Sometimes Things Are Different
Chapter 4
Jess spent the next day frustrated even though he was trying to relax. He had checked on Traveler early in the morning. He would've rather just hit the trail for the ranch, but he knew that his horse needed at least a day's rest. As the morning slowly passed, he realized that he had nothing to do in South Pass City. He dared not go to the saloon, not with Slim's money on him. He walked around the town until he had seen everything twice. Then he went back to the café where he had eaten breakfast and ate lunch since there was nothing else to do. He stayed there drinking more coffee and eating a second piece of apple pie until he was afraid that he would draw attention to himself. So, he went back to his hotel room and flopped down on the bed. Finally, the day was almost over. He made his way to the General Store and bought what he needed for the trip back to Laramie. As soon as he ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, he returned to his room and decided to go to sleep early. After all he wanted to be at the livery to retrieve Traveler just as soon as it was open. He was sure that one day's rest would be okay for his horse as long as he rode at a normal pace on the trip back. When he had left the ranch for South Pass City, he had gone through Medicine Bow; however, he didn't think he should return to the ranch that way. Medicine Bow was a rowdy town, and he wasn't sure that was the place to be with $700 on him. He decided to head south, which would take him through Rawlins. It wasn't that Rawlins was more peaceable than Medicine Bow, but he just had a feeling that he shouldn't return home the same way he had come. Settled on his plan, he soon fell asleep.
However, it wasn't a peaceful night. He dreamed of his very recent trip toward Canada with his brother-in-law, Gil Brady. Although he had told the army sergeant that both he and the sergeant had done the right thing, the whole incident still bothered him. He saw Brady over and over in his dream, and he knew that if it hadn't been for Slim he would've probably drown. He dreamed that the water was overtaking him, and he woke with a jerk. Looking out the window in his hotel room, he saw the faintest hint of light in the sky. It was almost morning. He decided to get on up. He made sure that the money belt wasn't noticeable under his shirt and his jacket.
As soon as he figured the café would be open, he headed there for his last hot meal before he got back to the ranch. Then he gathered all of the supplies that he had bought the day before and went to the livery. He couldn't wait to be on the way home. As soon as he had paid the owner of the livery and saddled Traveler, he headed toward Rawlins. He made sure that he didn't push Traveler too hard. He well knew that it would take him longer than four days to get back to the relay station, but he certainly didn't want for his horse to come up lame. He'd be home in five or six days, and that was jest fine. The weather couldn't have been better. And that was jest fine too.
By the third day on the journey, his luck didn't seem to be holding. He figured he wasn't near halfway to the ranch yet. As he continued riding, the wind seemed to blow much stronger, but it wasn't a cold wind at all. In fact, the air felt very strange to him, and the trial ahead looked either like someone was burning a lot of wood or there was fog rolling in. He figured he wouldn't make Rawlins until the next evening. So, he had to keep going. Hopefully, there wasn't a raging fire ahead. If so, he would have to detour from his original route. But the smoke didn't seem to be getting closer to him. And maybe it wasn't smoke at all. There was no smell of fire or wood. He had pulled Traveler to a stop, and he took notice of his surroundings. Besides the strange misty air, everything looked normal. He urged Traveler forward. However, when he got closer to the foggy air, Traveler suddenly stopped moving forward.
"What's wrong, Boy?" Jess had never known Traveler to be skittish of a little foggy air. He still didn't smell smoke, so he urged Traveler forward. However, the horse wouldn't move. Thinking that Traveler might have picked up a small rock in his shoe, Jess dismounted. He checked all four hooves carefully and found nothing. He had also checked all four of Traveler's legs, and again he found nothing wrong. He went back to his saddle and took his canteen down. He took off his bandana and soaked it with water. Then he took the wet bandana and his canteen around to Traveler's head. He cupped more water in his hands with the wet bandana and held it up to Traveler's mouth. "Maybe your jes' thirsty, huh?"
He was relieved when Traveler took a drink. "Okay, boy, I guess you were jes' thirsty after all. Now let's make some time today." Closing the canteen, he put it back in place and hopped into the saddle. He urged Traveler forward, and to his relief, the horse moved slowly down the trail. The further they went, however, the thicker the fog became. Traveler neighed several times and shook his head, but he continued slowly forward through the fog. It was hard for both horse and rider to see the trail ahead, but they continued slowly forward. Finally, they made it through the fog. In fact the air was soon quite clear, and yet Jess felt that something was very wrong. He didn't know what it was, but he just had a feeling in his gut that there was something different, something was very wrong.