“Coast is clear!” Tiny shouted as he reappeared at the open gate of the fort. He waved his arms and hands toward Mia. “Come on. See for yourself.”
“Shush up, Tiny,” Mia said, her spine stiffening as she realized that his voice was echoing throughout the trees that surrounded the fort, carrying to God only knew whose ears!
Tiny frowned at her, then returned to the scow. “You can tell that some animals have frequented the place, but there are several cabins for us to choose from for our night’s stay,” he said, already gathering supplies from the shed. “I’d say the larger one would be best for us. I imagine that’s where the big shots made their residence. It seems to be in the best shape.”
“Tiny, be sure to gather up all of the blankets and go and make a pallet for Father first,” Mia said, holding her father’s hand as he moved slowly to a sitting position. “Then come back for him. I shall gather together what I believe we’ll need for the night. Is there a place inside the fort where I can warm up the food that Mother canned for us before we started on this year’s trip?”
“There ain’t only a fireplace but also a small pot-bellied cooking stove,” Tiny said. He bent on his knees before Harry.
He then swung one of Harry’s arms around his neck. Struggling and groaning, he helped Mia’s father to his feet.
“Tiny, what are you doing?” Mia gasped, turning pale at her father’s weakness. “I told you to go and prepare my father a place to lie before taking him to the fort.”
“And who made you my boss?” Tiny said, glaring at Mia. “You drop what you’re doin’ and go ahead of me and you make the pallet. We’ll come back to the scow together later to get the supplies we’ll need for this one night.”
Sighing heavily, knowing now what a battle she was going to have without her father’s authority to control this tiny, loud-mouthed man, Mia dropped what she was doing and grabbed several blankets. She ran on ahead of Tiny.
When she got inside the walls of the fort, she stopped and looked slowly around her.
Though people had obviously lived there at one time, it was long ago by the looks of things. The fort seemed eerily quiet now, as though ghosts were there, eyeing her.
She counted ten cabins in all, but only one of them still had a roof, and that was the one Tiny was walking into now, helping her father along beside him.
“This one, Mia,” Tiny said over his shoulder. “Come on. Hurry. Spread out the blankets. Your father ain’t no lightweight, you know.”
Mia ran past him, and when she got inside, she again stopped and looked around her. It was cold and damp, and in disrepair.
Cobwebs clung from one side of the room to the other.
She shivered when she saw the remains of some animal, only its bones lying there.
“Well?” Tiny said, impatiently waiting for her to spread the blankets. “We ain’t got all day, you know. I’d like to get a fire going and get our stuff in here with us before night falls. Who knows what or who might come upon us and…”
“That’s enough, Tiny,” Harry growled out. He found the strength to yank himself away from Tiny. He went slowly over to Mia and reached for the blankets. “Here, darlin’. Let me help you.”
“Papa, are you feeling better?” she asked, eyeing him hopefully. “You do have some of your color back. And you seem to be able to stand there without assistance, whereas earlier, I…”
“Just you quit frettin’ over this ol’ man, do you hear?” Harry said, bending over enough to drop the blankets to the floor. “But I do think I’ll let you spread out the blankets for me and make me a soft bed for the night.”
Mia did this quickly, then placed a gentle hand on his arm as he slowly sank down onto the blankets, sighed heavily and closed his eyes.
“I just need a wink of sleep, that’s all,” Harry said. He opened his eyes for long enough to smile up at Mia. “Better go and get Georgina. She ain’t used to being away from you for long. You’re like two peas in a pod. You’ve hardly ever been separated since y
our mama purchased her for you.”
“Yes, I’d best go and get her,” Mia said, scrambling to her feet. She looked over at Tiny. “Then I’ll fetch the rest of the things. You just go and gather wood and get a fire going in both the fireplace and the stove. I’d like to prepare something warm for Papa tonight.”
Tiny glared at her and brushed past her as he went outside.
As she stepped from the cabin, she saw him hurry out through the wide, open gate of the fort. She followed him, but she headed toward the scow while he turned toward the darker depths of the forest where he would gather wood.
“I wouldn’t put it past him to just run away and find someone else’s company for his trip to St. Louis,” she whispered to herself as she ran to the scow.
Yes, it would be just like him to leave them stranded, but she hoped and prayed that he wouldn’t, even though she despised him with every fiber of her being!
“We’ll be alright, won’t we, Georgina?” she said as she stepped aboard the scow, where her tiny yellow bird was springing from one of its perches to the other, its eyes never leaving her.
Mia hurriedly gathered up what she felt she would need for the night, placed everything in a travel bag, then swung it from the scow to dry land, and slung it over her shoulder.