Uncertain: Day 7

Word Count: 42,078

Summary of Events:

Joseph set out to find the Dirk children alone before sunrise and actually found footprints that were consistent with the size of small children's feet as well as a scent trail that led him westward, toward the mountains and Santa Fe. Hazel and the search party she'd rallied gathered and nearly 300 men were deemed ill-prepared by Mr. Waller and encouraged to remain behind while Hazel, Mr. Waller, his sons, and the 71 who were adequately prepared set out. Joseph was a ways into the mountains when Deputy discovered something of a campsite that appeared to have been used by the Dirk children, and he did some math to see if he could figure out about when they would've used it . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

It’d been about seven when he reached the creek. That was three hours at a walk, and a horse could travel about four miles in an hour at a walk, which made twelve miles, plus a good eight miles from town was twenty miles.

“That is a long way for two bitty kids,” Joseph said aloud. “Twenty miles? How long would that take two kids hardly past my hips to walk?”

Horses, naturally, because of their longer body, extra legs, and longer stride, could walk faster than people. In fact, Joseph had been told horses could walk twice as fast as people could do the same — both at a casual amble.

So then if a horse could walk four miles in an hour people could walk two. It would, thus, have taken a person about ten hours to walk twenty miles. Because Joseph had loped Tempest to the creek he’d gotten eight miles done in about a half an hour.

But when someone said horses could walk twice as fast as people they were thinking full-grown adults, not little kids. A little kid had half the stride of an adult at best. They had to only be able to walk a mile an hour — especially Teddy, as he was the younger one.

Joseph pulled out the photo again and looked for a date. He found it in handwriting on the back, along with some added, beneficial information: Felicity Alberta Dirk, aged 23; Ruby Bertha Dirk, aged 3; Thornton Edgar Dirk, aged 1; photographed September 1874.

Teddy was three years old. There was no way he was capable of walking at two miles an hour, and Ruby, being just five, wasn’t going to be likely to have the ability to carry him.

Unless they walked about ten miles — which would get them about to the edge of the mountains — in the night, rested a bit, and then walked the remaining ten during the day and then camped here their first night after leaving?

That made sense. What didn’t make sense, though, was how a boy named Thornton got the nickname Teddy. He’d thought the boy’s name was Edward or Theodore until he’d seen the writing on the back of the photograph.

He looked over the name, and then he noticed something: the capital letters of Thornton’s full name were TED. Ted. Thus Teddy. Definitely not the most usual way of coming up with a nickname.

Joseph shrugged and pocketed the picture again before getting back into the saddle and looking around. Where had Deputy gone?

“Deputy!” he shouted, then whistled.

In moments Deputy appeared out of the bush a ways away. He appeared to be eating something.

“What is–” Joseph started to ask, then he realised what it was. “That is downright disgusting dog!”

Although he wasn’t going to deny it was physical evidence that two little children had stopped here for the night after having trekked twenty miles away from home.

Uncertain: Day 6

Word Count: 36,048

Summary of Events:

Hazel met Mr. Waller, a former Union Lieutenant, who offered to lead the search party for her, to which she agreed; he then addressed all the volunteers before everyone went to get supplies. Joseph spent much of the afternoon having to deal with people — particularly women, it seemed — who wanted confirmation that what Lavern alleged was true, to which he couldn't lie, even if he couldn't convince anyone Lavern was lying, and it was bothering him as he worked to prepare for undertaking a solo search effort . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Joseph snapped his head up suddenly — inadvertently hitting the door behind him — what had Mrs. Robbins said about Lavern?

Immediately the words popped to his mind: “That’s what he said you’d say.”

So, Lavern was going even further yet than he’d heard last night.

Joseph surged to his feet and stalked out of his office. He stormed northward, where he saw a lineup of men waiting to have their chance to shop for supplies for their part in the search party he meant to show up.

Reaching Main Street, Joseph looked west and saw Lavern carrying an armload of supplies, including a shovel, an axe, and a sack of flour.

Immediately Joseph set off down the south side of Main Street, his long and brisk stride setting him up to gain on Lavern easily — especially seeing how Lavern was weighted down with all kinds of supplies for being part of the trek.

As he got closer to Lavern Joseph stepped off the boardwalk and stormed across the street before reaching around front of Lavern and seizing a fistful of shirt and tie by which he whipped Lavern around to face him before slamming him against the side of the building alongside which Lavern had been walking.

“What in blazes is your business in this town?” Joseph demanded. “Because I’ll have you know that no matter how much money you might have, I have the right to run you out of town if necessary.”

Lavern’s expression changed from wide-eyed and fearful to an expression of derision and he laughed aloud, which only added fuel to the fire of Joseph’s rage.

“I’d like to see you try,” Lavern chuckled. “Seeing how the public opinion is overwhelmingly against you.”

“Answer me you filthy liar!” Joseph shouted. “What is your business in Cimarron?”

“Well, I thought I’d try my hand at this sheep ranching business,” Lavern replied.

“Hm,” Joseph said, straightening and relaxing — but not releasing his hold. “From one textile business into another.”

“I’ll be as successful in this one as I was in the last,” Lavern replied confidently.

“Really?” Joseph queried. “You have no slaves to work for free so you can make the profits you did in cotton.”

“No wonder you’re out west,” Lavern spat. “Your father doesn’t have any work and no inheritance to give you.”

Instantly Joseph hauled Lavern’s face up to his own and glared into the dark brown eyes. “My Pa is the same place I’m sure yours is: the grave.”

Throwing Lavern away, Joseph stormed back whence he’d come, crossing the street earlier than Centre Avenue to avoid the throngs still at the General Store, and slammed both the main door into the sheriff’s office and the inner door into his apartment.

So Lavern intended to stay here. He intended to be a thorn in Joseph’s side or — worse yet — find a way to run Joseph out of town altogether.

Uncertain: Day 5

Word Count: 30,121

Summary of Events:

After a generally sleepless night Joseph got up before dawn and went to the Dirk house to find some clothing that belonged to the children for Deputy to get a scent off of to track. Hazel found him there and determined she wasn't going to let him track the children alone; so she rented the only sidesaddle-trained horse in the town upon which to accompany him. Joseph and Hazel tracked the children all the way to Yates Creek, where Hazel was forced to accept they'd run off, not been kidnapped, before Joseph informed her that coyotes, wolves, bears, and cougars were among the predatory wildlife that might find the children a tasty meal . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“How quickly might the children be noticed by these animals?” Mrs. Chalmers asked, fear even more evident in her voice than it’d been before.

“To be honest Mrs. Chalmers,” Joseph replied. “I don’t know, but it is that time of year when everything’s giving birth, so mamas is on high alert to protect their young from any real or perceived threats, which would suggest to me that we just start looking for bodies.”

Joseph drew out his cigarette case and removed a cylinder that he proceeded to light before taking a deep breath and releasing a cloud of blue-grey smoke with it.

“How insolent of you,” Mrs. Chalmers snapped. “Do you really need to behave so immaturely all because someone from your past has shown up and revealed your secret?”

She did believe Lavern. Joseph snapped his head to look at her.

“I thought everyone around here was smart enough to figure two and two equals four,” he spat.

“I would presume not arithmetically,” Mrs. Chalmers replied.

“I have the accent to be from the area, I’m thirty two years old, obviously there’s the possibility I could’ve — and very likely would’ve — served in the Confederate Army,” Joseph ranted. “Furthermore, although I do not appreciate it, I do not object to anyone’s calling me a Confederate. You’d think they would’ve figured it out!”

“Obviously they didn’t,” Mrs. Chalmers said, sounding haughty.

“The worse thing is the fact that Lavern’s in town,” Joseph complained. “If they hadn’t figured out I’d served in the Confederate Army by this point they didn’t need to know.”

“If you intend to uphold the law, and be the sole representative thereof, you ought to be honest and forthright in all things so as to prevent the citizenry from questioning your authority in matters of the law,” Mrs. Chalmers said primly. “You have failed to do this and are now suffering the consequences.”

Joseph exhaled smoke-laced breath indignantly. “Everyone ought to just be smarter so they could figure out someone not objecting to being called a Confederate probably was one,” he muttered.

“Well apparently the people of Cimarron are simple-minded,” Mrs. Chalmers said.

Turning away, Joseph glared at Yates Creek.

“Of course that shouldn’t come as a surprise,” Mrs. Chalmers said. “They are out here in the West. It’s mostly just your fault for not realising their lack of intelligence, and I guess that suggests you lack intelligence yourself.”

Rage exploded inside of Joseph like a thunderclap and if he wouldn’t have turned to look at Mrs. Chalmers he would’ve seized her shoulder and ploughed his left hand — smouldering cigarette and all — into her face.

Ma, however, had taught him that ladies weren’t to be punched or hit, so he just tapped his spur into Tempest’s side a little more roughly than the gelding deserved and turned the gelding away from Mrs. Chalmers and back toward Cimarron, nestled down below and looking rather quaint-sized from this moderately elevated vantage.

Uncertain: Day 4

Word Count: 24,006

Summary of Events:

Joseph was sitting around thinking about the disappearance of Hazel's niece and nephew when he remembered he'd forgotten to put his horse away for the night; once he'd done that he noticed that there was a lot of light coming from Main Street. At Main Street he discovered a sizeable crowd, all assembled to hear his old nemesis speak. His nemesis out-and-out lied to the citizens of Cimarron about his participation in the Civil War, which infuriated Joseph, who meant to see the truth told . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

     A wide and more genuine smile on his face than the one which he’d had earlier, Lavern surveyed the crowd and his gaze locked on Joseph.

He could tell Lavern had recognised him by the fact that the smile had fallen off of his face and he looked somewhat affronted.

Joseph let a small smile curl over his mouth and started forward on the street — where the majority of the throng was gathered — his footsteps generating more dust than sound.

“Oh, right, there’s another part to my story I believe you folks would be keenly interested in hearing,” Lavern said.

The crowd quietened and Joseph stopped, just what was Lavern going to do now?

“It wasn’t just when we ran away from home that me, my father, and my brothers were pursued by people intent on forcing us to fight for their wretched cause,” Lavern said as the crowd hushed even more. “We were pursued many times across the backcountry by people, and it was only because we were willing to go into the swamps to hide that we were able to escape safely.”

Nervousness started to seep into Joseph’s breastbone; just where was Lavern going with this?

“One of my most dogged pursuers, the only man that ever instilled in me fear that I might actually not be able to get back to the hideout my family and some other dodgers had established was one of the most crafty, evil, and devious men I ever have known,” Lavern went on, something of an ominous and dramatic tone coming into his voice that only added to Joseph’s fear. “And he was a man all of you know.”

“Dear God no,” Joseph whispered, horror crashing over him like a fearsome avalanche.

“He is your sheriff,” Lavern said. “Joseph Sheldon.”

The crowd didn’t make a sound. Not even the coyotes and wolves that lurked in the mountains behind Lavern made a sound — as if they were just as shocked by Lavern’s declaration as everyone else.

“I don’t blame you for being shocked and alarmed,” Lavern said. “He is a master deceiver. He nearly convinced me to go with him willingly, in fact, but I managed to see through his deceit and get away at the last of all moments. I’ve shared all of this with you only to warn you: anything positive you may’ve thought about your sheriff is nothing but a falsehood. He is a threat to this town and the safety of the Union. He wants nothing more than to see every single man who dared fight for or support the Union dead, and I guarantee you that every Union man who can be blamed for a crime will be, while every Confederate who does will get away scot free.”

“I knew it!” a man shouted “I knew it all along! He’s a menace!”

Similar cries sounded from elsewhere in the crowd until the whole assemblage was in a furore.

Joseph felt like he’d been shot — even though he hadn’t actually ever been shot before despite the many attempts that’d been made at him — his entire reputation had been eviscerated in less than an hour.

Uncertain: Day 3

Word Count: 18,194

Summary of Events:

After inquiring at the last house on the same stretch of Union Street as her sister's Hazel became overcome by grief and was escorted by Joseph to the hotel to recover while he went to follow up on what he'd learned. A local sheep rancher's cook, Mrs. Davids, had been seen with Hazel's niece and nephew following their mother's demise, so Joseph questioned her and found out they'd disappeared two days before and Mrs. Davids hadn't had the time to inform Joseph of their disappearance. Upon being informed of this by Joseph, Hazel was quite unimpressed and refused to believe the children had run away . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“Ruby and Teddy could well have been snatched out of their beds by some nefarious person and now they’re getting away!” Hazel exclaimed. “If I were in New Jersey we would have made much more headway on locating the children than this.”

“Well you ain’t in New Jersey Mrs. Chalmers,” the sheriff replied irritably. “You’re in New Mexico Territory, and around these parts I’m the law and the law’s me. I don’t even got me no deputy, unless you really want to count my dog.”

“And why should the dog be counted?” Hazel asked tautly.

“Because I named him Deputy,” the sheriff replied.

“Oh of all the backwater places,” Hazel sighed. “We need to inquire after suspicious persons and what anyone heard two nights ago at Felicity’s home.”

“Mrs. Chalmers, I really don’t think Ruby and Teddy Dirk was kidnapped,” the sheriff said. “If they was surely someone would’ve said that there was someone out after the kids or they heard screaming. If the kids disappeared without a sound it’s more likely they done ran off on their own.”

“And why, pray tell, would they do that?” Hazel demanded.

“Mrs. Davids said they was distressed when she got your letter saying you was coming down here to take ‘em back to New Jersey,” the sheriff replied. “And seeing as they’d never seen you before I could see why they might be scared.”

“You really think so?” Hazel demanded. “Surely they would be pleased and reassured that someone who knew their mother would be coming, someone who was family.”

“Mrs. Davids said your sister and her husband was all the family those kids ever knew,” the sheriff replied. “Look, I ain’t never met any of my nieces and nephews either, and if they was orphaned and I was all the kin what could come to take care’a them I wouldn’t expect ‘em to trust me’s far’s they could throw me. Yeah, you know their Ma, but they don’t know you, and they don’t even know what their Ma thought’a you. For all they know their Ma could’ve hated you.”

“Well she most assuredly didn’t, I’ll tell you that much,” Hazel snapped.

“I ain’t saying she did,” the sheriff replied exasperatedly. “But they don’t know that!”

“I refuse to believe that my sister did not tell her children about me,” Hazel snapped.

“I don’t know’s that sort of thing would make much of a difference,” the sheriff said.

“Felicity and I were as close as anyone could possibly be,” Hazel declared. “Although a calendar may say she was nearly a complete three years my senior we might as well have been twins. In fact, there were some, particularly upon our arrival in this country, who really believed that we were! I am certain Ruby and Teddy would’ve been given nothing but glowing reports of me and as such that they couldn’t possibly have any grounds upon which to be frightened of me! Therefore I tell you someone has taken my niece and nephew by force!”

Uncertain: Day 2

Word Count: 12,086

Summary of Events:

Hazel returned to Joseph's office to inform him that she hadn't found her niece and nephew yet, so Joseph accompanied her to her sister's house to look through it again before they elected to canvass the neighbours to see what any of them knew. Partway through the canvassing Joseph's fiancée approached him and expressed worries about their wedding and the fact that another young woman in town was getting married before they were, which his fiancée suspected was a deliberate manoeuvre to show them up . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Suddenly Mabel’s expression changed to be one more of consternation and she appeared to be looking around him at someone beyond him. Joseph slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder and see Mrs. Chalmers striding up to him and looking rather unimpressed.

“Mabel,” Joseph said before either woman could speak. “This is Mrs. Hazel Chalmers, aunt of the Dirk kids. Mrs. Chalmers, this is my fiancée Miss Mabel Waller.”

Both women sized each other up rather guardedly, and as they did he noted that Mabel — although looking younger than Mrs. Chalmers — was actually noticeably taller than Mrs. Chalmers.

Once they’d looked each other over several times Mrs. Chalmers turned to Joseph.

“I find it intriguing that you are so quick to supply me with the name of your fiancée but yet I’ve been of your acquaintance for several hours and still know not your own.”

Joseph startled. He hadn’t told her his name?

“Well,” Mabel said. “I’ll tell you what his name isn’t.”

“Oh?” Mrs. Chalmers inquired. “And what isn’t it?”

“Confederate,” Mabel replied. “He may’ve come from their lands, but that doesn’t make him one.”

“Nor was I accusing him of being one,” Mrs. Chalmers replied. “Although my birth predates the conflict I was too young to have any opinion on the matter. Furthermore, I did not reside on this continent at the time, and am still quite disinclined to embroil myself in matters of politics.”

“Ladies, please,” Joseph said. “I’m sorry for the oversight on my part Mrs. Chalmers, it was unintentional. And Mabel, Mrs. Chalmers doesn’t hold that against me, she is much more offended by the fact that I was given my entire education by my mother.”

“Oh,” Mabel said, looking sidewise at Mrs. Chalmers. “That seems an unfair prejudice. How do you know his mother’s intelligence wasn’t equivalent to your own?”

“I come from the country that invented English,” Mrs. Chalmers replied. “I know how it is to be spoken properly, and I am sorry to say that your fiancé doesn’t have a fingernail’s grasp on the concept of proper sentence structure, among other frightful grammatical errors in his speech.”

“Look, I speak like everyone I grew up around speaks,” Joseph interrupted. “But I would presume, Mrs. Chalmers, that you had some alternate reason for coming over here other than to degrade my use of your language to my fiancée.”

“I thought we were canvassing the neighbourhood looking for my niece and nephew,” Mrs. Chalmers replied. “Not speaking with the objects of our affections.”

“We are canvassing the neighbourhood,” Joseph replied. “Our fiancées merely approached us and were expressing worries to us we were doing our utmost to assuage in a timely fashion so that we could return to said task.”

“Good,” Mrs. Chalmers said.

“Now if you’d kindly leave me to assuage my fiancée’s worries I will get back to canvassing my half of the street as promptly as possible,” Joseph said.

Mrs. Chalmers nodded and strode away briskly.

Uncertain: Day 1

Word Count: 6,004

Summary of Events:

Having arrived in Cimarron late the night before, Hazel set out to find her sister's home and children; when she arrived, however, the children weren't there, so she sought out the sheriff. Joseph was called to the saloon to take care of the town drunk — who was already loaded even though it was barely 11:00am — and ended up running into an old nemesis moments before Hazel appeared; he gave her what help he could. As directed by Joseph, Hazel made for the only church in town, in whose graveyard Felicity was interred . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Arriving at the adobe church — complete with an adobe bell tower — Hazel sought out a side or rear entrance that might lead to an attached manse or study, and, upon finding a door, knocked on it.

Before long the door was answered by a man with dark grey hair whom she admittedly thought was dressed rather casually for a minister.

“Good morning ma’am,” he said politely. “May I help you?”

“Am I correct to presume you are the Reverend Weekes?” she asked.

“I am ma’am,” he replied.

“I’m Mrs. Hazel Chalmers, sister of the late Mrs. Felicity Dirk,” she said.

“A wonderful woman,” Rev. Weekes said. “I presume you’re seeking Ruby and Teddy?”

“I am Reverend,” she replied.

“I cannot say I know where they stayed during their mother’s illness, nor whether they returned home thereafter or not,” Rev. Weekes replied. “It truly was a miracle neither one of them came down with the disease, seeing as they are so young and, as any children, susceptible to such maladies more readily than adults.”

“Well, I’ve been to Felicity’s residence and they aren’t there,” Hazel said. “And I am told there is no orphanage or other place where orphaned children might go.”

“Indeed no, ma’am,” Rev. Weekes said. “I have my doubts even Santa Fe has such an institution. I can assure you that they would be well cared for, this is a good town. But as much as I ministered to the spiritual needs of the family, I hadn’t developed much of an acquaintance with them myself. Zechariah and Annabelle Yates, being Felicity’s employers, would possibly know more, even more so than them their other staff within the house would know where the children have gone, I would think.”

“There really should be a standardised system of care for orphans,” Hazel said.

“To be honest with you ma’am,” Rev. Weekes said. “The Dirk children are the first orphaned children I can recall having heard of in this town in my entire tenure here, and I’ve been ministering in this town some ten years.”

“Oh,” Hazel said. “There aren’t a lot of children in this town?”

Rev. Weekes looked skyward and shifted his jaw as he thought. “There’s probably somewhere between thirty and fifty I’d say. The majority do have both parents, seeing as a lot of the men in town work at one of the ranches in the area. And there are definitely more widowers than widows in town, but even combined, widowers and widows, there’s hardly a dozen of them.”

“And you haven’t the slightest idea where my niece and nephew are?” she asked.

“No, I’m terribly sorry ma’am, I don’t,” Rev. Weekes replied.

“Well, thank you anyways,” Hazel said. “Not only for what token help you were able to offer presently, but for ministering to the spiritual needs of my sister. From her correspondence with me all these years I know she’s been well taken care of spiritually, and your contribution was no less valuable than that of any of the other ministers along the way.”