Then there was Allie. She seemed to be taken by Little Wolf. Early on she’d tried to talk to him. He replied with his typical short answers and statements. Partway through dinner she moved closer to him. She kept talking, and eventually managed to get a laugh out of him.
As the meal ended Lisa cornered him. She jerked a thumb at Allie and smiled to him. “You’ve made a friend, haven’t you?”
“She’s too young.”
“She’ll grow up fast.”
“Hmph.” He headed for the rear of the group, which faced the cooking fire and had its back to the trees.
Lisa tapped his arm. “Be nice to her.”
He turned. A small smile appeared on his face. “I know of these things. I am not a boy.”
She found herself smiling back. “No, you are not.”
He reached up with his right arm and clasped her left shoulder. He patted once, then walked off.
Lisa returned to situation at hand. She walked towards the front of small crowd. She waited for Wayne to finish introducing her before she approached him. She took in their applause, thanked them for their hospitality, and began her address.
“Last night my friend and I spoke with Wayne about some plans I have. Before I tell all of you what we talked about, let me tell you a little about me. I’m from a world called Fairfield. My father brought me up to love reading books, and to think for myself. He also taught me to care about others. When I saw that my life wouldn’t amount to much if I stayed, I asked to restart our portal. I decided that I’d travel and try to find a place for myself. I want to make a difference. I want to bring back the kind of life people had before the Savage Rain.
“I’ve done a few good things. I showed some farmers how to grow better crops. I saved my friend Little Wolf from injustice. With his help, we got two towns to start trading again. That last was on a world called Big Springs. There was a third town that’s doing okay, but can’t trade. Two towns near theirs are fighting, and that’s brought back bandits. I promised the leader of that third town that I’d come back and try to deal with these problems.
“Little Wolf is from a world called White Rocks. That world has some towns doing okay. People are trading with each other, and some trade is going on between towns. The trouble there is that no one controls the trade. You could get a group together, raid someone else’s trade wagons, and trade what you stole. There’s no one to appeal to.”
“Hey, Wayne,” Ray said, “I got an idea.” Everyone laughed.
“Lisa, these problems sound pretty difficult,” Donna said after the laughs died down. “They don’t seem to fit together, either.”
“You’re right, Donna, on both counts. There is one way that they can relate to each other. In order to bring peace to Big Springs you need people. More than what you have here, even if you include Little Wolf and me. White Rocks has plenty of people, but they won’t do something unless they think they’ll get something in return.
“I want to get some goods and a wagon or two. We’ll head to White Rocks. There might be goods here that they don’t have, so we’ll do some trading. As we trade, we’ll get goods to do more trading. Our share for doing all this is a quarter of what we get.
“Say, we get four barrels of grain. One is ours. We split it equally, say, fifteen sacks. Now, suppose at next town we go to you see a really good sword. You can take your sack of grain trade it for the sword.”
“But what if he won’t take the grain?” Ray asked. “What if they don’t have anything that I want?”
“You could still use the grain,” Ellen said.
“Or you could hold onto it until you find something you do want,” Lisa added. “Something else about White Rocks is worth mentioning here. They’ve started making trade tokens. These tokens are worth so much. If you can’t barter, you get tokens.”
“Like money, before the Rain?” Ellen asked.
“Exactly.”
“How does this trading help that other world?” Sherrie asked.
“Well, if people see we’re getting something for our work, they might want to join us. We promise them the same share of the goods. But they have to help us; we won’t give them a share just for riding along.”
“And that help includes going to Big Springs,” Donna said. The smile on her face suggested that she was following where Lisa was leading.
“That’s it. They help us secure trade on White Rocks, and bring peace to Big Springs. We give them a share of the goods, and the chance to set up their own trades or jobs where ever we go. They get something out of the deal. We get some problems solved.”
“What about the portals?” Wayne asked. “Me and Donna have talked about going through them. The one worry we had was how we’d be received. Would people want to know that they’re open again?”
Lisa shrugged. “People are worried, no doubt about it. I guess the fact that I was going through helped. No one expects a little red-haired young woman is going to attack them.”
“But we’ll be a group. Armed. And we may have more with us.”
“We won’t be going anywhere that I haven’t already been, at least in terms of towns close to portals. The others don’t seem to care where you’re from, so long as they can trust you.
“I have one of Fairfield’s portal manuals. It told me that there’s no way you can keep someone from coming through, unless you destroy your own portal. But, you can restrict who uses a portal. If we let good people through and keep bad people from going through, I think everyone will rest a little easier.
“Anyway, we need people on other worlds working together. That way, if a threat does come through, we can join forces to stop it. Not joining together is what made the Rain so bad, and why it came to so many worlds.”
“What do we do when we’re done with this... journey?” Dave asked.
“We may never be really done. I mean, you bring in one crop, is that all the farming you do? Of course not. You get ready for the next growing season, and when that season’s done, you move on to the next. Once we get things settled enough, we have to do it again. We have to keep doing it, keep moving between towns and between worlds. There won’t be any real peace unless everyone’s lives get better.”
Lisa made eye contact with Sherrie, then Ellen, then Kathy. “My father said that he didn’t do all that he did for himself. He did it for his daughters, and for all children. He wanted me and my sister to have better lives than he did. I don’t have any children yet, but I’d want the same thing if I did.
“The best way to do this is to get people working together. Get towns and worlds cooperating, relying on each other. The Rain happened because people didn’t work together. Some of the troubles going on now are because some people are doing things just for themselves, and not for anyone else.”
A smile crept onto Lisa’s face. “If we can show them that they benefit by caring, I think they’ll do so. They won’t know they’re doing good. If doing good pays, and doing bad doesn’t, they’ll make the right choice.”
“Go back a moment,” Dave said. “What if some town doesn’t want to trade with us? What do we say?”
“We tell them we will come back. We’ll keep coming back; they can’t keep us away. They might not like that at first. But when they really need help, we’ll still be coming back.”
“I suppose they won’t mind that.”
“Not at all.”
“What if they don’t need any goods?” Allie asked.
“Everyone needs something. So they don’t need goods? They might need help protecting their town, or enforcing the law. They might need someone to show them how to get more out of their farms. They might want a teacher or a blacksmith. Maybe it’s not what they want, but what they can offer, like good land for farming.
“We’ll know what they have and what they need. We’ll know or find out how to match up needs. We can send the right goods, or the right people, to exactly where they’ll do the most good.”
“What if others make the
se journeys?” Ellen asked.
“Let them. My father runs trade, and he has competition. It keeps him on his toes, makes him work harder. More trade and movement stimulates the exchange of ideas. People meet other people, and they don’t seem quite so different. Who knows? Maybe one day people will start building those old machines that we had before the Rain. Wagons that don’t need horses. Music without having musicians. All that neat old junk.
“I know how that sounds. It’s a bit much to swallow right now, since you haven’t even agreed to go along with this. I think we need a goal to aim for. We may not live long enough to see it through. But I think that if we do this, we’ll make a difference.”
Wayne stood up and walked to Lisa’s side. “Thanks for coming and speaking to us. Would you like to stay for our discussion?”
Before she could answer Donna said, “I don’t think there’s anything to discuss. I think we should go for it.”
“I think so, too,” Ellen said.
“Beats following another herd of cattle,” Ray added.
A chorus of affirmatives rose up. Wayne raised his hands for calm. “I guess it’s settled.” He offered his hand to Lisa. “I think we have a deal, Lisa Herbert.”
She shook his hand. “Great. Thanks. To all of you.”
She shook hands with most of the rest of the group. She raised her hands to quiet them. “Tomorrow morning, I’m going to meet with Major McCall, tell him about this.”
“You know Major McCall?” someone gasped.
“We met with him when we arrived. Anyway, I’ll talk to him, and see how the Rangers feel. If that goes as I think it will, we’ll get this started. I’ll come to you when the meeting’s over.”
As she and Little Wolf started to leave, she overheard Donna say to Wayne, “She knows McCall. I think I like her already.”
CHAPTER 9
“So that’s my plan.”
Lisa leaned back in her chair, trying to keep calm. Major McCall shifted in his chair. The chair squeaked. Lisa struggled to prevent the noises from unnerving her. After a long moment of thoughtful silence, McCall spoke.
“Not bad for an untried girl,” he said.
“Untried?”
He smiled. “You haven’t exactly gone through a lifetime of ordeal, Lisa. Do this, and you might get a bit closer to ’tried.’”
“Fair enough.” She couldn’t help but mirror his smile.
“Now that you have your plan, how do you intend to carry it out?”
“Well, Major, that’s one of the reasons why I’m here. I didn’t come here with anything to trade, except for what’s in my notebook. I’ve been trying to think up some way to fill up a wagon or two. As you folks here say, I’m stumped.”
“I see.”
“Is there anything your Rangers can offer? Something to get me started?”
McCall shook his head. “I’m not sure. I won’t let any of my Rangers go. I don’t want to impose on the kindness of the people we protect.”
“That’s okay, I didn’t mean that. What about spare clothes or shoes? Extra tents?”
“I don’t think we have any extra.” His head bobbed up. “Wait. We do have plenty of extra weapons. Mostly bows and crossbows, taken from outlaws. Some are pretty old,...”
Lisa shook her head. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to use weapons as trade goods, not right now. That could be dangerous.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But you will need weapons if you’re to stop those towns from feuding. You might find men, but maybe not armed men.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess as long as we keep them secure until we need them, it’ll be okay to take them along.”
“I’ll scrape them together before you leave. I’ll toss out any that are too poor to use.”
“Save anything you can salvage, Major. If a bow’s bad but the wood is good enough, we could make arrows.”
“Sure.”
“Is that all?”
McCall paused to think. “You know we got two portal manuals.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I could let you take one, as a good will gift. If you think such a gift would be properly appreciated.”
“I think so.” Good will gift, she thought. Who would need our... “White Rocks.”
“What?”
“It just occurred to me. If we’re trading on White Rocks, we might need some good will. I could give your manual to the town manager at Great Junction. That might allow him to persuade people there that we weren’t going to take their business away from them.”
“That might work.”
“Is that all you have, Major?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then I’ll still need to figure out how to get more goods.”
“You thought about just asking, rather than trading?”
“Would that work?”
McCall nodded slightly. “I think if you ask nicely enough, tell folks that a little extra will help others in need, you might get something. And since you’re not looking to fill more than two wagons...” His voice trailed off.
“I’ll give it a try, Major.”
“There is something that I could do to help you as you ask around.” He jerked a thumb at the Ranger symbol on the wall behind his chair. “That carries weight, as you well know. If I put that on a written deal, people will respect that deal. I’ll put that on a paper you can take with you. It’ll say that you promise to come back and fill any needs you find. In fact, we’ll write down what you’ll bring back, too.”
“Thank you. I’ll let you know what we find out, first. Then I’ll sign that paper with your seal.”
“Very good. You might go east, Lisa. I believe if any spot on Lone Star has needs, it’s there.”
***
Lisa gained a greater appreciation for serendipity as she headed from McCall’s office to where Wayne and his friends camped. Traveling all over this world obtaining goods and finding needs would have taken her time. That time would be better spent making deals on other worlds. Now she had allies who could share the work. The only question was who would go where.
That was decided quickly. Dave and Donna had become close to some of the ranchers that lived to the east. Wayne still had friends in Pecos and Sweetwater. That left Eagle as the one unknown. Lisa decided to take that for herself.
“Would you like some help?” Ellen asked.
It hadn’t occurred to Lisa that she’d want anyone along with her. If she had thought about it, her first choice would be Little Wolf. But she did want closer ties to Wayne and his friends. This might be my chance to do that.
“Sure,” she said. She turned to Little Wolf. “How about you?”
Surprisingly, he shook his head. “I think I should stay here.”
Lisa’s first impulse was to talk him out of it. Something in her argued against that impulse. It told her that Wayne’s group would be almost leaderless. Sherrie might need help. She wanted to be closer to these new friends. That meant allowing him to get close, too.
“Okay,” Lisa said, “so long as you behave yourself while I’m gone.”
“I shall try,” he replied. His tone assured her that he got the joke.
Too much of the day was past, so the departures were put off until the following morning. Wayne, Dave, and Donna went out by themselves. Lisa and Ellen had to have an escort. It wasn’t just Dave who insisted on it; Major McCall told Lisa that she wouldn’t be allowed to leave for Eagle without at least two Rangers accompanying her. Ellen took the requests in stride. Lisa was less comfortable, but she kept her mouth shut.
Lisa began to understand everyone’s concern not too far outside Arbuckle. That town, like Mountain View, was in a valley. But unlike her home town, Arbuckle wasn’t surrounded by woods. Trees clustered around a creek that ran south and west of town. She’d overheard enough to gather that that same was true in those directions, and that the only trees to the east clustered in low spots between hills.
A few miles north of Arbuckle trees began to surro
und the road to Eagle. There were more bridges to cross. The climbs uphill became steeper and longer. Not like on White Rocks or even Big Springs, but close enough. Lisa knew this would be an ideal road for robbers to operate along.
Maybe, she mused, when McCall said “mostly,” he meant this road to be the exception.
Nothing did happen on the road. It did take most of the day to get to Eagle. Riding all day took much out of Lisa, and she had no trouble seeing that it had done the same to Ellen. She decided to wait until after getting a night’s sleep to start asking for tools.
It was a wise decision. The town blacksmith was willing to part with a few things. No one else that Lisa and Ellen visited was that generous. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but a lack of anything to spare. During each plea the same suggestion kept coming up: “Try Ace Marshall, at the sawmill.” After being told to for the tenth time, Lisa and Ellen went to the sawmill.
Marshall was a short man with a muscular build, light red hair, and a missing finger on his left hand. He constantly sipped from a wooden mug. “I hear you gals been going ’round town, asking for tools,” he said, drawing out the words.
“Yes, sir, we have,” Ellen answered. A drawl crept into her voice.
Ellen’s answering caught Lisa off guard. She hadn’t said much up to then. Lisa wondered why she was speaking up now, but decided to follow her lead.
“Something ’bout trading our tools somewhere?”
“Off this world, Mister Marshall.”
“That a fact? I didn’t know the portal’s been opened.”
“My friend here came through, from another world called Fairfield.”
He looked at Lisa. “That so?”
“Yes, it is. We’re trying to get some goods together to help people on two other worlds.”
“I was wondering if you spoke.” He smiled, then sipped. “Well, what kinds of tools are you looking for?”
“Whatever you can spare. Axes and saws?”
“We don’t want to impose,” Ellen added. “If you haven’t anything to offer, we’d understand.” She ended with a smile.
“Oh, I don’t know. I suppose I could find a few saws ’round here that we don’t need. Might need to put an edge on them.”