Chapter Twenty-Three

Two and a half years later

Early March, 1885

The knocking was loud on the door.

Charity paused in scraping the mud from the carrots and turnips they’d bought at the company store the evening before, and glanced towards the door in surprise. It wouldn’t be Chen Fai, she thought, dipping her hands into the jug of water next to her and wiping them dry on a rag.

With the hatred of the whites for the Chinese getting worse with each passing month, Chen Fai had long ago stopped coming to the Walkers’ house.

The moment he’d heard she was looking to work more hours in the town, he’d given her a job in the store, and they’d been able to relax and get to know each other away from the eyes of the white community.

The knocking sounded again with increased urgency.

She smoothed down her pinafore, and moved swiftly across to the door.

‘It’s all right, Charity; I’ll get the door,’ Martha called to her, hurrying into the room. ‘Finish the carrots before you leave for work if you can – we’ll need them this evenin’.’

She went back to the bowl of vegetables and picked up the knife as Martha opened the door.

‘Why, Eliza Culpepper!’ Martha exclaimed, seeing the woman standing on the doorstep, her breath a cloud of white vapour in the raw morning air. ‘This sure is a surprise! Come on in and sit down. You look real cold, and fair worn out, if I might say.’ She stood aside to let her into the room. ‘Here; give me your coat and I’ll hang it up.’

‘Thank you, Martha,’ Eliza said.

‘You can bring us some milk and biscuits, Charity,’ Martha told her, going across to the table. ‘And then you can leave for work. I’ll finish the vegetables later.’

Charity dried her hands again.

‘Oh, no,’ Eliza said quickly, glancing anxiously at Charity as she sat down. ‘I need the gal’s help, Martha. It’s Seth; he’s ill.’

Martha gave an exclamation of dismay. She leaned across the table and took hold of Eliza’s hand. ‘Oh, Eliza. I sure am sorry to hear it.’

Tears sprang to Eliza’s eyes.

‘What’s the matter with him?’ Martha asked gently. ‘Seth’s a good man, and whatever’s wrong with him, if there’s anythin’ we can do to help, we’ll do it. Hiram will say the same when he gets back from the mine.’

‘I’m grateful for your willingness, Martha; it’s mighty neighbourly of you,’ Eliza said, her voice shaking. ‘I confess, I’ve never been so afear’d. We were sitting at home at the end of the day, like we’ve been able to do more often recently, now one of the lads is living at the stable, and Seth got up from his chair to go for some water, and fell to the floor. Just like that. Without any warning. He was all bent over, holding his chest real tight, and I could tell from his face that something powerful was paining him.’

‘Oh, dear God, Eliza!’

‘Curled up like a babe, he was, saying his chest hurt something bad. I’m telling you, he couldn’t breathe, and I feared for his life. I sent Greg for the miners’ doc – Greg’s the new stable lad. Waiting for the doc felt the longest wait I’ve ever had. Seth was blue around the mouth by the time he arrived.’

‘And what did Doc say?’

‘That Seth had probably gotten ill because of anxiety. You know how he frets about the lads not running the stable properly if he’s not watching them.’

Martha nodded. ‘I know it’s gotten to be a worry with him.’

‘It’s all the different boys he’s had working for him. They aren’t hard workers like your Joe was. Joe had the right instincts about dealing with horses as well as with folk. These days, Seth always feels he needs to check that the lads’ve done what they should’ve done.’ Her voice broke.

Martha tightened her grip on Eliza’s hand. ‘He’s gonna be all right, though, isn’t he?’

‘The doc said so, but only if he rests. He’ll be laid up for quite a while. Poor Seth – he’s an active man and he’ll hate that. And this is the time the livery’s starting to get busy.’ She broke down in tears, freed her hand from Martha’s, dug into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. ‘You should see him, Martha,’ she sobbed. ‘He looks so grey and so ill, just lying there.’

‘Don’t you fret so, Eliza. The doctor knows what he’s doin’ – he’s had to deal with enough minin’ accidents and illnesses. And you know he’s an honest man – he’d tell you straight out if he thought Seth wasn’t gonna make it.’

Eliza nodded. ‘I know that,’ she said, and she wiped her eyes.

‘D’you want Charity to get some herbs like Chinaman Doc gave us for Hiram after his accident? Is that it? She’d do that; wouldn’t you, gal?’ She turned to Charity.

Charity took a step forward. ‘You know I would.’

Eliza blew her nose. Her eyes watering again, she stared at Martha. ‘It’s not that, though I reckon those herbs might help. Chen Fai would get them if I asked, and I think I’ll do that. I expect Joe told you that Seth drops by the mercantile in the evenings from time to time. But no, it’s not that.’ She wiped her eyes again. ‘It’s bigger than that and I sure hate asking, especially with you so busy helping Phebe and Sam with the baby.’

‘What is it, then?’ Martha asked, her forehead creasing in anxiety.

Eliza took a deep breath. ‘Seth’s not gonna be able to rest just by staying in bed – he’s gotta rest in his mind, too. And that won’t happen if he’s fretting all the time about what’s going on in the stable.’

‘I reckon I can see where this is goin’, Eliza.’

Her eyes red-rimmed, Eliza stared into Martha’s face. ‘None of the lads Seth’s taken on since the day Joe left could run the stable for more than a week or two. And Greg’s only just started. It’ll go to ruin, and you know Seth – the stable’s his life. If he didn’t have that to look forward to …’ She pulled out her handkerchief and blew her nose again.

‘You want us to ask Joe to come back to Carter and run the stable for Seth till he’s back on his feet?’ Martha asked gently. ‘Is that it?’

Eliza nodded. ‘If Joe was running it, Seth’d be able to relax and he’d get better. If we had sons, they’d do it; but we haven’t. Your Joe was like a son to him. It’d be for a month or two. Six at the most – probably till the fall. With the snow flying less and starting to melt, someone must soon get down to ordering supplies for the rest of the year, and there are horses to buy and equipment to mend. But it’s not Seth asking; it’s me. I know it’s a lot to ask—’

Martha shook her head. ‘It’s not a lot to ask, Eliza,’ she interrupted. ‘Helpin’ each other is what neighbours do. Of course, I can’t answer for Joe,’ she went on, ‘but Seth’s been a real good friend to him and I’m sure Joe will come back if he can. The snow’s still thick on the high ground, but if I know my Joe, he’ll find a way of gettin’ through to Carter as fast as he can.’ She turned to Charity. ‘Where’s Joe been spendin’ the winter months? He won’t have moved from there yet.’

‘In Kansas. On a cattle ranch just outside Ellsworth.’

‘Then you go and send a letter to Ellsworth right now, gal. Let Joe know what’s happened as briefly as possible and ask him to come home. A soon as you’ve written it, take it to the mercantile and tell them it’s got to get off sharpish.’

‘I’ll do it right now,’ Charity said, and she hurried out of the room.

‘You don’t know what your kindness means to me, Martha,’ Eliza said with a watery smile, and she squeezed Martha’s hand in gratitude.

‘Oh, but I do. I still remember what Seth’s kindness meant to Joe when Seth gave him a horse and a fine saddle so he could ride off and be a cowboy. That was a generous thing Seth did, and I know Joe will be glad of a chance to say thank you in a way that’s not just sayin’ it with words.’

‘You’re making more of what Seth did than it was.’

‘No, I’m not. We felt your kindness to us then, and you’re gonna feel ours to you now. No matter how old Joe’s got, nor how many years it is since he left Carter, I know the way he’ll think when he gets that letter. He’ll wanna help Seth more than he’ll wanna go on the spring round-up.’ She vigorously nodded her head.

Eliza’s eyes filled with tears again. ‘I don’t know what to say.’

‘There’s nothin’ to say,’ Martha said with a warm smile. ‘You just dry those eyes.’

Eliza put the handkerchief to her eyes again. ‘I must get back to Seth,’ she said, standing up and straightening her bonnet.

Martha got up and went across to fetch Eliza’s coat.

‘Joe will probably wanna live here, havin’ been away so long,’ Eliza said as she tightened the ribbons under her chin, ‘so Greg will continue to sleep at the stable and keep an eye on the horses at night. But Joe can use the other room in the back for whenever he wants.’

‘I’ll tell him that. Now, you be sure to give Seth our best wishes, won’t you?’ Martha said, helping Eliza on with her coat

‘I will,’ she said, nodding. She paused. ‘Joe’s been long gone, Martha, and maybe it doesn’t suit him to leave off what he’s doing at the moment, or maybe the weather’s still bad where he is. If that’s so, we’ll understand, and you’re not to feel regretful if you have to tell us he can’t come. Happen what may, we’re not gonna forget you tried to help us, and for that we’ll always be grateful.’

‘You think on this, Eliza Culpepper,’ Martha said. ‘You might just be doin’ us a favour, too. It’s been seven long years since we last saw Joe, and recently I’ve had a powerful hankerin’ to see him again.’

‘As any ma would.’

‘And Hiram’s of a mind to see him, too, though he’d never say as much. I know Joe’ll never stay in Carter as he’s got no future here, but we wanna see the man he’s become, and you’ve given us a good reason to ask him to come home, so the gratitude isn’t all on one side.’

‘But there is a future for Joe in Carter, Martha,’ Eliza said, pausing at the door. ‘If he comes back to the town, you can tell him that if he decides he’d like to stay in Carter after all, he can carry on at the stable with Seth, and the stable will be his one day, along with our house behind it. He’d never have to choose between leaving Carter or going down the mines.’

Martha drew in a sharp breath. She grasped Eliza by the hand, her eyes telling Eliza what she was too overcome to say.

Eliza shrugged. ‘Like I say, we’ve no sons. Joe’s always been special to Seth and me. And he always will be, even if he’s not able to return.’