A Home at Trail's End (17 page)

Elizabeth, though startled, attempted to smile and say hello. But the word had barely escaped her lips when the woman backed up and disappeared—just as she'd done before. Elizabeth squinted into the shadows as she tried to decide what to do. Should she dismount the horse and call out to her? Should she attempt to follow her? Or would that only frighten her more? She thought about the small shadow again. She had not imagined it—the woman had a child with her. Elizabeth knew it. But how were they surviving out here? And if this was the woman Malinda had spoken of, where was Charles? And if she wasn't Charles' woman, who was she? Whatever the situation, one thing seemed very clear—the young woman seemed frightened and in need.

Feeling worried for the young woman and her child, as well as frustrated that she'd failed to win the woman's trust, Elizabeth nudged Molly into a gallop. She wasn't comfortable telling Malinda about seeing an Indian nearby. But she really wanted to take something back to share with Indians. And she wanted to get it to them as quickly as possible, before they had a chance to get too far away.

The children were just getting home from school, so after greeting JT and Ruth and seeing that they were off to do their chores, she went to the corner of the barn, where she had stored some of her own goods—items she'd brought along with her when they'd first moved into Malinda's. There were spare blankets and some other things. She removed a blanket and then went into the kitchen, where Amelia and Emily were excitedly telling Malinda about something they'd seen on the way home from school.

“It looked like a cougar had sharpened its claws on the tree,” Emily told her mother with wide eyes.

Amelia held her hand high over her head. “But it was this tall.”

“So the cougar would have to be really, really big,” Emily said.

“And we didn't see those marks there this morning,” Amelia explained.

“So it must be around right now,” Emily said in a frightened voice.

“Do you think that's what killed the Thompsons' calf?” Malinda asked.

“That's what the boys said,” Amelia told her. “They think there's a cougar on the prowl.”

As interested as Elizabeth was in this conversation, she was grateful for the distraction because it allowed her to take a bread loaf and tuck it inside the blanket. She'd made three loaves yesterday, and they still had enough for supper tonight. However, this meant she'd need to bake again tomorrow.

“I wonder if one of the boys should take a gun with him to school tomorrow,” Elizabeth said to Malinda as she tucked the rolled blanket under her arm.

Malinda's brow creased. “I suppose I could let Todd take the rifle. He's a good shot.”

“JT is a good shot too,” Elizabeth said. “But our guns are still packed in the wagon.”

“Todd's the oldest,” Malinda told her. “He should be the one to carry a gun.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes. That sounds best.”

The girls continued telling Malinda about the “giant wild cat” as Elizabeth slipped out the door. She hurried over to where her horse was still tethered by the barn.

“I've got to run an errand,” she told JT as he and Bart emerged from the barn, each one with a pail in hand. “I'll be right back.”

He just nodded.

She felt guilty for not being fully honest with her son as she nudged Molly into a trot. But at the same time she didn't want to tell her children she was helping an Indian—who knew what kind of problems that could create for them at school? No, it was better this way. And the next time she saw Eli, she would ask him for his counsel.

Before long, she was back at the brushy spot by the creek. She slowed Molly to a walk and then stopped. As she slid down from the saddle, she remembered the girls' fears about the cougar in the area. However, she felt fairly safe with her big horse so close by. Not many cougars would go after a horse.

“Hello?” she called out again, waiting to see if she could hear anything. “I leave this gift in friendship,” she said loudly, hoping the woman was listening—and that she understood some English. She knew the woman and child could be far away by now. But maybe they weren't. “I'm sorry I don't have more to share right now,” she said as she set the bundle in the exact spot where the woman had stood, looking up with such frightened eyes. “God bless you,” she said finally as she went back to her horse.

As she rode back, she prayed for the woman and child. She prayed that God would show her an even better way to help them. For some reason—probably that look in her eyes—they seemed to need help.

Chapter Thirteen

B
y the time she got back and made herself busy helping with supper preparations, the big talk in the house was about the cougar. “Eli could hunt it down,” Ruth was telling her cousins. “He's the best hunter in the whole world. Even my grandpa says so.”

“Do you think we should tell Eli about the cougar?” Malinda asked Elizabeth.

“That's not a bad idea,” Elizabeth confessed. Now she wished she'd thought of this earlier. She could easily have made it over to her property when she'd taken the bundle to the Indian woman. She could have told him all about it.

“I wouldn't be concerned,” Malinda said. “Except that the place where the children spotted the claw marks is less than a mile from here. And that's nearly four miles from where the Thompsons live. It sounds like it's moving this way.”

“But we don't know for sure that the cougar killed the calf, do we?” Elizabeth asked.

“No, not for sure.”

“Remember when the coyotes killed one of our calves?” Susannah reminded her.

Malinda nodded. “I nearly forgot about that.” She turned to Elizabeth. “We lost a calf to a pack of coyotes a couple years ago.”

“Pa was so mad,” Susannah told her. “He and Todd took turns standing guard at night. On the third night, the coyotes came back. By the light of the moon, Pa could see them almost as plain as day, and he shot two of them.”

“And the rest of the pack never came back,” Malinda finished for her.

“And Pa saved the coyote skins and Ma made them into fur collars for me and Emily for our winter coats,” Susannah proclaimed.

“We need Eli to come shoot that cougar,” Ruth declared. “Then I can have a fur collar too.”

“He's so big you could probably have a whole fur coat,” Susannah told her.

Malinda gave Elizabeth a worried look.

“I'll ride over and let Eli know about this,” Elizabeth said quietly. “But I should leave straight away.”

“Maybe we should send one of the boys instead,” Malinda suggested.

“Except the sun will set before they could get back here. I sure wouldn't want JT riding out by himself in the dark. Especially if there's a cougar on the prowl.”

Malinda frowned. “What about you? We don't want you riding around in the dark either.”

“I can carry a lantern,” Elizabeth told her.

Just now the boys were coming into the house. Like everyone else, they were talking about the cougar as well. “We think we should take turns watching over the livestock tonight,” Todd told his mother.

“Aunt Elizabeth wants to ride over to tell Eli,” Malinda explained.

“Yes,” JT said. “Let's get Eli.”

“He's the best hunter in the world,” Ruth bragged.

Elizabeth tossed her a warning look. “Not in the
world
,” she corrected her.

“Even so, he could get that cougar,” Ruth said with confidence.

“I can ride over and fetch Eli,” JT offered.

“I want to go too,” Todd said. He was three years older than JT and several inches taller.

“Me too,” Bart added.

“You're too young,” Malinda told Bart.

“I'm the same age as JT,” Bart said defiantly.

“I don't know if I will let JT go,” Elizabeth said protectively. “The plan was for me to ride over to fetch Eli. And I should get going now.”

“Please, Ma,” JT begged. “I rode with the men all the way down the Columbia River and helped drive the livestock to Vancouver. Sometimes we even rode late into the night. You let me do that with them, and this is just a little ride.”

She smiled at her man-boy. “That's true, son. Well, I suppose it's all right for you to ride over to speak to Eli. But take a lantern with you. And get our guns while you're there. And don't dillydally along the way. Come straight back here. I don't want to be worrying about you.”

After more urging, Malinda let both her boys go as well. Equipped with lanterns and some slices of bread and butter in their pockets, and with Todd carrying a gun, they set out on horseback to get Eli.

“Godspeed,” the women and girls called out as the boys rode off into the late-afternoon shadows. Elizabeth looked around the farm, suddenly feeling even more concerned for her chickens and livestock. She turned to Malinda. “I think the boys' idea of guarding the livestock might be wise if that cougar is really that close by. Especially since it's getting dark. Do you have a gun I could use?”

“You're going to stand guard?”

“I most certainly am,” Elizabeth declared. “I didn't work that hard to get these animals across the Oregon Trail only to lose them to a cougar attack out here.”

Malinda nodded. “You're right. Emily, run and fetch Aunt Elizabeth your father's shotgun from under my bed.”

“I'll get my coat and hat,” Elizabeth told her.

“And I'll send one of the girls out with your supper,” Malinda said as they went inside.

“After the boys get back, we can take shifts throughout the night,” Elizabeth told her.

“Just like they used to do on the wagon train,” Ruth said in an excited tone. “Except they only let the men and boys do it.”

“Well, here in Oregon, we let the women help out too,” Elizabeth told Ruth. “As long as they're old enough.”

“Amelia and I can do some watches,” Belinda said to Elizabeth as she opened the door. “That way everyone will get a little more sleep.”

“Are you sure?” Elizabeth asked with uncertainty. “Can you girls even shoot a gun?”

Belinda nodded eagerly. “Our father gave us shooting lessons on the trail. Amelia's an even better shot than I am.”

“I'll work out a schedule for everyone,” Malinda promised as Elizabeth was closing the door.

The sun was fully down when Elizabeth set up a wooden crate to use as a chair on the backside of the barn. They'd gathered the livestock in on Monday, so she could see most of the animals from this vantage point. Or at least she could see their shadows. But as it grew darker, it became harder to see. She would need to rely more on sound than sight. And if she heard something suspicious and felt the need to shoot the gun, she would probably just aim it into the air. That alone should scare off a cougar. Besides, she didn't want to take the chance of hitting an animal. She would make sure the rest of the watchers would do the same.

After an hour or so, Emily came out with a hot bowl of stew and a chunk of bread for her. “Ma thought you might want a lantern.” Emily held out the kerosene lantern.

“No thank you. I'd rather watch from a dark spot. My eyes adjust better that way.”

“That makes sense.”

She thanked Emily, and then, keeping her ears tuned into the sounds around her, she quietly ate her supper. She was just setting her empty bowl down when she heard something. Silently reaching for the gun, she froze in place, listening carefully. After a few minutes, she realized it was the sound of horses' hooves. And now she could see lantern light as the riders came back into the farmyard.

“Hello,” she called out as she went over to see them.

“Elizabeth.” Eli slid down from what looked like Beau, although it was hard to tell in the dim light. “What are you doing out here by yourself?”

“Keeping watch,” she told him. “We're going to take turns all night.”

“Oh.” He nodded, smiling at her in the lantern light.

While the boys took the horses into the barn to remove their saddles, she asked Eli if he thought the cougar was very dangerous.

“That all depends. If this is the same cougar that killed the Thompsons' calf, like the boys are claiming, the answer is yes. He could be very dangerous. Once a wild animal goes for livestock, it's time to put it to an end.”

Elizabeth felt a shiver go down her back as she looked over to where their animals were penned in near the barn. “I doubt I could shoot it in the dark,” she admitted, “but I think I could scare it away.”

“I'm sure you could. And hopefully this cougar is just passing through,” he told her. “But sharpening his claws on a tree right next to the road where humans travel regularly…well, that seems pretty bold. Even for a cougar.”

“Yes, I wondered about that too.” She reached up to stroke Beau's mane. She hadn't seen either of her team for some time now. But Beau was still as sleek and handsome as ever. She couldn't imagine how sad she'd be if one of her horses was taken down by a cougar.