Bent low against the wind Nolan led the horses along the tracks with the ribbons of steel his only compass in the blowing snow. The storm had turned into a constant curtain of white blowing horizontally, piling drifts high across the mountains. The third bridge from Yellow Rock Station passed through his mind over and over. In this blowing snow, Nolan would never know if he was at the right bridge, so he had checked each trestle. Always taking note of the country he passed through would not help him this time. He could only hope that the next trestle ahead was the right one. The horses were tired and moved wearily along, man and beast in need of food and shelter. They were at the limit of their endurance. Weary and exhausted, Nolan’s mind began to wander. His eyes hurt from the blinding white landscape. Pulling on the reins of the hesitant horses, he slipped and fell, cutting his hand on a sharp rock under the snow and ice.
Nolan lay on the frozen earth between the tracks holding his cold hurting hand. Caution entered his brain and wearily he staggered to a standing position. He knew he must keep his focus and find the cave. Moving slowly along, he had no idea how far ahead the next trestle was. Now his mind was beginning to play tricks on him. Ahead he saw a trestle, but he was never able to reach it. For another hour, he moved along from time to time. He would shake his head to clear the snow and ice from his frozen face and clear the cobwebs from his foggy mind.
Behind, the horses shied and began to move nervously. Nolan stopped and looked back along the tracks. Through the blowing snow he saw shadows moving back and forth along the tracks. He realized a pack of wolves had picked up the scent of his blood and had been stalking him. The realization of the shadows behind him jolted Nolan out of his weary trance. Mustering all his strength, he gathered the reins tightly and pressed on. He hadn’t moved far when his foot slipped through a crack in the tracks. Sluggish from exposure to the elements, he was not able to react fast enough. He fell back hitting his head on the rail. The wind about him raged and within minutes he was covered with snow. The tension on the reins went slack and the horses slowly turned from his fallen body to move their heads out of the wind. Nolan’s mind began to see images of Nora standing on the train. Slowly, he drifted into a warm sleep.
Fear crossed his mind as he struggled to regain consciousness. Again, his name was on the wind. This time he looked around, trying to determine if the voice was real. Finally, focusing in the direction he thought the voice was coming, he saw Bull Curry and Jericho standing over him covered with snow and almost as done in as he was.
“Git up, Pilgrim, or you will freeze to death. Remember the children, we must find them. Git up and help me!” Jericho said. The dream gave Nolan the strength to rise and stand with the help of Bull. It was a struggle to stay on his feet. The apparition held him up. Together they worked their way down the trestle and along the stream. The wind increased and the snow thickened. Within minutes, visibility became zero. Under cover of the thick trees, they received a little break from the fierce wind. A frozen layer of ice mostly covered the stream as it made its way under the trestle.
“Bull--Jericho, you are real! How did you two git here?” Nolan asked.
“The storm drove the search party back, but we kept comin’.” That was all Bull could say. He just sat with his head down. Nolan realized Bull was in bad shape and Jericho was at his limit. Frantic, Nolan started looking around and for just a moment the air cleared of snow. Nolan said, “I think I saw a cave in the side of that mountain.”
“Nolan, we got to find somewhar fast,” Bull said as he struggled to rise.
“Come on, Banner. Thar is shelter from this storm,” Nolan said to his horse.
A big wolf trotted away from the entrance as they approached, his red eyes glaring at them. The smell of a campfire penetrated the darkness as men and animals entered the cave. Bull uttered a silent prayer. Except for the glow of the coals, the cave was in darkness. There was enough light to see the wood stacked to one side of the room and a large figure leaning against the back wall. Nolan piled more wood on the red glowing coals and almost instantly the fire blazed up illuminating the cave. Against the back wall Elam lay. Beside him, a buffalo robe covered what must be the bodies of the children.
As the fire climbed, Nolan fell to his knees looking at the two blond turfs of hair sticking from under the robe. Ever so slowly the little head moved, and a set of blue eyes peered out at him. “Mary, it’s me--Nolan,” he said, his eyes dimming with tears.
“I knew you would come,” Mary said weakly.
Danny’s head moved, and he peered out from under the robe. Looking at Danny, Bull indicated Elam.
“He found us. I don’t know when, but he built a fire. If he hadn’t found us, we would not have made it. He is all done in, but he’s alive,” Danny said.
Bull crawled over to Elam and listened to him breathe before pulling himself upright and removing the saddles and packs. Dragging the packs over to the fire, the two men pulled out all the blankets and robes they had. Jericho handed a bag of jerky to Danny and Mary. “Don’t you go a-gittin’ yourself a bellyache, a-eatin’ this hard meat! I will find some fresh meat after I rest,” he said. Covering Elam with a buffalo robe the three men carried their bedroll next to the fire and went to sleep. For the next few hours no one moved. Danny occasionally woke long enough to add a log to the fire. The following day the children woke to the smell of something cooking. For a moment, Mary watched as Nolan stirred a pot while Bull and Elam brought more wood to the fire. Bull had risen early and killed a deer. A spit hung over one edge of the fire where a large chunk of meat sizzled and a pot held more meat boiling.
Mary crawled from the covers and investigated the items removed from the packs. The wooden box that carried the telegraph key caught her eye. Danny lay smelling the aroma of the meat sizzling on the spit and listening to the clicking sound for several minutes before his eyes popped open. Suddenly, he turned to see his sister working the key. “Mary, where did you get that?” Danny asked.
“It’s mine and you can’t have it,” Mary said.
“We used it to find whar the telegraph wire wuz down on our way to find you,” Nolan said.
“Do you know how to use it?” Danny asked.
“No, we just clicked the clicker to let the station know while we war a-lookin’ for the downed telegraph line,” Nolan said.
“Nolan, my dad was a telegrapher. He taught me how to send Morris code. I can send messages on that key,” Danny said.
Bull chuckled, smiled at the other two men, and said, “Danny boy, I know a lady or two that would love to hear your voice in that wire out there.”