He let Jane take her saddle horse and drove the wagon back to the barnyard with Emma and Annie. The two young women didn’t say much on the way back. They were tired, and Crockett figured they didn’t want to voice their reservations in Jane’s hearing. But he’d probably get an earful about the cave on the way back to the 7 Heart.
When they returned to the site of the fire, Crockett climbed down and took Jane’s horse from her. He led it toward the corral, and to his surprise, Jane followed him.
“I wondered if I could get a little advice from you.”
He stopped walking and looked down into her solemn green eyes.
“Don’t know if I’m the best one to give advice, but I’ll listen.”
She looked over her shoulder. Annie and Emma had stayed in the wagon, and Ben was already letting his horse into the corral.
“I found something in the cave,” she said.
Crockett studied her drawn face. This had to be serious. His first thought was a dead body, but Emma or Annie surely would have mentioned that.
“I didn’t tell the others.”
“All right. What was it?”
“Money.”
Crockett blinked. He hadn’t expected that.
“A lot of money,” Jane added. “It was way in the back, in a little niche in the wall. I thought maybe the spot was big enough for me to spread my bedroll in, and I’d have some privacy from Pa and Ben.”
“Makes sense,” Crockett said.
“There was a pile of rocks and sticks. I had a torch, and I started cleaning them out.”
“Carefully, I hope.”
She nodded. “Didn’t want to come eye to eye with a snake. But I found an old tin box underneath. I opened it, and there was money inside. Annie and Emma were out in the big part of the cave, arranging the foodstuffs, and I decided not to tell them.” She reached into the pocket of her cotton shirt and brought out a bill, folded up small in eighths, and handed it to Crockett. “There’s a bunch of these.”
He turned so no one else would see what he was doing and unfolded it carefully. The twenty-dollar bill looked funny. “First Bank of Louisiana,” he read off the top. “This isn’t federal money. It’s an old Louisiana bank bill.”
“Do you think it’s worth anything?”
“I dunno.” He frowned at it. “Any idea how it got there?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to say anything in front of Pa. Or Ben, either, until I know more. Listen, your brother Chisholm’s a Texas Ranger. Could you ask him about it?”
“I guess I could. He might have some ideas.”
She touched his hand. “You take it, then. I’ll keep the rest hidden, and if you find out anything, you can let me know.” Her wistful smile reminded him that he liked Jane. A lot.
“All right,” he said. Ben was approaching, and Crockett tucked the bill into his pocket.
“Anything wrong?” Ben asked.
“No, I was just talking to Jane about what you folks will be needing,” Crockett said. Which was true, in a way. Right now, Jane needed advice.
“Thanks a lot for what you’ve done,” Ben said.
“Think nothing of it. And I’ll talk to some other people about doing a house-raising for you. See if you can start getting things together.” He nodded at Jane and walked to the wagon. As he drove the team out of the yard, he knew that he would do everything he could to make sure Jane came out of this all right.
Chapter Three
Over the next few days, several neighbors came by. The men helped Ben and Jane slowly clear away the debris from the house. The women brought food and offered Jane clothing. The Hart wives even brought Jane an extra pair of trousers that fit her. They took away the Haymakers’ sooty shirts and pants to wash and offered repeatedly to let them stay at their ranch. Jane and Ben always refused.
In private, Ben told her, “I wouldn’t mind going over there once. Couldn’t we go for dinner one night? I’d like to see all the books they have.”
“Crockett brought you three to borrow. How many do you need?” Jane wouldn’t look at him as she worked on their supper. She placed beans, chunks of beef, and several root vegetables the neighbors had brought into the kettle Mrs. Allen had insisted on giving her.
Ben watched and sighed. “I don’t know. Hays said they have dozens of books. Like a library, only in their house. I’d just like to see ’em, is all.”
Jane wondered if the Bible said anything about coveting your neighbor’s books. She couldn’t find out now, because Ma’s old Bible had burnt up. She couldn’t be cross at Ben, though. He had worked like an ox, cleaning up their place and chopping wood and hauling logs. He had planned to work for other ranchers all week, building up credit so they’d help him later on. Instead, he was slaving away at home, trying to retrieve what he could from the fire and preparing to build a new house, something he knew nothing about.
“I wish we had a proper bed for you,” she said. “It’s awful hard to sleep good in the cave.”
Ben shrugged. “It’s what we’ve got.”
“I wish Pa would help the others when they come.” Jane scooped a dipper full of water out of the bucket on the ground beside her open fire.
“You wish a lot of things,” Ben said. “And that’s one that won’t happen.”