They were just finishing their evening meal when a commotion broke out a few wagons down the circle. Some strangers had ridden in and a man from the train pointed to their wagon. When Callum noticed, he ran to jump into the back of the wagon, leaving Hope wondering what was going on.
Soon, the strangers galloped to their wagon. They stopped so abruptly, dirt from the horses' hooves flew into their dinner. Hope stood, wide-eyed with surprise. The men were fierce-looking. They trotted their horses to the rear of the wagon just as Callum leaped down with the small, mysterious chest in his arms.
The men chased after him—Callum on foot and the men on horses—until Hope couldn’t see them anymore. She didn’t understand what was going on, so she ran over to sit with Anna who’d been watching along with everyone else in the vicinity.
“What’s going on?” Anna asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I don’t know the men or why Callum's running from them, but I’m scared.”
Anna put her arm around Hope. Soon, some of the other women came to sit near them.
“You stay right here with us. Walter went with the other men to get Wesley Shank to find out what’s going on. Everyone's uneasy. According to Faye Sanders, the men asked where they could find Callum Butler, and her husband pointed to your wagon. He thought they might be friends of his.”
Two gunshots echoed through the night and Hope and Anna cringed when they heard it. Hope held her hands over her ears. “Oh, dear! Someone’s dead, I just know it.”
“Did Callum take his gun with him?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Maybe Mr. Shank shot to scare the men off.”
“I hope so.”
It seemed like hours before Wesley Shank went to the Butlers’ wagon, and Anna walked Hope over to meet him.
“Mrs. Butler, I have bad news.”
Hope shook. She knew what he was about to tell her.
“Your husband is dead. Those men shot him. They seemed to be after the chest he was carrying.”
Hope didn’t think she could cry, because she didn’t love Callum, but the drama and the unexpected death had shaken her to the core, and she cried like a dutiful wife.
Having never experienced the death of someone she knew, she genuinely cried and felt sorry for Callum despite their indifferent relationship.
When she'd wiped most of her tears away, she asked Wesley Shank, “What was in the chest?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but I heard one of them yell that he’d stolen it from them.”
Walter walked over and put his arm around Anna. “Charlie Underwood said one of those men was Jesse James.”
“Jesse James?” Hope wondered who that was.
“He’s a notorious criminal wanted for robbing trains and banks, and he doesn’t hesitate to kill when he needs to,” Walter said. “Callum might have been in his gang or somehow stolen from him.”
“Who’d be crazy enough to do that?” Anna asked.
Walter shrugged.
Hope understood, now. Callum had married her so they could appear as a normal, married couple while he was on the run with the gang’s stolen goods. He’d used her. Just the same, she had to bury him like any widow would.
The wagon train stopped for the day to bury Callum. Several others had fallen ill with a fever. Shank sent a man to the nearest town to find a doctor.
Anna stuck by Hope’s side, much to her relief. She looked to Anna as the mother she’d never had.
Walter set up Hope's tent, placing it near where he and Anna slept. Anna invited her to share meals with them, and she felt safe there. Hope didn’t know how she’d manage the wagon when the train rolled again.
Anna and Walter were sitting by their fire with Hope when Walter said, “I could see if there are any men available to lead your wagon, even if it’s temporary.”
“Would you?” Hope asked expectantly.
“Most of the men are in the corral now, settling their animals for the night. I’ll see what I can do. I don’t even know if we’ll be traveling tomorrow—two more people came down with the fever and the doctor they fetched has been a busy man.”
After Walter left, Anna asked, “Have you seen your other neighbors?”
“The only time I see them is when he hitches their oxen before traveling, and her while walking beside the wagon. They’re fairly quiet. I did see them talking to the people in the wagon on the other side. Maybe Callum’s frowns scare them away.”
Anna sighed. “I know. He gave us a few nasty glares as well.”
“He didn’t want me to mingle with the other people in the train. I think I know why, now: he was hiding a secret. I think he was in the Jesse James gang and stole from them.”
“It’s possible, I suppose. I don’t think many people would have the nerve to steal from him unless they were on the inside,” Anna said. “Just the same, he’s gone, and he's paid for his crime.”
“Yes, but he’s left me here, alone with a wagon full of supplies.”
“Does he have any livestock besides the oxen?”
“No, just the oxen. Why?”
“You could have sold some if he had and maybe hire someone to lead your wagon.”
Hope pointed down the circle. “Look: Wesley Shank's stopping at every wagon. He must have news.”
When he finally reached their wagon, Anna and Hope looked up at him expectantly. “We have more cases of fever, but we’re falling behind. We need to take one more day off and then… well, pray. We'll be in trouble if we don’t cross the Rockies before they’re covered in snow and ice.” Shank shook his head. “Pray, ladies.” He turned and went on to the next wagon.
