Chapter 16
Jess was extremely relieved when he was able to ride back through Laramie without being stopped by anyone or being forced to speak with anyone. As soon as he left the town, he rode straight to Elk Mountain where he had spent the night on his way into Laramie. He easily found where he had made camp a few days ago and settled down in the same exact spot. Tomorrow he would ride back out to Fort Steele and then on into Rawlins. He was anxious to git back to the fog that he had ridden through on the other side of Rawlins. He would have loved to have ridden further than Elk Mountain; however, he was gonna follow Ceija's directions precisely. He knew he had to spend the nights in the same places that he had on his way to Laramie if he was ever gonna have a prayer of gittin' back to 1870. He took care of Traveler, fixed himself some beans, and laid down on his blanket and saddle. Sleep did not come easily since he kept remembering Andy's hard face and words, the way Slim looked in the wheelchair, and Jonesy's grave. What if he couldn't ever git back to his own time? What if he was stuck in 1889 with no place to feel needed or wanted? Strange, he thought, bein' on his own had been his way of life the whole five years that he had been on the drift. But now that he had experienced jes a taste of belonging, he knew that it would be hard to again accept the loneliness that he had once gotten used to dealin' with. But he wasn't gonna let himself worry about that now. He was determined to make Ceija's plan work or die trying. He was finally able to drift off to sleep, knowing that every day brought him closer to the chance of actually gittin' back to where he knew he now belonged.
Morning came and he carefully followed the trail to Fort Steele. He found it exactly as it had been a few days ago: abandoned, quiet, and lonely. He went through the same motions that he had when he entered the empty fort on his way to Elk Mountain and Laramie. He made sure that he looked at the same buildings, stopped Traveler at the same spot where the hoof prints indicated that he had before, and he kicked in the door to the commander's office just as he had a few days earlier. He felt extremely lonely himself as he rode out of the fort and headed to Rawlins.
When he entered the town, he noticed that things were quite a bit calmer than they had been when he was here before. There was no fanfare and no expected visit from this Governor Warren who had supposedly been reappointed by this new United States President. Jess struggled to remember what he had been told. It came to him as he tied Traveler to the rail outside the General Store. That's rite, he thought, President Harrison is who the U.S. President is in 1889, as least that is what the man had said. Before going into the store, he remembered that he had moved Traveler around to the side alley the other day. He untied Traveler and retied him to the post in the alley jest as he had before. However, Jess was worried that he didn't see the gentleman that he had spoken with the other day. He stood on the boardwalk in front of the store looking over the town for a few minutes. Finally, to his relief, he saw the same man coming toward him.
He grinned with relief as he saw the man coming toward the store. Jess was the first to speak, "Well, I see things are a bit more normal in town today."
The man looked a bit puzzled but then he smiled at Jess in return when he remembered his face, "Oh, yeah, you're that young fella who hadn't been in town fer some time. And yer rite, things are back ta normal 'round here now. Good ta see ya agin, son."
"You too, thanks fer catchin' me up on things tha other day." Jess said as he went into the General Store. He was glad when he saw the same woman at the counter. He smiled at her as he entered the room. He couldn't help but notice that she was wearing another dress with those awfully big sleeves. Remembering what Ceija had told him about not taking anything from 1889 back with him through the fog, he only purchased what he needed for one night on the trail. He knew that he would need to spend jes one more night in the big open before he would git to the part of the trail where he had encountered the fog on his way into Rawlins from the other direction.
As he approached the counter, the woman smiled at him and asked, "If ya want to buy a paper, I imagine there'd be plenty over at the Chronicle's office today."
Jess smiled back at her when he remembered that he had asked to see her paper the other day, "Oh, did you not buy one today?" He tried to give her his most charming smile, hoping that she would let him look at the front page of her paper again today.
As usual, the Jess Harper charm had a pleasing effect on the young woman, "Well, sir, as a matter of fact, I do have today's paper right her on the counter behind me. Would you like to see the front page again today?"
"I think I would." Jess said as he brought what he wanted to purchase to the counter. He knew that he was encouraging this young woman by flirting with her, but this was the best way to make sure that he went through the same actions as he had when he was in Rawlins before. "But don't ya worry, I won't try to take yer paper with me today either."
She smiled back at him as she turned to retrieve the paper from the counter behind her. "Didn't think you would, Mister." She turned the paper around where he could easily read the front page.
Seeing the April 1889 date on this paper also still had an unsettling effect on Jess. It jes looked so strange. He paid the woman for his food, and slid the paper back toward her. "Well, thank ya again, Ma'am." He gave her another one of his endearing smiles. If he had met this pretty woman in 1870, he would most likely have stayed a little longer to continue the conversation; however, today, he jes wanted to git ta the place where he needed ta spend the night on the trail. God, he thought, this all better work. I've got ta fix everything. He put the food in his saddlebag, untied Traveler, and rode out of town. One more night, he thought, and I better find that fog in the same place.