Page 22 of Wagon Train Song
Hazel hesitated long enough to blink her eyes. “Thank you. I admit my bottom is tired of bouncing on that hard seat.”
They traveled only a short time before Joe called a halt.
Marnie edged forward to see the problem and gasped. Before them, a steep decline gave way to a narrow valley. Bushes grew up and down the slopes. Larger trees held out leaf-laden branches on the valley floor, a sight she might have considered welcoming except—she gulped. How were they to navigate these hills? Perhaps there hadn’t been any amusement in Joe’s eyes at breakfast.
The others had come forward to look at what lay ahead.
Irene sat on her gelding, studying the layout. Walt rode his bay horse with its black socks along the hilltop as if analyzing the options. Gabe looked at Marnie. Something silent and promising passed between them. A vow to see their families safely across this scenery.
“It’s steep and rocky.” Joe hooked his thumbs in the belt holding a knife over his buckskin breeches. The fringes of his leather vest dangled.
That man better be as good a guide as Mr. Dunn had said.
“We’ll cut a good-sized branch and put it between the spokes to slow the wagons. I’ll guide one wagon down at a time.” He pointed. “There is a trail.”
Only by squinting could Marnie make out any suggestion of a trail angling down the slope. “Won’t the wagons tip over?” Despite her plan to sound brave, her voice quivered.
“Could happen, but I mean to make sure it doesn’t.”
“I’m walking.” She scrambled down and reached up to take the baby. “I’ll carry him.”
“No, Ma.” Hazel tucked Petey back into the wagon, then began rummaging around in a box. “You’ll need your hands free. I’ll strap him to my back.” She pulled out a length of fabric and began to do so.
Marnie closed her eyes to block images of her daughter and grandson taking a tumble.
“They’ll be fine.” Gabe’s gentle words whispered through her mind. But they didn’t erase her fears. Only one thing would, and that was being safely down. She wouldn’t think about the climb up the other side and prayed no one would ask Joe how many of these hills lay ahead.
Walt and Cecil carried a branch and blocked the first wagon’s wheels.
Bertie gathered his pets and hovered as close to Marnie as he could and as far from the wagons as that allowed.
Perhaps seeing his anxiety, Gabe removed his hat. “I’d like to pray for safety.” No one objected, nor did Marnie expect they would. Not if they’d noticed, that broken wagon wheel half buried in dirt on the valley floor. Indeed, others had come this way in the past, and not every wagon had descended successfully. There but for the grace of God… She bowed her head and let Gabe’s words of seeking God’s help comfort her.
“Amen.” He put his hat back on his head as did the other men.
“Do you want me to drive your wagon?” Cecil asked Louise.
She gripped the leads and shook her head. Her lips set in a tight line. She looked neither to the right nor to the left. “I can do this.” The words passed gritted teeth.
“Suit yourself.” He reined away.
Marnie opened her mouth to say something to ease the strain, but only a rush of air came out. All her attention was on the wagon as Joe signaled Louise to drive forward. The oxen groaned beneath the strain of pulling a wagon with the wheels locked up, but once the wagon headed downhill, they moved at a good clip. The wagon tipped on the slope, the upper wheels leaving the ground.
How was it not falling over? But Joe guided the oxen to a different angle, and it righted.
They reached the bottom. Marnie’s breath whooshed out. Walt rode down to help Joe remove the tree branch, and the first wagon trundled away to make room for the next.
Gabe and Cecil put the branch through the wheels of the second wagon, and then Cecil jumped to the seat. “Ladies, I’m driving this down. You can walk. And I don’t intend to argue about it.”
“I didn’t expect to hear that tone from him.” Marnie whispered to Gabe.
Gabe chuckled. “He can be demanding when he wants.”
The girls clambered down and stood by Marnie as Cecil took control.
The wheels skidded across the ground taking clumps of grass with it. The wagon jolted as it began its descent. Why was she noticing so many more details with this wagon? Well, because none of her daughters was in it.
Perhaps a different matter for Gabe. His curled fists jabbed into his hips, and his eyes narrowed as the wagon rushed downward. When they reached the bottom, he released a gusty breath.
