettin’ in some more goods any day now. I’m gonna go in and see. I reckon you just scared yourself needlessly.”

  “Do you think so?”

  Eulis smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

  “Yeah, I think so. Wait here and I’ll see what I can find out.”

  Letty crawled up into the wagon seat, hunched her shoulders against the cold and waited for Eulis to come back. Minutes passed, and it wasn’t until one of the mules suddenly brayed that she realized she’d been listening to what sounded like a runaway team. She reached for the reins, then realized that Eulis had tied them off at the hitching post. Panicked, she stared intently into what was fast becoming a blizzard.

  Now she could hear the thunder of the horses’ hooves, and the squeak of a wooden wheel badly in need of grease. She looked nervously toward the store and began to get down when a wagon and horses suddenly appeared out of the snow, racing wildly toward her without any indication of slowing down. Even more frightening was the fact that no one was at the reins.

  “Eeuulliiss!”

  She didn’t even realize that she’d screamed his name until he came running out of the store. He dropped the axe and saw he was carrying, tossed a sack full of goods into the wagon, and jumped off the steps and out into the street.

  “Eulis! No!” Letty screamed.

  One second she could see him running in front of their team, and the next moment he was gone, swallowed up by the sound and the storm.

  Once, she heard him shouting, and thought she could see him waving his arms, intent on turning the runaway team from hitting their wagon and then everything turned upside down. Before she could brace herself, the mules reared up and Letty went down—head over heels into the back of the wagon. She felt the team lurch forward, then stop just as suddenly. It wasn’t until she managed to crawl to her knees to peer over the wagon bed that she realized everyone who’d been in the store was now out in the street. Someone was holding the mules’ harness, while another man was reaching over into the wagon to help her to her feet.

  “Lady… Lady… you all right?”

  “Yes, I think so,” Letty said, and then jumped out and circled the wagon, desperately searching for Eulis. She couldn’t bear to think of him lying broken and bloody beneath that runaway team.

  “Eulis! Eulis!” When she realized someone had her by the arm and was pulling her back, she jerked free. “Let me go!”

  “I suggest you stay out of the way, and for once let real men tend to the business of the day.”

  Anger burned as she found herself face to face with Boston Jones. The derisive tone in his voice was like a slap in the face.

  “I’d be happy to, but I don’t see any yet,” she countered, and pulled out of his grasp.

  Not even the snowfall could hide the fury on his face as she ran past him, but she didn’t see and wouldn’t have cared.

  “Eulis! Eulis!”

  “Here! I’m here,” he yelled.

  She heard his voice coming from somewhere above her. She looked up and saw him standing in the back of the runaway wagon, holding a woman’s body.

  “She’s burning up with fever!” Eulis said, as he staggered to the side of the wagon, handing her off to a pair of men who quickly carried her inside the general store.

  “Someone get the doctor!” another man cried.

  They passed within inches of where Letty was standing, and as they did, the woman’s head lolled loosely against Letty’s shoulder. She looked down and gasped.

  “Lord, Lord,” she muttered, and reached for Eulis’s arm. “Get out of there! Get out of there now!” she cried, and yanked hard.

  Eulis staggered, then jumped, steadying himself just before he went face down in the snow.

  “Dang it, woman, what’s wrong with you?” he shoute
d.

  But Letty wasn’t talking, she just kept pulling him through the crowd to their wagon. He picked up the tools that he’d dropped, and tossed them into the wagon. But Letty wouldn’t relent. She kept pushing at his back.

  “Get in!” she yelled.

  “I ain’t had time to check on the rooms at—”

  She grabbed him by the arms and yanked him around until they were standing so close they could feel the heat of each other’s breath.

  “We got to get out of here! Now get in the wagon and don’t argue! Please!”

  It was the, please, that did it—that and the panic he saw on her face. He didn’t understand, but they’d come too far together to start doubting each other now.

  Letty bolted for the wagon as Eulis yanked the reins from a miner and crawled up beside her.

  “Look out!” he yelled, and slapped the reins across the mules’ rump. “Hi-yah! Hi-yah!”

  Miners scattered in every direction like the snow that kept falling as their wagon began to roll. Boston Jones watched from inside the store, frowning as he watched them leaving the city, then shrugged.

  Crazy. Both of them were crazy.

  He glanced over his shoulder at the woman lying on the counter. Everyone around her was pointing and talking, but he couldn’t be bothered. He took another puff of his cigar and walked out of the store as Letty and Eulis disappeared.

  ***

  It wasn’t until they had reached the top of the hill before Eulis pulled the team to a halt.

  “Now talk to me,” Eulis said. “What was that all about?”

  Letty’s face was as white as the snow swirling around their heads. She put her hand on the arm of Eulis’s coat, then on his collar, and then splayed her cold and numbing fingers across the front of his chest.

  “You held her here… and here,” then she started to cry.

  Eulis’s heart started to pound. He didn’t understand, but she was scaring him just the same.

  “Letty. For God’s sake, please. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  Tears were freezing on her cheeks, but nothing was as cold as the place around her heart. Each breath that she took came slower than the last, as if everything inside of her was dying. She stared into Eulis’s face, watching the way the snowflakes settled on his eyelashes and the two frown lines that formed between his eyebrows when he was on the verge of angry. Never had she cared for him as much or been as scared.