Chapter 4 Somethings burning and it is not love
The doctor had checked on Candy and had determined that the sharp pain was indigestion.
"Sometimes they can give you indigestion and it can feel like a sharp pain. What have you eaten today?" Dr. Wright asked as she put the stethoscope into her bag.
"Well, the usual, bacon, eggs, biscuits and of course I remembered my vitamins. Coffee and tea." Candy listed her food for the day and then Allyn asked her:
"How much water have you drank and have you had any fiber or fruit today?" Candy looked at her sheepishly and said:
"Well, to tell you the truth, I drank a lot of coffee and haven't even thought of water? Or fiber or fruit? Of course, fruit isn't in season yet. So that is probably why I haven't eaten any." Candy said to Allyn who looked at her and said:
"Do you still have some jams or preserves left over from last falls harvest?"
"Only, one or two jars, why?"
"I want you to start eating oatmeal in the morning, with some kind of fruit, no coffee or tea just plain water. I know the water isn't exactly that good but try. I think that you will need that more than anything else. Try to eat less fat more protein as well!" Allyn said to Candy. She looked at Jeremy and said:
"Make sure she eats the oatmeal every day, Jeremy!" Dr. Wright told him and he said:
"Will do, I will put the feed bag on her every morning!" Allyn looked at Candy and stepped quickly out of the door. She saw what Candy was holding and she did not want to be in the middle. Jeremy turned around and just as he turned, Candy threw a pillow at him and hit him! He smiled and asked:
"What did you do that for?" Candy looked at him and said to him:
"What you said just now!" He looked at her and said:
"I just said I would put a feed….OH, I am so sorry, Candy! I was making a joke, please forgive me!" He knelt on one knee and with his deeply blue eyes looked at her. She started to laugh and he stood up.
"I forgive you, as long as you don't say anything to anyone about what you said. That is embarrassing, I am not a horse, I am a human being!" He came over to her and hugged her and said:
"Yes, you are a human being my love, I love you with all my heart, I promise to think before I make another joke like that again!" he embraced her and they kissed.
Barnabas was worried that night, he was happy that Biddie was pregnant. He really dd not want to kill her, he loved her, but he did not know how to break free of his brother. He wondered if there was a way to get Victor out and away from Biddie and him. He had moved to Seattle to be away from his brother but it didn't seem far enough.
The next morning, Jason and Aaron met and planned to travel together to Olympia where they could talk to their respective lawyers. They had to clear the inheritance issues and contract issues before it ruined both of their businesses.
"Aaron, have you received anything from your lawyers yet?" Jason asked as they were having lunch at Lotties.
"I expect to hear from them soon, have your lawyers contacted you?" Jason took a bite of his sandwich and said:
"I heard from my lawyer, he says he will have a meeting set up with your lawyer and my lawyer." He took a drink of his beer and then he said:
"My lawyer Mr. Fernwood has asked if we have seen Victor Smith? He knows that Barnabas and Biddie are married but he is concerned that Victor maybe up to his old tricks again." Aaron finished his sandwich and took a sip of his coffee and said:
"I have seen him here, seems he was visiting Biddie and Barnabas, then I think he stayed overnight…Oh, he is coming down the stairs now! Did you want to talk to him?"
"No, there is something that my lawyer informed me of and he wants me to keep an eye out for anything that looks suspicious. I will tell Joshua and Jeremy later today." Jason excused himself. He was finished with his meal and he needed to get back up to the mountain to supervise his crew. Jeremy and Joshua had their crews and sometimes they would take a break at a different time than Jason. Depending on what was happening. Aaron said his good byes and he also left to go to his office but he stopped at Ben's and found a message for him from his lawyers as well.
Big Swede and Corky had been scouting the area they had smelled smoke and worried that there might be a fire. As they went south they smelled more smoke. Just as they got up to a clearing they saw it. It was a tiny little fire, but it was very smoky. They went over and used the water they had carried to put it out. Then they used a shovel to bury the burning embers and poured more water on to it. Wakando came up to them at that moment and asked what they were doing?
"Well, sir, we are putting out a fire, we found! Is there a problem?" Swede asked.
"No, that is not a problem but someone has been starting little fires here in the forest. I have been checking to find out who is doing this!" Wakando said:
"Well, we are putting them out!" said Corky ready for a fight. Big Swede put his hand on Corky's shoulder and said:
"Do you think we have been doing that?" Swede asked looking straight at Wakando and a couple of his men.
"No, I do not. But I do know that there is someone up here because we have seen a campfire first on that hill, then on the next hill." Wakando pointed to Longmire Hill and then to Bird Canyon. Swede looked in that direction, he did not see smoke at that moment, but he smelled it again. Not the smoke they had just put out but smoke that had been started somewhere else. Wakando smelled it as well.
"I will go that way towards the smoke, you circle around and maybe we can work together to end this before it gets started!" They agreed and headed the opposite direction. Joshua was up there and had seen Wakando with Swede, he caught up to them and asked what was happening. Wakando had left, Swede filled him in and so the three of them went together.
Jason was heading up to the mountain when he smelled smoke. He got to the camp and saw that no one was in camp. But he still smelled smoke. He went to the other end of the camp and saw a small amount of brush that had just started to burn. He went over right away to stamp it out. But just as he began to do that, he was hit on his head with the back of shovel.
He was dragged away from the fire and tied up and placed in one of the tents. The men that did it had not said anything nor would they. Jason was unconscious and they left him in the tent, tied up.
The men got on their horses and rode off in a different direction as the camp and the fire. Which had begun to start climbing the trees. There was a slight breeze that afternoon and no one knew what was coming.
Chapter 5 And the flames went higher
Jason woke with a start; the camp was lit up like a torch. He was tied inside the tent to the tent pole. He could smell the smoke and knew he only had a little time before the flames would latch onto the tent and burn it down. He could hear the men outside trying to stop the fire. It was too late though; the fire had gotten out of hand. Without water or rain, there was no way to stop the fire. Wakando showed the loggers how the Indians had learned to start a fire behind the fire to burn towards it so that it would stop burning.
"Sometimes it may take a few days, we have to watch at a safe distance!" he said to Swede and Corky and Joshua. Jeremy rode up on Brownie and asked about the camp.
"I am sorry, but I have a feeling all will be lost. There is no way to go back now!" Wakando said.
"Has anyone seen Jason?" Josh asked, They all looked at each other, even Jeremy looked at the others. Wakando said that he had not seen Jason since the day before. Suddenly, Jeremy had a very bad feeling, Josh was sick to his stomach, they looked at each other and since Jeremy was on his horse, he rode to the camp.
"Your brother will not get there in time, he may get hurt himself." Wakando said and then two braves, who knew Jeremy and Joshua since they had played together at camp once when they were younger, got on their horses and followed Jeremy. Joshua would have gone as well but Swede held onto him.
"Josh, one of you has to stay here. If they both die, you will be the one to keep this going!" Swede said to him. Josh calmed down and stood there.
Back in town, Aaron looked at the fire and looked at the sky. Not a cloud in the sky. He worried, he had not seen a forest fire this bad since he had lived in Seattle. He talked to Lottie and told her to have the women and any men in the town get wagons ready. Candy and Biddie were already packing. Barnabas came in and started to help them. Molly and Christopher had been at school but Miss Essie sent everyone home. Those in the neighboring farms were to bring their wagons so that they could get to Tacoma before the fire. Clancy had set his ship ready for anyone that needed to get away from the fire at the last minute.
"Candy, I am sure that Jerremy is okay. He and Jason and Joshua have everything under control!" Biddie said trying to help Candy remain calm. They packed everything with the help of Molly and Christopher, Barnabas helped to get the things for Biddie and him in the wagon as well. He acted worried and scared. He had Biddie get in the wagon with him. Candy also got in the wagon with Biddie and Barnabas. Christopher was driving her wagon with his sister.
"Mrs. Bolt, why don't you go to your own wagon! I am taking care of Biddie!" he said to her. Biddie looked at Candy because they knew each other so well. Candy said:
"We are both pregnant. I know my little brother would try his best if something happened, he isn't as strong as a man is. And besides, Biddie and I need to support each other!" Barnabas could not say anything to that logic. So, he slapped the reigns and headed out of Seattle.
Down the road halfway to Tacoma, an old, abandoned cabin was located, Victor and a few 'friends' were waiting for the people from Seattle. Well, not just any people. He was waiting for Barnabas and Biddie. His plan was to Stop only Barnabas and Biddie. Then later that night Biddie would have an 'accident' and die. His other plan to take over the mountain was working splendidly. All he had to do was get Jason was out of the way Then he would be able to get rid of the other two quite easily after that. Then he would be able to get the mountain, reissue the contract with Stemple, get his business and run the town of Seattle. If his brother didn't like it, he could die too.
The door opened and Ralph came in. He had just come from the camp where he had started the fire along with two friends.
"Hey boss, I think we killed the oldest Bolt!"
"What do you mean, well, he was going to put out a fire and then, I jumped him with a shovel, knocked him out, then put him in a tent and tied him to the tent pole." Ralph said this laughing out loud.
"What is so funny!" Victor asked
"Well, I tied him to the tent pole in case he woke up before he died from the smoke and if he tried to get out, the whole tent would come down on him!" Ralph said snickering and going over to the bar picked up some thing to drink and took a drink.
"Well, now, we only have the younger Bolts. One has a family on the way, so if we kidnap that family, he may do as we tell him. The other still hasn't married so we will find something else to do with him!" said Victor, beginning to smile as it seemed as his plans were coming together even better than he planned!
Aaron Stemple had decided to have Clancy take him to Olympia by ship. He knew the road would be too full to travel quickly. He wasn't sure that Jason was going to arrive on time but he knew one of them had to be there. Clancy did not leave until he had those on board who wanted to get on the ship. Lottie got on the ship with Ken and so did Ben and Emily and a few others. The rest had taken their chances on the road.
Barnabas stopped; they had been driving quickly for a long time. The horses needed to rest. He saw the cabin up ahead. He knew that his brother was waiting for him there. He wondered if he should drop off Candy and Biddie and let the next wagon pick them up. But a door opened and his brother came out. He saw Barnabas and not one but two ladies, he was very curious and waved his brother in. Barnabas, did not quite know what to do, but he drove on to the cabin. When he pulled up in front of the cabin. There were three shotguns on them.
"Well, Barnabas my young brother how nice of you to bring not one but two lovely ladies with you! Ladies, will you please step down?" Victor asked. When they were down on the ground, he told Barnabas to take the wagon and horses around back.
Candy looked at him. She was shocked that Victor was really as bad as he could be. Biddie did not like Victor and said:
"Well Victor, you know everyone is going to stop here on their way to Tacoma! You won't get away with this! No, Indeedy!" Victor looked at her and said:
"Oh, I will get away, your husband is going to kill you tonight because I want him to. Mrs. Bolt, I will keep you alive, I can use you for ransom!" He said smiling at her.
"Also, Biddie, there will be no others coming this way. There is a detour set up so all the others will take another way to Tacoma. So, no one will hear anything until it is time for someone to find your body! Of course, you may never be found, but I have insurance on you, my dear and you dear Aunt, never wrote those letters, I just copied her handwriting and used her address…" He left off the rest and had them brought into the cabin. Barnabas looked at Biddie, who was very sad, and Candy who was angry!