Sister Ruth was working a soup kitchen with the local Methodist church in St. Louis. Even when she wasn't actively out on revivals, sharing the gift of faith healing, she liked to feel she was doing something to further God's kingdom.

Ruth chatted with the church woman beside her in between dishing out the stew to the hungry souls that filtered in.

She had just pulled up her ladle to fill another wooden bowl for the lady in front of her when the church woman hollered, "Stop!"

Ruth almost spilled the hot stew on herself in surprise. She looked at the church lady beside her and than she looked at the woman she had been about to serve. The woman was a pitiable creature, ill and hungry. Her face was thin and drawn and there was a hopeless, vacant look in her eye that came when a person had endured starvation for far too long.

"Get out of here," the church lady said to this woman. "Your kind's not welcome here."

"Wait," Ruth said. "I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding." She turned to her fellow volunteer. "Just because she's a lady of the night is no-"

"She's not a lady of the night," the woman interrupted. "She's an actress."

June 1841

Kid pulled out a handkerchief, solid white except for the initials KC monogrammed in black in the left-hand corner. It had been a birthday gift from Ruth. He used it to swipe his very sweaty forehead and then stuffed it back in his pocket.

There was no doubt about it. This wagon wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. The axel was broken. They usually had a spare one, but their last one had broken back in April and they'd never gotten around to replacing the spare. Now they were going to pay dearly for that mistake.

Ruth tapped her nails nervously against the side of the wagon, knowing it was bad news without him saying.

"Near as I can figure we're at least a week away from any folks that can help. At least," Kid said grimly.

"So we have to leave everything we own behind. Well, we got to do what we got to do. The trails are littered with people who have had to do the same. Isaiah's going to be hard to take horseback, but I'll try binding him to me like I've seen some of the Indian women do."

"It's worse than that, Ruth. Water's scare through this blasted part of the prairie and I'm not sure we can take enough water to do us until we get to the creeks the map shows. We'll have to leave our firewood behind, but we can probably get by on buffalo chips. It's the water that concerns me."

"Well, we'll just ride a little faster. That's all."

"We won't be able to ride them too hard. They'll need every bit of the water we do have and if something happens to them, we really will be stranded."

Ruth looked over at the children, Mercy who was almost 5 and 9-month-old Isaiah. They sat on a quilt playing a game of patty cake in the shade of the wagon completely oblivious to the trouble they were facing. And even if they had known, they had complete confidence in their parents to keep them safe.

Like she and Kid should have in God. The faith of a child. She prayed to God then and there before they even unhitched the horses. Kid smiled but joined her in the prayer.

He unloaded everything from the wagon with Ruth's help. They were trying to decide how they could carry the water as it currently set in a large barrel, They could fill the buckets and waterskins and attach those to the saddle, but some of it would be forfeited unless they figured out a better way.

"Maybe it's possible that I can turn the wagon into a 2 wheeled cart," he said, "but that's going to waste precious time that we don't have."

"Do what you think's best. I'm behind you whatever you decide."

Kid should have known to expect miracles by now, being married to Ruth all this time, but it was still a surprise to him when a wagon rolled into sight.

It was the largest wagon they'd ever seen. There was a door and a roof and it had 4 horses pulling it. It was painted a bright red with gold trim, which made it plain they were performers of some sort.

A man in his late 50 or early 60s drove the wagon and halted it when he got to theirs. "You people look in need of some help," he called down from his high perch.

"We are. Is it possible you have room to carry our water and then we can follow you on horseback until we reach a settlement?" Kid asked.

"I can do you better than that. I've got room for all your things. Your children can even ride inside the wagon. It's me, my wife, and my sister. I know they'd be happy to watch the moppets while you ride your horses."

Kid heard the but in his voice. "And what would you want in exchange?"

"As I said it's just me, my wife, and my sister. We had to let 2 of our actors go. If you and your wife would perform with us until we can get replacements why we'd be indebted to you."

Kid looked at Ruth. Ruth looked at their things. It would take a long time to replace all their quilts, their benches, their cot, just to name a few things, but most importantly it would ensure their water lasted. Saying yes could literally mean the difference between life and death. The idea of acting didn't thrill her, but unlike a lot of ministers, she didn't count it a sin either. "You've got yourself a deal, brother."