Dreams Of Thunder by Nigel Mason

Author:Nigel Mason [Mason, Nigel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent Publishing Network
Published: 2023-12-01T05:00:00+00:00

SIXTEEN

It was a day in late summer when the breeze was just fresh enough for the winnowing. Not so strong that it lifted the dust from the earth, but sufficient to separate the chaff from the grain, and today it was blowing in the right direction.

The harvest had been early that year, and at the barn the three men were hard at work. Inside, Tomlin passed bucket after bucket of the threshed grain up to his brother, and Ethan poured each in turn through the open front of the loft and onto the tanned hide pegged out ready on the ground beneath. He grinned, watching the wind plucking away the chaff. Down below Fraser shovelled the grain into fresh sacks for storage through the winter months, while Jonathan and little Fraser squatted by the hide, watching intently to pick out any chaff that remained.

It had been a long day but now the task was nearly done, and Fraser paused to mop the sweat from his forehead, smiling in anticipation as he caught the appetising aroma of fresh apple pie that wafted through the breeze from the cabin. He could smell something else in the air, too. Faint, almost intangible, it reminded him suddenly of his mother, and the sea-loch and the heather and the rough, mountainous stillness of the highlands, and he shivered as he always did when the chill of homesickness caught him unawares.

Stepping away from the pile of winnowed grain he stood for a moment, staring off to the far horizon. His eyes traced the outline of the forest against the distant mountains, and he felt he could almost reach out and caress the fresh greenness of the trees as his imagination leapt again to the western wilderness.

Seven years now he had been here in this valley, years that had followed the familiar cycle of the seasons. The sowing and the reaping, the intense activity and endless hours of labour, and the fear of Indian attack that was always present in the subconscious, although for the last few summers they had seen no sign of raiding warriors. They had been years that he had lived a hard but satisfying life, making the best of the new for he could not return to the old, but now he was restless and the call to the distant mountains was rising strong again in his mind. He would be glad when they did as Ethan suggested and ventured into the Alleghenies in search of new land.

“Riders coming in!” The low call broke into his thoughts, and he turned to look towards the ford and the small figures of two horsemen who splashed their mounts through the swirling water.

The valley had become more populated over the years, and in recent times it was quite common for travellers to pass by. Most were making for the settlements that had sprung up along the trace, or perhaps to the farms beyond, but it was wise to be careful. A quick word to the boys

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