by Joel Baker
“Molly?” Fala asked. “What’s wrong? You seem so depressed lately. That’s not like you.”
“I’m just worried about our men,” Molly said.
“They’re not due back for three or four weeks,” Fala said. “What makes you think anything is wrong?”
“It’s just a feeling,” Molly said. “I’ll be alright.”
“Let’s go find my dad and Matthew,” Fala said.
Fala led the way over to the far side of the Center. Matthew was splitting wood that had been sawed to length. Nate was stacking the wood along the back wall of the Center.
“Wow!” Fala said. “That’s a small mountain of wood.”
“If Nate’s back holds out,” Matthew said. “We should have enough wood to get through the winter. Can you believe the Lakota cut all this wood to length? I never saw anything like it.”
“I know,” Molly said. “I’m still not clear on why the Lakota are doing so much to help us. I know they want peace with us and the dogs, but this goes way beyond that. It’s like they want something from us, and just haven’t asked yet.”
“Well, whatever it is,” Matthew said. “We owe these people big time. Have you seen that second cabin yet?”
“Not yet,” Fala said. “I have peeked through the windows. It looks so cozy!”
“I still wish I knew what was going on with the Lakota,” Molly said, looking worried.
“Mom,” Matthew said, grinning. “There’s a reason we’re so interested in that cabin.”
“Why?” Molly asked, then seeing Fala’s grin. “Oh! Fala, you’re going to have a baby!”
Molly turned and hugged Fala to her, a smile on her face.
“Banner said it’s going to be a sister for Jason,” Matthew said. “We haven’t told Jason yet. We thought we’d wait for the others to get back before we tell anyone, but we just couldn’t wait.”
“Nate,” Molly said. “Did you hear you’re going to be a grandpa again?”
“You better tell your mama now, Fala,” Nate said, smiling. “She’ll want to know as soon as possible.”
“Of course, papa,” Fala said. “I’ll go over to the cookhouse now.”
****
The massive hole was three feet deep when they hit the tarp and boards covering the cache. Mato and Dalton took turns with the other Lakota’s digging out the fifteen foot square hole. Once it was cleared of dirt, they pulled back the tarp and stacked the covering boards to one side.
“We can’t get all this into one wagon,” Mato said, pointing down into the hole.
“There’s another wagon in the barn, “Dalton said. “There’s harness for a team of horses too.”
“Where are we going to get horses?” Mato asked.
“There’s a corral full of horses from our friends in the cabin,” Dalton said. “We may have to walk them in harness for a couple of days, but I think we can make do.”
“I have a suggestion,” Mato said. “We could team one of the new horses in trace, with one of our experienced horses. That’s the quickest way to train a new horse. They’ll figure it out.”
“There’s a buggy in the barn also,” Dalton said. “It has springs on the axles and gives a gentler ride than one of these wagons. I think it would be easier on James, once he’s well enough for transport.”
Mato didn’t say anything in return. Dalton knew Mato wasn’t optimistic about James recovery. Shannon was more positive when she spoke of her father’s condition. Dalton just hoped for the best.
“Let’s get this stuff out of the ground,” Dalton said. “Some of it is pretty heavy.”
They lifted the flat heavy crates first. Next came six barrels, all sealed with a thick layer of wax. The barrels were place in wood crates and sand thrown on top of them. The rest of the load was mostly household goods and clothes.
“What is in those flat crates and barrels?” Mato asked.
“I’m not sure,” Dalton said, hiding the truth. “It was stuff James and Molly brought with them from Haven many years ago. I think they may be family stuff for the Colters.”
“What about the barrels?” Mato asked.
“I don’t know,” Dalton said, again stretching the truth. “If I had to guess I’d say gun powder or some sort of flammable chemical. That’s why they sealed it with a layer of wax. Whatever it is, filling the crates with sand was a good idea. It will be safer to transport, if it is explosive.”
Dalton didn’t think Mato believed him, but didn’t think the Lakota wanted to press the issue. He and Mato harnessed a new team of horses and pulled the wagon from the barn into position for loading. It was getting dark, so the men washed up and headed towards the cabin for dinner. Shannon had fried the prairie chicken and rabbits the Lakota had managed to bag.
When Dalton and Mato entered, Shannon sat on the edge of the bed next to her father holding a cup to his lips.
“Is he awake?” Dalton asked.
“Not really,” Shannon said. “He is sipping water, but I think he’s only partially conscious. I don’t think he realizes that’s what he’s doing. Still, it’s a good sign. He could be alert in a day or two.”
“What if he isn’t,” Mato asked.
“We’ll leave anyway,” Shannon said. “This place is done. We’ll just have to stick to the roads and go as slow as necessary.”
“Mato and I rigged up the buggy,” Dalton said. We added a mattress on the back. With the springs, it should protect him from the worst of the jolts and being tossed around. You drive the buggy and I’ll drive one of the wagons. Mato says one of his men can drive the other.”
“Did you fill the water barrel on the wagon?” Shannon asked. “We’re going to pull the well aren’t we?”
“We’ve got a tripod set up over the well head,” Dalton said. The come-along is still in the hole. We should be able to pull the well tomorrow.”
The wagons were loaded and ready to leave the morning of the second day. The dogs showed up just in time for the return trip north. The night before they left, James had moaned and opened his eyes. He looked left and right and closed his eyes going back into a deep sleep. Shannon didn’t know what it all meant, but took it as a good sign.
Shannon drove the buggy up the road heading for Pueblo. She came to a stop on the rise overlooking the Colter settlement. Shannon remembered how happy she and Dalton had been living here.
The Colters had come and settled the canyon and made it theirs. Little Jessica was born here. Then little Jason had come into the world. It had been a wonderful place to live and love. At least until the drought came. Now it had come to this.
She sat and watched as Dalton went to the big cabin and sprinkled coal oil over the porch. A lit match ignited the porch of the cabin in a whoosh of fire. Dalton ran for the wagons, and followed Shannon north towards Pueblo. At the top of the rise, Dalton turned one last time. Flames from the funeral pyre of the cabin rose high in the air with a black, sooty smoke.
Chapter 17
James sat up three days into the journey north. They’d made camp for the evening. Dalton and the Lakota carried James over by the fire. Shannon was leaning over a pot of simmering stew. Suddenly James sat up.
“Why am I laying on the ground?” James asked.
“Father!” Shannon exclaimed. “You scared the life out of me! You were hurt. Now lay back down and I’ll get you some water.”
“My head is throbbing,” James said. “Why is my head all bandaged up?”
Dalton and Mato hurried over to where James sat looking around.
“James,” Dalton said. “Thank God you’re awake. Maybe you should lie down. You were hurt pretty bad. Do you remember what happened?”
James looked confused. He struggled to get up and failed. Shannon came back with a tin cup of tea brewed from aspen bark. She knelt and held the cup to James lips.
“Here,” Shannon said. “Drink all of this.”
James drank the cup of tea and lay back down. His eyes were closed and his breathing was regular. He fell b
ack into a deep sleep.
“What do you think?” Dalton asked.
“He’s better,” Shannon said. “The fact he could sit up and speak is a very good sign.”
“I have a story that should give you comfort,” Mato said. “We once had a warrior almost killed when an arrow hit him the back of his head.”
“But he lived, right?” Dalton asked.
“Oh, yes,” Mato said. “He was fine, except he would run in circles and bark like a dog whenever there was a full moon.”
“That’s your story of comfort?” Dalton said. “That’s the story you just had to tell us?”
“There’s no satisfying some people,” Mato said as he walked away.
“Can’t you tell when Mato is messing with you?” Shannon asked, smiling at Dalton.
“His sense of humor is a little weird, if you ask me,” Dalton said.
Shannon was still trying not to laugh as Dalton walked away.
****
The first sign the wagons were returning came from Banner. Matthew was moving the new furniture into the smaller cabin. Fala had regular bouts with morning sickness and needed a place to get away from people. The new cabin was cozy and quiet and seemed a perfect retreat.
The wagons come, Banner said.
How far away are they? Matthew asked.
Not far, Banner said. They travel slowly.
Why? Matthew asked.
James is hurt, Banner said.
Matthew ran to the Center to find Molly. She and Nina were cleaning the cabinets and taking inventory of their food stock. Matthew came up behind them. Molly took one look at Matthew and knew something was wrong.
“Has something happened?” Molly asked.
“The wagons are coming back,” Matthew said. “Banner said dad is hurt.”
“How?” Molly asked obviously concerned. “Where are they?”
“Not far,” Matthew said. “At least that’s what Banner said. I’m going to ride south and meet them.”
“Not without me,” Molly said. “You saddle the horses. Then see if Banner can guide us.”
Molly quickly changed clothes and grabbed her saddle bags. Matthew was out in front of the Center with Banner patiently waiting. They rode south by west with Banner leading them in a direct line to where the wagons were. After several hours, Molly spotted the buggy and wagons laboring up a steep incline in the road ahead. Both riders raced toward the buggy.
Shannon pulled up short on the reins when she saw Molly and Matthew coming towards them. Molly saw James sitting on the seat next to Shannon with his bandaged head. She jumped from her horse and ran around to James. Dalton rode up beside the buggy.
“James,” Molly said, climbing up into the buggy, hugging James. “Are you alright?”
James smiled at her and nodded his head.
“We had a gunfight with those thugs from the Walkers place,” Dalton said. “James was shot in the head. It was a glancing blow, but he lost a lot of blood. He still isn’t talking much.”
“James?” Molly said, softly. “Can you say hello?”
James looked at her and smiled.
“Hello,” James said.
“Mom,” Shannon said. “Listen to me. Dad is doing alright, but we’ve got to get him home. He drifts in and out. Sometimes he knows who you are and then it seems to slip away. We’ve been bouncing around in the buggy for two weeks. Once we get him home we can take care of him. How did you know we were here?”
“Banner told us,” Molly said, noticing Mato sitting on his horse listening. “The dogs were out this way and spotted you. Banner came back and was acting strange. So we decided to follow him out here.”
Molly glanced back over at Mato. She couldn’t tell if he believed her or not.
“Let’s get James home,” Molly said. “That buggy can make better time than those loaded wagons. Shannon, we should go ahead. The wagons can get there when they can.”
Molly and Matthew led the way with Shannon keeping up a steady pace. They traveled all afternoon and evening before stopping to rest the horses. Molly had James sit on a tree stump while Shannon removed the bandage from James head. Molly looked away from the site of the wound.
“He’s lucky to be alive,” Shannon said. “Look here. You can see where the bullet was lodged behind his ear. I took it out. His ear may have to eventually come off, but it shows signs of healing. Okay dad, you need to lie down and rest. We’re going to be here a while.”
James lay down and closed his eyes. Occasionally his brow would furrow in response to occasional waves of pain. His hands laid by his side. He didn’t seem to know Molly or what was going on around him.
Molly sat by James holding his hand. Her eyes began to tear up. James suddenly looked older to her. She noticed his hair seemed grayer at the temples. The wrinkles around his eyes were deeper than she remembered. Molly leaned over him.
“Oh, James,” Molly whispered. “Are you going to leave me here all by myself?”
A single tear dropped onto James face and ran down his cheek. His closed eyes fluttered open and then he smiled.
“I love you, Molly,” James murmured, as he slipped back into a deep slumber.
****
James had been home a full day before the wagons pulled up next to the Center. Everyone was exhausted and Mato led the Lakota back to their village. Dalton was staggering with fatigue and slept till mid-morning the next day.
Three days later James was more alert and eating well. The only serious problem he still exhibited was dizziness whenever he tried to stand. He was fighting through it and the Colters took turns holding his arm whenever he tried to walk. His short term memory was impacted most by his injury. He remembers going through Pueblo on the way down. After that he remembered nothing until he sat up on the way home.
Nate, his son Jacy, and Dalton unloaded the wagons carrying the crates from the cache into the back of the Center. On the bottom of the second wagon were six windows they’d removed from the cabins before they left. The windows were fairly large, but still fit easily within the openings the builders had provided in the cabins.
When everything was stored, Dalton and Nate cracked open one of the ten flat crates loaded into the first wagon. The twelve Colter rifles gleamed inside their protective cloths. Dalton pulled one of the rifles out and sighted down the barrel. He put it carefully away.
The dogs came back to the Center when the snow started to fly. It was cold for early November. Gray clouds blew in from the northwest. They lowered all day as the temperature dropped. The young dogs, little more than pups, came in large numbers and lay on the porches of the Colter houses. They were followed later in the day by the larger dogs. They sat on the porches looking into the windows at the occupants inside. Their breath steamed up the windows.
“What do you think they want?” James asked.
The dogs stood shoulder to shoulder looking through the window of the Center. James and Molly sat snuggled together under a blanket, on the sofa in front of roaring fire. The snow outside was blowing in all directions by the cold wind.
“I think they’re just cold,” Molly said. “They probably want to come inside while it storms.”
Molly walked over to the door and opened it. The four adult dogs staring in the window ran in, followed by a pack of puppies. They all ran over and flopped down in front of the fireplace and promptly fell asleep in the warmth. Steam rose from coats of some of the adults. Molly counted a dozen puppies. Molly and James fell asleep watching the snowflakes swirl by the windows in the wind.
The dogs left the next morning after the snow let up. The puppies ran single file in the same steps the adult dogs used to break a trail through the deep snow. All the dogs headed southwest. They seemed to know where they were headed.
When the snow stopped, Shannon and Dalton went over to the Center to check on James and Molly. Matthew was over at the Center carrying firewood in by the hearth. Fala came in right after the others.
“Where do you think
the dogs were headed?” Dalton asked.
“All I got from Banner was that they were going home,” Shannon said.
“What does that mean?” Molly asked.
“Who knows,” Shannon said. “Did everyone enjoy the first real snowfall for the year?”
“It was beautiful,” Molly said. “How are the cabins?”
“Cozy,” Fala said, blushing for no apparent reason.
“Maybe we can get the builders to come back next year to build you a cabin,” Shannon said.
“I guess,” Molly said. “But I still don’t understand why the Lakota are doing all that work for us. For that matter, why did Mato decide to escort you to retrieve the cache? There’s something strange about all this. Something doesn’t add up.”
“At first I thought they just wanted to make sure the dogs left them alone,” Dalton said. “Now I think Molly is right. There’s something going on we don’t know about.”
“What should we do about it?” James asked.
“I think we should take this straight on,” Dalton said. “Let’s set up a meeting and ask them. We need to get to the truth. We’re going to find out sooner or later anyway.”
“Matthew?” Molly said. “Ride down to their village. See if they can meet with us this afternoon.”
****
Molly and James took the buggy. Dalton and Shannon rode horses through the Lakota village. It was the first time they’d taken the buggy. People stared at the strange vehicle. They parked in front of the meeting place. Cass and the others waited for them inside the main room. The Lakota had been using the steam room, and steam still came through the door and into the hall.
Cass and his wife Mina sat across from Molly and James. Mato and his wife Lotus sat across from Dalton and Shannon. Two Lakota women served hot cider to the group.
“We appreciate your meeting with us on short notice,” James said. “I’m still not a hundred percent, so Molly and Dalton will do most of the talking. I would like to thank Mato for helping me return to my family. It was a difficult time and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your help and the help of your warriors. Molly?”
Molly took a sip of the hot cider while she gathered her thoughts.
