The Pathfinders by Peggy L Henderson

Author:Peggy L Henderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peggy Henderson

Chapter 6

Connor Moran swung the ax over his head and brought it down forcefully onto the log he’d propped on the large tree stump. The log split in half with a loud splintering sound, and both pieces flew off the chopping block. He repeated the action several more times, splitting each piece of wood with a single blow of the large ax.

He reached for a new piece of wood to start the process over again but paused and stared off into the distance. It had been three days since Todd had left to bring word to the brigade of trappers that Alex Walker had been found. The sun was slowly sinking into the western horizon, and still there was no sign of his return, or anyone else, for that matter.

Connor wiped the sweat off his forehead with a sweep of his palm, pushing long strands of his hair out of his face in the process. He glanced over his shoulder at the cabin that was nestled among the trees. Wood smoke drifted from the chimney, and the air around him was filled with the aroma of the food cooking inside the home.

His stomach grumbled, but Connor’s mind wasn’t on food. What if Josiah Butler hadn’t given Todd or any of the others permission to return to fetch Alex?

When Todd had left Daniel Osborne’s cabin, Alex had been in bad shape, and no one could have said with certainty whether he would survive. Connor had opted to stay back with Alex so that if he died, at least someone he knew was with him. Todd had gone to fetch Alex’s friends regardless, but if the older trappers thought he was dead, they might have decided it wasn’t worth coming back for one of their own.

Connor smirked. To the old-timers, Alex was just a greenhorn without a lick of sense. They held the same sentiment for Connor and his brother, as well as the rest of the first-timers they’d met on their journey into the wilderness. They were good for doing the work that none of the seasoned woodsmen wanted to do or felt was beneath them.

No matter how difficult or gruesome the tasks set before him had been, Connor had never backed down from any of them. Neither had his brother or their friends. If the old-timers thought they were going to break any of them, they were sorely mistaken.

On the journey down the Yellowstone, one of the men had thought it was a great joke to give Connor some tainted meat to eat. He’d called it a rite of passage, if Connor managed to keep it down. He’d been sicker than a dog for days. He’d been left behind with only his brother and a couple of the veterans. They watched to see if he’d get better or if they’d have to bury him, while the rest of the brigade had pushed on.

“His gut will toughen up,” one of the men had assured Tallan, who’d fretted over him like a parent, just as he’d done for years.

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