Wilderness Days (12 page)

Memeloses
were spirits of the dead.

M’Carty nodded his head. “That’s right. Elijah’s partner said the same thing. Said it musta been a ghost. And that’s when the rumors started about Abe Black’s ghost seeking revenge.”

“But Mr. Black’s no ghost, I assure you—”

“Toby Winston was next,” M’Carty continued. “He was mining for gold in California. They found him dead in a tunnel. Same as Elijah. A grizzly paw in his hand. The men who were in the mine with him swore they never saw nobody come in. They swore to high heaven that only a ghost could’ve got past that many men without being spotted. The only thing that was unusual was that the hound dog that hung around the camp
went crazy, barking his fool head off. That dog was never the same, and they had to shoot it to put it out of its misery.”

“Animals see
memeloses,”
Keer-ukso said in a knowing voice.

Dogs don’t seem to like me much these days, Miss Peck. They don’t take to traveling men
.

“Go on,” I said, my voice a little unsteady now. “What happened next?”

M’Carty took a deep breath. “Jack Meares heard about what happened and sent word to Russell. To warn him to be careful.”

“The letter I brought Russell. It was from Missouri,” Jehu interjected.

M’Carty nodded. “Jack Meares had a farm there.”

“Had?” I asked, my throat tight.

“Jack Meares was murdered nearly nine months ago. His hired hand found him one morning with his throat cut.”

“Grizzly bear paw?” Keer-ukso asked.

M’Carty’s silence spoke volumes.

“This is ridiculous,” I said with a nervous laugh. “Men telling tall tales.”

M’Carty looked at me hard. “And now Russell’s the only one of the Silencers left.”

“But Mr. Black was real. He’s no ghost. He can’t be,” I insisted. “He milked the cow for me. He, he came to supper—”

And didn’t eat a bite
, a small voice in my head said silkily.
What kind of flesh-and-blood man ignores a cooked meal?

“Who’s to say what he is, Miss Peck. He could be a demon or he could be a man. Either way, one thing’s sure. Abe Black’s a man who was left for dead and he’s come back to kill the last of
the men who left him. He’s come back for vengeance.” M’Carty’s voice lowered an octave, and he stared at me. “He’s a dead man walking and he’s come to kill Russell.”

The air went terribly still. Everyone stared at me.

“And you told him where to find him,” M’Carty finished grimly.

“This is nonsense!” I cried.

M’Carty snorted.

“Mr. Black is no murderer! He gave me this watch to pay my fare!” I said, looking about wildly for an ally. “Cocumb,” I pleaded. “You don’t believe this nonsense, do you?” She seemed such a sensible woman.

She sighed heavily. “We have known Mr. Russell since he first arrived on the bay, Jane, and he has spoken of Mr. Black and the other men. And now that Mr. Russell’s friends are dead…,” she said, her thought trailing off.

M’Carty started barking orders to Jehu and Keer-ukso. “You boys gotta go find Russell, and fast. You gotta find him before Abe Black does.”

Jehu turned to Keer-ukso. “You know the area.”

“This Black have canoe?” Keer-ukso asked me.

“No, he was on horseback.”

He nodded decisively, and looked at M’Carty. “We need canoe.”

“You bet, boys! And take my gun, too,” M’Carty ordered, pointing to a corner of the room. “You’re gonna need it. At least, I sure hope you will. Bullets won’t stop no ghost.”

“You’re going now?” I asked.

“Black left yesterday,” Jehu said simply. “But Keer-ukso knows these parts better.” He turned to Cocumb.

“Cocumb, we’ll finish the roof when we get back. It should hold till then,” he said. “Can we borrow some packs and provisions?”

Cocumb nodded and started to dig in a trunk in the corner. Keer-ukso and Jehu began to help her. Watching the swirl of activity in the cabin, I said to no one in particular, “Well, I’ll be going now. My boat will be leaving soon.” I turned and began walking to the door.

A hand lashed out and grabbed my wrist.

I turned to see Jehu.

“Let go,” I said, tugging at my hand.

He stared at me hard, his face working with unnamed emotions as he held my arm firmly but gently. The scar on his cheek twitched. I stared at him for a long tense minute, until he finally croaked, “You can’t go.”

“Why not?” I demanded.

I looked around the room at Cocumb, M’Carty, and Keer-ukso, who all looked away as if embarrassed. Jehu was holding his breath and looking at me with a strange, desperate expression.

“What?” I snapped.

“You can’t go,” he repeated.

“I certainly can. And shall. Let go of my arm, please.”

Something flickered across Jehu’s face, and his deep blue eyes lit up. “You have to come with us!”

“Come with you,” I echoed, startled. “Have you gone mad?”

“It’s. Your. Fault,” he said in a low voice, releasing my wrist and stabbing his finger at me.

“What’s my fault?” I said, retreating a step toward the door.

“You’re the reason a murderer’s after Russell. You may as well have just gone and shot him yourself.” He shook his head firmly, advancing on me. “You gotta stop being selfish.”

“I’m not being selfish!” I exclaimed indignantly, my voice rising. “It’s, it’s not proper for me to go off into the wilderness. It’s, it’s—dangerous! And there are wild animals and, and—” I sputtered to a stop as I realized they were all shaking their heads at me, even Cocumb. I turned to Keer-ukso wildly. “Please, tell him that I can’t go!”

He and Jehu shared a quiet look.

“Mr. Russell is good man,” Keer-ukso said finally.

“This is ridiculous. No one needs to go after him. Mr. Black isn’t a ghost, or even a murderer, for that matter,” I added. “He’s a perfectly polite gentleman.”

“Polite or not, those men are still dead, Jane,” M’Carty said sharply.

“Even if you’re right, what possible use could
I
be?” I demanded. “If he’s so dangerous—”

Jehu cut me off in exasperation. “Because you know him, Jane. You know what he looks like. We’ve never even seen him. And besides, he trusts you. You can help lure him out.”

“Lure him out?” I drew myself up, smoothed my skirt. “That’s your plan? This is utter foolishness. I have a boat to catch.” And with that, I turned and opened the door.

Jehu’s shoulders slumped. “Fine. Suit yourself.”

“I intend to do just that.”

Jehu turned and said loudly, “I guess Mr. Russell was right about her after all.”

“What do you mean, he was right about me?” I asked, pausing in the doorway.

Jehu ignored me. “We’ll head out to the bay and paddle up as far as we can?”

Keer-ukso nodded, avoiding my gaze. “And then we take river.”

M’Carty looked at Cocumb, and then back at Jehu. “You know I’d go with you if I could, boys.” He looked at them meaningfully. “If I don’t hear from you in two weeks, I’ll send word to Toke’s village.”

Jehu nodded and turned to Keer-ukso, who was holding two bulging packs. “We better get moving.”

Wasn’t he even going to say good-bye to me?

“Be careful,” Cocumb said.

Jehu brushed past me. “We will.”

I went out to
the porch with Cocumb and M’Carty and watched as Jehu and Keer-ukso disappeared into the scrubby woods that led to the beach, holding the canoe aloft. Jehu was moving quickly, his strides long, as if he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. Keer-ukso glanced back at me, an expression on his face of … what? Disappointment? Frustration? But Jehu never turned back to look at me. Not once.

This wasn’t what I wanted. I had wanted to return to Philadelphia with an easy heart and start a new life, a life far from this wild stretch of territory. A life where I would be appreciated and needed.

The sky was still a bright stinging blue and the air sweet, but a dark knot had formed in my belly, and it was turning now, twisting its way up to my throat.

I turned to M’Carty and Cocumb and blurted out, “What did Jehu mean? What did Mr. Russell say about me?”

M’Carty glowered at me. “Ask him yourself.” Then he limped back into the cabin without a word.

“Cocumb, you understand, don’t you? I have to go back to Philadelphia,” I said quickly. “It’s very important that I catch this boat.”

From inside the cabin came the distinct sounds of a crash and a groan.

Cocumb shook her head.

“Should we see if he’s okay?” I asked.

After a moment Cocumb said, “He’s fine. He doesn’t like to use cane. He’s stubborn,” she said, looking at me.

I took a breath. “Jehu has no right to expect me to put myself in that kind of danger! A real gentleman would never ask such a thing.”

“Boston William asked you to come here. You came.”

“Yes, well, that was a mistake that I’m trying to set right by going home. Where I belong.”

“Boston Jane, you talk about right.”

I stared at her helplessly.

“Mr. Russell, he took you in when Boston William did not come.”

“Well, yes, I suppose he did,” I said.
But it wasn’t my fault William didn’t show up!
I wanted to shout.

“And this Mr. Black,” Cocumb continued relentlessly. “You are sure he is a good man?”

In the distance a bell announced the imminent departure of the schooner.

“That’s my boat,” I said miserably.

“Cocumb!” M’Carty hollered.

Cocumb squared her shoulders and said, “You must decide.”

She turned and opened the door, and the creaking sound it made reminded me of the squeaky door on Mr. Russell’s cabin. All of a sudden I remembered how once before I had chosen to follow my own selfish desires.

And left my dear, sweet papa to die alone in Philadelphia.

“Cocumb,” I said before I could take it back. “Do you have another pack?”

She turned back and smiled at me, her eyes glinting with humor. “Of course.”

I ran all the way to the beach carrying my pack. If Jehu and Keer-ukso were already on the water, I would never catch them. But when I emerged over the dunes, they were sitting next to the canoe, playing a game of cards as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

Jehu threw Keer-ukso a lopsided grin. “Guess you owe me.”

Keer-ukso nodded approvingly, and slapped a coin into Jehu’s palm.

“You made a bet about whether I was going to change my mind?” I demanded indignantly. “You couldn’t possibly have known.”

Jehu merely pocketed the coin.

“I can’t believe you bet against me,” I said to Keer-ukso.

He shrugged. “I win last bet.”

“Last bet? What did you bet?” But he only winked at me mysteriously.

Keer-ukso had hold of the canoe and was pushing it into the water. Jehu held a hand out to me to help me into the canoe.

“I’m still going back to Philadelphia,” I said to Jehu defiantly. “As soon as we get back.”

Jehu wisely said nothing.

The canoe we took fit the three of us and our packs easily. I sat in the middle as Keer-ukso perched in the back, expertly navigating our way along the shoreline. Jehu sat in front of me, paddling in long smooth strokes, taking orders from Keer-ukso. He didn’t seem to mind having someone else be captain.

The landscape passed in a blur of thick towering trees. I had never been on this part of the bay, and the rocky shoreline was raw and strangely beautiful, like a magician just waiting to reveal his secrets. This wild stretch of land seemed a world away from our tiny settlement. I peered into the trees and saw a thick shaggy shape loping along, as if it were keeping pace with us. A bear? I leaned over the side of the canoe to get a better look, and then it was gone, disappearing into the foliage.

Jehu was wearing the shirt I had sewn for him, and it was damp with sweat from the exertion of paddling.

“How long is this going to take?” I asked, abruptly realizing that the only dress I had was the one on my back.

“Two, maybe three days by canoe,” Keer-ukso said. “And then we hike.”

“I should have borrowed a Chinook dress from Cocumb,” I muttered under my breath.

“Got a spare pair of pants you can have,” Jehu said in a laconic voice.

“It’ll be a cold day when I borrow a pair of pants from you, Mr. Scudder.”

“‘Mr. Scudder’ is it now?”

I stared straight ahead, ignoring him.

The sun sank slowly, bathing the bay in a warm red glow. A breeze swept up, filling my nostrils with the scent of salt and seaweed, making me think of long-ago walks along the Philadelphia waterfront with Papa, when we watched the sleek ships return from exotic ports. Philadelphia. My schooner was long gone by now, its hold full of oysters, navigating its way along the coast back to San Francisco.

I shifted around, trying to make myself more comfortable. A thick knot of wood rubbed my posterior in a most annoying way, and I kept rearranging my skirts to avoid it, but to no avail. Finally, I looked down in frustration and saw that it wasn’t really a knot at all, but rather a huge chunk of dried, prickly grass, perhaps two hands wide. I reached down and tugged at it, but it just stuck. I pulled with all my might and it came free, and I tumbled rearward in the canoe, landing most ignobly on my backside.

“Sit still, Jane,” Jehu ordered from the bow. “You’re rocking the canoe.”

I sighed in relief and settled myself down again.

And immediately felt a cold rush of water soaking through my skirts.

I observed with alarm that the place where the hunk of grass had been was now a large hole—and water was flowing through.

“Oh dear,” I said under my breath.

I looked around desperately for anything to stop the leak, and finally yanked the blanket from my pack and stuffed it through, but I pushed too hard and I heard a distinct crack as rotten wood gave way, making the hole quite enormous.

“Jehu,” I said in a cautious voice.

“Yeah?”

“There seems to be a hole in the canoe.”

“That’s okay,” he said absently, his eyes scanning the river ahead for obstructions. “We patched it with grass before we left.”