Rivers of Gold (26 page)

“Peter Colton,” Peter managed to say when the dentist took his hands out of his mouth long enough to reach for a clean towel.

“Colton, eh? I know a couple of Coltons. Are you related to a Mrs. Grace Colton?”

Miranda dropped her handbag and stared at the man, while Peter came up out of the chair. “I’m her husband. I’m here looking for her.” His hand went to his mouth as pain shot through his jaw. “Do you know where she is?”

“Sit back down, son. You’re in no shape to go jumping around. I don’t know where Grace is now. She lived with us for a time after her son was born.”

“Son?” Dizziness overcame Peter as he sunk into the chair. “I have a son?”

“You sure do. Didn’t you know? Well, I guess the mail being what it is, a fellow can’t expect to hear anything in a timely manner. Yes, sir, you have a fine boy. She named him Andrew, but we all called him Andy.”

Peter didn’t even feel the procedure as the doctor continued to work him over. He had a son. “How long ago did Grace leave you?” Peter asked.

“Well, now, let me think. I believe it was March—might have been April. No, I’m thinking March. She met up with her friend—a right nice fellow name of Ivankov. He’d come to town to bring another friend of his to the hospital and then pick her and the baby up. It was still pretty cold, but they said something about only having a two-day trip by dog sled.”

“Two days?” Peter looked to Miranda. “Can we get a map and have Teddy help us draw a perimeter that would mark the distance of two days surrounding Dawson?”

“I know we could. Teddy would be happy to help. He knows the land around here very well. He’s already explored a good portion of it.”

Peter eased up out of the chair as Dr. Brummel concluded his treatment. “Come back in a week and let me take another look just to make sure everything is doing what it’s supposed to be doing.”

“What do I owe you?” Peter questioned.

“Not a thing,” Brummel replied. “Your wife was a joy to my household. My wife and I very much enjoyed her company and that of the baby.”

Peter squared his shoulders. He felt his hope return. God had given him the sign he so desperately needed. Looking to Miranda, he smiled, and she smiled in return.
“Weeping may endure for a night,”
he thought, remembering the scripture,
“but joy cometh in the morning.”

Part Three

AUGUST 1899

I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.

II T
IMOTHY
4:7

—[CHAPTER TWENTY THREE]—

YUKON SUMMER WAS A SPLENDID thing to be certain, but Peter saw little in the way of the beauty around him. Desperation marred his vision as he traveled with Miranda and Teddy from one creek to another. There were gold mines staked out at hundreds, maybe thousands of locations along creeks and rivers too numerous for Peter to count.

They searched the banks of creeks called Bonanza, Eldorado, Skookum, Nugget, Too Much Gold, and All Gold. Back trails wound their way through defoliated lands where miners had made roughhewn cabins or pitched their tents.

They found men who were worn-out and ready to pack it in and men who were wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. What they didn’t find was Grace or any sign of the Ivankov party.

“They have to be close,” Miranda told her brother. She was trying desperately to keep up his spirits. “We’ve already checked so many different camps, I’m sure we’ll find them soon. Teddy says there’s a lot of activity on Hunker Creek. We can head there after returning to Dawson for more supplies.”

“I’m beginning to think we’ve made a mistake in searching. Maybe it would have been better to just stay in town and wait for them to come to us. After all, everyone needs fresh supplies from time to time,” Peter said, his tone dejected.

“Perhaps, but we’ve already talked to most of the storekeepers, and they allowed us to put up those flyers you suggested. If any of the party should venture into Dawson, they’re certain to spy one of them.”

“Maybe, but I just feel like I’m wasting my time out here,” Peter said, kicking the dirt. “I’m not finding what I’m searching for any more than most of the rest of those men out there.”

“They may never find what they’re looking for, Peter, but I feel confident that you will find Grace.”

Peter shook his head. “I can’t claim your confidence. I wish I could, but it’s been months. It’s August now. The bugs have been fierce. The nights have grown cold, the sun is waning to the south, and even though there are plenty of hours of light left each day, it’s clear that the weather will turn on us in the weeks to come.”

“But that’s weeks, Peter. You can’t give up.” She reached out to take hold of his arm. “God is still with you. He hasn’t left you to fend alone.”

Peter sat down on a rock. “I know that.” He stared off in the direction Teddy had gone only moments ago. “How long do you suppose Teddy will be gathering plants?”

“Not long,” Miranda said, coming to sit beside him. “Are you that anxious to get back on the trail?”

“I’m anxious to be at the end of the trail. I’m anxious to be done with the search.”

Adrik had never seen Gump happier. The gold was proving itself with every new dig into the earth. The panning hadn’t been nearly as productive, although it had yielded a little gold flake now and then. No, it had taken the rigged-up steam contraption and thawing of the land to really find the gold. At first, it had taken hours of backbreaking work— steaming, digging, hauling, and then sluicing and sorting— all to find a bit of gold now and then. But finally the gold was coming in more readily than it had before and Gump declared them all rich as kings.

The only problem was that strange things continued to happen around the camp. From time to time Leah or Grace would mention seeing someone darting in and out of the trees just to the back of their camp. Sometimes Adrik would go outside and find the cache door open and the dogs barking up a storm. Other times he would find something else amiss. But always there were footprints in the dirt to suggest the culprit wasn’t a four-legged beast.

Because of this, Adrik had taken to keeping a guard on duty twenty-four hours a day. Gump took guard duty during the day while Adrik and Jacob worked. Adrik then went to sleep right after supper and allowed Jacob to take the first watch. Then around two in the morning, Jacob would wake Adrik for his turn. Since posting the men, there had been little disturbance, and that was just how Adrik wanted to keep it—especially now that they had accumulated several thousand dollars in nuggets and gold dust.

“I’m going out,” Jacob said, checking the Winchester to make certain it was loaded.

“God be with you,” Adrik said, same as every night. “You’d better wear your jacket. Felt like the wind was going to shift. Wouldn’t be surprised if we were in for an early cold spell.”

Jacob nodded and grabbed his coat on the way out the door.

“Do you think we’ll have to continue standing watch until we leave?” Karen asked as she sat down at the table. She took up some mending and began working.

“I think it’s probably going to keep us on the safe side of things,” Adrik answered. He yawned and stretched. “Well, I think I’ll head to bed.” He got up, then crossed to where Karen sat.

She lifted her face and smiled. “I’ll be glad when all of this is behind us. I miss sharing a bed.”

Adrik nodded. The separation hadn’t been his favorite development either. But it seemed only prudent to do things this way. Karen had taken to sleeping in the single upper berth, allowing the men to alternate using the lower bunk as they came and went in the night. Gump kept his own upper berth without the need to share it as he had done throughout the previous winter months.

“When are we going to leave?” Leah asked. She came from the kitchen area, where she’d finished cleaning up after supper.

“I don’t know, sweetheart,” Adrik said smiling. She was such a pretty little thing, and he worried incessantly about keeping her out in the wild among the miners and noaccounts. Karen schooled her every day as best she could, but they had no materials to make the situation very productive. At least the Bible afforded good reading.

“I hope we’ll go south before the snows come,” she said rather sadly.

Adrik studied her for a moment, not expecting her solemnity. “Why is that?”

“Well, Jacob said that with his share of the gold we’d buy Papa a gravestone. I want to make sure we do that before we lose the money or spend it somewhere else.”

Touched by her request, Adrik nodded. “We’ll do our best to get back to Skagway before the snow sets in.”

“Jacob said we could always hire a dog sled to take us to the train. He said we’d be rich enough to buy tickets for the train and still be able to buy a real nice stone.”

“That is an idea,” Adrik replied. “I’ll sleep on it and see what I come up with.”

He slipped off his boots, then crawled into the berth, carefully arranging the blankets that draped out the light. Sometimes the heat made sleeping uncomfortable, but the light made it worse. The sky would be light until nearly midnight, wreaking havoc with their sleep patterns. Gump had made shutters for the few windows, but the light still seemed to permeate the room—peeking in through the door cracks and places where the chinking had fallen out.

Settling against the pillow, Adrik sighed.
Lord
, he began to pray,
I ask that you help me to make the right decisions. I see the needs of my loved ones, and I want to make it right for each one. I want to find Peter Colton for Grace and little Andy. I want to bring Bill Barringer back to life for his children. I want to be alone with my wife for weeks on end, with no one but each other for company
.

The future held many questions and few answers, as far as Adrik was concerned. Gump had already told him of his desire to sell his half of the claim and be out by the end of September. He had plans to head back to his parents’ farm. He wanted to see his brothers and find out whether his folks still lived. Adrik couldn’t blame him for that. It did pose a problem, however. Should they just sell the entire claim to strangers and take what they could get?

The gold was showing good color. Was it wise to leave now, just when the getting was good? Adrik turned restlessly and sighed again. Sleep would be hard in coming.

Jacob didn’t mind standing watch in the evening. The summer sun kept things light for long into his watch, and by the time the skies darkened it was nearly time to wake Adrik for his shift.

The time alone gave him a chance to think things through—to make decisions about his future, and Leah’s future, too. He wanted to get back to Colorado before the winter set in. He’d thought about that decision for a long time and knew that he had obligations to see to.

First, he would buy a stone for his father’s grave. Then he would take Leah and return to Colorado to buy a stone for their mother’s grave. After that, he hadn’t figured out what was to be done. While Peter Colton had once offered him a job with his shipping firm, that didn’t take care of what to do with Leah. Besides, no one had seen Peter Colton in some time. The offer of a job might not stand at this point.

Walking the perimeter of the claim was easy. It wasn’t very big, and because other claims butted up against it, it was within easy walking distance of the neighbors. There were rumors among the creek folk that the Ivankov party had hit it big and thus the reason for the rotating guard duty. Adrik thought it best not to explain that their worries were related to the stolen sled and the unwelcome visits that followed.

Jacob had told Adrik about the stranger who’d come when Adrik had taken Gump to Dawson. The story hadn’t set well with the older man. Apparently Karen hadn’t told him about it, but then, she’d been caught up in the reunion with Miss Grace. It was after that when Adrik started keeping a closer eye on the strangers who passed through the area. Gold brought out the thieving in men, he’d said, and Jacob could see that it was true. Why, just the day before there’d been a big fight among four brothers across the creek. There had been enough noise to raise the dead before it was all over. And all because the youngest brother felt the other three were cheating him out of his rightful share of gold.