Forever by Your Side (Willamette Brides #3) - Tracie Peterson Page 0,67
to head to the little store. Inside, the dim light made it hard to find things, but he supposed most folks relied on memory. He found the pencils and took five of them to the clerk at the counter. The clerk seemed almost put out at having to deal with Tom’s cash rather than credit.
“You could set up an account like everybody else,” he suggested. “Makes it easier.”
“I prefer cash, but if that’s the way you want to do things, I suppose I can set up an account.”
The clerk shrugged. “Doubt you’ll be here that long anyway.” He gave Tom change for his dollar.
“I intend to be here for a long time. My job will take a while. We’re supposed to interview all of the Indians who live on Grand Ronde.”
The clerk gave a huff and turned back to his dusting. “Might not be anyone to interview.”
Tom wondered what he meant by that. Did he know something about the uprising? Tom started to ask, but two Indian women walked into the store, talking in a language Tom couldn’t understand. The clerk turned back around and spoke to them.
There was nothing to do but leave. If Tom stayed, the clerk might think it curious, and if he flat-out asked what the man knew about the uprising, it could give away his other reason for being at the reservation.
As he walked past the government house once more, Tom heard raised voices.
“We’ll do it my way or not at all,” Clint was all but yelling.
Several men replied in lower voices. The Indians seemed unhappy about something. Tom caught the gist of it having to do with completing their plans. Clint responded by telling them that they needed to trust him with this decision.
Tom tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, but there was no place to hide. Needing an excuse to tarry, he let the pencils scatter on the ground. He knelt to pick them up, being slow and careful in his retrieval.
“I know you’re anxious and everything is pretty much in place,” Clint declared. “We just need to wait for the shipment. You know as well as I do that without the proper tools, we can do nothing. The shipment should be here next Thursday. We can act after that.”
Tom felt an icy finger go up his spine. Suspicions began to dance in his head. Was Clint talking about guns? Or was he working on seeing the mill put back together? Tom knew Connie’s family planned to help. The mill had been damaged long ago and then again in the storm. There was much required repair.
“Now, I want you to go home and wait for my instructions. As soon as I know more, I’ll be in touch.”
Tom quickly made his way toward the trees. He drew a deep breath and tried to settle his thoughts. He watched as the men left the house. These men were not members of the Legislature. It suddenly dawned on Tom that Clint might very well be the connection they were looking for. Someone who was white and familiar with the reservation was most likely to be heading up the planned uprising. There was no doubt someone at Warm Springs and Siletz would be involved, as well. From what Tom understood after talking to Seth Carpenter, there was an organized group of men from around the state—wealthy men who could afford to buy mercenaries as well as organizers.
“But Clint’s family has always worked to improve conditions for the Indians.” Tom barely whispered the words. It didn’t make sense that Clint would be planning an uprising. Or did it? Perhaps he didn’t feel as devoted to helping the Indians as his father and brother did.
By the time he reached the house, Tom had considered any number of possibilities, but all of them eventually pointed back to Clint Singleton. It was time to have a talk with Connie’s father. He knew Clint better than anyone else. If Clint was capable of such thinking, Adam Browning would surely know.
“Will she be all right?” Ann asked as Faith came out of the back room.
“She’s running a fever,” Faith admitted. “I think she’s caught some sort of sickness, but I can’t figure out what it is since it’s at such an early stage. Make sure she gets plenty of liquids—maybe try a little honeyed tea. Keep her here. Tell Sam you’ll take care of her, that her time is very near. I’ll slip back this evening.”