There wasn't going to be another train for two days so a frustrated Nathan figured that they were back at square one and had lost their chance but Susan soon told him where she had sent Peter. "Nathan, I only just remembered a friend that we had years ago who has now taken a position as a head nurse at a hospital I believe in the city of Masterton. I now find out from his mother in Ashford that Christine is a nurse somewhere in a place called Hope Valley so she might have done her study with her, I think that this is at least a good start, but, oh dear, another five minutes and I could have sent him home." Despite this setback, she was pleased to find out that Christine had such good people who were going well out of their way to help her so, arm in arm with the two Mounties, she led them to her cart and invited them home for a late lunch.
She asked them all about the little town of Hope Valley and how they came to find out about how the captain was looking for his wife. She was all ears as Nathan spoke, "We all found out that this really a small world, it turns out that our schoolteacher is the daughter of the owner of the shipping line that Peter worked for. One thing led to another and, with the help of some information from her father, she discovered with a huge shock that Christine was the wife who he was looking for. We all know her as Christine Glover and you can imagine the huge shock that Elizabeth got when she found out that her maiden name was Pennington. We would have had him by now if not for the storm." Nathan smiled at her, "all this rushing around is interrupting my wedding plans and Simon's for that matter."
You must meet my fiancé, Fiona someday, she has knack of finding ways to get me into trouble and taking huge pleasure from it. I was nearly thrown out of the store just because I knew her." He described the broken toe routine that tricked Ned and made Florence laugh. Susan grinned and thought of how she loved to tease Ted in the post office, "I know just the man who I'm going to try that out on." she said with a cheeky grin. Nathan went very defensive and looked frightened, "I guess the thought of inviting you to my wedding might not be such a good idea." Susan laughed and her mind seemed to be taken off Peter for a while now that she was in the company of these two Mounties, "Simon, you have wedding plans as well, what's she like?" He didn't go into too much detail but Susan nearly fell off the chair when he described how Janie had to ask for the ring after he had proposed, "she has never let me forget it and she has told everybody." She took both their hands in hers and with a tear in her eyes, "Peter, since his return and his search for Christine, has been able to find members of my family all over the country, ones who I may never have heard of again and now there are you two who I consider part of my family. Our country is vast and we are all spread out everywhere but that is not going to stop us anymore.
She took them outside and decided to give them a glimpse of the property and they needed to do it on horseback. She always seemed to have the use of a cheeky side of her personality, "I have a couple of gentle ponies if you have any difficulty with riding a horse. I can show you how to saddle him if you like," as she grinned at Simon. She knew that they had spent years on horses as mounted police and it all came natural to them. "I'm sorry that David can't be with us, he has much more work now that our helping hand had to resign and shift back home with a sick father." Her breath was nearly taken away to see these two men in full uniform for her astride their horses.
Nobody had reported in at any office that they had seen two men passing through in their direction and that was now becoming even more of a concern for Virgil, so much so that he decided to ring and talk again with Earl Grey. All he wanted was to talk to Tully and Adrian and let them know that, in no uncertain terms that he and many of the men felt that they had been given a raw deal. Earl had not let the grass grow under his feet also and he himself had tried to contact some of the telegraph people who might have seen them but without any success. "Earl, thank you for your patience with this, but I have to tell you that I am getting worried about those two men. If you have any luck in finding where they are, please keep this in mind, I don't care what anyone else says, they are good people and they deserve better than the hand that they've been given. I am annoyed with myself that I never spoke up on their behalf."
The two men had camped outside in the courtyard at Rainsford and had woken with the sun the next morning and were now getting ready to leave early. Mrs Wallace would have none of it and insisted that they at least wait and have some breakfast before they departed. She was very concerned for both of them but especially for Adrian as he had hardly spoken a word other than to say thank you for letting him sit in the church. She felt that for some reason, no one was allowed in anymore and he would become very withdrawn. It wasn't lost on her how he had shown his good manners from a good upbringing when he had thanked her for letting him sit in the church yesterday afternoon and she wondered whether it had done anything for him, especially if he had felt that he had something to repent about.
Most of the folk of Rainsford were early risers as there was little time for busy people to be sleeping in after the sun rose in the sky so there were three ladies talking amongst themselves out in the street and one had smiled at Adrian. He could barely raise a watery smile himself in return and his face soon fell again as he continued with saddling his horse in preparation for their journey as the sun had gradually rose beyond the horizon to warm the day. They had been allowed to have a little campfire overnight which had burnt out long ago but the smell of smoke was still there. Tully was closely inspecting his saddle whereas Adrian had gone over to make doubly sure that their campfire was completely out. He scattered the ashes with his feet but strangely, there was still smoke somewhere, he heard a crackle and he casually looked around. Another crackle ensued which raised his attention and then he could see plumes of smoke coming from one of the houses.
There was a scream as one of the three ladies saw the smoke and then there were flames and more crackle. "Millie!" she screamed, "Where's Millie, my baby girl, she's in there!" She was frantic and hysterical and suddenly she was racing for the front door. Adrian hurried and stopped her and shouted, "Where is she?" The mother cried, "she's in her bed in the back room." The flames were getting higher in the wooden building and the heat was unbearable. The house was well alight by now and parts of it were collapsing already. Without a though Adrian rushed inside trying to shield himself against the intense heat and the smoke was overpowering. He could hardly keep his eyes open and see so he had to feel his way along the passage. He could hear the poor little girl screaming so he followed the noise as best as he could. A ceiling from one room collapsed as he ran through burning walls and broken glass.
Tully kept the mother from franticly trying to enter the burning wreck behind Adrian. They were forced back by the heat and parts of the front windows which were exploding into the front yard. There was no sign of Adrian and they feared the worse as the smoke had filled the house and the noise of the fire was deafening. They heard the ceiling collapse from outside and the mother became even more hysterical, she knew she was losing her little baby girl. She had only left her for a minute to talk to the other ladies in the street and she never dreamed that anything like this could happen.
Adrian could hardly breathe as there wasn't any air left in the house and the smoke was unbearably dense and hot but he was running on adrenalin by now. He could still hear the little toddler screaming and coughing with smoke inhalation but he knew that she was still alive. He tried to open his eyes and he could see her sitting on the bed as the flames started to take over her room. He was badly burned himself as he grabbed her and turned to try and find his way out. Just seconds after he picked her up, the bed suddenly caught fire and he could feel that the ceiling in this room was about to fall. He hugged her tightly to his chest and found his way and stumbled back on his way into the hallway just as that ceiling and other parts of the home were collapsing all around him. They were surrounded by fire and billowing smoke but he just had to keep moving to where he thought that the front door was. He could hear things exploding in other rooms and the fire was so fierce but now he just had to try and run even though he couldn't see anymore. The structure collapsed completely just as he came out from the front and into the garden.
He was unrecognisable now that he was completely burnt from the heat and the fire and, as he stumbled to the ground he nearly crushed the little girl but he rolled just in time. Tully grabbed him and the child and dragged them clear of the fire which was completely out of control. The mother rushed to them and grabbed her baby daughter and thankfully she appeared alright except for having to suffer with the effects of the smoke. They were stunned to see Adrian lying there in agony from burns from head to toe, He couldn't see but he was able to ask Tully, "is the little girl okay?" Tully could barely raise a voice for his friend, "she's going to be alright Adrian thanks to you." Adrian put his arm out for Tully, "Hey Tully, tell Fred Burns, I'm sorry." He was no longer breathing and you couldn't tell whether his eyes were open or shut but now mercifully, he was no longer in pain.
Soon the fire continued to burn but now the ferocity of it had started to die away. Tully just sat there on the ground mesmerized with his friend in his arms totally broken and stunned. It was only a few minutes ago when they were getting ready to leave and in fact, the horses were standing obediently waiting, now Adrian was gone and it all seemed unbelievable. Tully couldn't mutter a word and he could hardly blink. What he felt before was nothing compared to this as now his friend was lifeless in his arms and soon he was going to have a realisation that it was all his fault. Mrs Wallace came and sat with Tully, she looked sadly at Adrian and could hardly believe what she was witnessing. She was a strong woman but she started to sob as she had loved that young man even though she had only known him for half a day.
This was going to be another long haul for Nathan and Simon, they were back on the train again but now they knew that they were two days behind Peter and hopefully, whoever he would talk to, would know where he was going after that. It was now going to be necessary to leave this train at Banfield, a little town that they had passed through before, and take a stage to link up with another train on another line which would eventually get them to Masterton which was a major city. They thought how ironic it was as they looked up and down the carriage thinking that last time, Captain Peter Glover was with them all the time and they didn't even know it. They were happy that there was no arrogant young whippersnapper here this time to keep them company and help ruin the journey. Nathan would reflect on Susan's words about Peter having reunited her scattered family. There was now a renewed confidence that Peter was going to be found a lot sooner than later. He smiled to himself as he recalled the cheeky glint that she had in her eyes when she said as she saw them off at the station, "Boys, I'm coming to your weddings."
To say that Masterton was a big city was an understatement, it seemed, to a tired but wide eyed Peter that the train had been gliding through the suburbs for the last ten minutes and the railway station was still not in sight. There had been no letup on the journey as the stage had strict time constraints to make sure that it would meet up with the other train heading to Masterton. One of the few notable events occurred when a gentleman produced a flask to a lady as he had noticed that her two boys were thirsty after spilling their own drink. Peter thought that this was quite a pleasant change from the unacceptable performance of the young and rude Mr Monroe recently. He was confident that Mr Monroe was going to get his just desserts after having to be restrained by those two men on the train. He was thankful that he didn't have to cart his kit around with him and that it was safely in the care of Doctor Carla back at Ringwood.
There was nothing that anybody could do, the house had become an inferno before anyone could react but, even so, there was little that could have been done to save it. All the townsfolk were stunned at the sight of the smouldering mass and they could hardly bring themselves to look at the young man lying there in the street. Mrs Wallace didn't even try to console Tully as they sat there together. Tully just sat still with his friend, "I got him into this and now I've got him killed." She looked at him and saw how shattered and distraught he was even though he was just sitting quietly there with Adrian. It had been all over in about three minutes and it was going to take him forever to try and understand what had young Adrian done to deserve what had happened to him.
The nearest major police presence was about one hundred miles away at Union City. There were still standard telegraph facilities in all of the outlying towns but now many had the upgrade and now the use of the telephone system. This was a very serious matter and Mrs Wallace's husband had decided, being the only cool head in the town to place an urgent call. He persevered with no luck at a response as there were only so many lines available at any one time. He decided to send a telex in advance of his phone call, 'house fire at Rainsford, one fatality, please respond urgent'. He hoped that this message would be received and they, at Union City would call very quickly. He stayed at his post but he badly wanted to know about the condition of the little girl after she had suffered the smoke inhalation.
A message soon appeared from the telegraph, 'phone call imminent, please stand by'. Within thirty seconds the phone rang, "This is Constable Raymond White at Union City, we received your telex concerning the house fire and we understand that someone has perished." He then heard the anxiety in the voice from the other end. "Sir, I am Anthony Wallace, owner of the general store in Rainsford and we've had a bad accident this morning. A house has gone up in flames and a man has died rescuing a little girl from it." Constable White could hear the shock in Mr Wallace's voice and he knew that he had to take action quickly. "Sir, do you know the condition of the little girl?" Mrs Wallace was still sitting in the street with Tully who was still repeating how that it was he that caused the death of his friend. Mr Wallace said, "I have been inside the shop for the whole time and all I know is that the young man saved that little child's life."
Peter stood alone on the big platform in the huge train station as the train slowly rumbled past him and pulled away from the station to continue on its long journey eastwards. He could see right from the outset that this wasn't going to be as easy as he and Susan might have thought. As he had now seen, Masterton was a very big dot on the map and now, being here in person, to see the endless number of cars and lights and people, only served to reinforce how big this place really was. He had travelled a long distance primarily on a belated suggestion from Susan and now the thought of just having to walk across the road to the hospital and this lady would be waiting for him suddenly became just a pipe dream. There were probably any number of hospitals in a metropolis like this and that lady nurse might not even be here anymore. She might have got married at some stage over the years and be long gone ages ago. He looked up and down the long platform and he decided that he had never felt so lonely. He could see all the people hurrying along going about their business and here he was looking like he had no purpose at all. He hoped that he wasn't going to all this toil for nothing and that Christine hadn't moved on in her life. "I'd better snap out of this and get on with it," he thought as he decided to get himself into gear.
Constable White had the important job of communications at the station and a telegraph and phone call like this one was of major importance and in need of quick priority action. He had taken down all the details and hurriedly reported them to Captain Edwards. They could do little for the fatality but now there was a little child involved that may require urgent medical care. While they were arranging to ring the hospital, they opened and spread out the maps to see where Rainsford was. They soon calculated that it was about a hundred miles away and even in a car, it would take most of the day to get there on a dirt road. The others in the station could see the anxiety and they started to wonder what had happened. In the meantime, Constable White was instructed to ring back to Mr Wallace at Rainsford and find out whether they had access to anyone in the district with medical experience who could see to the little girl in the interim. He was also given the job of trying to track down Earl Grey who had been away for a couple of days checking many of the towns along the way in the direction of Cape Fullarton. He was at a town called Lenswood and he had asked the local telegraph officer to telex Constable White back at the station of his whereabouts. He was about twenty miles away from Rainsford which was out of the way as far as he was concerned so the chances of the two men being there were slim.
They got through to the hospital when the telex from Lenswood came through. Constable White replied immediately and instructed a surprised Earl Grey to stand by awaiting further orders. Doctor Parker was called to the phone and made aware of the urgent nature of the situation. This was certainly not the first time that they had been called by Captain Edwards and it most definitely wouldn't be the last, "Yes captain, I understand, I will organise things from here and get underway as soon as possible. Earl had passed through some of the little villages and his enquiries had not revealed any information about any unknown men on horses passing through the district so he was just waiting now as instructed. It was patently obvious to him that something had gone terribly wrong somewhere.
The city was a forbidding place to be when you were on your own and feeling tired and hungry. There was an information desk at the entrance to the railway station where he could make some enquiries. There were a lot of questions that he could have asked but right now it was well into the afternoon and he was looking for a place to stay and somewhere to eat. There would be time in the morning to find out about how many and where all the hospitals might be and he could make plans after that. There was a multitude of well-presented hotels close by to choose from and all of them apparently had a dining room. All he had to do, according to the man on the information desk was to wander up the left side of the street and hope that he would find one with vacancies. It was early evening by now and there was a hustle and bustle of people hurrying and cars motoring along the wide street, something he had not seen for many years. He saw happy young couples hand in hand rushing along smiling at each other and it was now that he starts to feel very lonely being on his own in this place. It was all so different now after four years at sea.
Five minutes went by and the clicking of the telex machine started, Earl Grey was handed the message immediately, 'C. Grey. Proceed to Rainsford. House fire. Fatality'. He urgently sought out a map and located the out of the way little village of Rainsford which appeared to be about fifteen miles away from here. He commandeered an additional horse from the man at the telegraph office and began his journey and made haste for the little town. He steeled himself as it was a possibility that he, being the first person of authority to arrive at the scene may have the horrible task of breaking bad news to family members somewhere. He knew how to rotate horses so that they would get some sort of a break and that would get him there much quicker.
Maybe no news can be good news most of the time but in this case Virgil was becoming more impatient by the minute so he had decided to try and phone Earl Grey again and see if he had seen or heard of the two men who may be in his vicinity by now. He was sure that Tully would eventually try and rectify the situation with Judge Avery so they must be somewhere in that neighbourhood by now. He couldn't get through for quite a while so he anticipated that traffic over the wires must be busy for a time. He knew that Earl would let him know the minute that he heard anything but he was still impatient so he persevered with his attempt at a phone call. Constable White eventually was able to advise him that Earl Grey was unavailable for the time being as he was ordered to attend a house fire where a fatality had occurred this morning and, of course, this would take precedent over anything else.
Peter eventually found his way along the street and saw a hotel with a sign on the wall indicating vacancies so he walked inside, happy to get out of the cold breeze that had come in as the daylight disappeared for the day. He had gone past two others where the sign showed that they were full up and he started to worry that he might have to face the prospect of spending the lonely night on the street, something that didn't appeal to him very much. He couldn't believe that he survived the two long train trips with the two hour stage trip in between. He felt as if he was wasting away so, after signing in and finding out where his room was, he set out for the dining room. He was pleased to be welcomed into the company of an elderly couple who frequently dined at this hotel and they could vouch for the quality of the establishment. They had been curious at seeing a dashing young man in a naval officer's uniform and they had asked him to join them for dinner.
Earl had made good time and he knew that the horses were going to be in need of a good reward for their efforts. He slowed down when he could see some buildings in the distance and he noticed the slow rising plumes of smoke where the fire would have been. This was not going to be a good experience and he dreaded the thought of seeing good people who had lost a loved one and how he might be having to break the news of a tragedy to somebody somewhere. This was part of the job, but everyone hated the thought of being in this position because no amount of training could be enough to make you ready for something like this. He rode on carefully and started to anticipate what might be there awaiting him in the town.
The elderly couple in the dining room were delighted to have Peter the naval captain keep them company and they tried hard not to bombard him with so many questions. This in turn was just what Peter had needed after the long arduous journey to get here, he volunteered some of his experiences from the sea duty but they were most interested in his search for Christine and how it had brought him all the way here to Masterton. They were able to help him with the names and locations of the six major hospitals in the city and surrounding suburbs, "but captain, there are countless numbers of surgeries and clinics to also consider. Although, if this Sonya is so highly qualified, she would be in charge in one of these hospitals if in fact she is still here. Our daughter Marjorie is returning home from a nursing study tour in a few days. She has been in Hamilton and when she gets back we will ask her if she knows anyone called Sonya. You will need to leave your contact details with us and wherever go may be."
Earl rode slowly and deliberately past the little church and soon he saw the remains of the house which had now been reduced to ashes. It had been home to a family and now the fire had cost the life of maybe one of the parents. Earl needed some deep breaths as he climbed down from his horse. He could see a man sitting on the ground and, as he gulped, there was a figure in his arms which must be the fatality. Some people were gathered across the road and there was a mother with a little girl who was coughing repeatedly in her arms. They looked at the Mountie with blank faces as he remained as quietly as he could be as he made his way over to the general store to try and find the person who first raised the alarm. He found a distraught Mr Wallace, "thank God you are here sir, we've had the most terrible tragedy. The house just started burning out of nowhere and Nancy was screaming for her child, I can't believe how the fire took hold so quickly." Mr Wallace stumbled and sat down with his head in his hands and snivelling, "sir, I've never seen anything like this….." and then he could no longer find any words. Earl put a kind hand on his shoulder and asked him to stay inside by the phone just in case.
Earl wandered back outside and saw that the man was still sitting on the ground hugging the deceased person. It was such a sickening sight that was presented to him and he nearly fainted as he slowly went over to the man. The body of whoever it could have been was severely burnt and it was totally unrecognisable. It took all the strength and poise that he could muster to try and maintain some professionalism but he knew that he had just seen something that would be with him for the rest of his life. He thought that no amount of training could prepare you for something like this. He saw the charred body of a person lying on the ground, maybe someone's son or even a husband, a life cut short when it shouldn't have had to happen. He knew that it was his job to find out what had happened here this morning. He had to keep an open mind and hoped that somebody would be able to talk with him. He was the first responder and these folks were going to depend on him so he needed to get himself together soon. The ladies were still there and they looked on in disbelief and they were trying to calm the little child who was in a distressed state. It was conceivable to him that one of those ladies might be the wife of the deceased so he left them to each other for the moment. He told them that a doctor and nurse were on their way.
That very nice husband and wife had saved Peter from having to ask a lot of questions at the hotel desk about where all the hospitals were located in the city. He could spend a fortune on phone calls but instead, he asked at the hotel desk for the location of a police station in the district. He had this brilliant idea that the police would have access to all the phone numbers of all the hospitals and they might even know some of the people working there. There surely would be some contacts available who could help him find out whether there was a Sonya Radcliffe somewhere in the system. There was no cause for jubilation yet because even finding her in this city may not help in finding Christine if they had gone their separate ways over the years.
It was a brisk ten minute walk to the nearest police station which was a two story building set back a little which housed many staff. There had been a choice of three stations and this was the largest of them and it just happened to be within walking distance. The loneliness had abated for the moment and he was happy that at least he had a plan of some sorts. There were three officers in uniform on the busy main counter and Peter could see that he would have to be patient and wait his turn as there were many people with a myriad of enquiries that needed attention. Some people of all different shapes and sizes showed their marked disapproval at the response that they had received from the officers and some would storm off in annoyance. Others were grateful for the action that the officers provided and, even if they had to wait, they offered thanks to the hard working men behind the counter. Peter even noticed the occasional man being taken past him in handcuffs probably to an interview room and then to a cell. He was becoming less sure by the minute that he would be given much more than the time of day judging by all the commotion in here.
His turn finally arrived and he fronted up to the counter in his naval officer's uniform which surprisingly seemed to go unnoticed by the officer attending to him. "Good morning," came the curt acknowledgment, "How can I help you?" There were many people lining up to be served so Peter was expected to state his business and then they could all get on with it. The young officer was looking at Peter and waiting intently for his enquiry, "I'm making enquiries to try and find my wife," The young officer excused himself and soon returned with a form which he handed to Peter, "What's this?" asked a surprised Peter. "It's a missing persons application as you can see, please complete the listed questions and details and return it here to me." The young officer was now ready for the next person in line. "I'm sorry officer, it's not like this, I've been away for four years and I'm now trying to track her down wherever she may be." The young officer was now rather careful as there had been many cases appearing innocently like this but turned out to be of a domestic violence nature. "Where was the last place that you saw her?" was the first of some ridiculous questions that were to come. Peter thought to himself that if he had this young man back on his ship, he would make sure that he would become very acquainted with a mop and bucket very soon in his career, "When you get to the end you start again," was the thought in Peter's mind.
An older, more experienced officer noticed the significance of Peter's uniform and told the young officer that he would take it from here. "You must excuse that young man; experience comes with more years than what he has to show for, but we are patiently hoping for the best. Sir, would you please come into a more quiet area and tell me what it is you were trying to convey." Peter drew a relieved breath and followed the officer into a small room. "I couldn't help overhearing that you have been away for some years and your uniform counts for something as far as we are concerned. I would presume that this might have included some degree of sea duty. I am honoured to meet you sir and my section here is at your service with anything that we can do for you. Firstly sir, tea or coffee?"
The lady who had been sitting with the man on the ground for all this time put her reassuring arm around him and then got up as she had seen the Mountie arrive before. Earl could see that she was trying to be strong for the man whoever he was but now she was close to having a letdown as she clutched Earl's arm. "I only knew that young man for half a day and I could see that he was very troubled," she sobbed, "I wanted so much to help him but no one was allowed in his heart anymore." She cried in Earl's arms, "he saved that little girl's life, she would have died if not for him." He took her over to an outside chair and sat her down before she fell down. He could see that it was going to take some time before he would be able to get any real answers as to what had happened. "There will be a doctor and nurse arriving soon and they will be able to look at the little girl and see if she is okay. My name is Earl Grey and I'm from Union City but I was close to here when I got the word."
Earl sat with her and comforted her as she tried ever so hard to regain her faculties. She knew that she had to be a strong woman in order to live out here on the frontier but she could see the young man's eyes as he had asked her whether he could go and sit in the church for a while last evening. She, like all the others was traumatised but slowly her breathing was getting a little more settled and relaxed as she clung to Earl tightly. He could see that the people of this town had witnessed something this morning that nobody should ever have to experience. He wasn't going to press her with any questions for now until it looked like she was ready.
"Thank you constable for being here for us, I'm Mrs Wallace and that is my husband in the shop over there who raised the alarm." That was about all that she could manage for the moment and she clung onto Earl so tightly as she cried. "I couldn't even bring myself to ask him his name, he was so withdrawn. Something bad happened to him and he was all alone, now he's gone." Earl wondered who that man was who was just sitting there, maybe he was a father or a brother to the deceased and he had unfortunately witnessed the entire event. Mr Wallace came out and informed Earl that there was a phone call for him from Union City. He sat down with his wife and they both wept in each other's arms. Earl was now expected to make some sort of a report and he didn't know whether he would be able to even speak on the phone, such was his state of mind after what he had seen so far this morning. The man at the other end could hear that Earl had picked the phone up, "Earl, this is Raymond here, have you got any information on the report that we received earlier?" He could tell that all was not well and he remained very patient with him. He could hear all the deep breaths that were coming from the other end of the phone, "Ray, by the time I got here to Rainsford about twenty minutes ago, the house was completely destroyed and the fire is out and someone has been burnt to death. The only thing that I know is that one lady here said that whoever he was, saved the life of a little girl and paid for it with his own life." He paused after realising what he had just said, "I've never seen anything like this ever before. It makes me shiver to think that it might be his daughter that he saved." Raymond said how he would report straight to the captain, "Hang in there my friend, Doctor Parker and Janie are on the way and they will be there soon.