The Sky Never Ends

Adventure

Morning of July 20, 1864

We started our morning after completing chores and going to the chapel, chasing and playing in the woods with our little brothers. We stayed out for hours walking through the forest picking up knick knacks and leaving a pine cone trail to map our way back. Mid afternoon her and her siblings came upon a clearing with a dilapidated barn. Being curious and fearless like she was Selah was the first person to explore their new find. She was expecting an empty space with a few left over benches or tables, but when she entered she found a small bed and a chest. Other than the few lanterns the entire barn was empty.

"Do you think someone lives here?" her brother Tobias asked.

"Someone does, or maybe someone did. there's not much to live off of in here. It so far away from town, I guess this is a good place to camp if there is a storm." Sadie said as she walked further into the room.

"Should we be here? Are we allowed?" Henry questioned from the doorway afraid to step in. The adventurous gene of the Patton family did not seem to show in little Henry. He was scared of almost anything.

"It doesn't look like there is anyone here Henry, we should be okay, we'll head home soon. I just want to get a souvenir to remember our trip" Selah giggled walking over to the dusty chest. Her inquisitive nature wouldn't let her leave with out taking a peek. "There is no lock, obviously this place is abandoned, no one would leave something valuable out here."

Selah pointed at her brothers to help her move the chest towards the light of the window so she could see inside. Once it was in place Selah cracked open the chest and gasped.

"Oh my goodness, this isn't a regular chest. We've found ourselves some treasure!" Sadie exclaimed.

Inside the chest was a few items of clothing, a cross, a large stack of leather-bound books and bibles, and a copious amount of gold and jewels. Selah's eyes widened, and so did her smile. Because of her sheltered and conservative upbringing she had never seen things this valuable in her life. Her parents made a good amount of money, but maintained their humbleness referring to their bible. They always had what they needed, never too much, or too little.

Selah knew that what she was about to do was wrong, and would have her behind red and sore if her parents ever found out, but the temptation was too strong. She reached inside and grabbed four gold coins, one for each of them.

"Listen guys, we can't ever tell Mama and Papa what we found today. When we get home go hide it in a spot you won't forget, and then we'll act like this never happened. Deal?" Selah spoke while passing out each coin. "We'll take this to our graves okay?" she laughed.

"Okay, okay guys, lets move it back, its getting late. We'll make it to our graves by the end of the night if we don't get back before dark." Tobias grunted as he pushed the chest across the floor.

Selah turned around as they we're leaving to make sure everything looked okay. Once she was satisfied she closed the door and headed home. She wasn't observant enough to notice the two furious men sitting at the top of a hill to the west of the barn. They had seen everything. Although one thing that had them the most angry was the skin color of the trespassers. As soon as the thieves were out of sight the two seething men, jumped a top their horses and headed back to their camp.

The evening of July 20, 1856

"Selah Rose, I need you and your sister to go to the stream and get some fresh water for these awful clothes you all dirtied up on your adventures today." her mother requested.

Selah was facing the opposite direction of her mother so she couldn't see the dissatisfaction on her face. She was hoping after a long day of exploring she could go to sleep after supper and not worry about more chores. Unfortunately for her, there was always something that needed to be done before winter came.

"Yes Ma, I'll go find Sadie." she sighed.

Selah found Sadie washing their littlest sister Ada in the tub.

"When you get done, we need to go fetch some fresh water from the stream."

"Says who?" Sadie asked.

"Ma did. Now lets go, so we can get back soon, I'm tired." Selah stated as she walked towards the front door.