by Caryl McAdoo
“Ho, Brown Mule. Pull. Get up, Daisy.”
Slow but steady, the mules made progress crossing the first branch, probably twice as wide as the Sulphur if you counted the swampy conditions on both sides of the actual creek. The team moved along doing so well. Sue hurried back to the second wagon and climbed onto the seat for a better view. She wanted to see exactly where and how Henry went. It just wouldn’t do for him to make it and her to fail.
She glanced away quickly to check on her daughter. Blue Dog ran alongside her. “Becky, come, get in!”
Watching Henry again, Sue realized she didn’t remember seeing her little girl running or sitting or laying in the grass looking up at the clouds without Blue Dog right there beside her. She appreciated the hound taking such an interest, and had to admit that she liked the animal—more than she would ever have thought possible.
Following Henry’s progress, she held one hand on her chest. Once the wagon’s wheels pulled out onto the far bank, she remembered to breathe. She faced her daughter, who climbed up beside her in the nick of time to celebrate Henry’s crossing. “Yes!” Sue patted her chest repeatedly and sighed. “That seemed easy enough.”
Becky stood on the seat and clapped her hands above her head. “Yay! You did it! Hooray for Mister Henry! Hooray for Levi!”
Sue looked up at her daughter and joined the celebration. “Whoopee!”
Becky’s smile spread over her face like bluebonnets on the Texas prairie in April. She beamed. “Mister Henry can do anything.”
“Oh, you think so?”
“Yes, ma’am, he surely can.” Becky sat down and straightened her skirt. “But I remembered not to hurt Levi’s feelings and hollered for him, too, at the last.”
“That was certainly nice of you. I’m proud you remembered.”
“Yes, ma’am, but I’m sure Mister Henry didn’t need any help from him. Most likely, he did it all by himself. He can”—Becky looked up and nodded like the little priss she was—“do anything!”
Sue wanted to argue with her daughter, and tried to think of something he couldn’t do, but she couldn’t come up with a single thing. Maybe he could do whatever he set his mind to. The first wagon stopped on the ridge of the far bank. She clucked the mules to life. “Hey, now.” She snapped the reins, and the wagon lurched forward. She would have preferred a bit more speed, but the wooden wheels knifed into the water and kept on rolling.
She prayed all the way across and encouraged the team until she pulled onto the opposite bank, climbed it, then stopped a bit past the first wagon.
Henry smiled on her way by. “Well done.”
“Thank you, sir.” She looked to the sky. “And thank You, Lord.”
After a hundred yards or so, she topped the next ridge, and her heart skipped a beat. The wagon with the broken axle sat on the bank of the second branch of White Oak Creek, a ghoulish reminder of her friends and neighbors’ failed crossing. It taunted her jubilance and screamed of doom. Her mouth went dry, and all smiles vanished. She stopped the mules and locked the brake.
Henry pulled up next to her. “The old-timer said this was the bad one, deeper water and not a lot of bottom. This is why the train turned back and took the ferry.”
Sue tore her eyes away from the water and looked at him. “Did the old man mention how we might get across?”
“Claims there’s a rock path.” He jumped down and extended his hand. “Want to help me find it?”
She took his hand, steadied herself, then stepped down. For a second, he didn’t let go. A tingling danced up her arm, but she pulled away, extinguishing the sensation before it reached her heart. She had no time for entanglements now, and especially not with Henry Buckmeyer—or did she? “Guess we need to get wet again.”
Unlike the first branch of the creek, these beds had holes filled with deep mud. Henry crossed back and forth, as did Sue, time and again. In one spot, she stepped onto a thin layer of rocks. “Over here. Check this out,” she called.
He walked back and forth over the area she’d found, sloshing through the water several times, then across from one bank to the other as many times. “It’s the best we’ve found.”
She hated the thought of trying to cross it, but gave herself no choice. She definitely did not want to go back to Cuthand then all the way to Ringo’s Landing. But if she didn’t get her cotton to market, all her hard work and cash spent would be for nothing. Without the cotton money, it’d be doubtful she could even survive another year, certainly not with hers and Levi’s land intact.
She faced Henry, who wore a grim expression. “What do you think?”
He shrugged and sighed. “It can be done, but there’s not much room for error.”
She bowed her head, then nodded. “Let’s get to it.”
He waded to the middle of the rocks and studied the tree line. “Seems to me we need to line up on that pine.” He held his hand up and gestured a straight line toward a tall single pine that stood in front of a wall of hardwoods.
She joined him and imagined the line. “Looks good to me.”
He faced her. “Want me to drive both wagons?”
Her first notion was to agree, but the stronger impression, the one born in the stubbornness of her heart, wouldn’t have it. From that first horrible year, she’d succeeded on her own, alone. She did not need this man or any other to do what she could handle.
“No. We’ll do this one as we did the last. You go first, and I’ll cross once you’re on the other side.”
He waded back onto the bank, retrieved his boots, then headed for the wagon he’d been driving. She could tell that he didn’t like her answer. Why? Did he think he was invincible or something? If he could do it, so could she. Picking up her footwear, she glanced back at the creek, then to the broken-down wagon. Her confidence drained away. As she followed him to the wagons, a knot formed in her throat.
Why did she always have to be so willful? She already regretted her headstrong proclamation. But she’d said it. And now she had no choice but to do it. And do it she would! If he could, then so could she. But then the possibility that even he wouldn’t make it swept over her. What could that mean but turning back? At least it wouldn’t be her fault.
“Lord, don’t let the load get wet.”
Then again, Becky said the man could do anything. Sue wished she’d immediately agreed to let him drive both wagons. It would’ve been so easy then, but no. Who thought they were invincible? While she chided herself, without a word, he climbed aboard the first wagon, released the brake, and headed toward the entry point they’d decided on.
He aligned the team exactly with the pine and then urged them forward. As though he’d been doing it every day of his life and twice on Sundays, Henry drove across the second and worse branch of White Oak Creek like it was a picnic. He stopped at the far ridge and jumped down hollering something.
She couldn’t hear him, but her insides had settled a lot, having seen that it wasn’t as hard as it appeared after all. Her confidence returned. If he was hollering to try to get her to let him drive the second wagon now, he might as well save his breath.
“Hang on, Becky. Here we go.”
The front wheels cut into the water. He ran toward her, waving his arms. Why was he doing that? Levi joined him, waving his arms, too. What were they saying? She couldn’t stop now. She’d get stuck for sure. He should know that. She slapped the reins on the mules’ backs. Just as the load passed into the water, she finally heard what they were hollering.
“Watch out for the snake.”
“Snake? Where?”
Henry pointed upstream.
She looked, and her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. A huge water moccasin swam straight toward them. She’d never seen one so big before. “Oh, God, have mercy.” She kept the team moving. “Easy now. Good.” She clicked her tongue. “Get up, Dex. Good boy. Keep us moving.” She couldn’t stop, she couldn’t.
Her mule must have spotted the reptile first. He whinnied
and shied. Mabel followed his lead. Sue fought to keep them on the rocks and heading straight, but felt the wagon roll backward. The back wheel sunk into a hole, and the wagon tilted precariously and jerked to a stop, throwing Becky sideways. Sue screamed and grabbed her one-handed just as her daughter fell off the wagon.
She went to her stomach on the bench and grabbed her little girl with both hands, then pulled with all her might until the child was safe in her arms. “Becky, oh, Becky. I got you!” She had to be all right. “Did it bite you? Did you get bit?”
Becky leaned back, crying, and shook her head. “No! I don’t think so, Mama.”
Both mules brayed and reared. They pawed the creek water wildly as the moccasin disappeared from her sight somewhere under or around her team. For a terrifying second, it seemed the whole wagon was going onto its side, but thankfully, it stayed upright. As quickly as it had come, the snake floated downstream without any apparent damage.
Sue slapped the reins, urging the team forward. The beasts strained. They snorted and pulled, but the wagon didn’t budge. “Oh, blast!”
CHAPTER
EIGHT
HENRY RAN TO THE EDGE of the creek. Why hadn’t she stopped? He watched for a moment while she urged the team, but they couldn’t pull that much weight out of the hole. “Don’t.” He held his hands up. “Stop. I’ll get the other team.” He half turned, then looked back, confirming what he thought. The off mule’s head drooped. Oh, no. He jerked his boots off—should never have put them back on—and waded into the creek.
“What’s wrong?”
“Looks like this one got bit.”
“Oh, dear, no! Will she die?”
He reached the animal and felt along her chest and neck. His fingers moved over a swollen spot on the mule’s lower chest. “I don’t know.” He turned around. “Levi, fetch Mil.” He started taking Mabel’s harness off.
“What can I do to help?”
He looked up. Sue was unlacing her boots. “Sit tight. Shouldn’t take us too long if it’s going to work. You’ll need to drive.”
First, he replaced the snake-bit mule with Mil, giving Mabel to Levi. “Don’t worry with hobbling her right now. Just fetch the other two out here one at a time.” He worked on modifying the harness hookup with chains from the wagon to accommodate the two extra mules. Levi returned with Brown Mule first, and Henry set about hooking him in front of Mil. By the time he got his animal set, the boy had led Daisy out, then helped Henry get her ready.
“Thanks, Levi. Now I’ll go to the back and lift on the corner that’s in the hole from the deep side.” The boy started around the wagon the other way. “No, no. You’ll need to stay up there to urge the front team forward. Your aunt’s reins won’t reach them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Henry waded along the low side. “We’re almost ready, Sue. When I give the word, take ’em out slow and steady if we get it out of the hole.”
She nodded. “I will.”
He moved on back and shouted at her, “Let’s go.”
“Hey now, Mil!” She whacked the reins against the closest mules. “Let’s go, Dex.” The animals strained and pulled.
Levi jerked on the front mules. “Ho now, mules. Get up!”
Even little Rebecca joined the ruckus. “Get up, now!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Come on, mules, pull!”
Henry sucked up a breath and lifted and pushed with all his might. He grunted and strained against the wagon with his shoulder. His thighs burned.
The teams’ hooves sucked mud as they tried to dig in against the soft bottom again and again. The wagon moved ever so slightly. With no other option, Henry quit before he busted a gut. The wheel refused to climb out of the hole.
“Stop. Wait.”
Sue eased up on the mules. “Whoa, now.”
He walked to the front of the wagon. “Where did we stow the ax?”
“In the back of the other wagon.”
He held his hands up toward her. “Come on. I’ll carry you to the bank.”
“What? Why? What are you thinking? We’ve only tried once. Let’s try again. We’ve got to get this wagon unstuck.”
He nodded. “I plan to, but that wheel is too deep. The load’s too heavy. Four mules can’t pull it out.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
He looked down, gathering his peace, and let his hands fall to his sides. Would the woman ever trust him? He hated being expected to explain himself at every turn. Would nothing satisfy her until she knew his every thought? He flexed his jaw a couple of times, then looked up. “I’m going to find a male bois d’arc and cut him down. I’ll use—”
“A male bois d’arc? How can a tree be male or female?”
Wonderful. Facing a crisis and she interrupts so she can know everything. “The males grow straighter. The female tree bears the horse apples, and the fruits’ weight bends her limbs and even the trunk.” He turned to Levi. “Get the chains and harnesses off the mules. We’ll let them graze.”
“Oh, no! Is it going to take that long?” She looked so disappointed that she might cry, but then she bit her lip, obviously trying to recover her self-control. She cleared her throat. “I never knew that about trees. Why won’t any tree do?”
He shook his head. She was simply not going to let up. He studied her a moment and then decided he’d better give details, lay out every plan if he was ever going to get to work. “I need to make a fulcrum to raise the corner of the wagon. Hopefully, using it, we’ll be able to lift the wheel out of that hole. I want a bois d’arc because its wood is extremely dense and strong.”
Levi chimed in. “So less likely to snap.”
Henry and Sue both looked at the boy. Henry hadn’t realized he was even listening. “That’s exactly right.”
“Levi, I didn’t realize you knew about trees. Where did—”
“Oh, I was only guessing from what Mister Henry said.” He grinned and headed toward the bank with the first team.
“Anyway, it’ll take a while. You and Becky need to get to shore.” He held his arms out again. “Want to stay dry?”
“I’m already pretty damp.” She sighed. “Can’t we at least try one more time?”
“To what end?”
“Oh fine, Henry Buckmeyer.” Her tone was not of resignation but frustration tinted with a bit of anger if he read her right. “By all means, carry me to shore. Guess I can put some beans on to soak since it looks like we’ll be here awhile.” She stood, turned slightly sideways with her back mostly toward him, then fell into his waiting arms.
Her weight took him by surprise. She felt light as a feather but remained fairly stiff. Her face was so close to his. Why couldn’t she relax? Maybe lay her head on his shoulder? He enjoyed the feel of her.
“I’ll be back for you, Miss Rebecca.”
The little girl grinned and held out her dress. “I’m already wet, but I’ll wait for you to carry me, too.”
He headed for the far shore. “I’d like you and Rebecca to get a fire going. A big one. When it’s going good, throw some damp leaves on it. Lots of ’em.”
She held herself out from him and wrinkled her brow in puzzlement. “Why in the world do you want us to do that?”
He should have known. “To make smoke. We need smoke, lots of smoke.”
She still looked stumped. “What for?”
“A signal. The Caddo have been known to help distressed travelers.”
“What if we call Indians from the wrong tribe?”
“The Caddo populate this whole area. Any others would be traveling through and aren’t likely to respond to our signal anyway.” He sat her down on the bank without another word and waded out for the little girl.
Levi followed him. “I’ll carry Bitty Beck, and you can start loosing the second team.”
Henry didn’t much like the boy telling him what to do, but decided to let it go. He stopped next to Mil and began unbuckling the leather straps.
“No! Get awa
y!” Rebecca stomped her foot. “Mister Henry said he would get me.”
The boy held out his arms. “Come on, now, Bitty Beck. Jump!”
“No, I won’t!” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You always think you are the boss of me, but you are not! Now you go get those mules, and let him carry me like he said he would.”
The boy’s face reddened. “You are such a little spoiled brat, Rebecca Ruth!” He wore a hard expression but relieved Henry from the mule duty without saying more.
The little girl stuck out her tongue to his back, then clapped her hands. “Come on over here and catch me, Mister Henry!”
He held up his arms, and she propelled herself from the wagon. He didn’t really need to catch her as she wrapped both arms around his neck.
She laid her head on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, “I wanted you so I could tell you something.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“I think since I asked Him, God sent you to be my daddy, and I love you, Mister Daddy. Isn’t that a good name to call you? But only when it’s just me and you.” She gave his neck a little squeeze then leaned out and looked him in the eye. “I need to get used to calling you Daddy.” She bent over closer to his face. “Don’t you agree?”
He smiled, not sure how he should answer the girl. How could such a small female know how to worm her way into his heart? Her daddy. The little gal needed some discipline sure enough. “You calling me Daddy, huh?”
She nodded. “Well, Mister Daddy, on account of I should show some respect.”
He glanced at her mother, gathering kindling on the shore. She hauled it to the top of the rise. He’d have to win her to make it happen, but he couldn’t deny the idea of being a daddy was growing on him. “Wouldn’t we have to let your mother in on our secret? I mean—”
She giggled. “That’s why I said when it’s only us. I’ll still call you Mister Henry in front of everyone else. Might be best if Mama doesn’t know just yet. Besides, I like having a secret with you.”
