Chapter Thirty

Joe nodded goodnight to the miner with whom he’d been walking from the town, opened the door to his house and went in. Hiram was sitting by the range, staring towards the door. Joe saw his face light up as he entered.

He hung his bag up by the door. ‘Hi, Pa,’ he said. ‘I left earlier today. I wondered if I’d catch you up comin’ back from the mine.’

‘You came close; I’ve not been long back.’

‘Dinner won’t be ready for a while,’ Martha said, coming from the corridor with a heap of bed covers in her arms. ‘I’ll get you some water to wash in. Then sit yourself down and talk to your pa, and I’ll get you somethin’ to drink.’ She dropped the bed clothes into one of the tubs standing against the back wall and went across to the sink.

‘If it’s okay with you and pa, I’ll wash my hands and then go on down to Sam’s house before I have that drink and talk,’ he said. ‘I’ve been feelin’ pretty bad about the way things are with Sam. And his wife stayed home last night as the child was sleeping so I haven’t met them yet.’

‘You and Sam certainly didn’t seem to have much to say to each other,’ Hiram said.

‘I doubt we exchanged more than a few words. I’ve seen hide nor hair of him since I got here. The way I figure it, we need to clear the air. Thought I could go down to his house now, meet his wife and son, and have a drink with him. If he’s not yet back, I’ll wait for him, if his wife don’t mind.’

Hiram nodded. ‘You’re doin’ the right thing, son. Sam’s not a happy man right now; I reckon he could use a good brother.’

‘His house is third from the end of the row of new houses,’ Martha said, as Joe went over to the bowl of water she’d poured for him. ‘And if he wants you to stay and eat with them, you do that, too.’

‘I can’t see that wife of his suggestin’ that!’ Hiram exclaimed. ‘It’s as likely as seein’ a hog fly.’

‘Maybe we shouldn’t be quite so hard on Phebe,’ Martha said shortly. ‘Sam can’t be the easiest man to live with, the way he is now.’

‘I’ll be off then.’ Joe wiped his hands dry, put his hat back on, went out of the house and pulled the door closed behind him.

Turning right, he walked down the line of miners’ houses, past the well and along to the newer buildings that had been added to the far end of the row, their wood yet to turn from pine-yellow to a weather-worn grey, until he reached Sam’s house. He knocked at the door.

The door opened a crack and a blonde woman peered through the gap.

Joe stood still as clear blue eyes travelled down the length of him. The door opened slightly wider. He tipped his hat to her. ‘Howdy, ma’am.’

She pulled the door wide open. ‘I’m guessin’ you must be Joe.’

‘And I’m guessin’ you must be my sister-in-law,’ he said with a smile. ‘Thought it was high time I met you.’

She stepped back, her hand still on the door. ‘And met Sam’s boy, I’ll warrant. You’d better come in, you won’t see him from out there. He’s asleep now, but you can have a look at him. You won’t want me to wake him, though – he’s gotten his pa’s way of bawlin’ for what he wants.’

‘Actually, it was in my mind to get to know you, but I’d like to see the boy as well,’ Joe said, taking off his hat as he followed her into the room. ‘And Sam, too, if he’s at home.’

Her face clouded. ‘You’ll have to settle for me and the boy. Sam won’t be back till I’m puttin’ the dinner on the table, if then. It’ll be a drink with the men first, then stoppin’ by at your folks. We come last on the list.’

Joe made a sympathetic noise.

‘He’s over there,’ she said, indicating a wooden crib that stood in the corner of the room, not far from the range. ‘His name’s Thomas, though I expect you already know that.’

Joe went across, leaned over the bed, and stared at the child who was lying on his stomach, fast asleep. ‘How old is he?’ he asked.

‘Eleven months.’

He straightened up. ‘He looks a fine boy. Charity didn’t say much about him in her letters.’

Her mouth tightened. ‘That don’t surprise me – the Chinese think only about themselves. You should hear Sam goin’ on about them. He can tell you what they get up to, bribin’ the foremen and all that. Sam knows all about it. They don’t care about makin’ things harder for the whites.’

Swallowing the impulse to give her a sharp retort, he forced a smile to his face.

‘Changin’ the subject, ma’am, it’s you I’d like to hear about, not the mines,’ he said, and he sat down at the table. He raised his hands slightly. ‘I hope I’m not givin’ any offence by makin’ myself at home like this, sittin’ down without an invitation.’

‘Not by sittin’ down, you’re not, but you will be if you keep on callin’ me ma’am. My name’s Phebe. But I’ll wager you already know that,’ she added, and sat down opposite him.

‘You’re right; I do.’ He sat back in his chair and looked across the table at her. ‘So tell me about yourself, Phebe.’

‘Why d’you wanna hear about me? There’s nothin’ interestin’ about me.’

‘There is to Sam – he married you. And there is to me – you’re family now. Charity was able to tell me what was goin’ on with Ma and Pa, but I didn’t hear much about you and Sam. I’d like to catch up with what I’ve missed.’

‘I guess you already know all there is to know. I’m sure your folks couldn’t wait to give you the details about us gettin’ wed – the detail that’s in the crib over there.’

Joe followed her gaze. He gave a wry grin. ‘You’re right about me catchin’ up with that bit fairly soon.’

Relaxing a little, she laughed.

‘My folks weren’t best pleased, either,’ she went on. ‘Pa’s a mine superintendent and they’d expected me to find myself someone who was at least at his level, if not higher. Or maybe someone who owned a shop.’ She put her hand to the fair hair caught in a thick knot at the nape of her neck. ‘I was always considered real pretty, you see.’

‘And you still are a good-lookin’ woman, Phebe.’

‘Instead, I’m wed to an ordinary miner, livin’ in a shack, and I’ve got a baby,’ she went on as if he hadn’t spoken. ‘Sam works hard all day, but there’s not much money to live on. But he’s not the only one who works hard – I do, too. But no matter how hard I work, there’s always somethin’ else to do. It’s not surprisin’ that every day I look a bit uglier. I sure thought I’d get a better life for myself than this.’ She looked around her.

‘I can see at a glance why Sam fell for you. What I don’t understand is, what did you see in that ornery brother of mine?’

She laughed. ‘He was a man, not a boy, and a fine-lookin’ man at that. And I guess that’s why I wasn’t enough of a lady not to get myself where I am today.’

‘Sam’s a lucky guy,’ Joe said with a smile. ‘And I mean that. I know it’s not easy bein’ a miner these days, but I know from watchin’ my ma that it’s not easy bein’ a miner’s wife, either.’ He paused. ‘What about your folks? Can they help you some?’

She shook her head. ‘They’re disappointed in me and in the way I’m livin’ now, and they keep away as much as they can, which won’t be hard for them – they’re movin’ back east. So no, my folks won’t be helpin’ me lighten my chores.’

‘I’m sure Ma would help you. She could show you ways of makin’ things easier.’

‘She’s already fair sick of seein’ me at her door as it is; I can tell,’ she said with a dry laugh. ‘I’ve never had to cook and keep home before. I don’t know how to do it and I’m always runnin’ out of things. With the snow there’s been, I’ve not wanted to take Thomas out, and it’s been easier to ask your ma if she can let me have what I need.’

‘I’m sure you’re wrong about Ma. I know her and I know she’ll wanna help. What’s more, she’ll be lonely when Charity moves out, which I’m guessin’ isn’t far off. She doesn’t realise it yet, but she’s gonna miss her bein’ around. You’re family now, and she’ll be glad she’s got you nearby.’

Her face darkened. ‘I’m lookin’ forward to that China woman movin’ out and I hope she stays put in Chinatown,’ she said sharply. ‘Sam’s full of hate for her and all the Chinee. And it angers him mightily that we have to shop in the company store. Thanks to the Chinee, we get little enough money as it is, and havin’ to give what we’ve got back to the company sticks in the throat.’

‘That must be difficult for you, Phebe,’ Joe said quietly.

She nodded. ‘It is. I hate seein’ him like he’s gettin’. I know I complain about the life I’ve got, being wed to a miner, but Sam’s a good man at heart. You won’t know it ’cos you weren’t here, but he had to work real hard to persuade the company to take your pa back on. Sam knew what it was doin’ to your pa, not bein’ able to provide for his family, and he wouldn’t give up till he’d got that job for him. Like I say, there’s a lot of good in Sam. It’s just not so easy to see it these days under all the hate.’

Joe nodded. ‘I know Pa appreciates what Sam did for him.’

‘Most of all, it’s the Chinese thing. It’s eatin’ Sam up and I hear him soundin’ meaner about them each day. It’s all he ever talks about. He wasn’t like that when he started courtin’ me, and I want that old Sam back. But it’s not gonna happen as long as he’s got a Celestial in his face everywhere he turns, and above all in his home.’

‘I understand,’ Joe said slowly. ‘I really do. And I’ve got sympathy for what you’re sayin’.’

Phebe leaned forward. ‘Then tell her to go, will you? She’ll listen to you, as she’ll want to please you. She owes her life to you, after all.’

He stood up. ‘Charity will marry when she’s ready and not when I say. She’s a strong-minded gal and she’ll do what she wants. But I will have a word with her,’ he added, ‘and see if I can help.’

‘Thanks, Joe,’ Phebe said, getting up and going to the door. She opened it. ‘I’m sorry you’ve missed Sam. I expect he’ll be sorry, too, that he’s missed you. But I’ve enjoyed talkin’ to you, and I hope you’ll visit again.’

‘You can bet I will,’ he said with a smile. ‘I’ve enjoyed talkin’ to you, too, Phebe. You’re a fine addition to the family. Just make sure you ask Ma for help. There’s many a time she’s needed help herself, and whatever she might say, she won’t mind how often you go to her. She found it real difficult herself before Charity came along, and she won’t have forgotten that.’ He grinned at her. ‘And if she has, you tell me and I’ll remind her.’

He put his Stetson back on, tipped the brim to her and went out.

‘Thank you, Joe,’ he heard her call after him as he started walking towards his house.

Without looking back, he raised his hand in a wave, and he heard the door click shut.

The rhythmic thud of the pumps beat time with his steps as he walked back up the line of houses, the acrid stench of coal strong in the air. Glancing up at the sky, he saw that darkness was edging closer as the last bands of orange, rose and violet melded into the purple shades of night.

How different it was from the nights on the range when he’d sat low in the saddle surrounded by the silence found when a person was far from a town; a silence broken only by the cry of an owl, the yelp of a coyote or by the lowing of cattle; a silence you could almost reach out and touch; a silence that let you hear the beat of your heart.

And how different from the nights when he and the other drovers had watched the sun drop slowly behind the mountains, casting shadows that lengthened and threw into shade the ground where their horses stood and their cows grazed. Or the nights when the sun plunged at speed behind the vast horizon, reddening the sky, reddening the earth, and finally covering the land with a thick all-consuming blackness.

How he missed the loveliness of those nights, their wild emptiness and the taste of air that was sweet on his tongue, and how he missed the peace of mind he’d had at those times; a peace of mind that seemed to have deserted him since his return to Carter.

No, not since his return to Carter – it was since the moment he’d set eyes again on Charity.

From that moment on, he’d been struggling not to think about her in the way that he kept on wanting to do. She could never be his. Chinese and whites were forbidden to marry, so he was wasting his thoughts on what he couldn’t have, and he knew he must stop.

But it was a mighty big struggle, and he appeared to be losing the battle.