[Yukon Quest 01] - Treasures Of The North (19 page)
Bill and Jacob had remained silent as they plodded the trail in front of the women. At his daughter’s question, however, Bill Barringer slowed a bit and looked down.
‘‘Don’t know where we’ll be or what we’ll be doing, princess. If we’re around Dyea for a spell, you could sure enough go see Miss Karen from time to time.’’
‘‘Oh, thank you, Pa!’’ Leah squealed in delight. She threw a look back at Karen that suggested she’d just been given a very precious gift.
They concluded their walk at the edge of a small boat dock. The teamster and Aunt Doris were already haggling prices for transportation, and Karen knew without a doubt her worldly wise aunt would never let anyone get the best of her if she had any say in the matter. Aunt Doris finally extended her arm and shook hands with a man they’d never before laid eyes on. Apparently he was the one who would take them to Dyea.
‘‘Well, I arranged passage and transportation for our goods. The bad part is, it’s going to take several hours before our turn comes up,’’ Doris announced as she rejoined the group.
‘‘I’d best go see what I can do about getting us passage,’’ Bill mumbled before heading off in the direction Doris had just come from. Leah and Jacob seemed indifferent to the matter. Leah was already captivated by some strange tracks she’d found in the mud, and Jacob was staring off toward the mountains, as if to size up the challenge.
‘‘I suppose if we must wait,’’ Karen said, looking around her, ‘‘we should at least find some comfortable place in which to do so.’’
‘‘Doesn’t appear to be much available,’’ Doris replied.
Grace surprised them all. ‘‘Why don’t we just have them unload our things by the dock, and we can set up a little resting area.’’
Karen looked at the younger woman with a smile. ‘‘You’re turning out to be more innovative than I would have given you credit for.’’
Grace laughed, appearing freer than Karen had ever known her to be. ‘‘I had a good teacher.’’
The change in Grace was startling. Karen couldn’t help but wonder what had brought it about. There was that irritating matter of Peter Colton and his obvious interest, but it seemed that something more profound should account for this new side of Grace.
As the women went to work to arrange their trunks and crates in such a manner as to have a place to sit comfortably and rest, Karen couldn’t help but tease Grace.
‘‘You are different. I surmise that the mountain air has brought about a change in your personality.’’
Grace took off her jacket and tossed it aside. ‘‘No, I think it’s the liberty this place suggests. What freedom! Have you ever seen the likes?’’
Karen was enthralled. ‘‘What are you talking about?’’
‘‘This!’’ Grace exclaimed, waving her arms. ‘‘All of this. Look at the people here. Why, they come and go, dress in such a variety of fashion that no one pretends to know what is acceptable and what is not. You have men speaking to women and all go by a first-name basis. It seems that someone threw away the rules to proper society, and I’m surprised to say I like it.’’ Her face took on an expression that suggested a pranksterish schoolgirl had replaced the prim and proper Chicago socialite.
‘‘I would have never expected this,’’ Karen replied. ‘‘Your mother would be horrified.’’ She laughed, but there was a certain amount of uneasiness that came with it. Had she unwittingly awakened a behavior in Grace that would have been better left at rest?
‘‘Stop worrying,’’ Grace said, sitting down atop her trunk. ‘‘I haven’t lost my mind. I won’t go off embarrassing you by frequenting the wrong places.’’
Karen sat down beside her while Doris busied herself with accounting for her latest crocheting project. ‘‘I’m not worried about having you embarrass me,’’ Karen said, studying Grace very closely. ‘‘I just don’t know what to think. When we left Chicago you were a frightened girl who was running away to put a nightmarish arrangement behind you. In Seattle, I found you ever the peacemaker, intervening when things were uncomfortable and certain to become unpleasant. On the ship . . . well, on the ship I saw you practically blossom overnight under Captain Colton’s appreciative eye, and now here we are in Skagway and you are bold and radiant with joy, and I really don’t know what to make of it.’’
Grace laughed and patted Karen’s hand. ‘‘I was afraid. For a very long time I’ve been afraid. I don’t even know that I can tell you why, but I felt that the only safe place for me was in the confines of four walls. Four very familiar walls. But spending time away from home, seeing new people, experiencing new lands . . . why, it’s all enough to fuel my bravery and give me hope.’’
‘‘And were you so very hopeless before?’’
Grace sobered and nodded. ‘‘You know I was. I was so dependent upon you for hope and faith. I trusted God, but not enough. I prayed and pleaded my case, then cowered in the corner as if He’d never heard my words.’’
‘‘I suppose I was also at fault in that,’’ Karen replied, knowing that she had never pushed Grace to be too independent for fear she might not need her governess-friend anymore.
‘‘Not at all. You taught me all manner of things in which to find strength,’’ Grace replied. ‘‘And God was at the very top of the list. I feel as if this trip has been my coming of age. I’ve opened my eyes to see the life around me and to realize for the first time that there is so much more than my own little world. I want to experience it all. I want to learn how to work with my hands and to cook and clean. I want to sew and see something take shape, something more important than a cloth for the table.’’ Her words were spoken softly but with such great excitement that Karen couldn’t help but get caught up.
‘‘Good thing I came along, then,’’ she told Grace with a grin.
‘‘Why do you say that?’’ Grace asked, then quickly added, ‘‘Of course I’m glad you are here and know that none of this would have been possible had you not taken the first step in our escape.’’
‘‘I say it because I’ve taught you many useless things throughout your childhood. Things your mother thought befitting a socialite’s daughter. But now perhaps you would like to learn more beneficial skills. Between Aunt Doris and I we can surely teach you how to cook and sew. And maybe, once we find my father, you can learn a great deal more.’’
‘‘I’d like that very much,’’ Grace replied. Then holding up her feet she wrinkled her nose. ‘‘I’d like it even more if we could find some of those thick-soled boots like the men are wearing.’’
Karen laughed. ‘‘Me too. Who would have ever thought that the most enviable possession would be a pair of ugly old leather boots?’’
‘‘Hello, ladies.’’
Grace quickly put her feet down, and Karen knew without looking that Captain Colton had joined them.
‘‘Why, Captain, how is it that you are here and your ship is out there?’’ Karen questioned, pointing toward the general area of the harbor. ‘‘We presumed you’d be gone by now.’’
‘‘I had some things to arrange,’’ he replied without the slightest hint of irritation in her manner. ‘‘What of you, ladies? Why do I find you here?’’
‘‘We were discussing boots and waiting for our turn to be taken to Dyea,’’ Grace offered.
‘‘Boots?’’
Grace laughed and Karen watched as Colton’s face lit up at the sight. ‘‘Yes, boots. Thick leather boots that do not fall apart in the mud,’’ Grace proclaimed. ‘‘We were rather remiss in our preparations for Skagway.’’ She lifted one foot and revealed her mud-soaked shoe.
‘‘That will never do,’’ Peter replied. ‘‘You must all give me your sizes and let me see what is to be done.’’
‘‘Why would you spend your time in such a manner?’’ Karen questioned. She knew the answer but also knew Colton would never admit to it.
‘‘Wet feet are a danger to survival. Being a schoolteacher, I would have presumed you to know such things,’’ Peter said rather sarcastically. ‘‘But with Skagway given over to such rowdy dealings, I would much rather you allow me to go in search of proper footwear while you are safely awaiting your passage to Dyea.’’
‘‘Hello, Captain,’’ Doris said as she joined the party. Her crocheting was neatly tucked in the crook of her arm. ‘‘Are you bound for Dyea?’’
Peter smiled and gave Doris a little bow. ‘‘No, Miss Pierce, I came for another purpose. But when I found your party here, I couldn’t help but stop. I worried that perhaps something was wrong.’’
‘‘Only in the sense of there being no hotels and that passage to our destination should take so long.’’
‘‘No hotels?’’ Peter questioned. ‘‘But I thought you were joining up with the younger Miss Pierce’s father.’’
‘‘We will join up when we can find him,’’ Doris replied. ‘‘He’s a missionary in this area, but there’s no telling exactly where he is. At times he lived beyond the mountains and north toward where everyone is fussing to be. Other times he lived near Dyea.’’
Peter frowned and Karen could see he was not at all pleased. ‘‘So you are to be three women alone?’’
‘‘It would appear that way,’’ Doris replied. ‘‘But fret not, Captain. We will find some nook or cranny in which to stay.’’
‘‘Have you a tent?’’
‘‘No, but perhaps we can buy one,’’ Doris said, looking to Grace and Karen as if to ascertain their thoughts on the matter.
Before either could reply, Peter interjected, ‘‘I have a tent for you. I also have a proposition that until this moment seemed not at all reasonable. Now, however, I wonder if you might not find it to your liking.’’
‘‘Tell us,’’ Grace said enthusiastically.
Karen was more hesitant. ‘‘Remember, Grace, not all suggestions are necessarily beneficial ones.’’ She watched Colton carefully, hoping he might betray some sign of his secret thoughts. Thoughts he might be unwilling to reveal. But to her amazement, he quite openly shared them.
‘‘I believe this idea would benefit us both. I wonder if you ladies would have an interest in keeping a shop.’’
‘‘A shop? What kind of shop?’’ Doris questioned.
‘‘A dry goods—a supply store for miners and stampeders.’’
‘‘And who would set up this shop?’’ Karen questioned.
‘‘I would. I see the immense profitability in transporting goods as well as people to this region. With you ladies running the store, I would never fear being cheated.’’
‘‘It wouldn’t work,’’ Karen replied without waiting for anyone else. ‘‘We have to find my father, and that will take time and effort.’’
‘‘But a store, Miss Pierce, would allow you to meet many people without the need to frequent places maybe better left untraveled.’’
‘‘But we will be in Dyea, not Skagway where the harbor is better.’’
‘‘They are working on the harbor in Dyea, and while it isn’t ideal, it’s quite possible to put in and transfer the goods to barges. A store would give you an opportunity to make friendships and get to know the sourdoughs from the area.’’
‘‘Sourdoughs?’’ Karen questioned.
Peter nodded. ‘‘Those more grizzled veterans who’ve been here more than a few months.’’
Grace reached out to touch Karen’s arm. ‘‘I, for one, would like to consider this idea.’’
Karen felt a strange sense of being overruled. Especially when Doris nodded her enthusiasm. ‘‘Why, of course,’’ she replied. ‘‘It would present a perfect solution. But wherever would you find a building for such an operation?’’
‘‘The tent,’’ Peter replied. ‘‘I have a tent among my goods that’s big enough to house a circus, or nearly so.’’ He grinned and Karen turned away, feeling he was somehow mocking her.
‘‘You could live in part of the tent,’’ he continued, ‘‘and sell out of the other part. I could see to it that you have provisions for such a thing when I return on my next trip. I should be back here in a fortnight. In the meanwhile, you’d have no goods to sell. We could merely arrange for the tent to be put up on an acceptable site, and you could live there and even seek out Miss Pierce’s father while awaiting my return.’’
‘‘I think it sounds wonderful,’’ Grace replied, getting to her feet. ‘‘Then if Karen and Doris wish to join up with Mr. Pierce, I might even choose to stay on and run the store on my own.’’
Karen turned around and looked hard at Grace. She was definitely not the same young woman. ‘‘Perhaps we’re being hasty here.’’
‘‘Well, you’ll have a good two weeks to consider it,’’ Peter replied. ‘‘For now, I’ll arrange to have the tent put up and secured for your living. I can even supply you with a camp kit and three cots.’’
‘‘Wonderful!’’ Doris exclaimed. ‘‘Ask and it shall be given.’’
‘‘But you didn’t ask me for a thing,’’ Peter said, laughing.
‘‘No, but I did ask God,’’ Doris replied.
Grace laughed. ‘‘As did I.’’
Karen was the only one who said nothing. Somehow she just couldn’t look at Peter Colton as a blessing. He seemed much more to be a thorn in the side. A handsome thorn, but a thorn nevertheless.
BILL BARRINGER checked his pockets one last time for any loose change he might have overlooked. Nothing! He had less than two bits to his name and no hope of getting north before the heavy snows unless he left soon.
The problem, as he saw it, was twofold. First, he didn’t have the supplies necessary to go into the Yukon. The Canadians were rigid in their requirements to enter their country. They’d set up duty stations at the border and patrolled them with red-coated Mounties who would collect tax duties and enforce their demands. And those demands were even more impressive than they’d been rumored down in the lower states.
A ton of goods per person is what one person called it, but the real aim was to see that each traveler had the means of supporting himself for a year in the wilderness. Bill thought it all nonsense. There were surely game to kill and goods to purchase. It might be isolated on the other side of the mountain pass, but he’d heard of many a small town already being developed to accommodate the stampeders. And if that were the case, why should any man have to lug around four hundred pounds of flour or one hundred pounds of sugar? Not only this, but many of the requirements came in the form of tools, and why in the world couldn’t a man just borrow what he needed from his neighbor?
The second obstacle and liability was the fact that he had children. Bill was quickly coming to understand that Leah and Jacob could never hope to pack their own provisions, and hiring packers from the local Indian tribes was clearly out of the question. Bill hadn’t even figured out how to buy the provisions, much less pack them. The entire matter was enough to leave him completely discouraged. And while he’d never express himself in such a way as to let his children know the truth, Bill was beginning to think God held him a grudge.
