Page 48 of On the Mountain

Though he would not have called her that for she was very simple looking. Her hair was short and dull and her skin was far too white. Though it was flawless and looked as soft as the clouds hovering over the mountain peaks. Her eyes had caught his attention from the moment he first saw them. Not merely for the volumes of words they spoke that her voice could not, but because of their rich color and intense stare.

His thoughts went back to that first day when he had found her hiding in the barn. She was dirty and frightened, her hair completely cut off. Though she had never indicated that she was a boy, she also never denied it, leaving him to assume the chopped hair must have been her doing in helping the transformation from girl to boy.

He left the path and headed north through the thick and naked branches of the forest until he reached the river’s edge. He drew his horse to a halt and looked down the river to see a herd of caribou cross the ford toward the eastern peaks. He stayed to watch until the last disappeared over the mossy hilltop, then turned Sty north along the river and followed it upstream.

He formed an image in his mind of a frightened woman running for her life on a dark and horrific night. Nothing but the moon to guide her. He drew Sty to a halt and jumped down to look at a trail of grass that had been recently flattened. More than likely from his own men when they had gone north along that very river to extinguish the fire burning madly on the mountain. What they came across instead, had horrified him. He turned and looked up the riverbank as if to see a woman racing frantically toward him. Of course, there was none.

He climbed back on his horse and continued northward. Several hours later the first sign of the fire’s remnants appeared. Bare trees stretched up from the mountain, but unlike those of its neighbors who also stood naked due to the late autumn temperatures, these trees were charcoal black. Around the base, the usually brown earth was scarred black.

Wade turned Sty toward the village. It was quiet. Not a sole around. Not even a squirrel scattering from tree to tree could be seen. The sod houses were still intact, however the vegetation surrounding them was gone. He dismounted and went over to the first home. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing there or what it was he was looking for, perhaps it was the old man’s insane comment regarding a beast or Marion’s savage account of the mythical creature. He sincerely didn’t believe any of the foolish talk, but he had witnessed the fury in the girl’s eyes after nearly tearing a man apart.

Wade chuckled at his own ridiculous thought. After all, the doctor told him Chuck Rhodes’ injuries were minor, and the cuts and scratches he received were superficial. He was letting his own imagination get the better of him. But what he did need was some link between the village and the girl

. Something that said she was here. It was easier for Wade to picture the boy escaping such a heinous crime, it was much harder to see a woman.

Wade found a hairbrush and picked it up. The wrath of this crime had directed the worst of it toward women. An image of a terrified set of eyes came to mind. He felt a surge of anger. What abominations exactly did the girl endure before she was able to escape?

* * *

Kathleen placed her hand over Anna’s and helped her to trace the letters that she said would spell her name. It didn’t look like anything to her, but she hoped her efforts made the woman proud. And consequently her brother.

“That’s right, Anna, the ‘a’ on the end is shaped differently and is a circle with a stick attached.”

“Kathleen.” Wade’s scolding voice drew both their heads up. He stood in the entrance to the reading room, leaning against the door frame. “You haven’t gone and named her as well, have you?”

“We couldn’t very well continue to call her Peter. But in actual fact, Anna truly is her name. She told me.”

His brow lifted and he glanced at the girl then looked away. “Did she?”

“Not in words, but rather in letters.” She held up the sheet of paper on which Anna had written her name. It had taken the major of the day, but she eventually learned the letters of the alphabet and how those certain letters formed sounds that put together said her name.

He frowned and looked suspicious. “I thought she couldn’t read or write?”

“She can now.” Kathleen smiled and got to her feet. “I’m teaching her.”

Instead of looking pleased, Wade looked annoyed. “That may not be a good idea.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Why ever not?”

Again, his focus centered on Anna momentarily before looking away. “I just don’t think it is.”

His sister brushed him off. “Well, since that is the vaguest reason you could come up with, my big brother, I shall ignore it and continue with her teaching. She may need it someday.”

He didn’t reply immediately, but when he did, his voice was slightly hushed. “No, Kathleen, I don’t believe she will.”

It was said not in a harmful manner but stated more as a fact. A fact Anna was far too aware of, however, could not help but feel as if she had been cast off.

Kathleen sighed and said, “Well, at the least, it will provide a form of communication until she gets her voice back.”

“I think perhaps you are building this girl’s hopes up far too much.” He stood up and addressed Anna, “It’s getting late, girl, best get dinner started.”

She nodded, then got to her feet and hurried out of the room. She had been foolish to allow his sister’s generosity to get the better of her. Wade was right. Anna came from nothing and her future looked just as hopeless. He and his brother had allowed her to remain at the Circle H even after discovering her true identity. She should be grateful. At least now she had shelter and food. As long as she continued being submissive and keep her place and not make trouble, there was no danger of being sent away.

When the dinner hour rolled around, Anna had cooked a large pot of vegetable soup, biscuits and a cured ham out of the Haddock’s ice box. She was impressed with their huge supply of food and spices and their means of preserving. If allowed, she was looking forward to all the variety of cooking she could prepare with such ample provisions.

She was informed what time meals were to be served and at exactly seven o’clock, the Haddock’s arrived in the dining room. Prescott and Kathleen acknowledged her with a warm smile and kind words, whereas the oldest Haddock brother chose to avoid her altogether. Anna tried to not let it hurt, but it did nevertheless. If she were still the boy, he would have offered her a smile or playful wink.

With dinner over, she quietly began to remove empty dishes. She had just picked up Kathleen’s empty teacup, with the spoon still inside, when Wade spoke to her for the first time. “Leave the cup behind, girl. My sister is not done with her tea. She is requesting a refill.”

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