A Home at Trail's End (30 page)

By the time she got there, he already had a load of wood ready to go. Because these logs were much smaller than what they'd used on the cabins, Eli had been using the wagon to transport them. “Looks like you've been busy,” she said as she handed him the biscuits.

“Thanks.” He pushed his hat back from his forehead, wiping his glistening brow as he took a bite. “Do you want to drive the wagon back and unload it? The poles aren't too heavy, and they slide out fairly easily.”

“I'd be happy to.”

He grinned at her. “I always liked seeing you in that outfit.”

She looked down at her working clothes. “Truly?”

He nodded. “Oh, yes. You caught my eye many a time out on the Oregon Trail. I could spot you from almost a mile away, Elizabeth.”

“That's rather hard to believe.”

He chuckled. “Well, that might be an exaggeration. But believe me, Mrs. Kincaid, I kept my eye on you.”

She reached over and touched his cheek. “And I'm so glad you did.”

She got into the driver's seat of the wagon and drove the team over the hill and down toward the river, where they were constructing the fence. Eli's plan had been to use this section of river as part of the fence because the livestock wouldn't be likely to cross it and because they would have access to drinking water.

As the wagon slowly rolled along, she surveyed their land. There was so much potential here, so many possibilities. She wondered how long it would take to fully realize it. Perhaps in her children's lives…or her grandchildren's.

As she was gazing out over the meadow that led down to the river, she noticed a figure moving alongside a grove of trees—a woman. She squinted into the sunlight, thinking it could be Jess or her mother. But then she saw the smaller figure trailing behind the woman and realized it was the Indian woman. Without really thinking, Elizabeth pulled off her hat and waved, calling out what she hoped sounded like a friendly greeting.

But just as quickly, the woman and small child both ducked into the shadows of the trees. Elizabeth knew she'd probably frightened the poor woman. Yelling out like that must have sounded threatening. But didn't the woman know that Elizabeth was the one who'd taken her blankets and food? Even just yesterday, Elizabeth had walked a loaf of bread down to the place where she'd seen them before. She'd wrapped the loaf in one of her old dresses—a brown-and-black calico that she'd nearly worn out on the trail. It hadn't been easy to part with fabric because she had thought of using it for quilt pieces, but if it would keep the woman and her child warm, it was worth it. From the distance, it was impossible to see whether the woman was wearing the dress. And Elizabeth hadn't been back to the drop-off spot to check.

She pulled the team to a stop, set the brake, and climbed down to unload the poles. Eli had been right—they did slide fairly easily from the wagon. After she dropped a small pile, she moved the team farther on up, where she unloaded some more, spacing them out so they wouldn't need to be carried so far. She did this until the wagon was empty and then headed the team back to where Eli was working.

Using the crosscut two-man saw, they were able to cut down trees much more quickly. As they sawed back and forth, she told him about seeing the Indian woman and child again. “I called out to her,” she admitted. “But I'm sure it frightened her.”

“Did she have on your old dress?”

“I couldn't tell from the distance.”

After they'd felled a number of trees, they used axes to chop off the limbs and make them into poles. Eli, much more adept than she, cleaned branches off four trees to her one. Still, she felt she was doing her part. Then they loaded them into the wagon together, and she took the second load. She decided to take this load over to the far side of what would be their livestock pasture—over by the trees where she'd spotted the woman and child.

Like before, she unloaded a few poles in one spot and then moved the wagon on up to the next, distributing the fencing materials evenly along the fence line. Every once in a while, she paused to catch her breath and glance around. She was curious if the woman was nearby because for some reason, Elizabeth felt she was being watched. After she dropped the last of the poles, she took off her hat and pushed the hair that had come loose from her bun back into place. And then she looked around again.

“Hello?” she called out in what she hoped was a cheerful sounding voice. “Is anyone there? Hello?” She waited quietly and then she heard a rustling sound back in the trees. “Hello?” she called again. “I want to be your friend. I want to help you if I can. Hello?” She stood still now, unsure of what to do. “Do you need my help?”

A small part of her questioned her behavior—and she could almost hear what Malinda would have to say. “What on earth are you doing standing out here like this calling out to an Indian?” And for all Elizabeth knew, there could be a whole bunch of them back in the woods. They could be very angry at the white men for taking over their land. For all Elizabeth knew, this land she considered her own might have truly belonged to the Indians. That thought alone made her feel slightly sickened. She closed her eyes and prayed silently. “Dear God, please help me to know what to do. Help me to help this woman…if she wants my help.”

“Hello?” said a low voice.

Elizabeth opened her eyes to see the Indian woman standing at the edge of the woods. Her long black hair hung limply over her shoulders, and she was wearing Elizabeth's old dress, with her bare feet poking out from beneath the dirty hem. She peered curiously at Elizabeth with dark, somber eyes.

“Hello,” Elizabeth said nervously.

“You need help?” the woman asked in a flat tone. “I hear you say help.”

“No, I don't need help.” Elizabeth made a stiff smile. She was tempted to approach this woman, but knew that might make her run. “You speak English?”

“Some.”

Elizabeth pointed to herself. “I'm Elizabeth,” she said slowly. “E-liz-a-beth.”

“Elizabeth.” The woman nodded as if she understood.

“You are?” Elizabeth pointed to her. “Charles' wife?”

The woman's eyes lit up ever so slightly. “You know Charles?”

“I know who Charles is. Are you his wife?”

“Yes. Charles' wife.”

Elizabeth's smile grew bigger. “I'm Eli's wife.”

“Eli?” The woman nodded toward where the sound of the ax was ringing.

“Yes.” Now they stood just staring at each other. Elizabeth was trying to think of the right words when the woman glanced over her shoulder as if she were frightened. Was she about to run?

“I want to be your friend,” Elizabeth said slowly. “Friend.”

“Friend?” Her dark eyes looked suspicious as she folded her arms across her front.

“I think you need a friend,” Elizabeth said gently. “You need help.”

The woman pressed her lips together as if she understood the meaning, and yet she seemed somewhat confused. Probably she was unaccustomed to being befriended by white people. How had she met Charles?

“Charles is a good man?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes.” The woman nodded.

“Not all white men are good,” Elizabeth said slowly. “Some white men hurt your people.”

The woman nodded even more firmly. “Yes.”

“Eli and I,” she pointed at herself. “We want to be friends to Indians.”

The woman narrowed her eyes, studying Elizabeth closely as if taking in every small detail.

“I want to help you,” Elizabeth told her. “Do you need help?”

“You help me.” She waved down at the hand-me-down dress. “You give food. You give blankets. You give clothes. You help.”

“Yes. I gave those to you and your child. To help you. To be friends.”

“Yes.” Her features softened slightly. Almost as if she were trying to believe Elizabeth…to trust her.

“What is your name?” Elizabeth asked quietly.

“Marakeenakanaha.”

Elizabeth attempted to repeat the name.

“Mara,” the woman said.

“Mara.” Elizabeth nodded.

“Your boy? Girl? What name?”

Elizabeth smiled. Mara had obviously been watching their whole family. “The boy is JT. The girl is Ruth. What is your child's name?”

“Rose.”

“That is a pretty name. Rose.”

Mara looked over her shoulder, calling out some words in her own language, and in the same moment a tiny barefoot girl emerged from the shadows.

“Hello, Rose,” Elizabeth said warmly. The child looked to be about three years old. Her long hair was light brown and wavy, but she had her mother's eyes.

“Where do you live?” Elizabeth asked Mara.

Mara pressed her lips together and scowled.

“Do you have a home? A place to stay dry and warm?” Mara shook her head no.

“Where is Charles?”

Mara's eyes lit up again. “Charles go find gold.”

“Gold mining?”

“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “Charles go find gold.”

“Has he been gone for long?”

Mara looked uncertain.

“Did he leave in the summer? Or last year?”

Now Mara ran her hand over her midsection, which Elizabeth suddenly noticed was very well rounded despite Mara's overall thinness. Charles had obviously been here in the last nine months. But where was he now? Did he know his wife was with child? Did he know she was homeless? Did he even care?

Chapter Twenty-Three

E
lizabeth looked up at the sky, realizing it was well past midday. Although she'd taken Eli those biscuits earlier, he was probably hungry for his dinner by now. For that matter, she was too. She pointed at Mara and Rose. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes,” Mara muttered.

“Will you come with me?” She pointed to the wagon, wondering if she was expecting too much for them to ride with her, but to her surprise, Mara took Rose by the hand, and soon they were all loaded in the front seat. “I have food at my house,” Elizabeth said simply as she drove the team toward home.

Elizabeth attempted to make small talk as she drove her impoverished passengers toward her cabin. Rose's dress was little more than a rag and couldn't possibly be enough to keep her warm. By the time they reached the house, Elizabeth had made a plan to alter one of Ruth's old dresses to fit the child.

Seeing Eli and Flax striding toward the house but peering curiously in her direction, she waved to let him know that everything was all right. “That's Eli,” she told Mara and Rose. “And Flax is our dog.”

“Dog,” Rose pointed at Flax. “Dog.”

“Yes,” Elizabeth told her. “Dog. Flax.”

“Flax.” Rose repeated. “Flax. Dog.”

“Rose is a smart girl,” Elizabeth told Mara.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Hello,” Eli said in a friendly tone as he approached the wagon.

“This is Mara and her daughter, Rose,” Elizabeth said politely. “Mara and Rose, this is Eli, my husband.”

Eli reached out to help them down from the wagon. First he gave Mara a hand, and then he simply lifted Rose, holding her high in the air until she giggled, and then he carefully set her on the ground. Then he helped Elizabeth down.

“Mara and Rose are joining us for dinner, Eli.”

He nodded and smiled at Mara. “Good. Welcome to our home.”

They went up to the porch, where they took turns washing up. The whole time, Elizabeth chattered cheerfully at her unexpected guests. She knew it was a strange situation, but she wanted them to feel at home. However, when it was time to go inside the house, Mara refused. “We stay here.” She pointed to the porch.

“You are welcome to come in the house,” Eli said.

“We stay here.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I'll leave the door open,” she told Mara. “If you want to come inside, please do.”

While Elizabeth prepared food, Rose looked longingly into the house, but Mara spoke to her in their native language, and Rose did not step past the threshold. Instead, she played with Flax, who was happy to get this unexpected attention. Meanwhile, Mara went over to sit on the porch bench.

“They need help,” Elizabeth quietly told Eli as he filled a coffee cup.

“I'm sure they do.”

“They have no place to live, and it sounds like Charles has gone gold mining—probably down at the Rogue River. I hear that's where men go seeking their fortunes of late. Anyway, I'm not sure how long he's been gone, but Mara is with child, and I expect her baby is due in just a month or two.”

“Oh…” He shook his head with a dismal sigh as he reached for the sugar bowl.

“But I have an idea.”

“An idea?” He stirred some sugar into his coffee.