by Sharon Sala
Then he kissed her once on the cheek to soften his words, and took her out of the tunnel.
When he laid her on the bed, Letty pointed back at the wall.
“Close that doorway. We haven’t had any visitors, but I wouldn’t want to bet that gold on the fact that we won’t. It’s not going anywhere, and we’ve got the rest of the winter to figure out what we’re going to do.”
Eulis studied the opening for a bit before pulling it shut, then tried opening it over and over until he figured out how the hidden door worked. Satisfied that their discovery was safe, he hurried back to Letty.
She was dabbing a wet cloth on her head, trying to wash out the blood. When he offered to help, she shooed him away, so he stood at the foot of the bed, marveling at the intensity with which she was working. After a bit, he started grinning.
At that point, Letty looked up.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“You did it, honey. You found a mother lode.”
“No. All I did was find someone else’s mine. It’s not ours until we register this claim and even then we gotta keep this secret. If those miners in Denver City find out what we’ve got and where it’s at, we’ll be dead before dark.”
He frowned. She was right.
“How do you reckon we’d best go about this?”
“I don’t know for sure,” she said. “But we got a few months to think on it before we have to make a decision.”
He brightened up. “That’s so,” he said. “Now lay back and rest your poor little head.”
She sighed and did as he suggested, but she couldn’t be still. There was something still bothering her.
“Eulis.”
“What, honey?”
“When the ground thaws, we need to give that man a Christian burial.”
Eulis glanced back at the wall.
“Kinda’ gives me the creeps, knowin’ he’s just layin’ back there like that.”
“A dead man doesn’t scare me,” Letty said. “Except for you, that’s the only kind of man that I trust.”
Except for the day Letty had admitted to loving him, it was the first real compliment she’d ever given him. Even though it was a bit backhanded, Eulis took it to heart.
“Well, all right, then,” he said gently, and despite her fuss, took the wet rag out of her hand and cleaned up her wound.
After putting a dry compress on it, he made her lie down. “I’m goin’ outside to cut up that wood. You rest. If you need something, call me.”
He cupped her cheek with his hand, then leaned over and kissed her.
“I’m sorry you hurt.”
She caught his hand as he started to pull away.
“There’s something I want to tell you… something I should have said months ago.”
“What?”
“I’m so sorry for all those years I treated you bad, for yelling at you when you were bringing up my bath water, and calling you names because I wanted someone to be more miserable than I was. I was terrible mean to you.”
Eulis laughed. It was the last thing she expected him to do.
“That makes you laugh?” she asked.
“No, no… you don’t understand. It’s right dear of you to be sorry like that, but you gotta know somethin’. Despite what I’ve said, I don’t remember even one time when you yelled at me. I was too drunk. Even when I wasn’t drunk, I was so hung-over I couldn’t focus on anything but my own misery.”
Letty sighed. “Still, I did it, and I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be. I haven’t been sorry for one day of my life since we left Lizard Flats together.”
Letty smiled as she fought back tears, holding the words close to her heart long after he’d gone outside.
Weeks passed.
Snow came again, then melted back some.
Days were getting longer, which meant their time left in the valley was becoming shorter.
THE END OF THE TRAIL
The wind came up in the night as Eulis and Letty slept. The sound alone wasn’t enough to awaken them to what was happening outside, although it blew and it blew in nerve-wracking gusts that never stopped, blasting from peak to peak and down into the valley, blowing all night long, rattling the door, and sucking air up the chimney so fast that the fire went completely out.
Eulis woke just before morning and needing to pee, but when his bare feet hit the cold floor, shock almost drove the notion from his mind. He looked toward the fireplace, surprised to see that not only had the fire gone out, but there were no live coals left either.
“What in blazes?”
Letty roused, and then rolled over, realizing Eulis was up.
“What’s wrong?”
“Something’s weird. The fire’s out,” he said shortly. Then he turned toward the door. “And the wind’s stopped blowing.”
She sat up and pulled the covers up to her chin.
“Oooh, it’s freezing in here,” she said.
“Like I said… fire’s out. Even the coals.”
Letty frowned as she threw back the covers.
“I’ll help. There’s some kindling in the corner.”
“We don’t have any more matches,” he said.
Letty panicked, but only for a moment. “We’ve got flint.”
Eulis turned and looked at her. “Why do we have flint, and why didn’t I know it?”
“I found it by the fireplace on our first day. My daddy used flint to make fire all the time, so I knew what it was. I just put it up.”
“Where is it?” he asked.
“On the shelf behind the pan you used to make coffee, when we still had some to drink.”
He shoved aside the pan, grabbed the flint, and hurried back to the fireplace. Within a few minutes, they had a small fire going. Letty sat on the stool by the fire, wrapped in a blanket from the bed, and slowly adding wood as needed, while Eulis went to get dressed.
The sun was just a wink away when he opened the door to go let the mules out of the shed.
“Letty! Look! Lord have mercy, would you look at that!”
She ran to the door, and then started to laugh.
“It’s gone! It’s gone! The snow is gone. What happened? How could it all melt this fast?”
“Chinook,” Eulis said. “I heard of ’em. Never saw what one could do, though.”
“What’s a Chinook?” Letty asked.
“It’s a warm wind… comes outa the south and melts the snow right down. I reckon this is our first sign of spring comin’.”
“Will it snow more?”
“Might, but probably nothin’ like it has before.”
“What do you think?” Letty asked.
Eulis knew what she meant. “I think we oughta make plans to leave.”
All of a sudden, the thought of the unknown was unsettling. Here, she knew what to do. Out there, every day was uncertain. Then she thought of the gold. Whatever they did they would be doing it in style.
“How are we gonna pack out the gold?” Letty asked.
Eulis looked toward the wagon. Melted snow was still dripping through the cracks in the wagon bed. The wheels were okay, but the hubs would be needing grease, especially with a heavy load. There was some still in what they’d packed from Fort Dodge, although when he thought about that time, it seemed like a lifetime ago.
“We’ll figure somethin’ out, but we will have to wait a couple of days until the ground freezes back or we’ll bog down in the wagon before we get across the meadow.”
“I’m scared,” Letty said, and then couldn’t believe she’d admitted to being weak.
Eulis put his arm around her.
“Yeah, so am I.”
The silence after their confessions was short. Letty was the first to laugh, and it came out in a snort.
“I shouldn’t have said I was scared. I think that’s the wrong word. Scared was when I saw you fall off of Rosy into the snow, and I didn’t think I was gonna get you back to the cabin. Scare
d was watching you burning up with fever and not being able to do anything but pray you wouldn’t die. Scared was when that wolf wanted me for breakfast. I don’t know why I said I was scared.”
But Eulis just patted her shoulder. “We ain’t never been rich before. Maybe that’s what’s wrong.”
Letty frowned. “That’s right enough, but we’re not leaving that gold behind, so whatever it is that’s gotten in my craw, I intend to get over it.”
Eulis grinned. “I guess you’re right.”
“No guess about it,” Letty said. “I’m going to get dressed. After you let the mules out, bring me some meat from the shed to cook up for breakfast. After we eat, I think we need to dig that grave.”
The mention of the miner’s skeleton drove all the silliness from the moment. Weeks ago and before they’d ever started mining the ore, they’d put the man’s remains in a box and set it in the shed where their meat was hanging.
They had no idea how much ore they’d dug out of the mine, but it was in piles all along the shaft, just waiting to be carried out. Now that the time was here, a whole new set of worries evolved. Leaving the valley meant coming in contact with people again—people who would be willing to kill for what they’d found.
“I take all that back,” Letty said. “I am scared, after all.”
Eulis pulled her close and gave her shoulder a squeeze.
“Tell me what scares you, darlin’.”
“Anyone with gold fever. We’re gonna have to watch our backs.”
“Naw, we’re gonna be fine. When they find out that you cured me of smallpox, and killed a wolf with your bare hands, there ain’t gonna be a man for miles who’ll be willin’ to mess with you.”
“You think so?”
He grinned.
“Yeah, warrior woman… I think so.”
***
About five days later, when the ground had frozen back as hard as ice, they made the decision to leave. When all was said and done about how to get the ore to Denver City, they wound up just dumping it loose in the back of the wagon, then throwing their belongings on top of it. After that, they laid all six of the elk hides Letty had tanned on top. Eulis tied it all down, and for the first time in months, harnessed the mules to the wagon.
Letty went in the cabin one last time to make sure that they weren’t leaving something important behind. Without their things scattered about, the room seemed larger. She stood motionless in the doorway, remembering the work they’d put in to make the old cabin weatherproof, then the long, frightening days and nights as Eulis lay near death. The cabin had been their sanctuary when they’d needed it most, as well as a tomb for the man who’d come before them. She eyed the wood stacked against the door to the mine, knowing that its presence would keep their secret safe, and then closed the door behind her.
Eulis was sitting in the wagon with the reins in his hands.
“Ready?” he asked.
She climbed up into the seat, then picked up the rifle down in the boot and put it across her lap.
“I’m ready.”
“Wonder how Denver City survived the pox,” Eulis said.
“We’ll soon find out,” Letty said. “Let’s go.”
Eulis flipped the reins across the backs of the mules.
“Come on mules. We’re goin’ to town.”
The mules put their heads down and started to pull, but the wheels barely moved. Eulis held his breath, wondering if they had loaded too much ore.
“Come on, you two fat backs. You had it too easy. Now it’s time to get back to work.”
He clucked at the mules and flipped the reins across their backs. To his relief, they dug in and pulled, and the wagon started to roll. The farther they went, the easier they rode. By the time they reached the crest of the hill above the valley, he stopped them to give them a little rest.
“It’s all downhill from here,” he said.
“Just don’t wreck us,” Letty said.
He frowned. “Well, hell, woman… I wasn’t plannin’ on it.”
“You cursed.”
“And if I hear anything that stupid again I might be forced to repeat myself.”
“Are you callin’ me stupid?” Letty asked.
Eulis rolled his eyes. “No, ma’am, I’m not.”
“Okay then,” she muttered, and shifted the rifle across her lap.
Eulis saw tears in her eyes and suddenly realized that she was emotionally torn about leaving. He knew just how she felt. Back there had been simple compared to what lay ahead. He reached out and patted her knee.
“Just save all that piss and vinegar for them gold-fevered miners you keep worryin’ about.”
She sighed.
“You okay, darlin’?”
She nodded.
“Good enough,” he said. “Denver City, here we come.”
***
It was the absence of the Arapahos and the size of the cemetery that Eulis and Letty noticed first.
“Oh lord, Eulis… from the number of crosses, it appears that not everyone was as blessed as you.”
“Sure glad I didn’t have to dig all them graves,” he said, and then looked away, unwilling to think about how close he’d come to being under one of those markers.
As they passed, she scanned the crossed, silently marking the names that she recognized.
Yung Chi. A little Chinese man who had done laundry.
Marvin Handleman. A lawyer from Philadelphia who’d been disbarred and come West to seek his fortune.
Corliss Sheffield. A woman who’d plied her trade at one of the saloons.
Emory James. He’d outrun Millie Sees Crow’s bullets, but had been unable to outrun the pox.
Boston Jones.
As soon as the last name registered, Letty frowned. She thought of the gambler and the times they’d crossed paths, but she would not have wished the hell of that death on anyone.
Looking away from the cemetery, she clutched the rifle a little firmer, and sat up a bit straighter as she focused on the city before them. Despite the smallpox epidemic that had gone through it, Denver City had grown. There were people everywhere. A good number of the tents had been replaced by wooden buildings, and someone had even had the foresight to lay sidewalk. Now, most of the businesses were connected by a maze of narrow wooden planks, and considering the size of the frozen ruts in the streets, it was a good thing.
“It’s good the ground is still froze, or we’d bog sure as shootin’,” Eulis said, as they pulled into the city.
“Where do we go first?” Letty asked.
“I reckon to the assayer’s office to make sure what we got is the real thing, then straight to the land office to register the claim.”
Letty thought about it a minute and then shook her head.
“Let’s go to the land office first.”
“But what if we got ourselves a wagon load of Fool’s Gold?” Eulis asked.
“I’ve seen Fool’s Gold. It doesn’t look like this,” Letty said. “We do the land office first.”
“Okay. Land office it is.”
Letty felt a little easier, but didn’t relax.
They rolled into town amidst a good dozen other wagons coming and going. A very new saloon had sprung up on the first corner in town. As they passed, the wood they’d used to build it was so green that they could see droplets of frozen sap on the outer walls.
A pair of saloon girls were standing in the doorway, trying to lure customers inside with a mixture of lewd gestures and remarks.
Letty blinked and then looked away.
“Rest easy, wife,” Eulis said softly.
Wife. That one word settled her quicker than anything else he could have done.
“There’s the land office,” she said, pointing down the street.
A few moments later, Eulis stopped the wagon directly in front so that he would have a clear view of Letty, who was going to stand guard outside.
“You gonna be all right?” he asked.
&n
bsp; Letty lifted her chin.
“I’ll be fine.”
He nodded, and then jumped down from the wagon and walked inside.
Letty saw him through the window as he walked up to the counter, and watched until he and the land agent began to converse. After that, she turned her attention to the job at hand.
The rarity of a decent woman in the gold camps was still unusual enough to warrant curiosity from the men on the streets. A good number of them stared and a few tipped their hats, but it was the ones who stopped and came closer that made her nervous. One in particular set Letty’s nerves on edge.
He came out of a cafe picking his teeth with the point of his knife, which was enough in itself to make her gag. He was huge—well over six feet tall, and walked spraddle-legged to accommodate the size of his belly. His hair was carrot orange and curly, and stuck out in all directions from beneath the hat he’d jammed on his head. His pants had been patched a number of times and his coat was obviously handmade from beaver pelts that were still bearing the heads of some of the beavers to whom the pelts had first belonged. He looked like something out of a bad dream, and she knew the first moment he took an interest in her. At that point, she glanced nervously toward the land office. Eulis was still at the counter.
“I killed a wolf with a stick. I can handle one ugly fat man,” she muttered, but clutched the rifle a little tighter just the same.
***
Sean Clancy had been at Cherry Creek almost from the beginning of the strike. Like all the others who’d come to Denver City, he’d dreamed of gold just laying around waiting to be gathered up, somewhat like when he’d been small and his mother had made him gather in the hen eggs. It had taken him exactly one week to learn that he’d been sorely mistaken. He’d lost his grubstake in a poker game, and then crippled the gambler. If it had been anyone other than a card shark, they would have hung him on the spot. As it was, he convinced enough of them that he’d been swindled, and so they turned him out on the street, and the gambler over to the doctor, who patched him up and advised him to get the hell out of town while the getting was good.
But Clancy hadn’t been as smart as the gambler. He’d stayed on, trying to beg a grubstake from anyone who looked willing to share, and sleeping with Arapaho women every chance he got. Ironically, it was his lust for the Indian women that probably saved his life. He was in the Arapaho camp when word spread that there was smallpox in Denver City. The Arapaho had sent him packing as they gathered up and moved out. Afraid of the pox, he hid out along the creek, watching the various claims to see if any became abandoned. By the end of the second week, he’d taken the belongings of four miners who succumbed to the pox and then holed up in a cave above the city.
