Chapter 2
On the afternoon of that first day the clouds began to gather in dark billowing masses. The three Kentucky men scattered to look for a sheltering cave. The Moss family continued to walk steadily through the forest towards the settlement. As thunder started to rumble above them Daniel, Yad and Mingo came back together and reported. Daniel had found a small cave about a half-mile to the north. The entire company followed him and ducked inside. Mingo and Yad dropped their packs and hurried to gather as much firewood as possible before the storm broke. Daniel rushed to fill the coffee pot with water from a nearby spring. The other three stood looking out of the cave mouth as the dark clouds brought an early twilight.
Daniel came back into the cave first. He unpacked the rest of the camp equipment as Mingo came back with his arms full of dry wood. There was no sign of Yadkin. Daniel and Mingo exchanged a look of unease. Suddenly they heard the blonde man shouting for their help. Running side by side, the two friends burst through the trees to find Yadkin up to his hips in a deep hole. He was sinking fast.
"Hurry, Dan'l. This here sinkhole is goin' to gobble me up!"
Mingo uncoiled his whip and the lash whistled through the air and wrapped itself around Yad's chest. The heavy man grasped the leather rope and held on as Daniel and Mingo pulled him free. Just as Daniel grabbed his friend's arm the earth fell away at Yad's feet. Mingo threw himself backwards and Yad fell on top of him. The three men lay panting for several seconds. They could hear the soil continuing to slide into the gaping hole.
"Dan'l, that's as close to Hell as I ever hope to come," Yadkin said softly. "Thanks, Mingo. You saved me for sure. I won't forget it neither."
"You're welcome, Yad. Now please allow me to rise. You're uncomfortably heavy."
Yadkin pushed himself off of Mingo and helped the Cherokee to stand. Daniel stood beside the two brushing the leaf litter off of his shirt. Heavy cold raindrops began to fall through the trees as lightning snaked above them. The thunder shook the forest. Mingo and Dan quickly helped Yad gather the scattered wood he'd dropped. The three men entered the cave just as the sprinkles became a deluge.
The three members of the Moss family sat along the cave walls. Rocky continued his habit of sitting as far from Ivy as possible. The three friends all noticed his behavior and exchanged another uneasy look. Shaking his head, Daniel crushed the dried leaves stuck to his shirt to use as tinder and started a small fire. Mingo unpacked the corn meal. Yadkin took a flaming stick and explored farther into the cave. He yelled and the five people heard a heavy 'thunk'. Mingo met Yad as he returned to the fire carrying a large rattlesnake.
"Meat, Dan'l. Here's one o' them buggers'll not be botherin' nobody tonight."
The Mosses all looked at the dead reptile, their mouths screwed into expressions of revulsion. Yadkin drew his large knife and went to the cave mouth to clean the snake. Mingo readied the frying pan to accept the meat. Yadkin soon returned with two dozen strips of snake meat which he cut to sizzle in the pan. Daniel mixed a batter and stirred it into the skillet. The coffee boiled and the six people sat quietly to eat their meal as the rain poured down and thunder echoed off the cave's limestone walls.
After eating the Mosses and the Kentuckians sat quietly together. The fire snapped and released its welcome warmth. Ivy sat close to it and absorbed the heat. Rocky sat far back in the darkness. Mrs. Moss leaned against the cave wall and dozed. Mingo and Daniel did likewise. Yadkin sat across from Ivy, his face reflecting the thoughts buzzing through his head. Finally he looked at the girl and asked the question on his mind.
"Miss Ivy, why do folks think you're a jinx?"
Ivy swallowed and looked uncomfortable. She looked into the fire for so long that Yad thought the girl wasn't going to answer. Finally she cleared her throat and spoke.
"Mr. Yadkin, ever since I was a little girl strange things happened around me. I was born on a Friday, the thirteenth of April. An old witch woman said I'd have unusual powers because of that. I don't believe it. Neither does my ma. But Rocky does."
Her voice caught and she continued. "We've moved all over because people think I'm strange. Ma told you about Tottenburg. But that's just the last town. We've moved more than twenty times that I remember. Always something happens and I get blamed. I wish I wasn't so different from other folks."
Yad could hear the sadness in her voice. He sighed. "Miss Ivy, I don't think you're strange. I think you're a right pretty girl and someday someb'dy else'll think so too, and you'll settle down and have a nice family. You'll see. Maybe Boonesborough is just the place for you."
Ivy raised her odd green eyes to Yad's. She smiled shyly. Yad felt a cold chill run up his spine. He shifted closer to the fire. Just then a vein of pine resin popped and hit Yad under the left eye. He yelped and jumped to his feet, brushing the burning spark from his stinging cheek. Everyone in the cave jerked awake. From far back in the cave's dark shadows Rocky snorted.
The bright sunlight wakened Daniel first. He was closest to the cave mouth. He sat up and stretched his long arms. Beside him Mingo roused and stretched. The two men glanced at the raw burn under Yadkin's eye. It was the size of a shilling and bright red even though Mingo had slathered it with mud last night. Mingo shook his head and went outside. Daniel followed shortly. Mingo was standing enjoying the peace of the early morning. He beckoned Daniel to his side.
"Daniel, I'm not foolish enough to disbelieve Ivy's strangeness nor wise enough to explain it. But it seems to be real enough. I admit that I'll be much relieved to be free of her company."
Daniel looked into his friend's dark eyes. He knew that Mingo had a deep distrust of the supernatural. Yet he had to admit that something strange was happening. And he too wanted to be free of Ivy's company. And of her mother's. He could hear her forceful voice admonishing Yadkin to wash the burn and apply an ointment that she guaranteed would heal the wound. Yadkin was doing everything in his power to escape her unwelcome attention. They wrestled to the mouth of the cave where Yad implored Daniel for help.
"Mrs. Moss, Yad's been burned before. I'm sure he'll heal just fine. But thanks all the same." Daniel's diplomatic voice overrode Milly Moss and gave Yad the chance to escape. He dashed past Mingo and disappeared into the forest shade. Mingo watched his friend for several seconds, then turned to start the day's breakfast.
A short hour later the company was plodding through the wet woods towards Boonesborough. Rocky's injured leg slowed them down and the walk soon became a leisurely jaunt through the fragrant forest. Ivy walked quietly beside her mother. Mingo and Daniel brought up the rear. The two friends appreciated the silence and each man entertained welcome thoughts of home.
Suddenly Mingo grabbed Daniel's arm. The tall frontiersman reacted at the same time, pushing Mingo aside just as the large dead tree crashed to earth between them. The sound reverberated through the quiet forest. The Moss family turned to stare at the two Kentuckians sprawled several feet apart with the massive tree trunk between them. The two men rose slowly, both faces pale with the understanding that they had barely escaped serious injury or even death.
Rocky shook his head and hobbled on his journey. Milly and Ivy came to stand by the two men. "Well, for two men's supposed to be at home in the woods, I'd say that there tree about got cha. Lucky this time, weren't cha?" She slapped Daniel on the back. "And you too, Injun. Almost met your maker, din' cha?" She hoisted her skirt, shook her head and pulled Ivy to follow Rocky through the trees.
Daniel brushed the debris off his clothes as Mingo picked twigs from his long black hair. Stepping close to Daniel, he parodied Milly Moss. " 'Lucky, we was.' Lucky Ivy wasn't standing beside us! We'd of been crushed for sure."
"Oh, Mingo, that girl had nothin' to do with the tree fallin' and you know it. It's an old rotten tree and the rain loosened the soil around the roots."
Mingo looked several seconds into Daniel's green eyes, then rolled his own. "Have it your way Daniel. But I'm going to go find Yadkin and walk as far ahead of that girl as possible! I'll see you at noon, old friend. And watch your back!"
Mingo was true to his word. He trotted past the Mosses and disappeared into the thick forest. Soon even the sound of his passing ceased. Daniel walked behind his three charges, carefully looking ahead for any sign of trouble. His back he trusted to Providence.
At noon the Moss family and Daniel found the camp built by Yadkin and Mingo. They were roasting a fat turkey and had the coffee pot bubbling. The two friends were sitting side by side obviously enjoying each other's company. They politely rose as the four travelers arrived in their camp. Rocky sank gratefully onto the damp ground. Mingo courteously pulled a log near the fire for Ivy and Milly to sit upon. Yadkin handed out the roasted turkey and cups of coffee. Milly and Ivy shared one, Rocky shared with Yad, and Mingo and Daniel drank from the same cup. The afternoon was warm and soon the two women were nodding on the log.
"Mrs. Moss, we don't have to go as fast as we're goin'. I tend to forget that I've got long legs, and so do Mingo and Yad. And we're all three used to walkin' for days. Please forgive me for settin' too fast a pace."
"Don't fret young fella. But I do admit I'm bushed. Ivy too. And my boy's leg is painin' him right fierce. If you could see your way to restin' an hour so, I'd be much obliged."
Daniel nodded and helped Milly lean back against a nearby tree. Ivy sat beside her mother and was asleep in minutes. Rocky sat propped against the log near the fire. He unwound the cloth from his leg. The three frontiersmen could tell that the wound wasn't healing well. Mingo and Daniel looked at each other. Beside them Yad cleared his throat.
"Young fella, that leg needs some doctorin'. What happened to you anyways?"
Rocky pursed his lips, closed his eyes and leaned back against the log. After several seconds he opened his eyes and looked into Yadkin's ruddy face. "When the wagon went over the edge I tried to stop it. I got pulled a ways and a stick on the ground stabbed into my leg. It hurt like the devil and I bled like a stuck pig. Ma wrapped it up tight and the bleedin' stopped after a while. But it still seeps and hurts pretty bad. I reckon I just need to rest a spell."
Mingo walked to his pack and removed his packet of tea. Pouring the last of the coffee into the tin cups he walked the hundred yards to the rainfilled pond and returned to camp with a full pot of water. He set the pot in the fire and dropped in the entire packet of tea. Daniel pulled his shirt out of his pants and tore off a six inch wide piece all around the bottom. When the tea had boiled for several minutes Mingo removed the pot and allowed the brew to cool. Daniel pushed the cloth piece into the strong tea and together he, Mingo and Yad doctored the deep wound in the boy's thigh.
Rocky sucked in his breath and bit his lip in pain. The three men as gently as possible cleaned the dirt from the wound and squeezed the tea into the hole. The muscle in the boy's leg jumped and twitched but quieted after several minutes. Rocky sighed deeply and fell asleep. Yad rewrapped the leg and then the three friends spent the next hour building a drag for the boy. When Milly wakened she went to join them. Her face was soft and her eyes tender as she watched the three men working silently to help her son.
"Thank you all. You ain't got no call to be doin' that for us exceptin' you're all good Christian men. All exceptin' you, Injun, but I reckon you got a god that's proud o' you too. No offense meant."
Mingo glanced up at the soft words. "No offense taken, Madam. Your son has a serious injury and we are simply doing what is right. We would be poor men if we did not."
"I'd forgot what kind folks is like. You three've given us back our faith in people. Maybe someday when we get settled we can have you all over to dinner. I'm a right fair cook when I'm settled." Her light blue eyes twinkled. "But I ain't cookin' you rattlesnake!"
Yadkin's lips lifted in fun as he replied. "But Miz Moss, rattlesnake's my fav'rite meal!" Milly's light laugh made the three men smile. From beside the tree Ivy's breathless giggle sounded. Mingo finished lashing the branches to the drag as Daniel bent to help Rocky stand and Yadkin wedged the coffee pot containing the tea against the frame. Then Daniel and Yad each took a pole and Mingo helped the young man lie on the drag.
Gathering all three guns Mingo led the way into the late afternoon light. He purposely picked the smoothest route for the drag and the procession slowly walked westward into the setting sun.