“I wanted to see if there really was a ghost,” the boy grumbled.
“Do you think Mr. Olson has found me a cat yet?” Beverly yawned but her eyes sparkled.
“We’ll talk to him tonight. Maybe you’ll even see the Olson children tonight and have a chance to visit.”
“Why can’t we just eat at the boarding house?” Jonas asked. “I liked being with Mark and Georgie.” Despite the boy’s privileged lifestyle, he had few friends. It was obvious that he desperately wanted to get better acquainted with the Olson boys.
“We’ll go there first, and if Mrs. Olson has enough food and room, we’ll stay.” Cecil cut his eyes to Hester, hoping there would be room. What if another train load of people had arrived?
“I see you’re back,” George Olson grinned from his seat on the front porch of the boarding house. “Is the house unsuitable?”
Cecil pulled the wagon to a stop and looked down at the older man. “There’s just so much to be done. We need supplies and to finish putting the place back together. Do you still have room for us here tonight?”
George chuckled. “We kind of figured you might come back. I told Polly Esther about the place, and she said to count on you coming for dinner at the least. There aren’t as many travelers in today either, so you’ll be welcome.”
Cecil sighed with relief. He was tired after unaccustomed labor and was looking forward to a hot meal and a warm bed. So many thoughts were racing through his head even now that he wondered if he would sleep.
“Mark,” George called in through the open door of the house. “Come and take the wagon back to the livery for Byron, while I talk to your grandmother.”
“Yes, sir,” Mark dashed from the living area, leaving his school work behind. “Hi Jonas, want to ride along?”
“Sure,” Jonas’s eyes lit up with excitement as the rest of the group clambered down from the wagon.
“You want to come along too Beverly?” Mark asked, pushing brown hair from his eyes and looking at the pretty girl.
Beverly looked at Hester who nodded slightly. “Go on, you’ll be back soon enough.”
In a matter of moments the three children were trotting off toward the livery as the adults walked wearily into the boarding house, the smell of food and hot coffee the essence of dreams.
“Something smells good,” Mrs. August groaned, surprising everyone. The tired woman was covered in dust, her black dress nearly gray with the mess. “All I want is hot food and my bed.”
Hyke winked at his niece. “Seems like a hard day’s work as a char has an effect on one's disposition.”
Hester covered her grin, her heart echoing Mrs. August's feelings.
Chapter 15
“How long have you been driving a wagon?” Jonas asked as he watched every move Mark made. “I want to drive.”
“My pa taught me, and it isn’t as easy as it looks.”
“I can do it,” Jonas insisted, but before he had a chance, they had arrived at the livery.
“Maybe your uncle will teach you,” Mark said hopping down and offering his hand to Beverly.
Jonas huffed. “I don’t need him to teach me. I can see what you have to do.”
Mark shrugged walking toward the livery stable as he called out for Byron.
“What’s all this hollerin’ about?” the old man stepped out of his living quarters at the front of the barn. “Oh, it’s you. Did them city slickers give up already?”
“We didn’t give up,” Bev said, lifting her chin. “We are merely back in town for a meal and a place to sleep. We have been working all day, but the house isn’t fit to sleep in yet.”
“I see,” Byron’s bushy white brows rose at the girl’s tone. “I suppose you helped,” he said sounding anything but convinced.
“I did,” Beverly snipped. “Just look at my hands.”
Byron nodded looking closely as the girl turned dust cover hands before him.
“Well good for you then,” he grinned. “A body should be able to do for themselves.”
“What’s that?” Beverly’s eyes grew wide as a skinny cat trotted out of the barn.
“That old stray?” Byron asked. “She wandered in here the other day and had a passel of kittens in my best stall. I don’t have the heart to throw her out, but I already have two barn cats.”
“Can I have her?” Bev cried as she bounced on her toes. “Please?”
“Why sure ya can if she’ll go with you. Mama cats can be a bit fussy ya know.”
“I don’t care,” Bev said her heart racing as the cat rubbed against the side of the barn. “She can catch all the mice that are at the house and I’ll take good care of her and her kittens.”
Byron smiled, his craggy face wrinkling in on itself. “I’ll fetch you a crate and we’ll see if we can get her inside,” he said.
“Thank you,” Beverly enthused. “Wait until Mrs. August sees this!”
It took them nearly half an hour to get the cat and her kittens into the crate, and Byron was grumbling that he’d given half his dinner to the scraggly critter by the time she had settled down.
“I’ll carry the crate if you like,” Mark offered as the three children turned toward home.
“She’s kind of ugly,” Jonas said peering into the crate at the rail thin black and orange calico. “Are you sure she’ll be a good mouser?”
“Once she fattens up she’ll be beautiful,” Bev insisted. “I just know it.”
***
So many conversations were going on all at once when the children walked back into the boarding house that no one noticed them carry the crate up the stairs to the room where they had stayed the night before.
In the kitchen, over coffee and cookies, the adults were busy plotting a campaign of their own.
“Sheep,” George Olson said. “That’s what you need. A few head of sheep or goats to clean up that yard. Of course, if you go with sheep, you need to realize that they are the only animal
