“I thought you ran a store back east,” Jim said. He slung the saddle off the Appaloosa, then penned the big horse.
“I did, but mostly it was credit. Very little was cash money. This is…”
Jim wasn’t sure he understood the difference. He’d grown up poor at the best of times, having a little money only when he traveled west, and spending it on what they needed to survive the winter. He’d carried that roll with him and never really thought about how much there was, only what it represented.
Cattle. A ranch. A future for him, Ellen, and their children.
Jim smiled at his father-in-law, clapping him on the back. “Let’s go inside and tell them,” he said, and offered a hand up.
Once he had outlined the events in Bidwell’s Bar, he faced a barrage of questions, mostly from Ellen. He explained his run-in with Red, the talk with DeMourey, the price and opportunity to get more for their gold in San Francisco.
“There’s one more thing,” he said when the last of their questions was finally answered. “A man followed me out of town.”
David scowled. “Who was it?”
“I don’t know. I never saw him before. Rough fellow with the look of a hunter. There were a lot of people in camp, maybe a thousand, all pressed in together. Maybe one of them followed me back to see where my claim might be.”
“Where is this man now?” Ellen asked.
“No idea,” Jim said. “I discouraged him from following me. Fired a few shots near his horse’s hooves. Not to kill, but only to convince him I wasn’t a man to be followed. I think he tracked me after that, but I lost him in a squall.”
“Are you sure you lost him?” Ellen said. She had her arms crossed tight. “No chance he could show up here?”
“David, do we need to worry about thieves?” Abigail added.
“There’s always a worry about thieves,” Jim said. “There was a chance of that even before we found the gold. People in that camp are awful hungry for beef cattle. The worst of our cows would still bring a hundred dollars down there.”
“That isn’t reassuring,” Ellen said.
“No, it isn’t meant to be. There’s a great deal of danger here. There always has been, but there’s more now.” Jim remembered the look of all those miners. They were hungry, hungry and gold-crazy. “We all have to keep watch. Here at the house and working down on the creek.”
“I wish Colton were back. One more man to keep an eye on things would help,” David said.
Jim nodded. “I agree, but we don’t know where he is or when he’ll return.”
“We’ll have to do the best we can without him,” David said.
“Ellen,” Jim said. “I think you should quit your job at the store.”
Ellen hesitated. “I would like to keep working.”
Jim gave her a puzzled look. Keep working? What was this about?
“Why?”
David held up the roll of money. “Ellen, we have more than enough to make it now. There’s no need for you to keep on at the store.”
“I understand that, but I promised Sam and Jenny I’d stay on for a time. They need the help. And besides, someone needs to keep an eye out for Colton.”
“Well, I’m sure they’d understand if you—” David started.
“It’s alright, David,” Jim said. “You gave them your word you’d help out?”
“I did,” Ellen nodded.
“Then that’s settled,” Jim said. He didn’t like it. He hated her being gone, in fact, but he would also never ask her or anyone to go back on their word. “When will you be done with them?”
Ellen hesitated, then answered. “Another month, maybe two.”
“Two months,” Abigail said. “Oh dear, I don’t like you working down there away from home like that. It’s dangerous.”
“We’ll be fine for another two months,” Jim said. “And she’s right. Someone has to be down there to let Colton know what we’ve found.”
“It’s settled then,” Ellen said. “I’ll keep on at the store while Father and Jim work the stream. Mother and Martha can do as they have, watching Walt and Alma. When Colton comes back, I’ll send him up here.”
“And once Sam and Jenny are on their feet, you’ll come help here,” Jim said. His tone had a firmness to it, and Ellen agreed with a nod.
Abigail squeezed Ellen’s shoulders. “There’s plenty to do here. Between those two and everything else, Martha and I will be glad to have your help.”
“I was thinking of putting her to work panning,” Jim said, and flashed her a quick smile.
“Soaking my feet all day, splashing in the cool water, playing in the dirt, finding gold,” Ellen said with a smile. “Sounds easy enough to me.”
“You won’t think so when your back cracks every time you stand up,” David said.
“Well, maybe I’ll just boss the two of you around. Someone has to keep you both in line.”
“There you have it, Jim. We’ll surely regret having her with us,” David laughed.
