Read Online Dorothy Garlock - [Wabash River] by Lonesome River - Free Book Online

it to his mouth, then to hers. Her small red tongue came out, and then a smile appeared. He closed her small fingers around it and went back to hobble the oxen so they wouldn’t stray far from the wagon.
    When she was ready, Liberty led the horse to the wagon so she could climb up on the wheel to reach the stirrups. The bag she hung on the saddle horn contained her coins, some of her mother’s letters, tea, dried apples and corn meal. In another bag she had put her packets of garden seeds. She hated to leave Jubal’s pottery behind. Just the night before she had promised him she would keep it forever. She didn’t have time to think about it because Farr was lifting Amy up behind her. He then placed the sleeping boy, wrapped in a shirt, in front of her.
    “Hand me the shawls, Mr. Quill. It may be cold tonight. I’ve got one each for Amy and Mercy. I’ll wrap the boy in mine.”
    He brought the shawls to her, and she looked deeply into his eyes. “Why do men do such shameful things, Mr. Quill?”
    His eyes were almost tender as he looked at her. “I don’t know, Liberty.”
    She noticed his use of her given name and was pleased. They looked at each other for a long time.
    “Do you think Daniel will . . . remember?”
    “You know his name?”
    “Of course. Daniel Phelps.”
    “He’ll remember. It will lie there somewhere in the back of his mind for as long as he lives. But he hasn’t lost everything. He’ll know who he is. It’s more than Mercy will know.”
    “Thank you for staying with us.”
    “You’re welcome, Liberty Bell.” His eyes twinkled for just a moment. “I know you’re tired, but we’ve got to travel fast. Here are some sweets I bought from a Frenchman just up from New Orleans. I gave one to Mercy. You and Amy have some. Sweetening will carry you a long way. When the boy wakes, he’ll be hungry. Try to keep him quiet.”
    “I will. Amy fed him some pap and cleaned the poor little thing. He must not have moved from his mama all night long.”
    “Good girl, Amy.” Farr’s praise brought a wide grin from the child. He glanced around the site while tying his powder and shot bag around his waist; then he flung a water bag over his shoulder and picked up both rifles. “Let’s get clear of this place. You may not be able to see me all the time, Liberty. Keep moving toward the sunset. I may backtrack, but I’ll catch up. Be as quiet as you can; voices carry in these woods. Everyone within sight of that smoke will be curious about it.”
    “We’ll do what you say, Mr. Quill.”
    He nodded and started off through the woods. Liberty followed, blessing fate for having thrown them in the path of Farr Quill.

Chapter Four
    M oonlight filtered through the trees in ghostly patches and the woods seemed ominously quiet. Liberty’s arms ached from holding Daniel; her legs and buttocks ached from hours in the saddle. When darkness came, Farr had taken the reins from her hands to lead the horse along a path that wound through the silent forest of trees whose branches seemed to reach to the heavens. Amy was asleep, resting against Liberty’s back. Farr had tied the ends of her shawl around Liberty’s waist to make sure she didn’t fall off the horse. The boy awakened several times during the night and cried for his mother. His whimpering, little cries were the saddest thing Liberty had ever heard. She cuddled him close, crooned to him, and after a while he fell into an exhausted slumber.
    They came out of the woods and into a clearing where the grass was so high it stroked the belly of the horse. Farr led the party along the edge of the forest in the shadows of the giant trees that surrounded the clearing. The breeze from the south still carried the faint odor of wood smoke even at this distance. Dazed by fatigue and hunger, Liberty was scarcely aware the horse had stopped until Farr was at her side, his hand on her arm. She was thinking about roast turkey, plum pudding and a warm soft bed. She