in helping Americans, he would never be permitted to take his uncle’s place as president of the committee when he returned to London next year.
McLoughlin snapped the reins, and he and Madame rode east with their party.
The remaining officers and servants walked back up the hill, toward the fort, but Alex lingered on the landing as he surveyed the calm bend of the Columbia River that led to the ocean. If only the Americans stayed away while McLoughlin was gone... Then Alex wouldn’t have to choose between his future on the committee and his God-given duty to help those in need.
Chapter Five
“We found a stream!” Doctor Rochester shouted from his saddle, and cheers rippled over the company.
The moment the wagons stopped, Samantha untied the rawhide strip from around Boaz’s neck, and he bolted toward the water. Just as Jack predicted, Captain Loewe ordered that every dog remain tied up when they ended their journey today. It wasn’t fair, though, to punish the dogs for trying to protect them, and it certainly wasn’t fair to keep them from water when they were so thirsty.
Samantha took Micah’s hand and then picked up the folds of her calico dress with her free hand. They raced toward the small grove of trees that blazed golden in the sunlight.
The captain might be angry with her for stealing Boaz away to the stream, but she couldn’t imagine him being any angrier than he’d been last night. Lately it seemed that he was angry about pretty much everything.
Beneath the knobbed gray trunks of the trees, a carpet of sage and dried sweetgrass stretched across the dry valley to the peaks of the Blue Mountains. Several children tumbled along the valley floor near Samantha and Micah, turning somersaults in the grass after hours of riding in a bumpy wagon.
Samantha was tempted to toss away her yellow bonnet, which had failed miserably at keeping the sun off her face, and tumble with the children, but Lucille and the other ladies—not to mention her father—would be mortified at the thought. No one frowned at her playingwhen she was a girl. It was only after she became an adult that the other adults began frowning. A lot.
Boaz jumped into the water, rolling to soak his gray fur. She lifted her skirt to her knees, kicked off her moccasins, and hopped into the cool water to wash away the heat and dust. Then she cupped her hand and sipped the sweetness of the stream, savoring every drop as it soothed her throat.
The earth trembled under her feet, and she turned to watch four oxen and two horses run toward the riverbank. Even though the men would only release a few at a time to avoid another stampede, the earth still felt as if it were about to open up.
She tugged Micah to the other side of the stream, and as he gulped the water beside her, his towhead glistened like the autumn leaves in the sunlight. He’d stripped down to the buckskin trousers she’d found for him at Fort Hall, and those were rolled up to his knees.
Lucille hurried down to the water next, accompanied by her mother and little Katherine and a crowd of women carrying pails and kettles that clanged beside them. The women laughed as they rushed toward the stream, and Samantha stopped for a moment, watching them with envy. She wished her mother were here to celebrate the finding of water with her. She wished they could laugh together and work together and even commiserate together as they cooked over their stove in the heat.
Mama had been much more fragile than most women in their forties, her body battered by frequent miscarriages and an unexplained illness that plagued her for years. When their doctor said the dry air out West might be good for her health, Papa began saving money to travel to Oregon Country. It had taken him less than a year to save the money for their journey, and Samantha suspected he’d been saving a lot longer than that.
When he finally had enough money, it was too late to save Mama. They buried her four months before they
McLoughlin snapped the reins, and he and Madame rode east with their party.
The remaining officers and servants walked back up the hill, toward the fort, but Alex lingered on the landing as he surveyed the calm bend of the Columbia River that led to the ocean. If only the Americans stayed away while McLoughlin was gone... Then Alex wouldn’t have to choose between his future on the committee and his God-given duty to help those in need.
Chapter Five
“We found a stream!” Doctor Rochester shouted from his saddle, and cheers rippled over the company.
The moment the wagons stopped, Samantha untied the rawhide strip from around Boaz’s neck, and he bolted toward the water. Just as Jack predicted, Captain Loewe ordered that every dog remain tied up when they ended their journey today. It wasn’t fair, though, to punish the dogs for trying to protect them, and it certainly wasn’t fair to keep them from water when they were so thirsty.
Samantha took Micah’s hand and then picked up the folds of her calico dress with her free hand. They raced toward the small grove of trees that blazed golden in the sunlight.
The captain might be angry with her for stealing Boaz away to the stream, but she couldn’t imagine him being any angrier than he’d been last night. Lately it seemed that he was angry about pretty much everything.
Beneath the knobbed gray trunks of the trees, a carpet of sage and dried sweetgrass stretched across the dry valley to the peaks of the Blue Mountains. Several children tumbled along the valley floor near Samantha and Micah, turning somersaults in the grass after hours of riding in a bumpy wagon.
Samantha was tempted to toss away her yellow bonnet, which had failed miserably at keeping the sun off her face, and tumble with the children, but Lucille and the other ladies—not to mention her father—would be mortified at the thought. No one frowned at her playingwhen she was a girl. It was only after she became an adult that the other adults began frowning. A lot.
Boaz jumped into the water, rolling to soak his gray fur. She lifted her skirt to her knees, kicked off her moccasins, and hopped into the cool water to wash away the heat and dust. Then she cupped her hand and sipped the sweetness of the stream, savoring every drop as it soothed her throat.
The earth trembled under her feet, and she turned to watch four oxen and two horses run toward the riverbank. Even though the men would only release a few at a time to avoid another stampede, the earth still felt as if it were about to open up.
She tugged Micah to the other side of the stream, and as he gulped the water beside her, his towhead glistened like the autumn leaves in the sunlight. He’d stripped down to the buckskin trousers she’d found for him at Fort Hall, and those were rolled up to his knees.
Lucille hurried down to the water next, accompanied by her mother and little Katherine and a crowd of women carrying pails and kettles that clanged beside them. The women laughed as they rushed toward the stream, and Samantha stopped for a moment, watching them with envy. She wished her mother were here to celebrate the finding of water with her. She wished they could laugh together and work together and even commiserate together as they cooked over their stove in the heat.
Mama had been much more fragile than most women in their forties, her body battered by frequent miscarriages and an unexplained illness that plagued her for years. When their doctor said the dry air out West might be good for her health, Papa began saving money to travel to Oregon Country. It had taken him less than a year to save the money for their journey, and Samantha suspected he’d been saving a lot longer than that.
When he finally had enough money, it was too late to save Mama. They buried her four months before they
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