Chapter 5

"Are you all right?" They were the first words Sebastian thought to say. After all, there was little to say that wasn't already known.

"Let's just ride for a while. Watch where we're going." Kat had her head down as they escaped the canyon.

The walls overhead were so high, all he could see was a thin line of blue sky.

With the ground under their horses' hooves so uneven and treacherous, Kat was wise to pay strict attention. And besides, he'd seen the tears in her eyes.

Seb kept quiet and guided his surefooted horse through the choke hold of a canyon entrance.

When they emerged, Seb shuddered a little from the weight of finally being free. They paused a moment, and he wondered if this was the right thing to do. He already missed those good men and woman. Even through tears, Kat gave him a brave smile, and his mind was set as he turned his horse.

Seb didn't know much about the West, about trails and such, but he could tell that the sun was on his left. With it being early morning, the sun in that position meant it was in the east and they were heading south now. They would ride south all the way to the train tracks. The O'Tooles were in this direction, too. Jake had talked about a creek, a two-hour ride. He said they couldn't miss it. The ground here was rocky and broken, nothing that could be called a trail.

Keeping quiet and paying attention made good sense.

He just kept riding. Let Kat get her tears finished as they rode the horses to smoother ground. There'd be plenty of time to talk later. And Seb had to manage a lump in his own throat. So, with his mouth shut, he focused on the ride south. They had their whole lives to talk.

"Let's stop and look back," Kat said some minutes later. "I want to try to find the canyon mouth. It won't be easy—it's so hidden."

They both turned around and peered to the north. Seb looked for landmarks, for boulders or lines in the sheer stone wall that were memorable.

Kat looked at him. "Well? Do you see it?"

"Not really, but I figure I could find that wall of rock and, knowing there's a way in, keep hunting until I found it."

Kat nodded. "That might work. Let's go then."

They turned to the south again and rode until an hour stretched nearly to two. The sun rose steadily. The ground leveled more with every mile. Seb was leading as they rode single file, yet the land wasn't so broken here, and he was about to tell her to ride beside him when he saw something mighty shocking.

"Kat, look at that," he said, pointing.

"It's a trail, coming from the northwest." Kat moved closer, then twisted around to look over her shoulder at the very visible trail. "Was there a trail here last year?"

Seb met her gaze. "I never noticed one. Remember how careful Oscar was to cover our tracks?"

"Yes, he walked behind our five wagons. He and Jake. He talked about covering our back trail, or something like that."

"So where did this come from?" He hesitated, then added, "Do you think we're lost?"

Kat gave a small shrug. "We're lost in that I've got no idea where we are. But we know we're riding south, and that train track cuts all the way across the state. We can't miss it."

She didn't sound all that confident.

Seb tried to sharpen his attention, be more aware of his surroundings. "Men like Jake and Dakota, the wagon-train master, understand the West. I envy them that skill. Only now when my big skill is keeping my left shoulder warm from the sun shining on us do I realize just how little I know."

"Jake said to look for a jagged ridge. We'll reach the O'Tooles' land when we pull even with it."

They stopped and looked to the west and to the north just as they had several times. The landscape was all jagged. They rounded a corner, Seb worrying about where they were headed, when a redheaded girl dashed out of a grove. She saw them and froze, then waved wildly.

"Sebastian! Kat! Hello!" It was Bridget O'Toole. Seb felt his worry melt away, replaced by a smile. The Irish lilt to her voice rang like music through the mountain air.

She was a hundred yards or so down the slope they were riding, and they picked up speed to meet her.

She turned and shouted something. Hard to tell what with her back to them, but within seconds Fiona appeared, stepping from the woods.

"We built their cabin in that grove, remember?" Seb said to Kat, who grinned and nodded.

"I'm glad Bridget saw us. All these groves start to look alike after a while. We might've ridden right by their place."

Conor dashed out, saw them, and lit up. He charged for them so hard, Seb held his reins a bit tighter, afraid his horse might spook and trample the little guy.

"Maybe we should walk from here?" Seb drew his horse to a halt and swung down just as he thought of the puppies and kittens. They'd checked them frequently, and now the satchels that carried them wriggled as if the babies were excited to see who was coming.

Kat unhooked the satchels, came to the front of the horses, and handed one to Seb. They closed the distance with the sprinting child.

Kat said, "We'd better have a care how we let them loose."

"I'd hate to see them turn and run for home."

Conor hit Seb in the legs, and Seb couldn't resist hugging him.

"You came. We were hoping for some company."

They kept moving and reached Bridget, then Fiona. Down lower, they could see the cabin now. Across the stream, Donal was setting aside a bag he must be using to sow oats or corn. Bruce was fiddling with the corner of a large corral. He paused, waved, and went right back to work, but soon finished. Bruce and Donal walked across the stream on flat stones.

Maeve came out of the house, wiping her hands, her red curls pulled back in a bun but flying loose with every step she took.

They were smiling. They'd had time to heal. Yes, they'd always miss Shay, Fiona's husband who'd drowned, but they would survive.

Seb reached Fiona just as a yip sounded from inside his bag. Conor froze.

"What's that?" He sounded too excited to dare to hope.

"Everyone, get ready. We can't let them run off." Seb crouched to the ground, and Kat did the same. They set the satchels down and opened them. The kittens exploded out of the bag, hissing and climbing Kat until they were sitting on her shoulder. Kat squeaked from all the little claws digging in.

Conor howled and clapped his hands.

Fiona said, "Hush now, boyo. They're scared."

Seb placed a hand under the round belly of the little puppy he reached first and handed him to Conor, whose eyes went round.

"Gentle now, son." Fiona tried to sound stern, but the smile blooming on her face ruined any scolding.

Bruce reached for a kitten and peeled it off Kat's shoulder.

Seb handed the second puppy to Bridget, and Bruce handed the kitten he had to Donal. Then he freed the other one from trying to climb Kat's head. This one went to Maeve.

"We've need of a good dog and cat. But two of each?" Fiona shook her head.

"Our cat had a litter of six, and the dog did the same. We had no expectation of that when we got them. You'd be doing us a favor if you'd take them before we're overrun. Jake threatened to send about five dogs and ask you to find homes for them."

"Well, it's time for our morning coffee. You're welcome to join us. I made dinner rolls, along with our loaves of bread. Can you stay awhile?" Maeve's eyes gleamed like a young woman who'd seen no one but her family through a long winter.

"We'll stay for coffee, but Kat and I"—Seb smiled up at her—"we're headed back east. We've found Montana winters don't suit us."

They'd been a married couple on the wagon train, and Seb didn't think the O'Tooles had ever heard different.

"I'm going to miss you."

"With the train, we hope we can come and visit now and again."

Maeve threw her arms around Kat.

"Seb, good to see you." Bruce came up and shook Seb's hand. Donal clapped him on the back.

"Welcome." Fiona took her turn hugging Kat. "How're things going?"

Seb didn't exactly want to tell them everything. He realized he'd adopted Beth's habit of not explaining where exactly they were going. No reason not to, and yet he hesitated.

Kat said, "We've decided to climb on the train and ride a bit. We have no firm plans beyond that."

Fiona slid an arm across Kat's back. "Come inside. We want to hear all about it."

"And we'd love to hear all about your winter." Seb pointed across the stream to a small herd of Angus cattle, five of them—one a bull. Each cow had a calf at her side. There was a brown-and-white-spotted milk cow with a spring baby as black as its Angus daddy and a match for the other calves in the yard. The calf from the milk cow mama was a little bonier, a little taller. Most likely every calf they had would match the bull from now on.

In the corral with the other cows stood seven oxen. They'd started the winter with eight, so Seb was sure they'd eaten the oxen and spared the Angus to grow the herd.

"It's our hope to reach Alton before the sun sets, so we can't stay long." Seb walked behind the women and children, lined up with Bruce and Donal. "The place looks nice. You've made it into a fine home."

Bruce said, "Our wagon train rolled through first last summer, but there were others. Many have turned aside just as we have. When I'm out riding, whether to hunt or scout, I find new homesteaders real regular. This land is going to be plumb crowded in a few years. I might stay out here—outside the canyon, that is. It suits me."

Seb was startled. Seb had seen it as Bruce making a sacrifice to remain behind, but maybe the man had begun to build a life here.

"I had some cash money, so I rode into Alton early in the spring and bought a stretch of land. No need to build a cabin, as it's not a homestead." He swept an arm toward the mountains, not distant in this fertile valley. "My land ends where those hills rise up."

Bruce looked at Donal. "If'n you want your cabin to yourself, son, just say the word and I'll go."

"Maybe at some time, but for now it'd be mighty lonely. I'm used to a big family. Of course, my family is right here at hand. But staying in the cabin alone, especially since we built a separate room on for you, isn't anything I wish for." Donal bumped Bruce with his elbow in such a friendly way, Seb was glad Bruce had stayed and stepped in for Shay.

"If I get to thinking you're ornery, I'll let you know."

Bruce laughed as they all went into the O'Tooles' cabin.

"Why are you here so late?"

Seb thought of how desperately he'd wanted to leave months ago. He didn't talk about the snow-clotted canyon entrance; he was leery of telling anything that might give away their location. "We'd planned to leave as soon as the cold weather let up, but before we could do so, Beth had twin babies. A girl and a boy."

The excitement almost burst from each of the O'Tooles as Kat talked about delivering them, and Seb talked about how much the little angels cried.

They settled at a kitchen table big enough for everyone. When the news about the babies finally calmed, Seb looked around. "I like this cabin. Cupboards and a dry sink. A table and chairs. Two rocking chairs. All anyone needs."

"It's been a long winter for a fact. Plenty of time for working on the place." Bruce sipped his coffee.

Seb ran his hand across the tabletop. "Smooth as silk. Who built this?"

Bruce shrugged, and his cheeks might've pinked up a bit. "I've always enjoyed woodworking. And with Donal's help, and Conor's, plus the women keeping everything else running while I fussed a bit, we managed to build a nice table and a few other bits."

Donal slapped Bruce on the back with true kindness. "You taught me so much. I don't know if I could come close to building such fine things as you did. Yet I could build a table and chairs."

"Oscar's got a knack as a teacher, too. He did his best to teach Kat and me how to build the barn and corrals."

"How is everyone?" Fiona nearly burst with the question, wanting to know everything. They spent a pleasant hour together full of news and friendship. They'd brought the puppies and kittens into the house, and Conor and Bridget played on the floor with their new pets. Maeve found them a meaty bone, leaving the four critters to settle into their gnawing while the O'Tooles, Bruce, Kat, and Seb talked.

Seb found himself with yet another place he hated to leave.

They all ate the warm rolls Maeve had cooling on the counter and drank fresh coffee. It was with great reluctance that Seb finally announced it was time for them to go.

Fiona and Maeve begged them to stay for the noon meal or stay for the day or even the night—a few days maybe.

It wasn't easy to resist, but then Seb itched to get on with his life, to set himself up to work. And he had an itch where Kat was concerned, too, and wanted to get on with marrying her. He wished he could tell these good folks that. He could even encourage them to come along to Alton, so that Kat could have friends attend her wedding.

But they were supposed to be married already, so Kat was hugged all around. Seb shook hands and got his back slapped and listened closely to Bruce's directions to Alton. There would be no worry about finding their way. There was a clear trail. They were trotting south long before midday.

"This trail is no trail. It's a road. And look at that." He nodded westward.

They both looked wide-eyed at the tidy log cabin with horses in a corral behind it and a small barn. There was a clothesline with what were definitely women's clothes among the drying laundry. And the rectangles of white waving in the breeze were probably diapers.

"A family." Seb's hands tightened nervously on the reins until the horse tossed its head with a jingle of iron from the bridle. Seb relaxed his hold but not his gut. "Were they here last fall?"

Kat shook her head. "Do you think the O'Tooles know they've got company a half-hour ride away?"

"Probably. Bruce seems like a knowing man. And he said settlers are flooding in. Oscar might have known about them. Or noticed them at a distance and avoided them. He might have avoided this trail, too."

"Another cabin, and one on past that," Seb said, pointing. "And there's one over there."

"I'm no judge of space, but those cabins look to be built on a bunch of acres. Probably the size of your usual homestead. And they're newly built. Just this spring by the looks of 'em."

"If folks are coming out on the train instead of on wagon trains, they can get into any area the minute it thaws in the spring."

A man stepped out of the nearest cabin and watched them ride past. He raised an arm and waved. "Howdy, folks. You on the way from Boise? Are you settling around here?"

Boise, Idaho, was the capital of the territory. Seb knew that much. Honestly, he hadn't known that before he'd come west. Oscar and his brothers and Jake talked about settling in the West and the Oregon Trail country. He'd heard talk of new territories and a lot about the train.

Kat then said something that made Seb cringe.

"We're headed for the train. Do we follow this trail all the way there?" She asked the man for directions.

"Yep, heads right for Alton. You'll pass through Darius on the way."

"Darius?"

"Yep, a new town. It's laid out and being built up fast. There's talk of a train spur heading up from Alton to Boise. There's a good chance it'll happen, too. The territorial capital should connect to a train." The man shook his head and chewed on what looked like a straw of dried oats or maybe a grass stem. "You folks have got a long day ahead, though."

The cabin, the corral, the barn all looked so new, Seb could tell they hadn't weathered a winter yet. Which meant this man had arrived here recently.

"Did you settle here just this spring?" He drew his horse to a halt, though his impulse was to hurry on. Not speak to anyone. Beth and her family's wariness had rubbed off on him.

"Yep, came out on the train headed for Oregon. Then folks on the train spoke of the Snake River Plain and how fertile it is, and a bunch of us decided to go no farther. Folks are pouring into this country, more every day. It's a rich and beautiful land. You folks want to come inside? Share a meal with us or have coffee?"

"We'd better get on." Kat sounded friendly, and Seb noticed she wasn't offering the stranger much information. "The long ride sounds like we don't dare tarry. But thank you for the invitation."

And on they rode through a land teeming with neighbors.

After they'd passed several dozen homesteads, Seb said, "I feel like we ought to go back and warn Jake and Oscar about all these folks. Probably more will be coming every day. They may think they're isolated out in Hidden Canyon, but they're kidding themselves."

Every time they passed near enough, someone would come to the door of their cabin or their barn or straighten from hoeing their garden. The women often sat outside, doing needlework or working over a steaming washtub, children playing nearby. They'd call out a greeting, and occasionally someone would approach them and talk for a few minutes.

"I almost asked that first man how long it would take us to get to the train, but he likely doesn't know. He might well have climbed off the train, then driven a wagon for days to get here. And it's doubtful he's gone to town since he settled."

The cabins were closer together as they followed the increasingly broad trail south. Seb had let go of any worries he had over getting lost. Not much chance of that on a trail that had turned into a road. He saw a half-grown boy driving a yoke of oxen across a field, pulling a plow. "I guess I'd gotten used to there being only one small group of people in the whole world."

They ate hardtack and jerky as they rode. Their only stops were to water the horses when a stream came into sight. And they gave the horses a chance to graze every couple of hours. Seb was grateful for the break. He hadn't done much riding in his life, especially since they'd moved into the canyon, though Oscar had insisted everyone ride a bit to keep the horses gentled.

They'd trot for a while, but mainly they traveled at a fast, steady walk. The horses probably could have galloped, and that would have shortened their travel time, but there was no sense in being hard on their mounts.

The sun was getting lower in the sky when a town finally came into view. Now their plans to marry came back quick. Seb had thought of it a little on the trail, but he'd had plenty on his mind to keep from focusing on it for very long. And now they were in town, the train tracks visible. Suddenly he found himself nervous, fretting about getting married. They should probably put it off, but he wanted to marry her. It all seemed so rushed. Still, he couldn't just plunk her into a hotel room and get a separate room. It wasn't safe for her to be alone, nor proper. No, they had to get married right away. They'd have to find a preacher and—

"Seb, listen."

The distant clacking of wheels could be heard. The sound was coming from the west.

"Let's try to get on that train. We're going to have to hurry. We can ... uh, get married when we get off the train, can't we?"

Seb fought a smile. They did not have to hurry. In fact, they could let this train go. Talk out whether to sell the horses or take them. Have their stay in Alton be a bit of a honeymoon while they plotted out their future. In truth, she was as nervous as he was. Seeing this helped to steady him.

"Let's hurry then."

When they got to town, Seb said, "Let's sell the horses if we can. We can buy another pair when we disembark, can't we?"

Kat looked at him, then the horses, then pointed to a livery stable near the railroad station. "Let's see if we can do it in time. I'd just as soon travel light."

Riding up to the stable, they dismounted.

A man ambled out, watching them, wiping his hands on a piece of red-checked flannel. "Help you, folks?"

"Do you buy horses and saddles? We want to catch the train and will pay for the horses to ride along if we must, but if you'd—"

"I'll give you fifty dollars for the two of them and another ten for the saddles and bridles."

Seb blinked. He figured he was being cheated, but then he had no idea what things were worth out here. Twenty-five dollars was a fair price for a horse in Independence.

"Deal. We'll unload our satchels and leave the horses with you right now."

The man nodded, as calm as the nearby mountains. He was probably very happy inside, but he was doing a good job of covering it up.

"The train stops here for an hour. Folks'll get off and stretch their legs and eat, usually at that diner right there." He pointed to a tidy little building close to the station, as new and raw as the rest of the town, with the words Alton Diner painted over the front door.

"Get in now and you'll beat the crowd that comes in from the train." He pulled three twenty-dollar gold pieces out of his pocket. Kat and Seb unloaded their supplies, headed for the diner, and were eating roast beef and mashed potatoes when the train pulled into the station.

"Let's get on over there in case the train doesn't stop for as long as that hostler said." Seb sopped up the last of the gravy with a bit of bread.

"I hadn't realized how hungry I was," Kat said. "And how nice it would be to talk to people other than those in the canyon."

She reached for his hand across the table just as the diner's front door opened and folks who must've come from the train straggled inside.

"We did the right thing leaving. But it was hard." She squeezed his hand tight, and he nodded.

"Hard and right—I think that about covers it." They walked straight to the train station and purchased tickets to Cheyenne.

"Do you have a newspaper for sale here?" Seb asked the station agent.

The man shook his head. Then he pointed at a bench near the front door. "There's one that got left by someone earlier. I've read it through twice. Go ahead and take it along. It's a strange paper from back east. Out of Chicago, I think. Nothing in it but crime and worry. Makes a man glad he came west."

"Thank you kindly, sir." Seb picked up the paper, folded it neatly, and tucked it under his arm. Speaking quietly, he said, "I'll be interested to see if there's any news of Thaddeus Rutledge in the paper. He's a powerful man. He might well be in the news—if he's still alive."

They boarded while water was still pouring into the tanker car from the water tower beside the train tracks.

By the time the weary travelers returned, the sun was low in the sky. Seb and Kat had chosen the rearmost passenger car and the seat farthest back. She twisted to look out the window behind him.

"Look at that sunset." Kat silently stared at the sky while the train car filled with passengers. They watched as God painted a glorious red across the horizon, and then the train let out a whistle blast. With a jerk of their car, they started pulling out of the station.

Seb leaned close to whisper, "We probably should have hunted up a preacher and gotten married. There would have been enough time."

She took his hand. Seb looked down at their intertwined hands, just as their lives would soon be. She said, "Nothing improper about sitting together in a train car full of people. Besides, I'd prefer to have the wedding when we aren't in such a rush."

Seb meant it about wishing they'd managed vows. But it was all part of an uncertain new future, rushing at them with the speed of a train. Traveling together made a wedding inevitable now, and he didn't hesitate to accept that. Even so, he was a bit afraid of what the future held.