NINENINE“Papa!” yelled Sadie.
But Charlie knew it wasn’t Papa. Papa wouldn’t knock. Charlie looked at Momma and Ida Jane.
Momma nodded. “Open it, Charlie. If border ruffians have come to steal from us, we won’t be able to stop them.”
When Charlie opened the door, he found himself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes the exact same color as a robin’s egg.
“Hello, Massachusetts Charlie!” Flory Morgan smiled and held out a large basket. “Daddy and I brought you presents: butter, eggs, apples, and jam I made myself. Can you believe I made jam? Well, I did!”
Mr. Morgan tipped his hat and spoke to Momma. “Mrs. Keller, would it be all right if Flory and I come in?”
Ida Jane bristled when Momma asked her to make some tea for Mr. Morgan and Flory. Ida Jane remembered Flory from the steamboat. She didn’t like the idea of having someone from Missouri in their house.
But Momma smiled and said, “Mr. Morgan, I want to thank you for letting my neighbor know I needed help. And I’m grateful to you for getting Charlie home safely.”
Sadie piped up. “Flory and her papa helped me too when I got lost in the big city.”
Momma frowned. “Whatever is Sadie talking about, Ida Jane?”
Ida Jane and Charlie looked sheepish.
“Momma, do you remember when we were in Kansas City last spring and Papa fell ill? Well, Sadie wandered off when you were busy nursing Papa,” Ida Jane explained. “Flory and Mr. Morgan found her.”
“Ida Jane, you were supposed to be watching Sadie that day,” Momma scolded.
Ida Jane bit her lip and was silent. Charlie stared at the floor.
Mr. Morgan cleared his throat. “Mrs. Keller, I was glad to help. And please accept my congratulations. But today I have come to ask you for a favor.”
“What is it?” asked Momma.
“Hundreds of men are gathering in Franklin,” said Mr. Morgan. “Sheriff Jones has called up many of his rough, hotheaded friends from Missouri. He plans to attack Lawrence.”
So that’s why Papa hasn’t come home, Charlie realized. The trouble isn’t over.
“I don’t believe fighting is the way to settle differences. I hope I can convince my neighbors to stay calm, Mrs. Keller,” Mr. Morgan went on. “But right now Franklin does not feel safe.”
Momma clutched Baby Henry closer.
“Ma’am, my wife died of cholera last year.” Mr. Morgan put his arm on Flory’s shoulder. “My daughter is all I have in the world. I worry about her staying in Franklin. There are rumors that free-state men are threatening to burn homes and run people off. Your claim is out of the way here. I—I wonder if she might stay with you for a few days.”
Before Charlie’s mother could answer, Flory spoke up. “I won’t be any trouble, ma’am. I may be skinny, but I’m strong. I can sew and clean. I’m the best cook for my age that I have ever met. I can sing songs to the baby too. I know lots of tremendously wonderful songs.”
Charlie held his breath, waiting.
Momma said slowly, “I know my husband would be as grateful to you as I am, Mr. Morgan. Flory may stay. It is the least we can do to repay your kindness.”
Sadie was excited about having a guest. She followed Flory around like a puppy.
But Ida Jane sulked all during dinner. “Papa would never have let her stay,” she growled in Charlie’s ear.
Bedtime was worse. Ida Jane didn’t like sharing her mattress of prairie hay with a girl from Missouri. “You can sleep on the outside, and Sadie will sleep next to you,” Ida Jane told Flory.
The cabin was bitter cold at night. The wind lashed at the walls and seemed to whine endlessly. Charlie lay awake, listening. He felt lonely without Papa. Then Charlie heard Flory’s strong, sweet voice.
“Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you,
Way hey, you rolling river!
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you.
Away, we’re bound away
’cross the wide Missouri.”
It was such a pretty, peaceful song that Charlie couldn’t help smiling.
But when Charlie opened his eyes in the morning, the peacefulness was gone. Ida Jane and Flory were standing nose to nose in the center of the cabin, hands on their hips.
“You shouldn’t come into someone’s house and act like a know-it-all,” Ida Jane was saying. “Besides, my momma’s just had a new baby. We haven’t had a chance to go fetch more wood.”
“Girls, please . . . ,” said Momma.
Flory turned to Momma. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but perhaps you haven’t heard about the prairie blizzards out this way. My daddy says the snow will be up to here before long!” Flory raised her hands as high as her head.
She paused only long enough to take a breath. “When I got the fire going this morning, I noticed you surely could use more wood. Daddy says it’s a good idea to pile up wood inside the cabin too, so it will be dry and close at hand in case of a storm.”
Momma nodded weakly. “Perhaps you’re right. We are so new to this hard life. My husband was a storekeeper back home. And I’ve been feeling so poorly. . . .”
“Why, Mrs. Keller, I think you are doing tremendously wonderful. Just look at your beautiful baby boy!” Flory rushed over and grabbed Momma’s hand. “Please don’t fret. Charlie and I will fetch enough wood to keep us warm. Why, it will feel almost as if we’re lying on the banks of the Big Muddy on a hot summer day!”
“What’s the Big Muddy, Flory?” Sadie wanted to know.
“Why, you know that, Sadie. It’s the Missouri River, the river that brought you to Kansas,” said Flory. “Remember, I sang you a beautiful song about it last night, called ‘Shenandoah.’ Listen:
“Oh, Shenandoah, I love your daughter,
Way hey, you rolling river!
Oh, Shenandoah, I love your daughter.
Away, we’re bound away
’cross the wide Missouri.
“Missouri she’s a mighty river,
Way hey, you rolling river!
When she rolls down, her topsails shiver.
Away, we’re bound away
’cross the wide Missouri.”
As she sang, Flory grabbed Sadie’s hands and spun her around. Sadie giggled. Charlie caught Ida Jane tapping her toe. Grandpa would like this song, thought Charlie. He decided to ask Flory to write the words down for him.
Charlie looked over at Momma and smiled. For just a second Momma smiled back.
