“About Will—” he began.

The blush on her tan cheeks rose immediately. “Pa—”

“I told your mother I’d talk to you.”

She shook her head. “You don’t have to. I talked to Mama.”

“I’ve spoken to Will.”

Maria looked up, her face now paling. “Don’t blame Will—”

“Well, then, who do I blame?” His anger at the boy rose as quickly as her blush had.

“No one, Pa. There’s no need to blame anyone.”

Despite Cal’s prediction that Will would get in trouble, nothing was said at supper about his absence that day. Mac glared at him, but that was it.

That evening Will kept his oil lamp on late and re-read Mama’s and Mac’s journals. Their words filled him with awe, even on a second reading. They’d left their homes to travel to Oregon, a place they knew little or nothing about. Mama took off into the wilderness with a man she didn’t know, and she’d been carrying a baby. Mac started the journey on a lark but ended as captain of the wagon company.

Will wondered if he was as brave as his mother. He fretted about going to Harvard, an established college in a settled city. It would be different from Oregon, but how bad could college be? He had nowhere else to go. If Mama had left her home for Oregon, maybe he needed to leave home, too. Maybe leaving home would lead him to his place in the world.

Will turned out the lamp, then lay awake past midnight. He heard a hoot from the yard below his window. It came again—the signal he and Jonah used.

He opened his window and peered out. Jonah stood in shadow under the stars. “Will,” Jonah whispered. “Come out.”

Will dressed quickly and crept downstairs. Rufus slept by the kitchen stove, but only gave one soft woof as Will eased out the kitchen door. Jonah beckoned him toward the mounting block by the carriage house.

“Where’d you go this afternoon?” Will asked.

“I had to get away,” Jonah said. “Had to do me some thinkin’.” He grabbed Will’s arm. “I’m leavin.’ I’m gonna find Joel.”

“All the way to Jacksonville?” Will asked, surprised.

“I’m gonna prospect with him. It’s gotta be better’n workin’ for Daniel. He treats me like a slave. You wanna come with me?”

Jonah was overreacting—Will thought Daniel treated Jonah fine. And going to find Joel in Jacksonville was a harebrained notion.

But why not? Will had just been thinking he had nowhere to go except Harvard. He shrugged, then said, “When are you leaving?”

“First thing in the mornin’,” Jonah said. “I’m goin’ home to pack now.”

Will nodded. “I’ll meet you at dawn. At the turnoff from your house to our old claim.”

Chapter 20: Runaways

Will packed some clothes and a blanket in the old saddlebags he’d found in the attic. He tied his stash of coins into a sock and thrust it into his pocket. He only had a few dollars—not much for a journey to Jacksonville. Seeing Mama’s and Mac’s journals on his desk, he grabbed a blank notebook and pencil and crammed them in with his gear. Maybe he would keep his own journal on this adventure. Maybe he’d have a story to tell, a story that would shape him as much as Mama’s and Mac’s journey shaped their lives.

An hour before dawn, he crept downstairs with the saddlebags. In the kitchen, he rummaged for some biscuits and bacon. He packed as much food as he could find easily, filled a canteen with water, and snuck to the carriage house to saddle Shanty. The horses must be used to his early morning intrusions, because they didn’t even nicker when he entered.

After tying the saddlebags to the back of the saddle, Will walked Shanty outside. He glanced once at the house—when would he see it again? Then he mounted and turned Shanty toward the country road.

This morning was warmer than the day before. Will hoped he and Jonah would have good weather on their journey south. That’s about all he knew of Jacksonville—it was south of Oregon City. South of Salem and Eugene, almost to California. Will had never been farther than Eugene—he’d ridden the steamboat there once with Mac.

Jonah waited for Will when he arrived at their meeting place. “Ready?” Jonah asked.

Will nodded, and the boys turned their horses south.

“Anyone see you leave?” Jonah asked.

“I don’t think so,” Will said. “The house was quiet. You?”

“Nah,” Jonah said. “Sammy grumbled when I left the bed, but he was sleepin’ again afore I was dressed.”

They rode in silence. After a while, Will asked, “What made you decide to leave?”

“I’m tired of workin’ for Daniel,” Jonah said. “Esther says Joel has the wanderlust. Like our pa. Guess I take after them more’n I do Esther and the others. They’re all happy stayin’ put. Zeke and Daniel, they like farmin.’ Me, I want to be my own boss.”

Will didn’t comment, but he didn’t think Jonah was ready to be his own boss. “What about Iris?” he asked.

Even in the early dawn light, Jonah’s expression turned dreamy. “I’ll come back for her someday.”

Then what did Jonah hope to gain by leaving now? Will shook his head. Jonah was too impetuous. But if Jonah was impetuous, why was Will so ready to follow him? Will shrugged. No matter. He was committed now.

The boys rode south on the post road toward Molalla, sometimes in silence, sometimes pointing out what they saw, sometimes arguing about how long the trip to Jacksonville would take. “At least a week,” Jonah said.

“More like two,” Will responded.

Jenny rose and woke the girls, readying them for the day ahead. Maggie wanted to snuggle while Jenny dressed her. Eliza and Lottie groggily took care of their own morning routines. Only Maria seemed to have any vitality today.

“Maria,” Jenny said, “go wake the boys.”

Jenny heard Cal and Nate grumbling, then Maria came back to the girls’ room. “Will isn’t here,” Maria said.

“Maybe he’s up early,” Jenny said. “Eating already.”

Maria’s feet tapped down the stairs, then the sound of her return. “Will’s not there,” she told Jenny. “Mrs. O’Malley hasn’t seen him.”

Jenny found Mac shaving in their room. “William isn’t home.”

Mac swore. “Did you check the horse stalls? Is Shanty there? Yesterday the boy rode to Jonah’s without permission.”

“Maria?” Jenny called. “Go look in the carriage house.”