Chapter
3
The
Box
The next morning,
Will and his father sat at a table in the dining room of the boarding
house. He noticed that the table linens were the same ones as what
he saw in Sally's store. Mounds and mounds of pancakes, bacon, and
eggs were stacked in front of him. The elderly woman that ran the
place came in a coffee pot and a glass of milk. Will's father was
eagerly devouring the pancakes by the mouthful. Will just looked out
the window into the street.
He already longed
for home. He understood that they no longer had a home in Wisconsin.
It was just that Toole City was not home. Even, father had said so.
He had called it, a "stopping off" place. It would only be
temporary until they had money saved to buy supplies, buy cattle, and
build a new home.
Will did not know
how much money they would need or how long it would take to save it
up. He just knew he was ready to move on.
Will's father
wiped his face with a napkin and swallowed a last drop of coffee. He
raised himself up from the table.
Will looked up at
his father and did his best to muster a smile, but just nodded and
got up from his own chair
"I'll be
back before dark, and if you'd like, we can talk about our cabin and
what it'll look like." The older man said to Will.
That instantly
brought a smile to Will's face. He wrapped his arms around his
father's waist as tight as he could. Then he ran up the steep
rickety stairs to the room that they shared.
***
Will's father
ascended the stairs behind him, but paused in the doorway when he saw
Will next to the dresser. He had his box open. He stood still
watching, seeing Will had the locket in his hand and was striving
hard to find some memory of his mother. Will was too young to
remember much about his mother. Therefore, he had given his son
something to ease the pain of her absence. He had placed a tiny
picture of her in the locket the day after they had left Wisconsin.
Will's fist clenched the locket for miles as he fought off the sobs
of sorrow. Later that day he had gingerly placed the locket in the
bottom of the box. Like then, he now lovingly closed the lid, patted
the top, and pushed the box against the wall.
"Wait,"
his father said. "I have something else for your box. I know I
can trust you to keep it safe. And besides, it'll be yours too."
He reached into his vest pocket, and pulled out a folded sheet of
paper.
Will walked
across the room, and took it from him. He unfolded it. It was very
difficult to read, and he was not that good of a reader, anyway. He
could definitely pick out the large bold letters across the top. They
said "LAND TITLE." He felt the excitement rise in his mind.
"Father, is
this for our land?"
"Yes, indeed
it is! Put it in your box for safekeeping, and I'll tell you what
we're going to do."
Safekeeping,
Will thought. The
purpose of the box had just taken a completely new meaning.
He walked back over to the dresser, lifted the lid on the box, and
took out the wooden tray. He carefully refolded the paper and placed
it next to the locket. Then he put the tray back in its place. He
shut the lid but left his hand on the top as if to seal it further
shut. He did not see the light returning in his father's eyes, as he
watching and smiled through the whole process.
"What
Father? What are we going to do now? You said you'd tell me"
Will turned and said excitedly.
"And I will!
The land is new land so it's never been used for farming or cattle
grazing. It's all sagebrush. The government was selling it, to
encourage more westward movement. See Will, it's my dream to raise
hay, and cattle there. We'll drill a well for water. I hear
there's a creek nearby for fishing and trapping." Will's eyes
grew wide as his father continued telling him about the land.
"Can we
leave now? Can we get there, right away?"
"No not yet"
"Why do we
have to stay here?" His face scrunched up in confusion.
"Well,
that's what I'm trying to explain to you, Son. We'll be staying in
Toole City for a while, before we can start working the land."
Will nodded, but still did not fully understand.
"The money
from the house wasn't enough. We own the land. Except now, we need
to buy cattle, horses, supplies, everything else. So, I will be
working in the mine until we have enough... Then" He sighed,
"we'll get our second chance. "
"I'll work
too!" He stuck out his chest in pride.
His Father
chuckled. "Ho ho... oh no you don't. You'll go to school."
William frowned
and buried his head in his chest. Then just as quick, he looked back
up, "I don't like school"
"I never
liked it either" Will's father replied with a smile. "But
you've got to learn everything you can, if you're going to run a
ranch someday."
"I will run
a ranch someday!" Will answered boldly.
***
Will grabbed a
schoolbook from the dresser and bounded down the stairs out onto the
boardwalk. He broke into a run, as he saw Sally walk out of the store
a few blocks down the street.
The morning was
still crisp and cool, but the sky began to sparkle as the sun slowly
rose above the mountaintops. He heard the noise of clopping horse's
hooves and the squeak of wagon springs. The little western town was
coming to life.
He smiled as he
saw Hermit Jack wearily pulling himself out from under the wooden
boardwalk.
The little dog
grunted as he stretched his legs and sniffed the air, and began his
morning rounds.
Around the
corner, and down the alley, Jack eagerly trotted. He stopped at a
small wooden door and looked up at the closed door. He half growled,
half barked and made the unmistakable noise, which he assumed all
young black and white border collies made when it was bacon time.
As always, the
bacon request was successful. The door opened and a tall thin man
with a long apron stood in the doorway. His broad smile was evident
even under the handlebar moustache. He held a large meat cleaver an a
big juicy strip of fresh bacon. As he clicked his tongue, Jack let
out a bark of thanks and leapt for the bacon. The thin man chuckled
to himself and shook his head at the dog, then ambled back inside.
Jack trotted next
to the bakery for a crisp golden brown slice on newly baked bread.
At the local restaurant, he got what was left of a delicious soup
bone. The bone actually had most of the meat still attached. At
each stop, he left behind a smiling and chuckling human. They were
all satisfied that they'd done their duty for the little collie
named Jack, who jumped back up on the boardwalk in front of the
General store. A metal pie plate full of cold fresh water now rested
there.
He waited to see
what the children would do. Some days they would just pet him.
Sometimes they go behind the store and throw sticks for him to chase.
Other times they would walk around to the various shops and talk to
the shopkeepers. He would always tag along. Because when the
shopkeepers saw him, they would give him things to eat.
However, still
other days the children seem to ignore him, and walk off down the
street and turn toward the hill. On the top of the hill was a big
building with a bell. All the children in town walked to that
building every morning at the same time. The bell would ring, and
they would all disappear inside. The town would become quiet and he
would become sad.
Jack
lay down at the children's feet, waiting to see which day this would
be.
Will scratched
his ears and offered him the promised bacon.
Sally stood with
her hands on her hips and shaking her head. "He really is a bacon
bandit, he goes all over town begging for it, then comes back here
and you've got even more for him"
Will shrugged and
wiped a greasy hand on his pants as he stood up. Then both started
walking toward the hill, talking to one another gleefully.
Jack crawled
underneath the boardwalk laid his head on his front paws and looked
out into the dirt streets of his town.
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