WILL NOT CONTINUE SEARCH
LEAVING HELENA IN MORNING
HOPE TO SEE YOU ON MONDAY
COURTSHIP WILL BEGIN THEN
BUT END ON FRIDAY
UNLESS YOU OBJECT AS TOO LONG
JAKE ELLIOTT HELENA MONT TERR
Sara was smiling when she opened the telegram and laughing when she finished reading. She read it twice more before folding it again. She wished she could send a reply but knew he would already be on his way back.
She left her room to surprise her mother by letting her read the telegram. Even as she stepped down the stairs, Sara was already imagining the best way to welcome Jake.
After he’d gone, Sara had been improving her riding skills using Orville’s new horse. Now that she was comfortable on horseback, she wanted to borrow his horse to greet him on the Elk. She only wished she knew exactly when he would be arriving on Monday.
_____
As Sara was walking down the hallway toward the kitchen to let her mother read Jake’s telegram, Jack Parker was riding into town from the Elk Ranch. When he left, he had planned to visit Sheriff Zendt. But as he entered Fort Benton, he decided that Sara Smith might be able to answer his question better than the sheriff.
So, he headed to her father’s feed and grain store because he didn’t know where she lived. After dismounting, Jack entered the store and approached her father.
Lou Smith smiled and asked, “What brings you by this morning, Jack?”
“Lou, do you know if Jake is on his way back yet?”
“Nope. But if anybody does, it would be Sara. She’s probably home by now. Our house is #26 Fourth Street.”
Before Jack turned to leave, Lou asked, “Is something wrong out at the Elk?”
“I don’t know if it’s wrong, but it sure is confusin’,” Jack replied before giving Lou a short wave and leaving the store.
After he mounted, it only took Jack a minute to reach the Smith home. He hoped that Jake had not only sent a telegram to Sara but told her he was on his way back. He didn’t care if Jake found his father, either.
He soon knocked on the door and waited anxiously. If Sara didn’t know where Jake was, the situation on the ranch could get testy.
Sara and her mother were still chatting about Jake’s telegram when they heard Jack’s loud knocking.
Sara said, “I’ll get it, Mama,” then popped to her feet and hurried down the hallway still clutching Jake’s telegram.
When she opened the door, she didn’t recognize Jack, but could tell by the look on his face that he wasn’t happy.
Before she could ask who he was, Jack said, “Miss Smith? My name is Jack Parker, and I’ve been working on the Elk for seven years. We’ve got a problem out there right now, and I was hopin’ that you might know where Jake is.”
“I don’t know exactly where he is right now, but I can tell you that he’s given up searching for his father and left Helena this morning. I just received a telegram a little while ago. He hopes to be back by Monday.”
Jack was visibly relieved as he said, “That’s really good news, miss. I appreciate your help.”
Sara was about to ask what the problem was on the ranch, but Jack quickly turned and trotted down the porch steps. He was in a hurry to get back to tell the boys that Jake was on his way back. She watched him mount then wave before he wheeled his horse toward Main Street and rode away.
She slowly turned and entered the house, leaving the front door open in case Jack Parker returned. She walked down the hallway to tell her mother of the short, but troubling conversation.
But the look on Jack’s face inspired her to modify her newly hatched plan to welcome Jake home. Now all she needed was to convince her parents to let her do it.
_____
Two hours later, Jack Parker and John Hatcher rode away from the Elk and turned west after leaving the access road. They weren’t leading a packhorse because they wanted to move fast. They needed to make sure that Jake made it back in one piece.
They hoped to be more than halfway to Fort Shaw by the time they had to set up camp and, God willing, they’d meet him on the road on Sunday morning.
_____
Jake was now more than halfway to Fort Shaw, even after stopping for lunch. He hadn’t spotted the deserters yet, so maybe they’d returned to their post with their implausible excuse. It would be better than begging for forgiveness because the army wasn’t known for its compassion.
As Jack and John rode out of the Elk, Jake passed their campsite. He didn’t even have to search for it. Their dead mounts’ odor was even more powerful with the shift in wind direction, and Mars and Vulcan didn’t like it any better than they had when they’d passed by yesterday.
By late afternoon, he knew he was just another three hours or so from Fort Shaw, so he began to believe he’d make it back to the ranch before sunset on Sunday. He then remembered that it was payday yesterday and grinned. He might not see any of the boys if he did show up earlier than he’d expected. They’d either be sleeping off Saturday’s revelry or still in town. Big Tom would still be alert, but he might be in town teaching his Bible lessons if it was his turn.
_____
Sara closed the oven door, looked at her mother and said, “It’s almost done, Mama.”
Priscilla continued peeling the enormous potato as she replied, “Thank you, dear.”
Sara then sprang her plan on her unsuspecting mother when she casually said, “Tomorrow morning after church, I’m going to borrow Orville’s horse and ride to the Elk.”
