A Promise for Breanna by Al Lacy

Author:Al Lacy [Lacy, Al]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2009-09-22T00:00:00+00:00

Rip Clayson trotted his horse back and forth along the line of wagons, noting how quickly the early afternoon sun was drying the ground after the heavy rain.

Breanna Baylor was in the Wyatt wagon, tending to Jay, who was in a great deal of pain. The continuous jostling of the wagon was taking its toll.

The train was skirting the last of the foothills of the Sweetwater Range and was about to make the southerly turn when Curly Wesson called out with urgency in his voice.

Rip spurred his mount and quickly drew up alongside the lead wagon. He found Curly standing up, clutching the reins with one hand and shading his eyes beneath his battered old hat with the other.

“What is it Curly?” Rip asked.

Wesson pointed due south to a spot about three hundred yards down the trail. “See ’em?”

“What?” Clayson asked, lowering his hat to give more shade to his eyes.

“Dead soldiers! Looks like a dozen or so.”

Clayson focused on the scattered, uniformed bodies. “That has to be a patrol out of Fort Bridger—at least it’s the closest fort around. No doubt they ran into hostile Indians and were outnumbered…probably Sioux or Snake. Don’t see any horses around. Indians must’ve taken them.”

Clayson told Curly to draw rein, then looked back along the curved line of wagons and raised a hand, signaling for them to stop. People were clambering out of the wagons, wanting to get a look at the scene at the bottom of the gentle slope.

When Breanna touched ground, Martha Kirkland drew up with Jason Moore flanking her. Jason watched Clayson trot his horse toward the death scene and said to the two women, “We’ll go around the bodies somehow, won’t we? I don’t want to look at them.”

“By the looks of the dense forest on both sides of the trail,” said Breanna, “I’d say we can’t avoid it. I’m sure Rip will want to bury them, anyhow. We can’t leave them like that.”

“I don’t want to look at them!” choked Jason. “I can’t stomach anything like that!”

Breanna patted his arm. “Calm down, Jason. Nobody’s going to make you look if you don’t want to. And I can understand why you wouldn’t.”

Jason was glad Breanna understood. He wished his father did.

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