Read Online The Prettiest Girl in the Land (The Traherns #3) by Nancy Radke - Free Book Online Page A

us to take them on to the next
station, which was a fort.
    “They are the law around here. They’ll bury the dead outlaws and
probably hang the wounded ones. Give your statements to them. There should be a
driver there who will take you into California. They might even give you an
escort, because of the money you’re carrying, but I doubt it. You seem able to
take care of yourselves.”
    “Will we be close to San Francisco?” I asked.
    “No, Ma’am. You still have a ways to go. California is a large
state and you just crossed into it.” 
    I’d never studied it on a map, so I didn’t know how big or small
it was. I thought Tennessee was big until we crossed Arizona and Utah. Or maybe
it was just the fact you could see so far, and so much of nothing. And what you
could see, it took a long time to get
to.                                
    As we dropped down out of the mountains it warmed up, but not so
warm it was unbearable. I decided I liked California, and said so to Gage. But
when we reached San Francisco, I saw that other people liked it, too. A whole
passel of people, all trying to live in one spot. It was worse than Memphis.
Too many people for my comfort.
    The stage let us all out at the end of the route, and a
sorrier-looking bunch would be hard to find.         
    All the men had full beards by now. We were rank from sweat,
pale from not having ate well, and jaded from having slept sitting up in our
clothes. Gage and the other outrider had had to somehow sleep while riding. I
knew it could be done, just not very restful.
    “Now that was an adventure to write about,” the newspaper gent
told me. “Check your paper in the next day or two. I’ve already got the
headline.”
    I just shook my head, thinking it would be a long time before I
forgot the discomforts of that trip. I had figured, being a mountain girl, that
I could stand anything, but being cooped up in that coach for pert near a month
was an ordeal worth forgetting.
    I looked about for Gage. He had told me he would get a cab to
take us to some boarding houses, where I could find lodging. I didn’t see him
anywhere, so asked our last driver if he had seen him.
    “No. He left just after we got here.”
    I looked outside, at the mass of people walking about, all
seeming to be about their business, and decided to wait for Gage inside. The
girls were pretty, with their hair done in curls and dressed in lovely clothes.
I glanced down at my filthy garment. Perhaps Gage had seen someone he knew. I
reminded myself that he was quick to go to another. He hadn’t been very upset
losing Mary, just grabbed another girl to flirt with.
    I walked over to pick up my pack and realized Travers wasn’t
with it and forgot completely about Gage.
    Now when I told Travers to “keep” something, he guarded it. And
I had set my sack near the door and told him to “keep” it.
    He had ridden into town on top of the stage and hadn’t jumped
down until I called him. Now he was nowhere to be seen.
    “Travers!” I called, loudly, and when he didn’t come I put two
fingers in my mouth and whistled, like Trey had taught me. I’d only had to
whistle the dog up twice in Tennessee when we were on the trail. And now.
    How could he have vanished so fast?
    I remembered the man warning me about dogs being kidnapped for
dog fights. But Travers would have made so much noise, everyone would have
known.
    I ran outside and whistled. Nothing.
    “Miss.” It was the employee at the counter, the first one I’d
spoken to.
    “Yes?”
    “I just saw your dog. He’s out back where the coaches are.” He
pointed towards a door behind the counter.
    I went out the door and found a group of men standing around
Travers. One pointed at me.
    “Hey, Miss. This your dog?”
    “Yes.”
    “The men were telling us how he saved everyone on the coach by
barking. And chasing off a bear.”
    “And attacking the outlaws,” another said.
    “We could use him