Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (2 page)

That was obvious to Man, but he didn’t comment.

He gestured toward an
ax and Dan hurried to get it then
trotted
back toward his brother with the ax over his shoulder.

Man smiled.  Like the mule, the boys looked hungry and needed the work
to buy food
.

He pic
ked up a rake and another scythe
and went to join Kate.  She saw him coming and stood waiting, wiping sweat from her face.  “Who are the two boys?” she asked.

“Roy and Dan
Shobert.  T
hey stopped and asked for work.  They char
ge a dollar a day.  I think it’s worth it to get fire
wood cut and stacked before it snows.”

“The price is reasona
ble if they’ll work,” she said.

“We’ll know before the day is finished,” he said as he put t
he rake and his rifle against a tree and took the scythe
to
another patch of lush grass and went to
work.

Before noon, Kate stopped and looked up.  “Did the boys have food?”

“No
pe, and from their looks, they’
re on the verge of
starving.
 
The mule they were riding is the same.  I don’t know their story, but I suspect
they’re having a
hard time.”

“All I have to eat is
what’s in our packs, but I can make something that will be filling and hot.”

“From the looks of them,
” Man said,
“
a double helping for them is in order.”

She nodded and walked toward
the house.  “I need an hour.
I’ll wave when it’s time to come in and wash up.”

He looked at
Roy
and Dan
and saw them busy working
.  T
he stack of firewood, cut to the proper lengths f
or the fireplace
,
was growing.  He smiled.
 
They hadn’t taken a break since they
’d
started.

Man kept watching the house and finally saw Kate walk out and wave.  He returned the gesture and put the scythe against a tree
, picked up his rifle
,
and walked toward where the boys were working
.

“Chow time,” he said.

They both looked up with a star
tled expression on their face.

“Come on,
” Man said.  “M
y wife just waved that
chuck
is ready and if we don’t get up there and get washed, she may toss it out.”

“Mr. Manchester, sir,” Roy said.  “We’
ve never been fed when we worked for anybody.  A
re you sure she wants us to eat
?”

“Yep.
I told her tha
t working men like you two need
plenty of groceries inside their bel
ly
.  S
he’ll have a stew that’
s
worth putting your lips around.
Put the axe
s down and come with me.”

They dutifully followed him to the house. 
He went to the
well, drew a bucket of water,
poured it in a pan, picked up a chunk of soap,
and went to work on his hands and face.

The boys watched until he finished.  He tossed the
water, filled the pan again,
and gestured at Roy
.  “To sit at her table, you have to have clean hands and face.  That’s one of her rules and I ain’t about
to cross her.  S
he’s too good
a cook.”

He watched the two and then led them into the house.

Kate was waiting for them.  “My name is Kate,” she said.

“This is Roy and his brother Dan
Shobert,” Man said.

She
had four plates on the table and a large pot of stew in the middle.  Man gestured for them to sit on one side and he went to sit beside Kate.

“We appreciate this,” Roy
said.  “We didn’t expect a meal to be included.”

“We had a boy,
” Kate said,
“
not much younger than you riding with us
.
I know how hungry you get, especially workings like you two have been.”

Roy and Dan
lowered their heads and gave a short prayer before looking up.  “My mom would skin us
if we didn’t offer thanks,” Roy
said.

“I understand,” Kate said.  “My mom was the same.”

She stood and fi
lled their plates with the rich
stew made from dried vegetables and elk jerky.  That was all they carried on the trail since it wouldn’t spoil.  Of course
,
they had a bag of pemmican, parched corn and jerky to eat when they didn’t stop
to eat
.

Both boys finished t
he plate before Man and Kate were
half finished with t
heirs.  She gestured at the pot.
“We’ve had all we want.  F
inish it for me, please.”

Roy dipped out half into Dan
’s plate and then put the rest on his and they went back to eating.

Kate glanced at
Man and nodded.  He understood what she was silently saying.  The two lads were hungry.

When they finished, they both stood and thanked her
for the meal.

“Come with me,” Man said.  The boys followed Man to the barn and he gestured at the hay.  “Find a comfortable place and rest for thirty minutes.  I’ll be back for you when it’s time to go back to work.”

They looked at the ot
her in disbelief
.

“You two have a full afternoon of wo
rk in front of you,” Man said.
“Rest now and you can go until quitting time.”

They nodded and smoothed out a
p
l
ace on the hay and lay down.

Man went back to the house in time to see Kate putting the
dishes
in the cabinet.

“I told them to nap for thirty minutes,
” he said.  “We need to do the same.”

“
Not o
n our bed with these dirty clothes,” she said.  She went for a blanket and spread it on the floor. 
He lay on the blanket
and said, “This reminds me of the floor of the
boxcar.”

She chuckled
,
put her head on his shoulder
,
and was asleep in seconds.

The alarm went on in his mind and he moved.  This woke Kate and they w
alked out to the barn. 
Roy
and Dan
were gone.  He looked toward the meadow where they had been working and saw them both swinging an ax.

“Those two boys are eager for work,” he said.

“If time permits before we’re snowed in for the winter, as soon as they finish cutting wood, I wonder if they know anything
about carpent
ry
,” she said.
“Maybe they could help finish the porch and get it enclosed for the winter.”

“I’ll ask them tomorrow morning.  Another day
of hard work
like today and we should have ample firewood for the winter. 
However
, before we start on
another project, we can put the boys
to work hauli
ng hay to the barn.  Once that’s done, we’ll see what else they
can do.”

“Then let’s get busy and put more hay on the ground,” she said.

Two days later the wood was stacked b
y the side of the house and
the hay was stored in the barn.

Man took the two young me
n
to the house and showed them the back porch.  “Do you know anyt
hing about carpentry
?”

As usua
l, Roy
did the talking.  “Our dad was a carpenter.  He died last winter, but we often helped him on jobs.  Enclosing this porch would be easy.”

“If I buy
the materials, will you work for the same wages?”

“Yes
,
sir, Mr. Man
,
sir,” Roy
said.

“Good,” Man said.  “Kate wants it enclosed before winter.  Tomorrow morning, we’ll make a list of the materials you need and take the wagon into town and buy them.”

“I know the best place to
purchase building supplies,” Roy said
.  “We often went with my dad.”

The next morning, they hitched the mules to the wagon
.
Man stepped up on the seat and put his rifle down beside him.  Both of the young men were watching, but neither made a comment
about the rifle.

“Lead the way,” Man said.

“They walked into a store and the proprietor
came to meet them.  “Hello
,
Roy and Dan
.  What can I do for you today?”

“We’
re enclosing the back porch for
Mr. Manchester,” Roy said.
 
“
He wants to buy the materials.”

Man stepped forward and said, “I’m United States Marshal Manchester.
  We haven’t met.
”

The merchant of
fered his hand to shake.  “
I’m
Daniel Wilcox
.  I heard you were locating here and bought Emma Gibson’s home.”

“That’s us,” M
an said.

He heard a strange sound from b
ehind him and turned to look. 
Roy
and Dan
stood with a strange expression on their
faces.  Roy
managed to speak, “You’re a federal m
arshal?”

“Yes,” Man said
.  “And Kate is a deputy m
arshal.”

“Do you have a list
of materials you need?” Mr. Wilcox
asked.

Man handed him the list.  Daniel
looke
d at it a moment
.  “Since I don’t know you, will this be cash or credit?”

“Cash,” Man replied.

“Then bring your wagon into the yard and we’ll load you up.
  It says here you want four windows.  May I
ask
what kind?”

“That I don’t know,”
Man said.  He turned to
Roy
and Dan
.  “You saw the porch.  Kate said she wanted something to let in light and a breeze during the su
mmer, but covered in the winter.  M
aybe shutters.”

“We know what she wants,” Roy
said.

“G
ood.  T
hen you select what you’
ll need to make the room look nice for her.”

After the wagon was
loaded and Man paid Mr. Wilcox
, he drove the wagon back through town and sto
pped at the telegraph office, but
there were no wires.  He stopped at the police station to s
ee if anything was happening.  Thankfully, t
here was nothing of significance.

On the ride
home
, Dan and Roy rode on the seat beside
Man,
as the back was full of lumber
and building materials
.  “You’re the firs
t rea
l m
arshal we ever saw,” Roy
said. 
“Do you have to go out and arrest people often?”

“Yes.  I
n fact, we just
returned
from Texas bringing four fugitives back.”

“The Bright women?” the young man asked.
  “We heard about that.”

“That was Kate and I,” Man said.  “After working straight for months, our boss gave us a couple of weeks off.”

“Was it scary?”
Roy
asked
.

“Getting shot at is always scary,” Man said with a half-grin.

“What do you do besides arrest killers and bank robbers?” Dan asked.

“If anybody breaks the law, it’s our duty to take them in,” Man said. 
“And then the courts
decide the punishment if they’
re found guilty.”

Man could tell
the boys wanted to ask
or discuss something, but they shut up and rode in silence.  He felt when they were more comfortab
le with him
they might tell him what was on their mind
s
.