Book 6 - "Some Happy Day"
This book will actually by Book 1 of the next series, Rescued...A Series of Hope.
Some Happy Day
by Elaine Littau
Chapter 1
The blackness of deep sleep contrasted remarkably with the azure-blue sky. Sweat trickled down the tow-headed toddler's neck as she slept on the back of the covered wagon. It was a wonder anyone could sleep with the noisy creaking of the wooden wheels as they met the hard-ground of the vast plains.
The child's mother and siblings carried buckets and gathered buffalo chips to fuel the fires for the meals of the day. This stretch of plains provided more than its share of the dried stuff. As the buckets became full, the contents were emptied onto a canvas sling contraption under the wagon bed. Even in transit to the next camping spot, the work was endless.
The afternoon wore on and the child turned in her sleep, landing in the tall grass. The fall had rendered her unconscious.
The unprotected skin burned under the relentless sun and aroused the sleeper, causing her to wail loudly into the emptiness of her surroundings. She blinked and stood to her unsteady feet. "Mama!"
The waving grass brushed her chin. She rubbed her eyes and staggered a few steps. "Mama!"
Why doesn't Mama come?
"Pappy! Pappy!"
She screamed until her throat hurt. No one came to her aid. She sucked on her fist. "Firsty, Mama, firsty..." she sobbed.
She fell on her face into the dusty grass and bawled loudly.
The process continued until night slipped upon her. She shivered in the darkness not only from the cold, but from the howl of numerous coyotes. Other sounds echoed across the land, but she had no voice left. Her throat was parched and raw from crying out for her mama. No one came. She stuck her thumb in her mouth and curled into a ball. Sleep rescued her from despair.
Chapter 2
Nobel Reeves didn't like the eerie silence of the windless morning. Buzzards circling in the distance broke up the cloudless sky. He was not accustomed to stillness on this stretch. Usually, he cursed the wind. This time, he missed the coolness of it hitting his sweat-streaked back.
As his eyes scanned the flat country, movement caught his eye. He would have thought she was a low-lying bush or rock if she hadn't twitched. He threw his head from side to side and scanned the horizon for sign of other people. No one.
He dismounted and walked slowly up to her. Her thumb was firmly planted in her mouth. Eyes wide, she sat up and tried to let out a howl. Hoarse cries from a spent voice box produced a heart-wrenching sound. He hurried to his horse and grabbed a canteen, unscrewing it as he approached her the second time.
"There you go, girlie. 'Spect you are thirsty."
She latched onto the canteen and drank deeply. He watched her sunburned face. Her large eyes squeezed shut in appreciation of the life-giving nectar.
Where did this little pup come from?
People who knew Nobel would have been surprised to see tears glistening in his eyes and threatening to find his weathered cheeks. He cleared his throat and spoke barely above a whisper, "Girlie, where are your ma and pa?"
She held the canteen to her chest and bawled. Barely a sound came out, "Mama...Pappy...Me want Mama."
"Well sugar, come ride with me and we will find your mama and pappy."
He took her chubby little hand and helped her to her wobbly legs. Her diaper was soiled.
"Stay put, youngin'. Let me get you a new dydee."
He took the large blue bandana from his neck and pinned it onto the baby. Scooping her up into his arms, he carried her to his horse and placed her on the saddle.
"This here is Shorty. I named 'em that 'cause he is a tall monster," he said, laughing at the joke of the name.
He took off his well-used cowboy hat and placed it on her small head. "You have had too much sun. Wear this until we find your folks."
He climbed into the saddle behind her and looked for any sign of human passage on the trail. Finally, he spotted the place the wagon trudged through hours before. The little one had wandered off the trail by a long shot.
Grass was still somewhat pressed down from the passage of the heavy wagon. His mind calculated the circumstances of the family. 'Peers to be just the one wagon. It ain't smart to travel alone in these parts. I will need to talk to the father about holding up at Fort Dodge until they can make up a decent sized train. This is too dangerous.
He spotted a rise in the ground and took it to get a better perspective. Perhaps he would see them. Of course they would be looking for the baby.
Upon reaching the top, bile burned his mouth. At the foot of the hill lay the slain bodies of a lone family. The wagon was looted. Scalps were taken. Even the children were dead.
The baby cried out, "Mama! Mama!"
She struggled to get out of the saddle. Nobel held her tightly. "No, sweetie, we have to get out of here. The Indians who did this are not far away."
If he had been alone, he would have given the family a decent burial. Now he had someone who needed his protection. He wouldn't risk her life for anything.
The child sobbed until she fell asleep from exhaustion. She slumped against him as her chin fell on her chest. His heart squeezed thinking about the little tike. He didn't even know her name.
Chapter 3
She stirred in the saddle and cried loudly, "Mama...want Mama."
"You are hungry, aren't you? How about we stop and I will make you something to eat?"
She turned and looked at him. Her eyes were large and wild, but she didn't say a word.
He stopped the horse and eased out of the saddle. When he reached up for her, she stared at him for a moment before reaching out her chubby arms.
"Let's see here...you can't eat jerky. Maybe I could stir up some corn meal mush. You are probably half-starved by now."
She watched him dig through the saddle bags from her perch on the big man's forearm. She reached out and grabbed his nose and gave it a curious squeeze. She laughed when he turned his clear blue eyes in her direction and gave her a smile.
"You're gonna be all right, girlie. Wait and see."
He took a few buffalo chips and made a small fire. His gear was efficient and the small meal of cornmeal mush was ready quickly. He was afraid that the baby would burn herself in her haste to eat.
She gave him a toothy grin and he lost his self-control. Weeping, he vowed to her, "Girlie, you are going to be taken care of. I promise I will see to you as long as I can."
When they finished the hasty meal she toddled to him and put her arms around his neck. He held her close and whispered, "What is you name, little 'un?"
She kissed him on the cheek and nuzzled his neck. She slept.
"Wish I knew you name. A girlie as pretty as you needs a name. No ordinary name will do." He pondered the women he had known and decided that none of their names were a good fit. Then he contemplated the places he had been. His favorite place in his travels was on a high mountain top in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. "I am calling you 'Sierra'. You are named for the prettiest place on God's green earth."
She sighed in her sleep. "Sleep on, little Sierra," he cooed.
The series is about the girls who were rescued from theMountain Man Rendezvous in "Elk's Resolve". Each girl has a story that needs to be told. In this series, we will also have Dr. Elmer Johnson's story as well as Sheriff Roy Miller's story.
I will begin writing this book on November 1, 2011. Each November, there is an internet challenge to write 50,000 words for a novel. This challenge is called National Novel Writing Month. (NaNoWriMo for short) It is open for anyone over the age of 13 who wants to take on the challenge.
It is a lot of fun. I took the challenge last November and wrote the bulk of "The Eyes of a Stranger." I did finish, so I got my badge for this website. The cool thing about NaNoWriMo is that when you write, you let your fingers fly. You don't worry about punctuation or spelling, no editing, or anything like that. Just get the story going. It gives you permission to write. The creative juices flow.
This book is ready to order!
