Story: Memories (chapter 18)

Night was beginning to fall over a sleepy town called Mapleton as a loaded down wagon with two people came in from the dust loaded road that led into it The older man driving the horse team seemed to be happy, as his heat stressed face beamed. The young girl that was in the back of the wagon also looked to be quite happy at their arrival in the sleepy little town, eyeing the place with a tired look on her small face.

The man turned as the horses plodded into the town.

" I go no farther than here, girl..." He said, eyeing the youngster with a big smile crossing his face. " I’m just gonna unload my wagon, grab me some sleep and head back into Cabot for another load."

" I know, sir..." She said, as the wagon seemed to be headed to the feed store that was next to the mill on the stream.

Once at the feed store, it was time to unload his wagon. He jumped off the buckboard and started lugging the large sacks that were piled high in the back. Instead of just going off, the girl stayed back to help the man unload his wagon, in thanks for the ride she had gotten from him this far. Setting her bag off to the side, she lifted one of the burlap sacks and followed the man to know where to put it.

He watched as the girl worked beside him under the weight of each of the sacks. Even though she was just a little slip of a girl, she really could handle the sacks of seeds with a little effort on her part. He smiled and worked along side the gal, as her determination and kindness was not going unnoticed by him.

With the last of the large sacks stacked inside the storage area beside the feed store, the older man nodded at the girl as he came out with the owner. He held a small black bag in one hand, with a sheet of paper in the other.

" I am done here... " He smiled, looking at the young girl.

The man then fished out a silver dollar from the pocket of his overalls and handed it to the young one.

" Thank you for the help..." He said, smiling even broader than what he had been. ".. here you might need lodgings before your trip..."

Susan looked at the large shiny coin that had been layed in her hand, a look of shock had crossed her face.

" A dollar?" She gasped, never having one in her hand like this. " A whole silver dollar?"

He chuckled and nodded at the girl, seeing her surprised expression made his heart feel lighter.

" You need food for your trip ‘n’ stuff..." The man said, his father look staring at the girl.

" You are the one who was nice enough to give me a ride... and all I did was help you some..." She said, blushing with gratefulness, holding out the coin back to the man. " I can’t accept it."

The man shook his head and looked right into the dust caked face of the young girl who looked up at him. He reached out and made her small hand back close back over the silver disk she held.

" Take it, girl...Please..." He said gently. " You will need it on such a long trip like you have before you."

She thanked him greatly, seeing that the man was dead serious about it. The man let out a low chuckle and reached into his buckboard. He came out with what appeared to be a rolled up thick grey blanket, tied at both ends with a looped piece of twine that made it into a sort of bag.

" Take this bedroll of mine here also... I have another one still, and you will need it more than I would." He said, holding out the thing with a large smile. " There should be some wooden matches in a little box, a tin cup and a knife in there as well... perfect for someone who is on the travel as you are..."

" I cant thank you enough, Sir..." She said with a trembling voice, smiling up at the man.

" Doin’ what I can fer you..." He said, seemingly a little uneasy with the girl’s whole hearted gratefulness.

" Why, Sir?" She asked. " I did not ask for you to do this for me..."

He looked deep into her eyes, and a broad smile came across his sweet yet unshaven face.

" Truthfully, you remind me of my only daughter a little, who is now all grown up and married, I guess..." He said with longing in his eyes. " I guess it is the father in me... and you also have reminded me when I had to go out into the world as a young lad as well... I could not just let you go off, without some help."

Susan could not believe the great generosity of the man, but took the bedroll from him. She knew that arguing with him was not going to work, as he was doing out of the kindness of his soul.

" Then I thank you even more..." She beamed.

He smiled and got on top his wagon, as the girl stood right beside it..

" You make sure to take care of yourself, Young Susan... and have a safe trip." He said, smiling down at the small gal.

" I will...’ She said, feeling almost sad to see the man leave.

" God’s speed to you now, and always." He said, his expressive eyes seemingly dancing as he looked at her.

He made a loud clicking noise with his mouth, and the horses started off down the road that seemed to go straight threw the small town. She waved to the man as he rode off, thankful for all of his help, then turned to walk through the town... not seeing any rooming houses or even a hotel in this tiny place.

She found the little town was as silent as a church on Monday as she walked through. No one was out and about on such a hot evening, choosing to stay indoors. Only a few sounds of barking dogs off somewhere could be heard, along with the night time residences that were out there as well..

She could smell the distinct aroma of cooking food coming from a few of the houses that were near her and she felt her stomach start to growl and shake. It had been awhile since she had eaten, something that she had successfully had ignored up to now.

She rubbed her stomach to calm it somewhat and kept on walking, now beginning to worry about finding food and water out here. It was something that she had not really had contemplated before leaving, but she was sure that she might find something to eat.

Susan only travelled a little ways out of town, making sure that when she finally had decided to stop that she could not see any of the soft glowing lights from any of the windows of the houses. She left the little dirt road that was going to be that path she needed to follow south in the morning, and started to make a trek into the tree line to look for somewhere she could lay her head for the night.

She soon found a small clearing in the trees beside a little gentle stream, a place that seemed perfect for her to stay until morning. She looked down at the grasses and moss on the ground and enjoyed the soft sounds she heard from the running water in the stream only a few yard away... and was even more sure that she had found a safe place to get a little sleep.

She set down her bag and bedroll beside a tall tree, she started to gathered up some twigs and stones to make a little fire pit for herself for safety, rather than for the heat. She had always been taught that by her father, that no matter if it was hot or cold... a fire was a necessity. It seemed she had taken that to heart, as she hustled to collect up everything before the last rays of daylight disappeared.

As she went around gathering up the things for the fire for the night, Susan also had came across a large berry bush growing like crazy on the stream’s bank. Even in the dim moonlight and remaining daylight that filtered down through the tree limbs overhead, she automatically knew that these berries were edible, which meant that she would eat this night. That was one of her worries she could do without tonight

She smiled went back to the spot where she had picked out to make camp to put her wood and stones down before going back. She happily set to filling the largest of her apron pockets on her dress with the bright blue and fully juicy berries, making sure that she would have enough for her growling tummy tonight, and some that she could save for later.

As she readied to light the fire, she found that there was a full thing of matches rolled in the blanket inside of the tin cup she had been told there was. There also was a small paper wrapped pack of dried and salted jerky and dried cheese tucked in there as well along with a very nice knife. She could see that this was a well made knife she had been given, with a little sharpening stone in a pouch attached to the handle. This was a veritable treasure trove of things that were so useful to her right now, and made her even more thankful still.

She already came to realize that the man probably knew of everything else that had been wrapped up in the bedroll when he offered it up to her. She felt very lucky at the moment, knowing instantly of the sweet hearted man’s gestures were just for her. She pulled out one of the matches and readied to use them as night had indeed fallen.

Susan had the fire going in no time, finally it was crackling and dancing on the light breezes of the night as it chased away the darkness inside the clearing. The glow from the fire, made the young girl feel safe and secure, even out in the wild like this. Munching away on the berries and sipping the water from the stream next to her while sitting on the now unrolled blanket... she let herself enjoy it all.

Her first day of travelling had gone well, she started to think to herself, yet she knew that there was a long ways to go still. The trip was starting to seem just a little daunting as she thought on it, but she reminded herself the many reasons that she had left the Smyth’s house for in the first place.

She began to think about Alice as she sat there, and found her heart swelling with emotions she had not really let herself have in awhile. She so yearned for the girl to be there to partake of this silence in the midst of the trees with her, and was yearning to also feel Alice’s arm around her so she could be whispering into her ear that things would all work out in the end. She closed her eyes, as the very thought of the pretty red head was putting her more at ease

She gasped, as a wave of love flowed through her while she thought of the pretty servant girl. She could see Alice very clearly in her mind, and that was making all of this feel more than just worth it. It was a comfort, to even imagine for a moment, that Alice was there with her.

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling better. She thought about her feelings that she had no want of turning back... and knew that was not possible even if she had decided to do that. Many bridges had been burned in the wake of her leaving... the truth was that they were needed to be burned, for her own sake.

She sighed as she came out of her thinking. Susan popped another berry into her mouth as she looked up between the trees to the moon, as she listened to the crickets and other animals that came out at night time.. She could see the moon clearly hanging there in it’s silvery splendour as it worked to light up the night for her as she sat there. The silence was making her feel safe, the fire was for now... her only friend.

" I am coming for you, Alice..." She whispered to the moon overhead, as she leaned on the bedroll she had placed behind her.

She let herself think about the Smyth mansion for only a moment, then went back to thinking about Alice. She was not sorry for her leaving her adoptive family the way she had, not one bit. She was alone in this world since the death of her Ma and Pa, and knew just who she wanted to be in this world with.

A world without love, was not for her.

******

A tall man in a large hat and a larger star badge stood before Mrs. Smyth in the parlour of her massive house. The man could see the deep anger that was in this woman’s eyes, as she glared at him from a chair. He swallowed herd, as she was a very intimidating person... more than he ever had seen before.

The woman seemed to be waiting for him to say something, her fingers mindlessly thrumming on the arm of her chair. He did not, As the silence of the room seemed to become even more heavier by the moment.

" Have you found that daughter of mine yet?" She finally said, her impatience was apparent in her voice.

" No, Mrs. Smyth... I have not." He said flatly, not showing his intimidation to the woman.

The woman’s hand suddenly slammed the arm of the chair, making her husband next to her flinch a little. She leaned forward to stare right at the man, her face was a scary mask of her fury

" You call yourself a lawman?" Said Mrs. Smyth, her voice tight and very loud.

" I am the law around here..." Said the man, seemingly stiffening when the lady had said what she did. " Do you disagree with that?.

She made a sound of scoffing at the man, as she leaned back into her chair.

" Your just someone that is wearing a tin badge, if you can’t find one little girl that has ran away." She spat, with venom. " You know what direction she is going in, know what she looks like and even the destination... and you still can’t end up doing your job and catching that ungrateful little whelp?"

" We are looking for your daughter, Ma’am..." He said, his voice starting not to waver not as much. " And I am doing everything that I can as well... You just have to be a little patient as we search for her."

" Apparently your looking so hard that you can’t find where the sun might be on a clear day..." She spat, glaring at the man.

The man whole demeanor seemed to stiffen and his face grew tight. The look of intimidation that had been there, was now being replaced with a look of irritation with the woman’s words. He looked back at the woman for a moment, never once blinking.

" Ma’am... I have my deputies out looking through out the city and surrounding area..." He said, finally growing louder than the woman as he was getting frustrated. " Your daughter was seen earlier on in the day in the city, but where she was going is not known at this time."

" And I am now seeing that it is your cue to just stop looking for that girl?" She growled back at the man.

" That is not what I am saying, Ma’am... we have not stopped, even with me here." The man growled back. " My deputies and I are still looking, but it is true that we have not found her as yet."

She waved at the man, with a dismissing sort of gesture, not believing the man’s words.

" It is a very sad state of affairs for the Sheriff’s office, when you as the head lawman out here cannot quickly find one small, ninety pound little girl..." She said with firmness. " What are you like with some outlaws?"

The man’s eyes flared with red, as the woman spat ever word out loudly. He stiffened even more and fearlessly took a step towards the woman

" We are not going to stop looking for your daughter, Mrs Smyth... far from it!" He growled low in his chest, feeling more than a little angered at the woman’s unhidden innuendoes of ineptness on his part " Might I remind you that my deputies and I still have a city to serve as well... and others that need us as well... we are doing everything that is humanly possible to find your runaway and bring her back."

" That does not fill me with any more confidence with your abilities, My good man..." She spat back. " I want you to keep on looking for as long as it takes, scour every farm, city street for that girl... I want you to bring her back as soon as you can... or I will certainly make sure that your new tenure as Sheriff in Cabot will be a very short one indeed, once people know how inept you are."

The man seemed to finally have enough with dealing with the woman. He placed his hands on his hips and glared right at her.

" I assure you that we will be doing everything we can to locate Miss Susan, Ma’am..." He spat back, now totally ignoring the viciousness of the woman’s words. " If you can’t handle that, then I suppose you will just have to find a way to get me fired from my job." He snuffed and made a sneer at the woman. " Frankly, I cannot see how anyone could do any more than I am."

The man then just spun and walked off, without letting Mrs. Smyth get in any last comment she may or may not had. The Sheriff just strode past the butler an straight out of the room, obviously Mrs. Smyth’s attitude towards him made the man quite irritated at the moment. Her could hear the woman back in the room shouting at him, but he was beyond letting himself actually hear the words that were being hurled at him

Mrs. Smyth seemed to turn even more incensed after the Sheriff had left. She had just watched while the man left, her fingers were white as she griped the arm of her chair tightly as she yelled at his back, her face going a deep purplish colour. The fact that he never reacted to her, made her even more angry.

She spun in her chair to look at her husband, eyes flaring with the total fury she was feeling..

" Are you going to let that man treat our family like this, without giving him your two cents worth?" She said. " He stormed out of here without agreeing to my satisfaction what he was going to do about Susan’s running off...and did not say anything else that was worth being noted for!"

" He seems to be doing everything he can at the moment for us, dear..." The man softly said, trying to sooth his wife. " I am sure that the Sheriff will end up finding Susan for us... He just has other people that he has to attend to as well and...."

" Are you now going to be siding with that sad excuse for a Sheriff now?" She said with fire in ever word, shooting a very cold stare at her husband.

Mr. Smyth shook his head and seemed to stiffen his whole body, feeling a little angered at his wife’s strong headed ways. He shook his head, and for once just stared right back at her.

" All that I am just trying to say is that the man seems to be doing every thing that he can to find Susan at the moment..." He said, obviously trying picking his words, and to stop his own feeling of frustration with his wife.

" Your support is markedly underwhelming!" She said, her eyes showing just how intense her anger had gotten. " You don’t even seem to be the least bit angry that Susan went of and run off like this... defying us at every turn after we have done so much for her!" She snuffed. " Since I am the only one here interested in correcting this girl... I can safely say, so much for you being a man of the house here!"

" I am just saying that the man is doing what he can, nothing more..."He said fighting his own anger as he tried to appease the woman, but when she had turned her head... that had stopped him.

She let out an exasperated sigh, and stood up, ignoring what ever it was that the man was trying to say. She just stormed out of the room, not letting her husband get a chance to even try to continue if he wanted to. She blew by a very stone still standing Patrick, who after working for the family for so long... knew not to make any eye contact with her when she was on the rampage like this. She did not eve acknowledge the butler, but ignored him like as if he was a stick of furniture

Mr. Smyth looked at Patrick, who was the only one left in the room. The stately man seemed to be almost sympathizing with his employer, a gentle smile was sitting on his long face.

" Shall I have someone make up one of the spare bedrooms for you tonight?" Asked the man, knowing the fury of the woman that had passed him.

" I think so... It seems like we need some time apart, My good man!" Said Mr. Smyth admitting to everything, already knowing what was in store for him until Susan was caught.

" Very good, Sir...I will go and get that ready forthwith!" Said the man, going off to do what he had to do

Deep inside, he was starting to believe that Susan just may end up not ever being caught... and that made him feel a sort of admiration for the girl that had been his daughter for only a short time. He chuckled as he sat there, finding that he had been humorously wishing that the girl had taken him with her, because he knew exactly what his wife would be like over the next few days. It was not going to be pretty.

He lit his pipe and just stayed right where he was, assured that this would be the last place his infuriated wife would come.