“Some certainly take advantage of people, but there are some good ones.”
“They kept asking me exactly where we found the gold,” Jim said.
“I’m sure they did.” Ellen stopped for a moment, considering. “Do you think we should file claims along the creek?”
The sun was setting into the ocean, and Jim watched it, thinking. “We should, but we’ve got to expect that the very minute we file, the secret’s out. I’m not ready for that. We still haven’t found the gold’s source.”
“Is it worth so much?” Ellen said. “Is Father right?”
“Your father is a knowing man. I think he’s got a touch of the fever, though,” Jim said. He tried to put himself in David’s shoes. How would he act in the same situation? “California hasn’t turned out the way your father planned. He thought he’d come out here and find the land of milk and honey, but that didn’t work out either.”
“He knew it wouldn’t be easy.”
“I’m sure he expected plenty of hard work, but he also figured on having more to show for it. Your father thinks this is his last chance at something big.”
“That’s foolish,” Ellen scoffed. “He’s still a young man. He and Mother have a lot of time yet.”
“Are you sure? How old is he?” Jim said. He could see the question set his wife back a bit. In her mind, her father was still the young, vibrant man he’d been when she was a girl. That wasn’t the truth, though. The truth was, he wasn’t that man anymore and hadn’t been for some time. David had more good years behind him than ahead.
“It’s nice out here,” Jim said, changing the subject before it could sour her mood.
“I miss our mountains,” Ellen sighed.
“Even the little cabin?”
“We do need a bigger cabin.”
“Maybe just another cabin instead,” Jim laughed. “If we keep adding onto that one, it’ll look like an army barracks.”
“Alright, a separate cabin then,” Ellen said.
“One bedroom just for us?”
“And leave the children?”
“Your parents will be glad to have them.”
Ellen’s eyes narrowed. “No matter what you say, you miss them as much as I do.”
“Maybe more,” Jim answered. “One more night and we’ll go home.”
Ellen stood and faced the sunset. “It’s beautiful here, despite the fog. I want my parents to see this someday. Walt and Alma too.”
Jim moved close to her, wrapping her in his arms. He leaned down so their heads were level. “I’m sure we can make that happen.”
Chapter 18
Jim and Ellen took their time on the way home. The gold was gone, their money tucked away in one of the largest, safest banks in San Francisco. Even the weather seemed to cooperate. The line of gray rain clouds kept to the coast, and the sun shone down, warm and bright.
They stopped early each evening, talking about their plans once they reached home. Ellen wanted to find a school for the children, and Jim agreed. His own education had been limited, and he wanted to do better for Walt and Alma. Jim wanted to find a place to start a grand ranch. Somewhere unsettled and wild. But somewhere they could get Walt and Alma what they needed.
“You’ll have us living on the frontier,” Ellen laughed.
“I’ll settle for having it as a neighbor. Most of the settlers headed straight for the coast or valleys. I want someplace open and free,” Jim said. “We skipped over that in reaching for the mountains.”
“You don’t want to go back to the plains?”
“No, we’ll stay in California,” Jim said. “Donovan said there were several good valleys up north.”
“Why didn’t he decide to settle there, then?”
Remembering the old mountain man, Jim smiled. “Donovan wasn’t interested in raising cattle or horses. He loved the ruggedness of the mountains.”
“Do you think he knew?” Ellen said. “About the gold, I mean.”
Jim considered the question. Since their discovery, he’d asked himself the same thing a hundred times. On one hand, he couldn’t see why Donovan would keep running the wagon trains if he were sitting on a literal gold mine. On the other, he remembered how the man always spoke of the valley with an odd twinkle in his eye. Donovan loved the west. He liked seeing new places and things.
Most of the trappers were like that. A lot of them were businessmen. The easterners didn’t see them as such, but many of them came into the mountains to trap the beaver and make their fortune. Some made their money, then returned east to start families and businesses. Others fell in love with the lofty peaks and clear streams. The latter group stayed.
“I think he knew,” Jim finally answered.
“Why didn’t he stay then? Why not keep it for himself? He’d never want for anything again.”
Jim shrugged. “He liked the trail. I think he liked the challenge of it and he liked the people.”
“He was a strange man,” Ellen said.
“That he was.”
