Switzer’s eyes pleaded for him to agree.
“Yes, ma’am. I didn’t see it myself, so I don’t know what shape it’s in, but Jesse said it was there.” He glanced at Emma. Her rosy cheeks shone with health after a good night’s sleep. “Said a chest was in there too.”
Hope flared in her round eyes. She raised clasped hands beneath her chin. “Are our belongings inside?”
She must have something important packed in that chest. He would have loved to assure her that the contents were safe, to see a smile break out. Instead, he had to shake his head. “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Jesse mentioned some empty crates were scattered around.” He looked away from her disappointed expression and spoke to Jonas. “He also said the wagon is mired down in a river about a half mile beyond where my herd camped for the night. Looked like the thieves looted whatever they could and deserted the heavy stuff.”
“Ja, that makes sense.” The round straw hat bobbed up and down with a nod. He turned to address his family. “This is why the Lord did not give an answer earlier. He knew we did not yet have all the information we needed. We will get our wagon, and then our destination will be made clear.”
“We’ll go to Troyer,” Rebecca said.
Jonas cocked his head but didn’t commit. “Perhaps.”
A wide smile brightened the girl’s face, and she clapped her hands. Mrs. Switzer regarded her son with a scowl but remained silent. Luke couldn’t stop his eyes from straying to Emma. Her expression remained impassive, her lovely lips parted enough for him to glimpse a set of even white teeth. He found himself wondering what her hair looked like when she brushed it out at night.
With a jerk he realized he hadn’t delivered all the news. He looked at Jonas. “I don’t think that wagon is going anywhere unless you’re planning on pulling it yourself. Your oxen are gone, along with all your provisions, probably.”
Jonas seemed unconcerned. “We will buy more oxen.”
Luke glanced down the lonely street. “Gorham’s a pretty small settlement. There is a livery stable behind the blacksmith’s shop, though. If you’re lucky you might get ahold of a couple of mules.”
He shook his head. “I use oxen for my farm. The Lord knows my need. He will provide.”
The man seemed awfully confident. The chance of someone having a pair of oxen to sell in tiny little Gorham was slim, but Luke didn’t want to argue. Besides, he didn’t have time. “I expect you’re right. Well, I’ll leave you to it, then.” He nodded toward Mrs. Switzer and Rebecca, and touched a finger to his hat brim when his gaze slid to Emma. “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure.”
He started to turn away, but Jonas stepped in front of him. “The Lord will bless you for the help you have given already.” A flush rose on the man’s face, above the point where the untrimmed beard gave way to tanned skin. “May I ask for your help one more time? We have no money to pay for the oxen the Lord will send, or for provisions to replace those taken from us.”
Of course they didn’t. Everything they owned had been stolen. Luke held back a sigh. It was short-sighted of him not to see this coming. He did have some U.S. notes in his wallet and a stash of gold pieces in his satchel, expenses for the trail. McCann’s thriftiness when provisioning the chuck wagon along the way had left them in good shape. The men had each received advances when they camped near towns big enough to afford a man a decent time, but Luke had kept the advances small. Give a man a wad of money when there’s a saloon nearby and he’s been on the trail for a month, and the herd might not move for days. As a result of wise money management, he had some put aside. He could help the Switzers and replenish it from his own pocket when he got to Hays. Then he would pay a visit to that Amish bishop.
He eyed Jonas. “You’re good for it?”
The man straightened. “Ja.”
Luke believed him. What decided him, though, was the intent way Emma watched him, as though she wanted him to say yes but expected him to refuse. Something about the way that girl looked at him made him think she didn’t trust him. That wasn’t fair, because he’d gone out of