Two

On Easter Sunday, the night before the run, Faith couldn’t quite believe they’d made it to the Oklahoma district line in preparation for the next day. If she’d known what they were up against when they’d left Arkansas City three days earlier, she might have tried to talk her brother out of going. But no. Faith wanted this new start as badly as Ben did.

Still, it was most likely a good thing she’d been ignorant of the river crossings ahead or the number of people heading toward the same place. One thing she did know. She would have never made it across the Cimarron River without her brother in charge, and they might not have made it even then, if not for the help of that handsome stranger.

While Ben and Matt went to fetch water at the river, Faith finished cleaning up after supper and made sure the supplies were secured to the wagon. She left the pot of coffee on the fire, thinking Ben would probably want a cup when he got back to camp.

This day had seemed much longer than the day before, and she was exhausted. She’d call it a night when Ben and Matt returned, for they’d be up early readying everything for the final run to Guthrie. Thirteen-year-old Hope had already gone to bed and was sleeping soundly. She’d walked alongside the wagon most of the day and then helped with supper. She’d been quieter than usual after they’d crossed the Salt Fork, and Faith knew that leaving some of her mother’s things behind had been very difficult for her.

Faith took a seat on one of the stools Ben had placed near the fire and looked up at the star-laden sky. It was beautiful country. Large cottonwoods shaded the rivers; the land looked untouched and fertile. The sunsets and sunrises were something to behold. It was going to be different from Wichita, that was for sure, but at least she wasn’t alone.

She bowed her head and sent up a silent prayer. Lord, thank You for seeing us across that river safely today. That was a mighty scary ride, but You were with us, and we made it here. Please help us get to Guthrie and find a good lot. And Lord, please help me and Ben guide Hope and Matt through this difficult time for us all. I know they miss their mama something awful—just like I miss my Noah. But we know they are in a better place, and that gives us a measure of comfort. Please help us all to look to You to guide us in this new land. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

The Lord had brought them this far; He’d see they found a claim. Faith was sure of it.

❧

Ben had been doing a lot of thinking while he and Matt were down at the creek. He worried that they might not find a claim the next day. So many people were in this camp alone, but what about all the others coming in from different directions? How many more could there be? Thousands, probably.

At the creek, he found several other men discussing their fears. Some of them were talking about going to the front of the line and letting their families come at their own pace in the wagons. Ben was beginning to think he should do the same thing.

“You really think it’s going to be that hard to get a claim?” he asked one of the older men.

“I’ve heard that people have been sneaking in for months. Son, we’ll be lucky if there’s anything left between here and Guthrie,” a man who’d introduced himself as Richard Lambert said.

“I been hearin’ the same thing,” another man said. “Some of these people have relatives who’ve already been in and wrote home about it. I’m goin’ to the front of the line. Better that than have no place to call home by the time my wagon gets there.”

“Well, I’m heading toward the front of the line when I get back to camp,” a man who’d introduced himself as Charles Morgan said. “I can have a lot claimed long before my family catches up with me, and my wife wants a lot in town.”

Seemed everyone was worried about the same thing—by the time the wagons got to Guthrie and the surrounding area, there wouldn’t be any land or city lots left to choose. Surely most of that was rumor. Ben hoped so. He’d hate to think he had brought Faith and the children on a wild goose chase. He wasn’t sure what the next day held, but he wanted it to end with a lot or land—something to call home for his children and his sister.

He and Matt filled their pails and headed back toward camp. “Son, I’m thinking I might go on ahead tomorrow. If I do, you’ll help Faith get into Guthrie, won’t you?”

Fourteen-year-old Matt grinned from ear to ear. “You’d trust me to do that?”

“Well of course I will. You are near a man now. You’ve helped me in the fields. You can handle the team almost as well as I can.” That was a bit of an exaggeration, but the boy needed all the confidence Ben could give him. “Besides, if I go on first, you won’t have to run full out with the team and wagon. It’ll be safer for you all. I don’t want to chance something happening to any of you.”

“You’re goin’ to have to convince Aunt Faith of that, Papa. She’ll say we’d be safer with you along. She thinks I’m still just a kid.”

“I’ll do my best to convince her she’s wrong.” Ben chuckled. “Let’s get this water back to camp, and I’ll tell her what I have in mind.”

“She isn’t going to like it.”

“I know. But I think it’s the only way we have a chance of getting land tomorrow. She’ll agree.” He hoped.

❧

When Faith opened her eyes, her brother and nephew were smiling at her. She stood and stretched. “I was just thanking the good Lord for safe travel.”

“He did get us all here in one piece.” Ben said as he and Matt emptied the water pails into the barrel tied to the wagon and came over to join her at the fire. “We need to pray He does the same tomorrow. Is there any coffee left?”

Faith shook the pot she’d set off to the side of the campfire. “Yes. I was keeping it warm, but it might be a bit on the strong side.”

“It’s okay.”

She poured him a cup.

“Can I have some, too?” Matt asked

Faith raised an eyebrow. “Won’t it keep you awake?”

“Nah. It won’t.”

“He’ll be fine, Faith. He’s growing up, you know.”

She looked at her young nephew, who was taller than she was, and sighed. Matt brought back a cup and handed it to her with a grin. She poured him some of the strong liquid.

“I just hope you get to sleep after drinking it.” She knew he’d never tell her if it did keep him awake. But Ben was right. Matt was growing up, and she needed to remember it. Sometimes she treated her nephew as if he were still a little boy, but he was quickly growing into a young man and—

“Faith?” Ben broke into her thoughts. “Faith, I’ve decided to go to the front of the line. I’m sure my horse is fast as any out here, and the sooner I get there, the better chance I’ll have of finding us a good lot.”

“Ben! I don’t want you to go ahead. We need to stay together. Something might happen—”

“Faith, I’ve been hearing talk. The wagon only goes so fast. You know what my horse can do. If I can get there ahead of you, Matt, and Hope, I can have us a lot staked out when you get there. I’m really afraid that if I don’t go in first, there won’t be any land left to claim.”

Faith heard what he was saying, and in her heart, she knew he was right. Hadn’t she been worrying about the very same thing? But she was afraid. She’d never handled the wagon on her own, and she had Matt and Hope to think about.

“Sis, it’s going to be all right. I’ve taught Matt to drive the team.”

“Matt? No. I can drive it. I have. Just not—”

“I want to drive the team, Aunt Faith. I’ll be careful. I promise.” Matt looked at her, his eyes big and begging her to let him be a man. “Please? If we get in trouble or you think you can do a better job, I’ll hand over the reins. I promise.”

Faith sighed. How that boy could tug at her heartstrings. “I just don’t know—”

“Faith, he’s helped me in the fields these last few years. He’ll be fine. Just don’t worry about getting in a hurry. You won’t have to rush if I go ahead, and it will be a safer trip than if we’re fighting to get ahead of everyone else. You know it will.”

Faith couldn’t argue about that. But she’d felt secure with Ben guiding them. Now he was asking her not only to make the rest of the trip without him but also to trust Matt to get them there.

She looked from her brother to his son, the expressions in their eyes. . .hopeful from Matt, pleading from Ben. She sighed and gave a slight nod. “All right. You go on ahead. I’ll let Matt start out. But I’m not promising that he can take us all the way. Just start out, okay?”

Matt grinned and nodded, and Ben hugged her. “This is for the best, sis. It really is.”

She hugged him back and sighed. Much as she hated to admit it, he was right. “When are you going to go to the front of the line?”

“Tonight,” Ben answered. “Some of the other men are going to do the same thing. We need to get into position as soon as we can.”

“But won’t tomorrow morning be soon enough? We can’t move until noon.”

“I know, but I don’t want to have to fight for a good position in the morning. It’s every man for himself tomorrow.”

What he said made sense, and Faith knew it. She nodded. “Well, let’s get you ready to go.”

While he saddled his horse, Faith tied up some hardtack, jerky, and coffee in a handkerchief and handed it to him, along with a small pot and a tin cup.

Ben slid the packet into his saddlebag and tied the pot and cup to it. He tied a bedroll and a few other things he thought he might need onto the other side of the saddle. “That should do me for tonight. We’ll all be together tomorrow evening,” he assured her.

Faith tried not to tear up. “Let me get Hope, and we’ll say a prayer.”

Ben shook his head. “Let her sleep. No need to have her wake up and start worrying.”

He reached out to Faith and to Matt, who grabbed his hands. They all bowed their heads while Ben prayed. “Dear Lord, please watch over Faith, Matt, and Hope tomorrow. Please give them guidance as they make their way into Guthrie, and let them get there safely. Please be with me, Father. Please guide me, see me safely there, and help me to find the right land or lot for us. Please let us all be reunited tomorrow. We thank You for seeing us this far, and we trust You to see us the rest of the way. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

Ben hugged them both and mounted the sorrel he trusted to get him to Guthrie in one piece and as fast as possible. He looked down at Faith and Matt. “Take care.”

He flicked the reins and walked Rusty out of the campsite. It was dark, but the moon was bright, and Faith could see him begin to gallop toward the front of the line. She fought the fear that washed over her and the tears that threatened to fall.

Matt must have sensed her mood, for he put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug. “He’ll be all right, and so will we, Aunt Faith. By this time tomorrow night, we’ll all be settling in.”

Reminding herself that she was trusting the Lord to see them through, she prayed, Dear Lord, please watch over us all.