Across the Border (2 page)

But later, when Polly asked her about it, Manda was quick with her answer. “My friends. A closer town to shop in. And I suppose I would have liked to have been asked if I ever wanted to go back before Chad made up his mind. I know I shouldn't complain. I have all my family around me, and a good home. Chad has always provided a comfortable living for us. I just never thought I'd leave for good the place where I grew up.”

“Why don't you make the trip back with 'em?” Polly suggested. “You could have a nice visit with Lydia Archer.”

Manda shook her head. “I couldn't leave you and Frances with the garden to put in and the children to watch. I wouldn't enjoy myself.”

Now that the matter was settled, Chad set about the business of making sale notices.

Chad read the notice over with satisfaction. This sale would bring in more than enough cash for the plans he had. And he still possessed 3,200 acres of good land in Nebraska. He was confident about his decision. If he listened to the womenfolk, they would be as poor as church mice.

Alice wandered down to the creek and sat on a log, dangling her feet in the water. There were no lessons this morning because Frances was working with Manda. Simon and Will were in the field with Luke, and Polly was boiling water for the jam and jelly they would make that afternoon.

Alice could have been sewing, but since that was her least favorite thing to do, she put it off until Frances insisted that she get it out. There wasn't much time to sit and do nothing.

A number of small stones lay at her feet, and she absentmindedly arranged them into the shape of a dollhouse. She outlined a living room and positioned several odd-looking pieces of rock to serve as furniture. Next she added a kitchen. When a noise made her look up, she watched two squirrels chasing each other until they disappeared.

Somewhere on the other side of the creek was the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Although many of the Indians had been over to work for Pa, and she knew some of them by name, Alice had never been to their village.
Maybe this would be a good time to visit
, she thought. She could be back in a few minutes, certainly before Polly would need her in the kitchen.

The water was colder than she expected, and Alice shivered as it crept up to her knees. It had been a dry spring, and the creek was low, so it didn't take long to reach the other side. She headed into the woods in the direction from which she had seen the Indians approach the Rush farm.

Toward the middle of the morning, Frances came into the kitchen.

“Polly, when Alice finishes helping you, would you send her upstairs? She can sew while Mama and I cut quilt blocks. I should have told her that this morning.”

“Yep, you should have,” Polly agreed. “She's already off daydreamin' somewhere. She carried all them jars up from the root cellar, and I let her have a little time off before we start hullin' berries. She's probably down by the creek.”

Frances frowned. “Why didn't she come upstairs? She knew her sewing wasn't finished. When is she going to learn to be responsible?”

“How soon we forget,” Polly reminded her with a smirk. “I don't recall you was running around lookin' for work when you was ten years old … well, almost eleven. She'll grow out of it, same as you did.”

“I suppose I'll have to go and find her,” Frances said. “I'll send her down when you're ready for her.”

Frances rounded the house and headed for the creek. She had to admit that the day was better for being outdoors than staying in the house. The cottonwood trees still looked fresh and new, and the breeze was just warm enough to be comfortable. It was hard to imagine that in just a few weeks, the hot prairie sun would make the house inviting. She glanced toward the old soddy where the family had lived for their first few months in South Dakota. It was still a retreat during the summer storms and unbearable heat, but the big house was certainly better for everyday living.

At the creek, Will joined Frances.

He swiped at his face. “It's hot out there in the field. Luke said to come see if Alice was here, and we could put our feet in the water.”

“That's what I came for too,” Frances said.

“You're going to wade?”

“No.” Frances laughed. “I was looking for Alice. It would be fun to stay here, but I don't want to leave Mama working alone. I guess Alice hasn't been with you?”

“Nope. Haven't seen her since breakfast.”

“Maybe she's playing in the soddy. Want to have a look?”

Frances and Will stepped into the little underground house and looked around. The interior was dim, and it took a few minutes for their eyes to adjust.

“Remember when we lived in here?” Frances asked.

Will nodded. “I was little then. I slept over there.” He ran to the bunk bed built against one of the walls and sat down. “You and Alice slept over there.”

“Right. And the organ was in this corner.” It hadn't been easy, Frances recalled, to convince Papa that the organ had to be moved from Willow Creek with them. But he had relented, and everyone admitted that the instrument had relieved many hours of loneliness.

Frances was proud of the way Simon was learning to play the instrument. “If we lived in town,” she had told Mama, “I could give music lessons for a living. But no one wants to come this far out on the prairie to learn.”

Will was ready to leave. “She's not here, so she has to be back at the house. Let's go see.”

Frances agreed, and they returned to the kitchen.

Alice was getting tired. There was still nothing in sight but trees. She wished she had put on her shoes before she started out, but she'd had no idea that the Indian village was this far away from the creek. Their friend Silver Wing walked to their place often with her little boy and a new papoose on her back. She never seemed worn out when she got there.

Alice sat down to ponder the situation. She surely must be near the village. It didn't make sense to turn around and go back without visiting someone. Besides, she admitted to herself, the woods looked just as dense behind her as they did in front. If she were on a path, it was hard to tell where it went. As she gazed back and forth, she had to confess that she wasn't sure which way led home, if she did want to retrace her steps.

Well, there's no point in just sitting here
, she thought. In a few minutes she would come to a clearing, and someone would be able to show her the way back to the creek. The woods were quiet, and only a bird flying from branch to branch or a small animal scampering through the leaves made any noise.

Alice couldn't see the sun, so she had no idea how late it might be. For the first time she began to worry about what Polly would say when she called and Alice didn't answer. There were a lot of berries to get ready for canning, and Polly would be cross if Alice wasn't there to help her. Perhaps she should turn around and hurry back.

Uncertain of which way to go, she hesitated. Suddenly a loud crash startled her, followed by the sound of something heavy approaching.

Alice's heart beat wildly, and she started to run in a direction she judged to be away from whatever or whoever was coming toward her.

Luke and Simon hadn't finished washing up for dinner when Polly's voice reached them from the kitchen. “Don't s'pose you've seen Alice this morning?”

“Nope. We got another missin' young 'un to look for? When did you see her last?” Luke asked.

Polly came out to the porch, wiping her hands on her apron. “Little after eight o'clock, I guess. Didn't know she wasn't around till Frances came lookin' for her midmorning. Frances and Will already searched everywhere they can think of, but there's a lot of places to be on a couple thousand acres. Alice ain't never gone off like this before. I can't think what got into her.”

Luke wiped his hands and face and headed for the table. “My guess is she's gone across the creek.”

Polly shook her head. “She knows she ain't to go in the creek without someone there, even to wade.”

Luke raised his eyebrows. “The only reason for a kid knowin' anything is so's they'll have something to forget. A warm mornin', cool water, and a woods you ain't explored yet is hard to pass up. 'Specially if no one is watchin' and hollerin' at you to come home.”

Simon quickly stuffed his dinner into his mouth. “I'll go find her.”

“Me too,” Will echoed.

“So's we can lose two more of you? Not likely.” Polly eyed them sternly. “I want both of you havin' lessons with Frances this afternoon or stayin' right here under my eye. You can hull berries and draw water to wash 'em. Luke'll take care of Alice.”

The boys groaned, but neither argued with Polly.

Manda came into the kitchen with a worried expression. “I wish someone could tell me why a child disappears whenever Chad is away from home. Frances couldn't even eat. She's back out there looking every place she went this morning. Where in the world could Alice have gone?”

“We know she didn't go with Chad the way the last one did.” Polly looked at Simon, and he ducked his head.

Luke knew the boy hadn't been allowed to forget how he had hidden in the wagon when Chad and Henry left for their first trip from Willow Creek to the new homestead. Luke had been obliged to ride to the first night's campsite to bring him back. Simon had been only five years old then, but he clearly still remembered the uproar he had caused.

“I'll start up by the reservation,” Luke offered. “I got an idea she's visitin' the neighbors.”

Manda's eyes opened wide. “The reservation! She doesn't even know where it is! She couldn't walk that far, could she?”

“We'll find out.” Luke gulped the last of his coffee, then stood. “Better wrap me up a sandwich and some cookies. She's gonna be hungry. I reckon she'd head straight into the woods and not travel too fast. I might overtake her when she stops to rest. Even with the head start she got, I think I can catch her before dark. If she gets to the village, she's safe.”

“Let's pray before you leave,” Manda said. They all bowed their heads.

Luke waited respectfully, but privately he thought the time would be better spent searching for Alice. He wasn't against religion or the practices of Bible reading and prayer, but he felt that the Almighty probably expected him to use his wits and get along in life without bothering Him with every little thing that came along. This was especially true when Luke had a pretty fair idea about what needed to be done, as he did now.

Tucking Alice's lunch in one big pocket and her shoes in the other, he set off toward the creek. The family trailed behind him looking anxious.

“We're goin' in the right direction.” Luke pointed toward the ground. “Looks to me like some little girl has been here, and we ain't got that many girls around. Don't you reckon she laid out this dollhouse?”

Manda agreed that it looked that way. “She'll be frightened if she can't get back home. What will we do if you don't find her?” Tears shimmered in her eyes.

“Don't worry. We'll be home before dark,” Luke assured her. “Chances are she's already at the village, and someone will start this way with her.”

He crossed the creek and swiftly disappeared into the woods.