Readers, I posted two chapters (Chapter 5 and Chapter 6) today. Please don't accidentally skip Chapter 5

Chapter 6 – Mounties: Poor and Dead

Jack was working at his desk, when the door opened, and Sarah Rose entered, carrying a small bag. Rip immediately perked up and walked over to the young girl.

"Good morning, Sarah Rose. What can I help you with?"

"I got some scraps for Rip. Can I feed him, Mountie Jack?"

"Of course, you can. He always enjoys a special treat". Jack smiled at how all the town children spoiled Rip.

As Sarah Rose sat on the floor feeding Rip, she watched Jack reading his paperwork.

"Mountie Jack, are Mounties poor?"

"Why would you ask that, Sarah Rose?"

"I heard Miss Thatcher talking to the railroad man the other day. He said Mounties don't make a lot of money like him. He said he had enough money to pay for things that women who were married to Mounties wouldn't be able to afford. "

"What did Miss Thatcher say?"

Sarah Rose shrugged. "I don't know. Something about money's 'ppreciated. Whatever that means. My ma called me over and I didn't hear anything else", she said nonchalantly as she pet Rip.

"Mounties don't care so much about money, Sarah Rose. We do it because it's an honorable job and we like helping people."

Sarah Rose seemed satisfied with his answer. Jack wondered how many people would understand why Mounties did what they did.

Jack realized that Mr. Fenderson was starting to annoy him more and more. I wish he would hurry up with his railroad work and get out of town! And why does Elizabeth enjoy his company so much?, he thought disgruntledly.

Jack felt old feelings come back to the surface, feelings he had had when Elizabeth was in Hamilton and Charles had been wooing her. Jack wondered what else Elizabeth had said in response to Pete's statements about his wealth. "Put that out of your mind," he told himself. She was thrilled to see me last night.

While she had been thrilled last night, Jack knew she wouldn't be thrilled when he told her about the telegram which he had just received that morning. As he put on his jacket, he wasn't looking forward to her reaction.

Elizabeth wasn't thinking about money or telegrams at the moment. She was thinking of Jack being in town for the next two weeks. She didn't want to waste a minute of it. She had told him last night that she wanted to take a sleigh ride through the countryside today. It seemed so romantic, she was getting giddy just thinking about it as she piled on layers of clothing.

As she was packing a picnic lunch and a vacuum flask with coffee, Jack came into the kitchen.

"Jack, I'm so excited! There are some warm blankets by the stairs; would you mind getting them? I'm just finishing getting our meal together. Did you get the sleigh already?"

Before he could answer, she continued excitedly, "I know it's going to be chilly, but I thought maybe we could go to the mine entrance and build a fire and have a picnic. The fire and blankets should keep us warm. Doesn't that sound like a great idea?!"

She didn't wait for a response. "Jack, the blankets, by the stairs, can you get them? Oh, I'm bringing a book to read. Did you bring your sketchpad?"

"Elizabeth, we can't go. I have to leave town", Jack said apologetically.

"What?!" Elizabeth stood there, her mouth open, her eyes wide.

"I'm sorry. I got a telegram this morning.

"But, Jack!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I'm all ready. I've made lunch. I'm wearing three pairs of socks! I have on my new ugly boots!"

Jack smiled when she talked about her new ugly boots, but his smile quickly turned when he saw how upset she was.

"When do you have to go?", she asked dejectedly.

"Now"

"Now?! What do you mean 'now'?!"

"I have to leave now, Elizabeth. I have a long trip."

"When will you be back?"

"I hope to be back in two weeks" Jack said, dreading her reaction.

"But we were supposed to spend time together! You were going to stay in town for the next two weeks!"

She knew she sounded like a spoiled child, but she didn't care. He had promised her this time.

"I promise when I get back we'll spend lots of time together." Jack assured her, as he put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

After a brief hug, Elizabeth pulled away. She unpacked the sandwiches and vacuum flask and handed them to Jack. "Here, you might as well take these for your trip," she said glumly.

As Jack rode away, he had an unpleasant feeling about leaving Elizabeth. Her kiss goodbye had almost seemed obligatory or automatic, rather than filled with the passion they often shared. He knew she was upset, but she also knew he was Mountie.

364 days. 364 days. 364 days. Elizabeth kept thinking as she sat at the kitchen table after Jack left. I told him I would wait 364 days just to spend one day with him, she reminded herself. But this is ridiculous. My goodness, can't we even have a nice romantic day together?!

Elizabeth spent the next week teaching and visiting with the Petersons. She didn't bother to practice her cooking or learn any new recipes. What difference does it make, Jack isn't around enough to try anything, she thought sullenly.

The other Mounties teased Jack relentlessly and called him "lover boy" when they caught him looking at a photo of Elizabeth each evening. He tried to ignore their comments that his relationship with her wouldn't last.

"If she's as beautiful as you say, she must have her choice of suitors just waiting to take your place when you're out of town", they enjoyed reminding him.

"What rich woman would want to give it all up to be the wife of a Mountie? You're not that special, Jack," they chuckled.

Only a few more evenings of these guys, Jack thought as he rode along. They were decent fellows, but they couldn't understand his desire to be with just one woman, or why a woman like Elizabeth would choose him.

It was a beautiful winter day, with the sun causing the snow to glisten. The men had only another 20 or 30 minutes of riding until they reached the next town, and then after two days, Jack would head back to Hope Valley, earlier than expected. Elizabeth would be pleased by that.

Jack was the last of the Mounties riding in single file, each thirty feet apart. The sun was warm on his face and air was still. As the four Mounties rode along the side of the mountain, a rabbit ran by at breakneck speed, trying to outrun a hungry bobcat. One of the horses gave a loud whinny, and then another; the sound echoing in the quiet stillness. The little rabbit had no way of knowing the chain reaction it had set off, not that it would have cared.

The men heard the rumbling. It seemed out of place on what had been a beautiful silent day. In an instant, the Mounties knew they had been doomed by the horse's whinny. "AVALANCHE!" they screamed, just as the snow began crashing down.

Jack yanked on his horse's reins and turned directions, trying to gallop away from the cascading snow. He thought he might just make it to outside of the avalanche's runout zone, that horrible area where the snow and debris finally comes to stop in a high pile.

His horse was fast, but not faster than the snow it was racing. The wave of snow hit the horse's hind legs first, causing them to buckle, and twisting the horse around and around. Jack was thrown over the horse's head and landed 10 feet away from it, a river of snow falling on top of him.

He felt the pain in his ribs, his lungs gasping for breath as he struggled to get up. At first, he wasn't sure if he was face-up or face-down in the cold snow. He tried to control his breathing, but he couldn't. He started clawing and pushing away the lighter colored snow, realizing there was faint sunlight on the other side of it.

When he emerged from the snow, he realized that if he had been thrown a foot or two less, he would have been covered by several more feet of the heavy snow and ice. He knew his horse dead.

Jack stood there stunned. Just moments before, there had been four Mounties and four horses. Now, there was just him. Everything had turned quiet again.

As he surveyed the scene, he looked for any sign of his fellow Mounties, but all he could see were snow and ice. He screamed for the others but heard nothing in response.

Jack began trampling through the deep snow, searching for any indication of where they might be buried. If I can just get to them in time, he told himself.

Everywhere he looked, he saw white. No red serge or black coats, no brown horses – just white.

His heart leaped as he heard yelling.

"JACK, STEVE, MICHAEL?!", Walter yelled as he came riding over a crest into view.

Jack remembered that Walter had been first in the line of Mounties. The first and last men had made it out of the path of the avalanche; Jack galloping to the left, Walter galloping to the right. Steve and Michael had been unlucky enough to be in the middle, too far to reach safety.

Jack and Walter searched and dug through the packed snow for an hour.

By the time they had dug out the faces of Steve and Michael, it was far too late. After marking the areas, and retrieving Jack's saddlebag, Jack got on the back of Walter's horse and they silently rode to the next town.

Jack lay on a cot, his ribs aching. He opened up his saddlebag and retrieved the photo of Elizabeth. It was unusual for a Mountie to be killed in the line of duty. Although it was dangerous work, they were well trained. There was nothing they had done wrong today. They had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jack thought about sending a telegram to Elizabeth, but decided against it. He would be arriving earlier than she expected in Hope Valley, so it's not as if she would be worried about him.

Her past words came back to him. "I don't know if I'm brave enough to spend my life with someone as brave as you."

He remembered how she had been scared by some of his encounters in the past. The avalanche was the closest he had ever come to dying; it was closest he had ever felt to real fear. Was Elizabeth brave enough to handle his life as a Mountie?

He wanted to tell her about the avalanche and his broken ribs when he saw her. He would try to make it seem like it hadn't been too agonizing. Although how you make two Mountie deaths seem anything but tragic, he didn't know.

Walter arranged for more Mounties to arrive, both to handle the duties of the now deceased men, and also to retrieve their bodies for burial.

Jack fell asleep holding the photo of Elizabeth and wishing he was with her. He woke up from a nightmare a short time later. Not wanting to crumple her photo, he placed it back in his saddlebag. I'll be with her soon, he told himself.