The Heartbeat of the Mountain Page 3

  “Well-ll, yes it has, Luvella.” He folded his arms in front of him. “You have your caboose to rent under the name of L. Andersson. They never even asked about the name. But right after that, another man came in here and said he’d like to buy the caboose.” Mr. Johannson put one hand in his pants pocket. “But I don’t know about that. He has to talk to the railroad. I mean, there’s the car, and there’s the land it’s on.” He pressed his lips together and frowned, rubbing his chin with his hand.

  Luvella couldn’t speak, as if all the air had gone from her lungs into the depot and pressed against her.

  “I ain’t really sure about this man—a stranger in town. Do you know him, Luvella? He sorta looks like a dandy—always too neat and he wears a derby.” Mr. Johannson let out a small “Ha!” and shook his head.

  Luvella turned away from him, struggling for breath, for strength. “I don’t know who he is,” she said softly, “but I know he seems to be making everyone in the Valley nervous. Steckie said he’s coming to our meeting tomorrow.”

  The only sound in the depot was the click-click of the pendulum on the wall clock as the two stood, facing each other. Then a train whistle wailed in the distance, and Mr. Johannson pulled his watch from its pocket.

  “The 5:44’s coming,” he said. “Right now, the railroad owns the caboose. I’ll let you know if this dandy changes that.”

  Luvella pulled three coins from her pocket and gave them to Mr. Johannson, counting. “Five, six, seven—this is for my first month’s rent.” A ripple of satisfaction ran through her body at the look of surprise on his face. “Do you have a receipt handy? Just so we both have our records up to snuff.”

  While he went to his desk to write out the receipt, Luvella said, “I hope we can start our meeting tomorrow morning at nine o’clock exactly because I have to go to Forksville to help a very sick aunt. That’s why I’m here now—to announce an earlier start—but I brought my rent money just to be prepared.

  “Please don’t mention this to anyone just yet, Mr. Johannson. I want to do this exactly right, and I read in the Harper’s Magazine that timing is everything.”

  Mr. Johannson’s laugh filled the small depot. “That magazine oughtta pay you a wage, Luvella, the way you read it and pass their information on to all of us.”

  Luvella pocketed the receipt from him and tried to contain the giggle that was climbing from her stomach. “Thank you, Mr. Johannson. I’ll see you tomorrow at nine on the button.” She was already out the door, stifling her giggle, which was dangerously close to tears. She ran across the road to Anna’s hotel.

  Mr. Smythe was sitting behind his desk with that man, and Luvella immediately straightened her face when he looked up at her, eyes as cold as the creek in winter. Mr. Smythe quickly nodded toward the same room she was in before, and Luvella knew that was where she’d find Anna.

  She knocked on the door and closed it behind her before she snickered, her hands over her mouth to stifle the sounds. Anna knew and jumped up from her chair. “You did it! You got the caboose!” Luvella could only nod, the giggles bringing tears and a bear hug from Anna.

  “I really have to get back to Mama.” Luvella gulped air and wiped her eyes. “I have to tell Mama and Daddy tonight, but please don’t tell anyone else just yet, Anna. I’m going to help Mama’s sick aunt in Forksville for a few days, so I want to make sure I tell the right people at the right time. And this isn’t the right time.”

  Anna nodded toward the door. “Did you see that awful man out there with my father? He scares me, Luvella, and he makes Daddy all quiet and jittery.” Anna wiped her eyes as they filled with tears that followed paths down each cheek. “He’s here all the time now. When he leaves, he comes back in less than half the hour.”

  She blew her nose gently into her handkerchief. “I feel like Mama, Daddy, and I are all in a prison.” She began to sob. Luvella hugged her and patted her back. “And he’s our jailer.” Anna finished, the sobs working into quiet hysteria.

  Luvella held Anna’s shoulders, pushing her to arm’s length and shaking her, very gently.

  “You have to help your parents by being brave yourself. He makes everyone jittery, Anna,” she said. “You know, he even told Mr. Johannson he wants to buy the caboose. Can you imagine?” Her mind raced. How can he do that? What will he do with the caboose? “When I get back from Forksville, we’ll talk about what we can do about him. And Anna”—Luvella walked to the door and turned to face her friend—“we will do something about him. Now I really have to hurry. Oh! Anna,” she whispered, “would you tell your father that our meeting will start early tomorrow? At nine. If that man doesn’t know about the change of time, he just may miss a few things.” She winked and Anna grinned.

  Luvella opened the door to the inn’s lobby. The man was still there with Mr. Smythe and the silhouette of him, standing over Mr. Smythe, refreshed an image in her head, gone almost before it was fully formed. But the image, that outline, had been clear enough for her to recognize it now. The caboose in her dream…the shadow of that man… It was the red headed stranger in their midst. Even my dreams tell me he’s evil.

  The release of her excitement and Anna’s tears and the memory of her dream had sobered Luvella. Good. Now I can decide how to tell Mama and Daddy about the caboose and my move from Steckie’s. She led Daisy to the hitch in front of Steckie’s store.

  Inside, she ambled through the store, back to where Steckie stood behind his desk, and heaved her shoulders in a deep sigh. She remembered how Steckie and Bessie and Reeder had helped her set up her corner store. Even though her family was still recovering from typhoid, Daddy and Jake had come to the store her first day, just to see her in business. Her eyes brimmed. They were still weak from pneumonia and came from their sick beds to show their respect for me and for what I was doing for our family.

  She stopped at the dippers and pails to blink her eyes dry. And now I haven’t even trusted them enough to tell them about my caboose.

  She took a deep breath as Steckie looked at her, questions written all over his face. “Well, Steckie, it’s final. I just now settled the arrangement with the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad to rent the caboose.” She managed a weak grin. “Next week it’s mine!”

  No need to tell anyone else about that man wanting to buy the caboose. Mr. Johannson didn’t seem to think much of the idea.

  “Next week,” Steckie echoed. “That’s pretty fast. But congratulations, Luvella. I don’t know how you’re going to fix that up, but if anyone can do it, you can.” He looked over to her corner and around the store, and Luvella knew he was already deciding which of his merchandise would fill the void after she left.

  “Another little problem came up, Steckie. Mama’s Aunt Hilda is very sick and needs help. Uncle Isaac is home with Mama now, waiting to take me back to Forksville with him.”

  Steckie gaped. “Isn’t your Aunt Hilda the one who…”

  “Yes.” Luvella nodded. “Uncle Isaac is an Indian. He seems nice, and Mama wants him to take me to Forksville. But we have to go tomorrow, which means I’ve changed our meeting to nine. We’ll leave right after our merchants’ meeting. Do you care if I ask Bessie to help you mind my store while I’m gone?”

  “No, not at all, Luvella,” he answered. “She can bring the baby right here with us. You do what you have to do for Mama and Aunt Hilda. And I think your new place of business will be a ringer.”

  Luvella grinned more easily now and warned Steckie about not telling anyone. On her way out, she noticed the tall stranger looking through the seeds, just inside the door. She hadn’t heard him enter the store. How long has he been there? How much did he hear? She turned to look at Steckie, matching her frown with his, then swished out the door.

  Chapter Four

  Luvella nudged Daisy with her knees and gave her free rein, the ride to Bessie’s only a minute. After telling Bessie about the trip to Forksville and that Steckie had agreed to have her work at the store, Luvella warned, “Watch
out for that tall red-haired man, Bessie. He’s up to no good, that’s a fact.”

  “Don’t worry about the store, Luvella, or that man. I’ll take care of both,” Bessie said with a chuckle. “But tell me about Aunt Hilda and Uncle Isaac. I’ve never seen him.”

  “Aunt Hilda is”—Luvella stopped, her hand resting on the doorknob—“she’s dying and she’s been asking Uncle Isaac for Mama to come see her.”

  “Oh, poor Aunt Hilda. Everyone used to say she was so beautiful, and headstrong, too.” Bessie, who was eighteen years older than Luvella, remembered, looking into the distance. “Like you, Luvella.” Bessie nudged her with an elbow.

  “You, too.” Luvella nudged Bessie back as she opened the door. They grinned together.

  “What’s Uncle Isaac like?” Bessie asked.

  Luvella pushed the door almost closed and thought a second. “Well, he’s an Indian; there’s no mistaking that, Bessie. He’s very gentlemanly, and I think he’s…wise. I don’t know why I think that, but, well, he’s very quiet and his eyes,” she hesitated, looking into the distance, “just seem to understand.” Luvella pushed the door open again. “I like him, and I’ll know him better after our trip.” She hugged Bessie goodbye. “I really have to hurry.”

  When she arrived home, about five minutes later, Luvella turned Daisy loose in the pasture. On her way to the house, she noticed Uncle Isaac’s horse. It was large—about fifteen hands—mostly dark brown with white markings. It stood quietly at the hitching post. Luvella spoke to him. “They must have forgotten you were out here.” She stroked his mane.

  “I’ll get you more comfortable, poor thing.” Then she led Uncle Isaac’s horse to the pasture, too. Let him get used to the place before we bed him down. She unbridled him and rubbed his nose to calm him. He shifted legs, relaxed, and bent his head for another nose pat. For a few minutes, she watched the two horses to see if they would tolerate each other. Although they stayed at opposite ends of the paddock, it appeared that the distance they kept from each other was a friendly one.

  In the house, Luvella told Uncle Isaac about moving his horse, and he thanked her. He shook his head slowly and frowned. “I forgot about Kitschi,” he said, pronouncing it Kee-chee.

  Mama sighed. “That’s because you’re thinking about Aunt Hilda.”

  Luvella stood at the table and looked at both Mama and Uncle Isaac. I have to get this done. She inhaled sharply and forced a broad smile. “Mama, I have the best news! Maybe it will help you feel a little better, especially after hearing about Aunt Hilda.” She softened her smile, out of respect for Aunt Hilda’s serious condition.

  “I’ve been talking to Mr. Johannson recently (she should say ‘for some weeks now’, she thought) about renting that old caboose for my store, my very own store.” She placed her hands on either side of her mouth, then lowered them and folded them together. “He just now told me the W and NB Railroad has approved the arrangement, and I can start moving in next week. I’ve already paid him my first month’s rent.” She smiled, looking first at Mama and then Uncle Isaac, and sat next to her mother.

  Mama put a hand to her forehead as if this news pained her. “You mean, you did all this without telling us or talking to your father about it?” Mama looked quickly at Uncle Isaac and then back at Luvella. Uncle Isaac shifted in his seat at Mama’s distress and rose from his chair.

  “I’ll check on the horses,” he said softly, his voice sounding like satin-smooth paddles slipping into deep water.

  “Mama,” Luvella hastened to explain. “Both you and Daddy agree I run a very respectable business for a woman. You’ve been sick, too, and worrying wouldn’t be good for you. I knew you both would worry about me trying to bite off more than I could chew, so I just didn’t say anything.”

  “I’m worrying now, Luvella.” Mama looked at her, and Luvella almost cried. Mama’s face was red, she had tears in her eyes, and the hand, still on her forehead, trembled slightly.

  “Oh Mama. I’m sorry. I was trying to help you get well—not make you worse.” She put her arm around Mama’s shoulders. “Let’s talk more later. I think you’ve overdone today. If you go to bed now, you can rest until dinner.”

  “I’m not going to bed in the middle of the day.” Mama’s hand fell to the table in front of her. “But I will sit in my rocking chair and just close my eyes for a few minutes. I don’t know what your daddy will say when you tell him about this caboose idea.” Half grunting and half sighing as she stood, Mama hobbled to her rocking chair, which was facing the fireplace even though there was no fire there. She sank into her chair and immediately rested her head against its back and closed her eyes.

  Luvella stood at the table and watched her. Poor Mama. She’s feeling poorly, and all these things are comin’ down the road at her—all at the same time. I should have waited to tell her about the caboose, but then…I think that would have hurt her more.

  Luvella turned, stepping into the kitchen area, and pulled a large kettle from the cupboard. Standing on her tiptoes at the sink, she pumped water into the kettle. She carried it over to the large iron stove and set it on the medium-sized burner plate. She opened the stove door under the burner plate to stoke the fire in the chamber, added a small log, and closed the door. While the kettle of water was heating, she pared the potatoes and carrots for dinner.

  I’ll get the vegetables cooking, set the table, and be outside to tell Daddy before he comes in from the sawmill. She salted the water in the kettle, put the vegetables in, and rushed between cupboard and table to place the dishes and silverware around.

  She glanced toward the rocking chair. Mama’s head was leaning back, stretching her neck, and her mouth was relaxed into a slightly open position. Luvella closed the door softly behind her and rushed to feed Daisy and settle her in. She showed Uncle Isaac where to bed down Kitschi and filled a bucket of oats for him as well. Was that the approaching drum of horses’ hooves or her heart pounding in her throat? She looked toward the road. Daddy, Bill, Jake and Reeder were home.

  Uncle Isaac moved into the shadows of Kitschi’s stall. This must be sorely awful for him, to ask Aunt Hilda’s family for help after all these years of…what? Distance? No, it was much more than that.

  “Uncle Isaac,” she called to him. “Could you help me?”

  He stepped into a beam of late sunlight winking through the open barn door. Only his eyes were smiling. “The young lady who can ride a horse sees a mighty hurdle ahead?”

  Luvella hung her head and nodded. “Would you busy my brothers so I can talk to Daddy alone for a minute?” She looked up at his face, a map of wrinkles around glittering brown eyes and a slightly hooked nose. His mouth, lips full and smooth within the wrinkled mass, was smiling at her.

  “A wise girl would make him chief again, Luvella.” He nodded toward Daddy, patted Kitschi’s withers, and emerged from the stall. “I will entertain the young warriors.”

  Luvella watched him walk slowly through the open barn doors and reach for the bit on Charlie, the wagon horse nearest him. Jake, driving the wagon, called “Whoa!” and pulled the brake handle against the wagon wheel. Luvella rushed forward.

  “Daddy, Jake, this is Uncle Isaac, Aunt Hilda’s husband. Uncle Isaac, this is Daddy and Jake, my oldest brother, is driving. Bill, he’s next oldest, is in the back of the wagon with Reeder.” She pointed to each person in turn. “Reeder’s only a year older than me.” Daddy was the first to jump down and shake Uncle Isaac’s hand, followed by Jake, Bill, and finally Reeder.

  “I’m a year and a half older,” Reeder corrected, his brown-black eyes glaring at her.

  “Aunt Hilda’s doing poorly, and I’m going to go back with Uncle Isaac to help her through her last days.” There was immediate silence until Daddy looked up. “I’m truly sorry, Isaac. We’ll help any which way.”

  “Thank you, Will,” Uncle Isaac said. “I’d appreciate your looking over Luvella’s horse for our trip tomorrow. I’ll help the boys with these horses and the wagon.�
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  Daddy looked puzzled at first, then followed Luvella as she walked toward Daisy’s stall. “We’re going to ride over the mountain to Forksville. Leave right after our meeting tomorrow.” She opened the stall door and went in, feeling the hay on the floor swirl around her feet and release its pungent scent. “Are her shoes in good shape, you think?”

  Daddy pulled a lantern off a hook on the barn wall. He took a match from the match tray under the lantern, struck it against his pants, and lit the wick in the lantern. He knelt on the stall floor with the lantern and examined each hoof. Luvella kept swallowing the saliva that rushed into her mouth.

  “Uh, Daddy?” He finished with the inspection, stood, and looked at her.

  “The hooves are all fine, Luvella. I just had them shod a coupla weeks ago.”

  “Daddy?” Luvella stood between him and the stall door. “I’d like to tell you something. Something important.”

  He held the lantern up to see her face, his own lined with fatigue, sawdust sprinkling his mustache. “Ayup, Luvella? What is it?”

  She told him, slowly, as clearly as she could so it would be over. At the end, she added, “Would you tell the family at dinner time? And ask them to please not tell anyone until I’m ready?”

  He blew out the lantern light, but not before Luvella saw his eyes, tired and sad. “This is done, Luvella? Done?”

  She whispered back. “Yes, Daddy. I went to Mr. Johannson today and paid him seven dollars for the month’s rent.”

  He exhaled a deep, trembling sigh and put his arm around Luvella’s shoulders, leading her out of the barn and toward the house. “A man gets the fever and his daughter takes off like a herd of buffalo.” He shook his head. “Luvella, I won’t hold you back—you’ve proved that you have a head for business. But I’ve run the sawmill for ten years, and I could help you with important decisions. I would like you to let me help you in the future—before you make any big changes.”