Where the Trail Ends: American Tapestries by Melanie Dobson

Author:Melanie Dobson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian, General, Romance, Historical, Fiction, Where the Trail Ends
ISBN: 9781609366858
Publisher: Ideals Publications
Published: 2012-10-01T05:00:00+00:00

Alex crept forward cautiously along the rocks, scanning the south shore of the river to see who had shot a gun. The company men used traps to catch animals. They would only shoot if there was danger.

A dark cloud settled over the river valley, the sprinkles of rain a precursor to a storm. He couldn’t see far, but ten yards ahead of him, some sort of animal paddled in the river.

Alex stopped at the shoreline, his skin crawling.

The animal was a wolverine.

He swung his pistol in front of him, preparing to shoot. A wolverine was a reasonably small animal, but it could be unpredictable and dangerous. A wounded wolverine could easily kill a grown man.

When the animal saw Alex, it turned quickly and swam back to shore. It stumbled erratically toward Alex, blood dripping down its side, and then it lunged, snapping at him.

Alex pulled the trigger of his gun and shot the animal through the head.

After it dropped to the ground, Alex slid his pistol back into the holster and walked carefully toward it. He expected to see another bullet wound in its fur, but instead there was an arrow in the animal’s side.

Strange.

Who had fired the first gunshot, and who had shot an arrow?

Storms didn’t last long in the Columbia District. He’d wait for it to pass before he took his canoe across the river. The bigger bateau he’d leave at the river’s edge, waiting to bring back Jack Doyle and the people he’d set out this morning to find.

Rain fell harder now, drenching his overcoat as he pushed back the grass along the shore. He expected to see both boats where they had left them last night. Instead only the bateau remained.

He stared at it for a moment. Had someone stolen his canoe?

His gaze wandered across the wide river. Apparently someone had taken it and now was out on the river, trying to paddle his canoe to the other side.

He groaned. Didn’t they know they couldn’t canoe in a downpour? The canoe would fill up and—

Something rustled in the trees behind him, and he removed his pistol again. Turning, he aimed his gun, but it wasn’t an animal emerging from the trees. It was a young woman, part native and part European, hurrying toward him. Her light brown hair was braided, and she wore a fringed dress of white buckskin and a long necklace of blue beads.

She pointed at the river. “A woman and child are on that boat.”

He groaned, looking out across the water and then back at her. “What are they doing?”

“They need your help.”

He kicked a pile of stones, and they scattered toward the water. “Of course they do.”

The Americans always needed help.

She pushed him forward. “Quickly.”

He left the wolverine on the bank and began to row the bateau through the rain. Experienced officers and trappers alike had died on the mighty Columbia, people who knew what they were doing. The Columbia was fifty-five miles of peril as it descended to the Pacific Ocean through narrow channels and raging cataracts.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.