Free The Work and the Glory by Gerald N. Lund Page A

passed the Martin Harris farm, they lapsed into a companionable silence, enjoying the pleasantness of the evening.
    But Nathan had not come for idle chat. Since earlier that day when Hyrum had neatly sidestepped Joshua’s questions about the things Will Murdock had said in town, Nathan had been bursting with questions of his own. Being like his mother, he was too polite to broach the subject head-on like Joshua had. But if there was any way to find out more, he was determined to do it.
    Clearing his throat, he decided to break the silence. “Is your wife from around here, Hyrum?”
    “Yes. Jerusha’s from the Barden family, down near Canandaigua.”
    “And yours, Joseph?”
    He shook his head. “No, Emma’s from Harmony, Pennsylvania.”
    That surprised Nathan a little. “Harmony? Where’s that?”
    “About a hundred twenty miles south of here. Just across the state line.”
    “My,” Nathan smiled, “you must have roamed far afield in your courting days.”
    Joseph laughed. “A couple of years ago a man by the name of Stowell came into Palmyra to buy wheat. He was from down near the Colesville and South Bainbridge area, which is about fifteen miles this side of the Pennsylvania line. Somehow Mr. Stowell had gotten an old document which was supposed to show the location of a cave where the Spaniards had hidden a considerable treasure. I was needing work right then, so my father and I hired on to help him dig for it.”
    He shook his head slowly, as if remembering. “We dug in the area around Harmony, which is about twenty-five miles south of the Stowell farm, so while I was there I boarded with a man by the name of Isaac Hale.” Again a quiet smile stole across his face. Nathan was learning this was characteristic of Joseph. “He had a daughter…”
    Nathan laughed. “I understand.”
    “Actually, Mr. Hale wasn’t so fond of the idea of me courting Emma. I mean he barely knew me, and I was not at that time employed in what folks viewed as a promising occupation. I finally convinced Stowell that looking for treasure was a waste of time. I stayed on in the Colesville area for a time, working for a family named Knight. They were kind enough to lend me a sleigh and a horse to go south and visit Emma. Finally, this last January we got married.”
    “She’s a fine woman,” Hyrum said.
    “As is Jerusha,” Joseph agreed.
    “I hope to meet them both sometime.”
    They walked along in silence for several moments. Nathan’s mind was racing. An old Spanish map. Was that what had triggered the stories of gold Bibles? Finally, he glanced up out of the corner of his eye. “Joseph?”
    “Yes?”
    Nathan suddenly changed his mind. His reticence to pry overcame his curiosity. He just shook his head.
    Joseph was looking at him. “What?” he asked again.
    “Nothing.”
    One of Joseph’s eyebrows came up slowly.
    Nathan just shook his head. “Nothing,” he repeated. “It ain’t none of my affair.”
    They walked on for several steps in silence. Then Hyrum spoke. “It’s about what Joshua was sayin’ earlier today, isn’t it?”
    For a moment Nathan didn’t respond, then finally shrugged.
    “Do you ask this for yourself?” Joseph asked quietly.
    The question caught Nathan by surprise.
    “Do you really want to know, or is this just because of the things you’ve heard?”
    “The only thing I’ve heard is what Will Murdock and his brother said to you in town.”
    There was an answering laugh, not of amusement but one filled with derision. “You mean you haven’t heard Joe Smith is a lazy, no-account loafer, a drunkard who is immoral and untrustworthy?”
    “And of limited mental capacity,” Hyrum added bitterly. “Don’t forget that.”
    “Yes, that too.”
    The exchange took Nathan aback.
    “That’s what people are saying about Joseph,” Hyrum went on. “You’ll probably hear stories about our family as well—about us being grave robbers, devil worshippers, who knows what else.”
    Nathan