He had to go back to praying.
Daniel prayed all day while he led the oxen. He had to see his father before he passed away. The attorney had said his father had a lung ailment, and he didn’t know how long he would last. He told Daniel to come as quickly as he could.
Daniel was unusually quiet during supper. He’d shot a rabbit. Hope had roasted it over the fire, and it tasted delicious. Usually, he raved about the dinner, but that night he simply chewed and stared into the fire as if contemplating.
She set her plate down and asked, “Did you speak with Shank yet?”
Daniel looked up quickly as if she’d startled him from deep inside his thoughts. “Yes. He won’t change his mind. It seems there are others with the train in the same circumstance, and if he allows it with us, he’d have to allow it with them, too.”
“So, what will you do?”
“I’ll leave the train in Laramie, buy a horse, and go it alone, I suppose. I have to get to Oregon before my father dies.”
Why did Hope feel guilty? No one had the right to ask her to marry someone she barely liked. It wasn’t fair. She wouldn't feel trapped in a loveless marriage again though she sincerely felt sympathy for Daniel. The offer he’d made her really wasn’t so bad: she’d have her own home, she could plant a garden, and she might even get a job somewhere. She didn’t much like living alone since she’d lived alone for most of her life; the company of the other children in the orphanage didn’t count.
“What will you do when we get to Fort Laramie, Hope?”
“I suppose I’ll be able to stay on the train because the Cummings invited me to stay with them,” she said.
“You’re fortunate to have made friends with them.”
“They’re homesteading, too.”
“I suppose most of the travelers here are. It’s a good deal.”
Daniel stood. “I need to check on the animals and oil the wheel axles.”
Hope said, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
After dark, there was a large fire by one wagon down the row and several of the neighbors gathered there as usual to sing, dance, and cheer themselves despite the hardships of the journey. Hope still felt guilty about having turned Daniel down, and she didn’t feel like joining them, but she needed to find Anna who was sure to give her some good advice. Hope found her standing off to the side, talking to another woman.
Anna turned when she saw her. “Hello, Hope. Do you know Mrs. Loomis?”
“How do you do?” Hope said before turning back to Anna. “Can we talk somewhere?”
“Of course. I was on my way back to my wagon, anyway. Walter’s feeling poorly and is already asleep. I think he ate too much fish at supper.” She excused herself to Mrs. Loomis and took Hope’s arm.
“Walter’s all right, isn’t he?”
“He’ll be fine. Come, I always love our fireside chats.”
Once they were comfortable on a thick blanket before the fire, Hope told Anna about her unhappy marriage and how it had come about. Then she told her about Daniel’s problem and his offer.
“I turned him down. Now, he’ll have to leave the train and buy a horse to go on to Oregon alone, and he might not get there in time to see his father before he dies. I feel guilty.”
“That’s quite a burden to carry alone, Hope. Have you prayed about it?”
“No. I’m even ashamed to go to God with this problem, because I know what He’d want me to do. I just don’t want to do it.”
Anna laughed. “That happens to me a lot. Remember that God sent his son to earth to live as a human, and so He knows how hard life is. He’d understand your feelings, truly, He would.”
“You don’t think He’d think me uncharitable or un-Christian to not marry Daniel so he can see his father one more time?”
“I think you should ask Him to show you what to do and tell Him you’d abide by his lead.”
“How will I know what He wants me to do?”
“He’ll show you. He always finds a way.”
Hope went to her tent feeling poorly. She felt unusually warm, and her throat was scratchy. She thought perhaps a good night’s sleep would cure what ailed her. She said her prayers, asking once more for a solution to her problem before falling fast asleep.
Chapter Seven
Daniel bent over the wagon’s tongue to hitch the oxen. He looked up when he heard Anna walking swiftly toward him. Daniel straightened and was about to greet her to ask where Hope was when he noticed her expression.
“It’s Hope. She won’t be here today. She’s fallen ill. Mr. Shank is with her. The doctor is no longer on the train.” She stopped to catch her breath. “I’m so worried.”
Daniel’s heart seemed to drop several inches in his chest. No! Not Hope, too. She’d die like Nancy. “Where is she?”
“She’s still in her tent. There’s no room for her inside our wagon. Have you any room in yours? Shank said we have to keep moving.”
Daniel scratched his head. “Let’s look.” He led Anna to the back of the wagon and helped her to step up into it.
Anna looked around. “What’s in this trunk?”
“It’s Nancy’s hope chest.”
“And this rocking
