The Stonegate Sword

Chapter 18: Down the River

CHAPTER XVIII

DOWN THE RIVER

Don idly watched the left front wheel of the heavy wagon.  It had a slight wobble as it turned. The morning was wearing on and the day was beginning to get hot.  He watched the muscular hind quarters of the team that pulled them and heard the crunch of their large hooves on the gravel.  Then he looked back at the wheel.  Crunch.  Crunch.  Wobble.  Wobble. 

Flies buzzed around their heads and settled on the horses.  Some were horn flies and had a painful sting.  But they were some distance from the river and the mosquitos were nowhere to be seen.  Don glanced at the rim rock to the north, and toward the line of willows to the south.

Aaron sat on the seat a couple of feet to Don’s left.  But the older man had little to say.  He was a good driver, despite having only one hand.  As he drove, he seemed to be deep in thought.   Don was not in the mood for conversation, anyway.

The entire trip had not been in silence, of course.  Aaron was full of facts about the lower river valley, through which they were traveling.  He knew the names of all the hills, ranges, creeks, town sites and battlefields.  It had been interesting for the first two days.  But as they neared the Bishop’s land the conversation had lagged.

Don suspected that Aaron was thinking ahead about the job that lay before them.  But Don’s thoughts kept returning to Owl Hollow two weeks before.  He knew that he was getting obsessive or maybe even morbid.  But he could not stop the memories from flooding back.

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Their mood had been light and both Don and Crispin had been flushed and excited as they recovered their supplies from the hasty cache and turned the corner toward the south. They had ridden all night, but the horses were still strong, so they kept on. Soon the valley west of Steamboat lay well to their rear.  They had pushed the horses hard and though they kept a good watch behind them, they had seen no sign of pursuit. They made it back to Owl Hollow before dark on the second day.

The green meadow and the tidy cabin were pleasant to see.  Crispin was complaining about saddle sores,  but the sight of home made him grin.  They had seen no sign of the Dine’ scouts.  But just as they left the tree line, Don looked back and saw a figure step out of the trees, wave, and then vanish.  They had not arrived undetected.

They stepped off and tied their horses by the front gate.  As they started to unpack, Samuel came out to help.  He was alone, but he greeted them warmly.  “Glad to see you!”

Crispin pointed.  “What do you suppose is on the pack horse?” he asked.

“They gave you everything we wanted?” asked Samuel, tugging at the canvas to take a look.   He loosened the hitch with haste.

“Nearly,” answered Don, as he stripped off his mail.  “But they did not come easy.” Crispin helped Samuel with the pack cinch, and they  soon lifted the panniers off.  Samuel examined the shells closely as they stacked their gear on the ground.

“Amber is safe with her family,” said Crispin.  “She sends thanks.”

Samuel looked up.  “Oh, good,” he said.  “Very good.  You did well! One large gun shell and two smaller ones.  That will be satisfactory.”

“How are the fair guests?” asked Don.  “Is Rachel still sick?”

Samuel stood and walked over to Don.  He put his right hand on his shoulder.  “Rachel is gone,” he said.  “All four of  the young ladies from Stonegate left two days ago.  Several Dine’ scouts, as well as Abel, Eric and Bobby went with them.  They should have no trouble.”