Saving Grace

Chapter 9

Joe relaxed by the campfire watching the dancing flames lick at the logs. Tendrils of smoke curled gracefully toward the sky. He picked up a stick, breaking it into several pieces before he tossed it toward the leaping tongues.

"Sir, can I ask you a question?"

Joe shrugged. "I guess."

"What's your name?"

Joe chuckled. "My name is Joe. Joe Chapman. Yours is Levi. Do you have a last name?"

"It's Higgins."

"How did you all manage to be out here on this ridge? There aren't any roads or trails for miles."

Levi glanced at him briefly before answering. "Pa started talking with a trapper at Fort Bridger. He described a cutoff that led to a beautiful valley with tall grasses, groves of trees, a river and several streams coming out of the mountains. He said that the land was fertile and ready to be settled. He said if we took a particular cutoff, followed a game trail over a few ridges, we'd drop down into the valley and beat the company that was heading this direction." Levi paused and shrugged. "Guess he forgot to mention the bear and that coming across the mountains with wagons was pretty near impossible. Unless we backtrack, we'll be up here forever. I can't see any way down that mountain."

Joe nodded his agreement. "Where, exactly, is your Pa? You were pretty vague before."

Levi sighed and plucked a piece of tall grass, breaking it between his fingers. "We came up over that ridge and were gonna try to find a way down to go through that cut, hoping the valley was just beyond. It seemed like the bear came out of nowhere, right by Pa's wagon. It spooked the mules and they tore off. Pa tried to stop 'em, but they headed straight down the hill. He tried to bail off but got caught on something." Levi shook his head. "The bear roared and they balked. The wagon slammed into them then rolled. I ain't never seen nothin' like it, end over end with supplies flying everywhere."

"It was all Grace could do to keep the oxen and Pa's saddle horse from bolting too. The bear took off after the rolling wagon. We could hear the mules screamin'. It got worse when the bear reached the bottom of the hill. Then it just stopped. There weren't no noise, no birds, no crickets, nothin'. It seemed like all the animals were mournin' our loss cause they was all quiet. Grace moved the wagon here on account of it bein' almost dark."

Joe's jaw dropped open as the youth recounted the story in vivid detail. It was almost exactly the same as the account he and his classmates had read in their Wyoming History class in school. He swallowed hard as Levi continued.

"When mornin' came, Grace headed down into the ravine. She found Pa's rifle halfway down. She said it was like he had placed it against a tree for her to find. Everything works fine. We've tested it a couple of times."

"Mind if I check it out?"

Levi clutched the rifle tighter and drew it against his chest.

Joe smiled slightly. "You can have it right back. I just wanna make sure the firing pin and everything still looks good. I'd hate for it to break when you need it most."

Levi and Sarah shared a glance before he reluctantly passed the rifle to Joe. Joe accepted it as reverently as he might a newborn babe. His eyes widened in disbelief. A rifle this old couldn't be in such good condition. He'd only seen one in his lifetime and that had been in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming.

He carefully, but completely checked out the weapon for signs of damage. Miraculously, there were none. Joe nodded as he handed it back. "You'll wanna clean it real good, but it looks fine."

Levi nodded as he once again cradled the rifle to his chest.

"So, is there anything salvageable from the other wagon?"

Levi nodded. "Grace didn't come back for two days. She buried Pa and built a cache high up in the trees so nothin' would eat our supplies before we could haul 'em back up here. She brought back what she could carry. It's enough to get us through a few more days. When she headed out again, she said she was gonna check out a group of boulders about halfway down the mountain. She figured we could bring the supplies to the boulders, then haul them the rest of the way to the wagon."

Joe nodded his agreement. "Smart thinking." Joe looked at the darkening sky. Storm clouds loomed above them, blotting out the stars. "Tell you what. Tomorrow, I'll go down the mountain and check things out. I'm thinking if we rig up some kind of block and tackle, we might be able to coax those oxen to help us back the wagon down this hill and drive it through that cut. If I can figure it out, it will take a lot less time than trying to backtrack and come around on a different trail. You don't wanna get caught up here when that storm breaks."

Levi's eyes widened. "You'll help us?"

"Yeah. I can't leave a couple of kids and a hurt woman in the mountains. Tell me everything you can remember Grace telling you about where that wagon landed. I wanna check that out too."

Sarah's sleepy head rested against Levi's shoulder as he recounted Grace's descriptions. When he was finished, Joe nodded. "Take your sister to bed. I'll keep watch tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Grace moaned.

"Wish I had some laudanum to give her for the pain. She's gotta be hurtin' somethin' fierce."

Joe nodded.

Twilight deepened around them as Levi and Sarah made their way to the bedrolls spread out under the wagon.