Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (28 page)

“Thanks
,”
Man said.

The clerk handed them a key to a room.  “How long do you
plan to stay with us?”

“We have no idea.  I
t depends on what we find, and of course
,
the snow,” Man said.  “If we leave, we
’ll do our best to let you know.  If the snow is too severe, we may be forced to stay a few days.
However, it’s possible we’ll
get a lead and be out
for a spell
.”

“We’ll have a
room
for you.  We
’re never full this time of
year
.  It’s not like we have a waiting list
for rooms
.”

They went into the café to eat before going to their room.  The food was simple, but flavorful and they enjoyed elk stew.  They found the room adequate, not
p
lush, but not a dump
,
either.  It h
ad been a long day
.  T
he two marsha
ls were tired and went to bed.

Kate
woke
first, slipped from the bed,
and lit the lamp.  Man woke when she slid out of the bed and was sitting up when she struck the match.  They dressed in a hurry and went down to the café for breakfast.

The animals were eating oats and hay when they went to the stable.  An old man was sitting by a stove watching them eat.  “Nice animals you two are riding,” he said.  “I gave them a generous amount of good clean oats
and choice hay.  I heard you were in town and going to Mountain Home.  If so, they’re
going to be p
ut to hard use.  The snow’
s over knee deep if you hadn’t noticed.”

“We noticed,” Kate said.

“Good luck out there,” he said.

Kate and Man warmed the
ir hands by the
stove as they let the h
orses and mules finish eating.

“Mighty fine rifles you two are car
rying,” he said.

“Winchester
‘
73
,” Man said.

Man unbuttoned his coat to find a coin
in his pocket for the holster.

The old man
spotted
the Walkers and said, “Oh my lord
, Walker Colts.”

“You seem to know weapons,” Kate said.

“I packed a badge for a lot of years, but finally got too old to
do it anymore.  A reliable piece of hardware can be the difference in dying and living.”

The two m
arshals saw the animals had finished eating and Man went for the heavy packs for the mules.  Kate saddled the horses and put both of their rifles in the scabbards.

“Good luck,” the
old man
said as
the marshal
s left the barn.

Man acknowledged with a wave.

They rode south toward Mountain Home
.  T
he horses were fresh and handled the snow with ease.  The Carbon Store was easy to find. 
No one was
around and the door was locked.  N
either saw any need to go inside the store
.  From the report by Constable
Blake,
there would be nothing
inside
to give them an insight
on
where the killers were hiding out.

Man took the point and headed west with Kate leading the mules behind him.  It was well into the evening when they reached the bank of the Snake River.  It had snowed all day an
d the drifts were
chest deep on the horses.

“We need to find shelter for the night,” Kate said.  “I’ll go north, you go south
,
and we’ll meet back here.
”

Man
turn
ed Arabian’s head and went down
river.  Kate tied the mules to a tre
e and turned Red Bird’s head up
river.  They were looking for an abandoned cabin or an overhang of rock to shield them from the wind and offer a dry place to sleep.

Kate rode for a mile and didn’t see anything.  She turned back and found Man waiting for her.
  She
shook her head
.

“I found just what w
e need as a home base,” he said.
“A
cabin that can’t be more than five years old.  It has a barn
,
of sorts
,
and a fireplace.  The barn is not the best, but it’ll beat
leaving
the animals out in the wind and snow.”

Kate rode to the mules and untied them.
Man took the lead and followed his tracks from his earlier trip.  It wasn’t but a half mile until she saw the top of the cabin.
  He rode to the front of the cabin and carried the two packs inside.  There was nothing inside but the fireplace
,
which was a
lready burning.

She
smiled at him and said, “Thanks.
”

“I thought the cabin could start heating while I went for you.
If you had found anything better, it would have burned down and no harm done.”

Man went outside and led the horsed and mules into the barn.  He unsaddled
them, put them in a stall,
and went back to the cabin for oats.  The grass was covered too deep with snow for them to graze.
   He opened the pack with the oats and carried them to the barn.
  The horses
were
anxious for their supper.

He found Kate cooking supper when he went back to the cabin and closed the door.

There was no place to sit
but on the floor.  He found the buffalo
robe, laid it
on the floor, sat,
and leaned back against the log wall.

“I hope the snow stops tonight,” he said.  “Searching for them will be difficult if not impossible if it gets much deeper.”

Kate brought him a bowl
of h
ot stew and went back for hers.  She placed a canteen beside
him,
sat beside him
,
and began to eat.

When they finished, Kate took the
bowl
s and went to the fireplace.  She handed Man a pan
and said, “I need water.”

He went
outside, packed it full of snow, came back,
and put it beside the stove to heat.  He pulled the rest of their bedding out of the packs and made their bed
, placing half
a
dozen blankets between the buffalo robe and
the bear
skin.

He pulled his
coat, clothes off,
and slid inside the bed.  Kate finished with the dishes and put more logs on the fire.  Man had taken the time to bring them in from a pile beside the house.  She went to the bed and placed her clothes on top with his.

She found her place and used his shoulder for a pillow.  He rolled
over, kissed her offered lips,
and whispered, “I love you.”

She snuggled closer and kissed him again.  “And I love you,” she said.

Morning came much sooner than either wanted, but Kate reached for her clothes and dressed under the cover
s
.  She stood and pulled her heavy coat on
then
went to the fireplace
and built a fire.  When
she had it burning,
Man was up and dressed.

“I’ll feed the horses and mules,” he said.

He opened the door and groaned.  She ran to look.  At least another foot of snow had accumulated during the night.  He went out and she helped close the door against the strong wind.

She had the food ready when
he came back.  “What do we do?” she asked.

“We might make one circle this morning and see how rough it is.  If the snow is too
deep, we can only
wait it out here. I feel for the horses
and mules
.  O
ur supply of oats is limited and with no grass to supplement it, the oats we brought will last no more than four days.”

They went out and saddled the horses.  There was no need to take the mules t
oday.  They
would be back later in the day.  Before they rode out of the barn,
Man
said, “Which way
?
C
ircle to the right or left first?”

Kate flipped an imaginary coin and pretended to put in on the back of her wrist.  “Heads right and tales left, call it.”

He said tails. 

She re
moved her hand and said, “Tails.  W
e go left first.”

“Did you ch
eat?” he teased.

They both chuckled.

He took the point and they followed the Snake River bank, riding far enough away from the water so they could see any cabin between them and the river and look toward the east as they rode.  Arabian challenged the drifts as he did before, jumping on them and then pushing through.  The fun of that soon faded and Man had to urge him to push through.
When he was winded, he pulled
back, Kate took the point,
and Red Bird led the way.

They rode for two
hours, circled to the left for a mile,
and went back toward their cabin.  Kate was the first to see a cabin and gestured toward it.  Smoke was coming from the chimney.  They rode closer
.
Man stopped and scanned
the cabin with his binoculars.

“Nothing,” he sai
d.  “The barn door is closed.”

He gestured to his left for her and he veered to the right.  They circled to the sides of the cabin.
He chose the
side with the
barn,
rode to where he was hidden from the cabin
,
and dismounted.  He
went to the barn to look inside.
He saw two burro
s
and two horses, but no wagon.

He worked his way to the side of the cabin and stopped at the corner.  Kate stuck her head around
the other corner.

M
an shouted. “Hello, the cabin!”

“A rifle barrel was the first thing that appeared in the doorway.  That was followed by a bearded face.  The man stuck his head out and quickly looked both ways.  “Who’s out there?” he demanded.

“United States Marshal Manchester,” Man said. “
I’m
searching for two killers who
kidnapped a woman in Mountain Home.”

The d
oor opened fully and a mountain man
stepped out dressed in
dirty, greasy
skins.
  “It ain’t us
, m
arshal,” he said.  “Come in out of the cold.  We have hot coffee on the stove and
you’re welcome to a cup.”

Man walked forward, but motioned for Kate to stay out of sight.  He put his rif
l
e in the crook of his arm and walked to the door.  A second man was seated at a table.  He was dressed like the other with a full beard.

“I’m called Moose,” the
first man
said.  “My brother is called Hoss.  If we ever had a last name, we don’t know it.”

Man looked around and assured himself the two men were alone. 
Neither ment
ioned the coffee and Man didn’t ask.  H
e wouldn’t drink
or eat
anything offered him in this cabin.

“You said two men killed somebody and kidnapped a woman in Mountain Home,” Moose said.

“They shot
Tom
Carbon and abducted his wife
,
Clarice.  Have you seen any strangers?
They have a covered wagon and were last seen headed this way.”

“We haven’t seen nobody in a coon’s age,” Moose said.  “We trap, but haven’t been out since the snow got so deep.
Our traps will be covered with snow
,
anyhow
,
and with the ice on the Snake, the beaver are in their burrow.”

“Thanks,” Man said.  “I need to get moving on.  I’m making a circle this morning checking any cabins I see.  Are there any abandoned cabins close by?”

“Only one,” Moose said.
“It’s about a mile
upriver, but it’s empty, or it was the day before the snow started.  We stopped in there for a break when running our trap line.”

“Thanks,” Man said.

“That snow is getti
ng deeper out there,” Hoss said.
“W
here are you holed up?”

“I haven’t found a place as yet,” Man lied.
“Last night I slept under a
rock over
hang a couple of miles down the river.”