Free Far Away Home by Susan Denning Page B

threw her nose in the air. She tried to ignore his prying,
but the young man stared her down.
    Acquiescing,
Aislynn replied, “I’ve recently been orphaned, and my guardian is in Utah. I
have to get there. And why are you trying to scare me?”
    “I ain’t trying
to scare you; I’m trying to save your life. You look like a nice girl, and nice
girls don’t travel on them stages by themselves. Why, the men I rode with were
hard drinkin, killer types. And they were better than the ones who prey on the
coaches from the outside. We were stopped by bandits twice. People think
Indians are a problem, but it’s them white outlaws who are the threat. I’d hate
to think what they’d do to you.”
    “Perhaps I’ll
meet up with some other women on the stage, maybe a family.”
    “Oh, that’d be
swell. First off, babies screamin’ and spittin’ up add a nice touch to the dust
and the wind pourin’ in the windows. I ain’t never seen nothin’ like the
lightning out there. The weather comes in the coaches, and this time of year
it’s a cold rain if it ain’t snow. Snow will stop a coach dead.”
    The man paused
to take a breath. Aislynn hoped he would stop talking but he continued. “Then
you have to stay at a station. ‘Cept don’t get out at no station ‘less you have
to ‘cause it don’t matter if you’re a girl; someone will snatch up your seat,
and you’ll have to stay at the station ‘til another coach comes by. Those
stations ain’t nothin’ but sod over a sand floor. There’s no place to sleep and
even less place to wash. The food is miserable. I spent a gold dollar just for
a hot potato. The water smells, and it’s thick with dirt. There ain’t nothin
could get me to go back there. Why, they could fire me, but I’m not runnin’
anything out west for this company or anyone else again.”
    Aislynn leaned
her elbows on the desk and sighed, “Well, how else can I get there?”
    “I’d suggest a
train full of decent families.”
    “But the train
only runs through Cheyenne.”
    “I’m talkin’
about a wagon train. They’re better armed. They ain’t carrying the gold or
paper the outlaws want anyway. Indians don’t bother trains passin’ through.
Trains got their problems, but it’s safer for women and children.”
    Aislynn looked
at him with disbelief, “A wagon, I’ve never driven a wagon, and I don’t know
anything about animals. I’ve lived on Worth Street my whole life.”
    “Well, you might
be able to team up with someone. Trains will be leaving Cheyenne all spring. Be
strangers but prob’ly decent family folks. Can you wait ‘til next year? The
railroad might be through by then.”
    A new fear rose, I’ll be eighteen by then, and Tim won’t be legally obligated. She shook
her head and declared, “No, I can’t wait.”
     
    When the Nolans
returned home, they found the Denehy apartment nearly empty. Aislynn showed
them the thirty dollars she had earned with her furniture sale. She also announced
she had been offered a cleaning job, which she told herself was not a true lie.
The Nolans congratulated her and asked a few questions about her placement.
Johnny’s queries, however, seemed endless.
    “Why are you
interrogating me? I’ve told you everything there is to tell.”
    “I’m just
interested.” They were seated at the Nolan table, since her kitchen lacked
furniture. Johnny rested his chin on his hands and stared at her silently.
    Aislynn fidgeted
in her seat. “It’s a fine house.”
    Johnny nodded.
    “They seem to be
well-bred people.”
    He nodded again.
    She fell back in
her chair and said, “Stop staring.”
    He lifted his
head and leaned back, folding his arms over his chest, but his eyes stayed on
her.
    “Fine!” she
shouted. “I’m going to Utah!”
    His face remained
static, and he emitted no sound.
    “Tim is my legal
guardian. He’ll have to take me in, and no one can object to it.”
    When Johnny made
no response, she added, “There’s plenty of