Jenny rolled pie dough flat and filled pie pans as she helped Mrs. O’Malley with supper preparations. Maggie stood on a chair beside her mother and patted a bit of the dough into a little lump. “See, Mama,” the toddler said. “I make pie, too.”
“Yes, dear,” Jenny said. “We’ll get you some berries to go with your crust in a minute.”
Maria rushed in. “Esther Abercrombie is here,” she said. “She’s brought a letter from Will.”
Jenny dropped her rolling pin on the table and wiped her hands on her apron. Lifting a flour-covered Maggie onto her hip, she hurried toward the entry.
Esther stood in the front hall waving two letters, one opened and the other still sealed. “I got a letter from Jonah,” she exclaimed. “And brought you a letter, too. Must be from Will. They’re safe. They’re with Joel, working for some militia unit.” She prattled on about what Jonah had said as she handed Jenny the sealed letter.
Jenny set Maggie down, tore open the letter, and read aloud, “Dear Mama—”
“It is from Will,” Maria murmured, clasping her hands as she peered over Jenny’s shoulder.
Jenny beamed at Maria. “Yes,” she said. “It’s William. He’s well.” She led the others into the parlor. “But what are they doing with the militia?” she asked, as she continued to read.
“Joel will keep them safe,” Esther said, smiling.
“But it’s war time,” Jenny said. “Any form of military service must bring some danger.”
“We’ll talk to Pa,” Maria said. “He’ll know.”
“I do wish the boys would come home,” Esther said. “What in tarnation made them leave here anyway?”
“We should send Mac and Daniel after them,” Jenny said. But with the news about Mac’s father, Mac would be torn—he was considering a trip to Boston.
As soon as Esther left, Jenny put on her bonnet and walked downtown to Mac’s office, taking Will’s letter with her. While Mac read, Jenny paced the room. “Now that we know where the boys are,” she said, “we have to go after them. But you also need to see your father. Maybe Daniel can go by himself. Though they have the new baby, and the harvest will start soon.” Jenny couldn’t stay still as she spoke, worried about how to get William home.
“Before either Daniel or I set out, let’s see if we can learn something about the boys from here,” Mac said.
Jenny turned to him. “But a letter will take so long. Even to Fort Klamath, which is where he posted his letter. And that’s the only place we know to write.”
Mac smiled. “But now we have the telegraph.”
“Oh, would you?” Jenny said. She hadn’t thought about the telegraph, even though Mac now used it regularly for business and to communicate with his family back East. “Then we can decide if you should go to Boston or Klamath.”
Mac headed for the telegraph office after Jenny left. He had two troubling reasons to leave Oregon City, though Jenny’s pregnancy was reason to stay home.
One reason to leave was his father. He’d had no update from his brother about his father’s condition, so he assumed the older McDougall still lived. It would take weeks to get to Boston. If he had any intention of seeing his father before the old man died, he needed to leave immediately, and it might already be too late. His relationship with his father had been stormy at best, but now he wondered whether to rush back to Boston hoping to make amends.
The other reason to leave was to find Will. Still, despite Jenny’s worry, Will should be safe enough with the militia. Mac had feared the boys had run away to serve in the War in the East. By comparison, the Indian skirmishes in Oregon and California were tame. A man could get hurt, even killed, but these battles weren’t wholesale slaughter like the Eastern campaigns.
But Jenny wanted her oldest son home. Mac did, too, truth be told. Will’s departure left a hole in their household. Despite the boy’s moodiness over the last year, he was part of their family.
Jacob Johnson’s interference had only accelerated a rift between Will and his parents that would have happened anyway. Much like Mac’s rift with his own parents, though Mac liked to think he’d been a better father to his children than his father had been to him.
Now Mac wrestled with whether to focus on his father’s generation or his son’s. He was trapped between them. Which relationship was it more important to repair?
And then there was Jenny.
Mac’s first telegram went to Fort Boise, because Will’s letter indicated the expedition was headed there.
DATE: 31 AUGUST 1864
TO: COMMANDER FORT BOISE
FROM: CALEB MCDOUGALL OREGON CITY
MY SON WITH DREWS EXPEDITION WHEN DREW EXPECTED BOISE
He asked the telegraph operator to have any responses delivered to his office. An hour later, a boy knocked on the door. Mac paid the lad a penny and took the telegram.
DATE: 31 AUGUST 1864
TO: CALEB MCDOUGALL OREGON CITY
FROM: MAJOR LUGENBEEL COMMANDER FORT BOISE
DREWS ARRIVAL UNKNOWN KLAMATH REPORTS THEM EN ROUTE
Mac swore. Will’s letter had informed them of that much. So he returned to the telegraph office to send a telegram to Fort Klamath.
DATE: 31 AUGUST 1864
TO: COMMANDER FORT KLAMATH
FROM: CALEB MCDOUGALL OREGON CITY
WHEN DREW EXPECTED AT KLAMATH MY SON WITH HIS EXPEDITION
Again, he waited for a response. It was late in the day before he received the following:
