Pony Dreams (6 page)

“Abby.” Adam crouched in front of me. “I know
you wouldn't ignore Ma and Pa just because you wanted to ride.”

I shook my head.

“Talk to me,” he said. “Make me understand
why you snuck out so early.”

“It was the only time I could do it,” I said.
“I know I should have told Ma about how Peter and Paul slept
instead of training the horses, but I hate tattling all the time.
They always get even.”

“Oh.” He shook his head. “I should have
known. Well, you won't have that problem anymore. Pa has figured
out a way to fix Peter and Paul's attitude.”

All well and good, but I was still in a peck
of trouble with no way out.

“So, I guess you're gonna tell Pa you caught
me on a horse,” I said.

My heart fell out of my body and sank through
the sandy grit on the ground. I had run into the worst problem I'd
ever faced and could think of no way out of it. If I couldn't ride
a horse, I would just die.

“Not if you promise you'll never do it
again.” Adam stood up and took my hand. “Come get me if you can't
stay away from the corral.”

It sure sounded like he would let me ride the
horses, if he was around. I tried to keep back a grin but failed
miserably.

“Ma won't like that.”

“I'll explain to Ma and Pa.” He looked at the
house. “I reckon we ought to go back. She'll have breakfast ready
soon.”

We hurried back to the house. Ma pelted me
with questions as soon as I stepped through the door. Adam talked
to her while I set the table. They glanced at me as I put platters
of flapjacks and sausages on either side of a large jar of
molasses.

“Smells good,” Pa said as he came in from the
hallway. “Sit, everyone.”

“I need to speak to you,” Ma said. “You
children don't touch a thing until we sit down.”

They went onto the porch and came back a few
minutes later. I twisted my fingers together under the table and
nibbled my lip at the expressions of disappointment on their
faces.

“What did the runt do?” Peter asked.

“Not a thing.” Adam thumped his head with a
finger and thumb. “I'm gonna make sure Pa has me looking after you
and the other monster from now on.”

Our parents sat down, and we prayed. I tried
to eat, but thinking about Adam catching me on a horse, and the
Pony Express shutting down left a huge lump in my throat.

How will the mail get through?

Not that letters hadn't arrived before The
Pony Express started, but it took months instead of days.

Tin cups clinked against the tabletop.
Flatware scraped plates. I stared at my food.

The Pony didn't end. It's not true.

I stuffed a piece of sausage into my mouth
and chewed. It hurt when I swallowed, but I forced myself to do
it.

The Army will fix this. Everyone knows the
Paiute don't stand a chance against a whole cavalry troop.

Pa grunted, and I looked up. My brothers had
all frozen with forks holding flapjacks dripping molasses in
midair. Ma sat serenely at her place, taking small bites of her
food.

“Peter and Paul, I'm aware of how little you
did during my absence,” he said. “Your lack of responsibility shows
me you don't care to join the rest of us on our station runs. It
seems your baby sister actually kept the horses exercised from what
your ma just told me.”

I stared openmouthed at Pa, until Charles
tipped his finger against my chin.

“You'll catch a load of flies that way,” he
said.

Adam winked at me, and I realized he'd
dropped a few hints to Ma. She must have explained the whole thing
to Pa. I stuffed a flapjack into my mouth, chewed, and swallowed
without a problem.

Chapter Eight

Breakfast continued,
and I even managed to eat another whole stack of flapjacks. Of
course, I had to fight off Mark and Charles, who were determined to
gobble down every bit of food on the table.

“Louisa, I feel as if this contract with
Russell, Majors & Waddel has put our family in a bad position,”
Pa said, his words making everyone stop eating again. “I've failed
in my duty to my youngest sons. From now on, I'll take at least one
of them when we make deliveries. The other will have one of his
older brothers here to ensure he does his work.”

“Pa!” Peter wailed.

As the younger twin, he had more to lose.
Everything happened by age in our house. He deserved such a
punishment for giving me a hard time, and getting me in
trouble.

“I'll still take both of you when I go to
Carson City. We have to deliver those horses, but we can't until we
figure out where to take them,” Pa said. “I expect you to obey
every order I give you without question. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Peter and Paul said.

“Charles and Mark will go with us. Adam, use
Abigail's help to break the ponies when she has time,” Pa said.
“The stationmaster mentioned the lighter the person breaking the
horses, the better. Their riders don't weigh all that much. She's
much closer to them in weight than you boys.”

Excitement raced through me. Even though I
couldn't help The Pony Express by riding between stations, he had
given me a way to make sure the mail got from San Francisco to St.
Joseph. I glanced at Adam. His wide smile increased my happiness.
Only my oldest brother understood my special method of training the
horses by talking to them. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't
do it.

“I'll do my best,” I said.

“Baby.” Pa's voice softened. “I realize I'm
asking a lot of you.” He glanced at Ma. “Louisa, I believe the boys
should take on more responsibilities around the house. Perhaps they
can handle the wash?”

“That's a woman's job,” she said.

“We don't mind,” Charles said.

“It will help your sister if you boys clean
up your room,” she said.

Oh yes!
My grin grew wider and wider.
Cleaning the bunkroom where the boys slept was the worst chore in
the world. She had just released me from that torture.
I'll
never have to scrounge under their beds for dirty clothes, or shake
nasty dried snakeskins out of their blankets again!

Everything was dealt with, and we finished
our breakfast and morning chores in no time.

By the time Pa and the boys were ready to
leave, I was in the training ring with Adam and Bart.

“I want you to learn how she does this,” Pa
said. “It's not right for a slip of a gal to know more about
breaking horses than menfolk.” He mounted his horse and made sure
Charles, Mark, Peter, and Paul had done the same. “You and Bart
should hunt up some more mustangs, Adam. Take an afternoon to get
it done.”

“Yes, sir,” Adam said.

We watched as they rode off and then got back
to work. I approached the herd's leader, stroked his mane, and
whispered in his ear. Only after Blaze allowed me to climb onto his
back, did I prove how well I trained.

I had slid off Blaze for a break and stared
in amazement at the sight before me. A dozen men in blue uniforms
wearing flat brimmed hats rode up to the corral.

“Captain Smith, United States Army,” one
said. He stared at me. “I'm looking for Michael Weston.”

“Abby, go on with the next horse.” Adam gave
me a gentle push, and waited until I approached an untrained pony.
“I'm his oldest son, Adam. Pa is in Carson City.”

“You let a girl train your horses?” Captain
Smith asked.

He sure didn't think much of girls. I could
see that much from his disgusted expression. I should have mounted
Blaze right off to prove to him that I could ride better than he
could, but I remained frozen in place. This was the first time I'd
ever seen anyone in the Army.

“Abby has the touch,” Adam said. “What can I
do for you, sir?”

“My commander, Colonel Anderson, would like
to purchase a dozen horses as mounts for our new recruits,” Captain
Smith said. “Can you do that in addition to your Pony Express
contract?”

“When do you need them?”

“Ten days,” the army captain said.

“A dozen will be ready by then.” Adam nodded.
“But you'll have to come for them. Bart and I can't leave the ranch
unguarded since the Paiute attacks.”

“Understood. I'll be back.” Captain Smith
looked at me again and then rode off.

Adam and Bart started working with the
untrained horses.

“Adam,” I said.

“What is it?”

“Don't give Blaze to the Army.” I gulped when
he gave me a startled look. “I promised Blaze he'd help the Pony
Express. That's why he let me ride him so fast.”

“Then you'd better work hard.” He smiled.

To prove I could do it, I began talking to my
horse while slipping a bit into his mouth. He accepted it and gave
me no trouble. When Ma rang the dinner bell, I scurried to the
house.

“Did you boys figure out how she does it
yet?” she asked after we dug into hearty vegetable soup and
cornbread.

“She's a little witch when it comes to
horses,” Adam said. “Whispers with the leader for a long time, and
then he lets her on his back. The next thing you know, she has half
the herd eating out of her hand. Darn it, Abby's better than anyone
I've ever seen with horses.”

He gulped at the stern expression on Ma's
face. We often shortened our names out of her sight, despite her
edict that we not do it. Even Pa had fallen into the habit when
working outside. It made things easier than hollering a mouthful of
a name, as he called it.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to
shorten your names?” she said and then sighed. “Never mind, I won't
give you a hard time if you call her Abby occasionally.”

I ducked my head to hide the smile creeping
across my face. At least I thought I had, until her hand landed on
the back of my head.

“Don't think I didn't see that, missy. I need
your help this afternoon,” she said. “There's still mending to
do.”

What an awful chore after the delightful
morning I'd had. Mending rips and tears in our clothes to make them
last longer was far harder than crocheting a doily.

Adam stretched as he rose. “We have to saddle
break some of the horses this afternoon. She can't do that.”

While darning holes in socks, a sense of
foreboding settled around me. I checked out the oiled paper window
but saw nothing out of place.

It's nothing. Everything is great now. Even
if I'm stuck inside darning socks, I know I'll always have a chance
to train horses.

Chapter Nine

After seven days of
hard work, I groaned when Adam shook me awake.

“Sun's been up for an hour,” he said. “We
still have to teach that new bunch of ponies to carry weight on
their backs.”

“An hour!” I sat up fast and regretted
it.

No matter what I'd done in the past, nothing
had prepared me for doing all my chores plus putting up fruit and
vegetables and working with the horses. Every muscle and bone in my
body ached.

“You'll stop hurting as soon as you start
moving.” He walked toward the door. “Best hurry. Ma overslept, too.
You'll have to take care of the chickens.”

Ma never overslept. I wiggled a finger in my
ear to make sure I heard right. As the thought worked through my
fuzzy brain, I threw off my blankets and snatched a worn and
patched calico dress from a peg on the wall.

“Figured that would get you moving. Get the
eggs and help Ma with breakfast. Bart and I will handle the rest.”
Adam closed the door.

After tugging the nightgown over my head, I
dressed and braided my hair. Instead of winding the braids into a
knot at my neck, I let them hang. I had lost most of my hairpins
working with the horses.

Ten minutes later, I collected eggs from the
nests. One hen wasn't appreciative of my efforts.

“Stop,” I said after she pecked my hand a
third time. “You know Ma needs these.”

The chicken flapped her wings and squawked. I
finished collecting the eggs and hurried back to the house. The
Johnsons stepped away from the wall beside my bedroom window. I
slowed down and set to work figuring out a way around them.

This basket is too durned full to run. Ma
really needs all these eggs, so I can't break any.

A step to the right did no good. They just
copied my move. Quick glances in to either side of me offered me no
insight as to where my brothers were.

I don't know what good having Bart and Adam
here would do. They would just rip up their clothes fighting those
rotten Johnsons.

The thought of mending my big brothers'
clothes after a scuffle with these men made my blood boil. That
would be punishing me for their misdeeds!

“Git.” I fixed my lips into a snarl. “Leave
me alone.”

“I figure it's time to take you to our
place,” Mr. Johnson said. “You'll do our chores and cook our food
and marry my boy, Gabriel.”

Fear dried my throat so much I couldn't have
whispered let alone hollered. I shook my head.

This can't be happening. What can I do?

I already knew what I couldn't do, but I did
have one option. Ma might not like having less eggs than she had
counted on, and I sure didn't want to bother the hens again, but I
sure didn't have too many choices.

“Git along to our wagon,” Gabriel ordered.
“No woman tells us no.”

Albert and Daniel took a step in my
direction. The noises I heard from the barn told me Adam and Bart
were busy with the cows and pig. Ma was close, but I wasn't sure
she could move fast enough. I threw an egg and hit Gabriel right
between the eyes.

He snorted and snuffled. Gabriel reached up
with his hands and tried to wipe egg off his face. His pa and
brothers gathered around to help him. I grinned at their futile
actions. Holding the basket tightly, I ran around those pesky men
and into the kitchen.