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CHAPTER 13
Once Bart headed into the mine, the Spirit Wranglers and the
Fergusons headed to the top of the zephyr drift station, the highest point in
Prosperity, to watch for his return. Though they couldn't see the opening of
the mine well in the dark, the stars put out enough light for them to see no
movement in that area. Wallace knew they'd all wait through the night for his
return, and when the sun came out in the morning, a search party would be
assembled.
After over an hour of nothing, Molly gasped and pointed to
the mine. All eyes squinted to see, and a few seconds later, the mechanical
horse galloped out. It was Rachel's turn to let out a gasp when there was no
sign of Bart. The group hustled down the zephyr drift tower to meet the horse
at the front gate.
The guards positioned in front of the town opened the gate,
and the horse ran directly to Rachel and her children. As it neared in a slow
trot, she put up her hand, and it came to a stop directly in front of her.
"Look, attached to the saddle horn," Abel said.
Wallace saw there was indeed something there, a piece of
paper with writing on it. Rachel took the initiative and reached for it.
"Father always kept a pad of paper and pencil in his
pocket," Molly said. "He said he never knew when he'd need to note an
order or mark what needed restocking."
Rachel, tears brimming her eyes, turned the note for
everyone to see. By the time Wallace saw it wasn't a happy ending for the
Fergusons, those tears overflowed her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Molly and
Abel joined her in that cry.
The note, in a neat but hurried hand, read, "Rachel,
Abel, Molly – I'll see you in a séance. Love always, Bart/Father."
The Spirit Wranglers stepped back to let the family hold
each other. The guards caught on quick as to what was going on, and one of them
hustled over to the nearest inn. A minute later, a dozen or more men emerged,
and they headed out of town and towards the mine. Wallace doubted the Fergusons
even knew what was going on, but Abel proved him wrong.
"Let's head to the front gate. I want to be there when
they get back."
Again, no words were spoken. They waited close to another
hour, and this time their vigil was rewarded with a single man hurrying towards
them. His body language spoke of him being the messenger, not a sole-survivor.
Their group rushed forward to meet him halfway.
The man was huffing and puffing when he got to them, leading
Wallace to believe he'd run all the way from the depths of the mine. He shook
his head and frowned, catching his breath. By the way Nessy twitched next to
him, Wallace knew she wanted to yell at the man to spill his news, but she
managed to hold her tongue. The Fergusons likewise waited until he was ready to
talk, though they were no doubt bursting for an answer much more than Nessy.
Finally, with one more deep, raspy breath, the man was
ready. "I'm awful sorry, Mrs. Ferguson, kids, but there's no sign of him.
It's like he vanished into the rocks. But so did those Rock Men, so your Bart
might be dead, but he died a hero."
This time Wallace pulled Joshua and Nessy away so they could
head back to the house to pack up their equipment. He didn't want to bother the
Rachel and the kids any more than necessary in their time of mourning.
*****
The next afternoon, the Spirit Wranglers floated out of
Prosperity on a zephyr drift. Rachel wrote them a bank promise for twice the
agreed upon amount. When Wallace objected, she insisted, and Nessy smacked his
shoulder, telling him not to be rude. His sister later informed him that if Rachel and the
kids couldn't afford it, they could send it back later, but since that wasn't
the case, it was theirs to keep.
Prosperity's mayor declared that day to be Bart Ferguson
Day, and as the zephyr drift rose out of town, they could see the ceremony
taking place in the middle of the main street. The three Fergusons, though,
were absent. There was a store to run, after all.
"It really is the best way to honor Bart," Rachel
said.
"Honestly," Molly said, "he might haunt us
worse than Ronald Hart if he knew we kept the store closed for a day."
Right before the zephyr drift carried them out of sight of
Prosperity, the three Spirit Wranglers looked back down towards Fergusons'
General Goods Mercantile and saw the three proprietors in the street in front
of their shop, waving their arms in farewell.
"I think they'll be just fine," Wallace said, and
Joshua and Nessy nodded their agreement.
THE END
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