would hold.
Chapter 25
Before everyone went to sleep, Frank set up shifts for guard duty. He wanted two people awake at all times, and of course he relied heavily on the senses of Dog, Stormy, and Goldy to alert them if any danger came around, too. The women would have to take their turns, but it wouldn’t be necessary for all of them to stand guard every night. They could rotate the duty among them, so that some of them would get a full night’s sleep each night.
Somewhat to his surprise, the first night passed quietly except for some wolves howling in the distance. The sound spooked the women for a while, until Salty explained that the wolves wouldn’t come near the fire.
“If it was after a hard winter and they was starvin’, they might risk it,” the old-timer said. “Right now, though, we don’t have to worry about them varmints.”
At one point during the night, while the guard shifts were changing, Frank and Salty were both awake and had a brief conversation by the fire while the others slept in the tents that had been set up. Salty nodded toward the flames and commented, “When I was a young feller growin’ up, I didn’t dare have a fire like that whilst I was on the trail. It’d be too likely to draw attention from some Comanch’ or Apaches lookin’ to lift my hair.”
“I know what you mean,” Frank said with a nod. “It goes against the grain for me to have a fire that big at night, too. Drawing attention’s never a good thing.”
“You ain’t as old as me, Frank, but you been around long enough to’ve seen the elephant a time or two. I’ll bet you’ve rid some hard, lonely trails.”
Frank had a cup of coffee in his hand. He took a sip from it and said, “I’ve heard the owl hoot a time or two, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“No, sir. Ain’t none o’ my business.”
“I figured that since you’d worked with that deputy marshal and those range detectives, you were still a badge-toter at heart. Once a lawman, always a lawman, they say.”
Salty chuckled. “Tell that to all the fellers who wore a star and then turned crooked, or the ones that rode the owlhoot and then went straight. You can’t tell what a feller will be by lookin’ at what he was. Folks change all the time.”
“That they do,” Frank agreed with a solemn nod. “Look at you. You haven’t had a drink in more than two days.”
“And I’m feelin’ it, too,” Salty muttered. “But it’s gettin’ better, slowly but surely.”
“Go ahead and turn in and get some sleep. You’ll feel even better in the morning.”
“I hope so.”
Salty was up again when the first hints of gray began to appear in the eastern sky, and he woke all the others, too. “Ever’body up!” he called. “We got ground to cover today!”
They set off about an hour later, after everyone had had breakfast, including the sled teams. Dog didn’t care for the dried fish that the sled dogs ate, so he went bounding off into the trees and came back with a rabbit’s bloody carcass in his jaws. When the other dogs showed an interest in it, a deep-throated growl from the big cur made them think twice about trying to take his prize away from him.
With only a day’s experience behind them, Conway, Jennings, and the women were hardly seasoned veterans of the far north, but at least they had some idea what to expect now. The sleds moved smoothly over the snow, with the others following Salty’s lead. Frank rode alongside most of the time, since he didn’t know exactly where the trails were and Salty had a tendency of weaving in and out of hills and stands of trees, following the easiest route over the terrain. The snow was a little deeper the farther north they went, but it was still less than a foot except in the drifts, and the horses had no trouble with it.
By Frank’s estimation, they covered more ground that day than they had the day before. Whenever he looked toward White Pass in the distance, though, it didn’t appear to be any closer. Salty noticed him doing that one time and chuckled.
“You been in the high country enough to know what it’s like, Frank,” the old-timer said. “The air’s so clear it seems like you can see forever. It’s like crossin’ the Great Plains toward the Rockies. They look like they’re so close you can reach right out and touch ’em, but it still takes you days or even weeks to get there.”
“I know. If anything, the air is even clearer up here.”
“Yeah, especially when it’s cold. Alaska’s a great place, Frank. I don’t know that I want to spend the rest of my borned days up here, but I’m mighty glad I came. Yes, sir, even with all the bad things that’ve happened, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Frank knew exactly what the old-timer meant. Life held a lot of pain and trouble, as he knew better than most, but those things were just the price folks had to pay for all the moments of beauty and joy. If a person was lucky, they would experience more of the latter than the former.
The women must have been getting used to the cold. There were fewer complaints today. They all seemed quite happy to gather around the fire Frank built at that night’s camp, though. Again, the men—except for Jennings—took turns standing guard all night, each of them paired up with one of the women. As it happened, Meg had the same shift as Frank.
They spoke briefly before splitting up to go to opposite sides of the camp. “You won’t be able to see much, so I’m sending Dog with you,” Frank told her. “He’ll know it if anybody comes around. If he starts growling, get ready for trouble.”
Meg hefted the Winchester in her hands. “Do I shoot?”
“Not unless you’re sure of what you’re shooting at. Could be some innocent pilgrim who saw our fire wandering up, looking for some hot food and coffee.”
“Or it could be Soapy Smith and his men coming to get us.”
Frank nodded. “Yeah, it could be. If you recognize any of that bunch, don’t hesitate to shoot. They’re not going
