Yuma Gold by Steven Law

Author:Steven Law
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2011-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

RATHER THAN CROSSING THE DUNES, HOSTETTER’S crew chose a longer route through the mountain pass that guaranteed them a proven path and better terrain for the horses. They stopped along the pass at night to camp, and by morning Hostetter felt good enough to sit up in the wagon and eat with the rest of them. José had prepared biscuits in a Dutch oven, and Felicia brought her grandfather two on a tin plate, broken in half and smothered with honey, along with a tin cup half full of coffee.

“Do you think you can chew these?” Felicia said.

A lot of the redness around his cuts and bruises had gone away and the old man looked better, but he still complained of soreness on his lips. When he opened his mouth, the dry cuts separated and stung, but the bleeding was minimal. Regardless, he chewed slowly and was able to get the biscuits down without much pain or labor.

After they were done eating, Yudexy and José cleaned the camp and prepared for their departure. José checked the connections on the harnesses, then he walked around and inspected the wagon. The river ride had given the wagon quite a beating, and the rough mountain trails often gave the hubs and axels quite a test. All seemed okay, though, and when he was done, he rested his elbows on the wagon box to inform Hostetter that they were ready.

Yudexy put the last load of camping gear inside the wagon. “Speak for yourself, José,” she said and followed with a smile. José laughed and went to offer her help, but she declined.

“Don’t worry about it,” Hostetter said. “We still have plenty of time to make it to the farm before nightfall.”

Yudexy seemed confused. “But what about the flood?”

Hostetter swallowed a sip of his coffee and licked his sore lips. “Don’t get me wrong, we don’t want to dally,” he said. “The only rush of water will be a few hundred feet from the dam breaks. It will eventually slow to a steady flow and follow the low passes, the gullies, and creep its way into the valley.”

“I’m not sure what you’re saying,” Yudexy said. “How long will it take to reach the farm?”

“Once the dams break, five days. Even at that time it will be a slow fill and nothing but a muddy mess. In a week it will look like a rice paddy. In a month like a lake, and a lake that keeps getting bigger. It will be nothing that this part of the country has seen for hundreds, maybe thousands of years.”

Even though there was no need for haste, the report was quite sobering. It didn’t seem to affect Felicia, who rode contentedly in the back of the wagon, caring for her grandfather. Yudexy, however, rode next to José in the wagon seat with a look of great concern. She feared for not only the Cashmans, but also the lives of her family and the future of her people.

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