Boldly Chapter Thirteen

 Chapter Thirteen

A New School

Jason had a vague feeling when he reached town that day that something was somehow wrong. It wasn't that anything was happening… it just seemed that people were looking at him askance. Whispering even. As far as he knew, no one in Keystone had any idea that he had ever been involved with Slade. No one was familiar with the Carter Bank Robbery on more intimate terms than having read about it in the paper or having heard mere third-hand accounts from passers-by. And no one from Keystone had been on any of those first three trains. Jason had never told anyone, nor had Hank and the sheriff had promised secrecy. Then why did the townspeople… or at least, some of them… seem to suddenly treat him differently? Not very noticeably. It was more just a feeling. An eerie feeling.

But Jason shook it off, man-like, ignoring those who gave him sideways glances and cheerfully greeting those who hadn't changed at all. He was done with Slade forever and so there was no reason to live any longer in fear. Or was there? Slade was not the kind of man to let someone go. And Jason had given the sheriff information. Could it be possible that… but no. Again he shook the feeling off. Not this day… he wouldn't allow himself to be wary on this day. It would spoil the day.

A substantial crowd was already gathered around the school site. Practically everyone in town… and out of it. All the townsfolk, except Mr. Withers, who refused to close down his little shop early, and the surrounding ranchers for forty miles out. Word traveled surprisingly fast and far and no one let a chance for an evening of fun slip through their fingers. A gathering was scarce enough. The fourth of July festival, the annual fall marksmanship contest, and the Christmas and Easter gatherings. That was about it.

Sheriff Daniels, acting in place of the non-existent mayor, stood on an old crate, shouting as loud as he could to carry his voice over the hubbub of the crowd.

"Welcome all! We shore do appreciate y'all showin' up t' help rebuild our school. The families of our children thank ya an' I know thet Miss McAllister here, the new schoolteacher, thanks ya too. An' we thank the good Lord thet no one was hurt in the fire. We had a near mishap but, thanks t' the courage of Jason McCulloch, two lives were saved. That of the teacher, Lorna McAllister, an' one o' the students, Laura Danby." A cheer was given and Jason started in surprise. He hadn't realized that anyone even knew what he did… but then, how could it not be known, with the crowd that had gathered round the schoolhouse that day? It was then that he caught sight of Lorna's red head in the crowd… near the center where the sheriff was standing. She stood on tiptoe and waved to him, smiling. The sheriff was continuing, now that the noise was again subsiding.

"We'll raise the school walls first and then have supper. Th' ladies have all made baskets to auction off and ya all know the rules. There'll be music and dancin' directly afterward. Be sure t' have the youngsters home by a decent time. Remember tomorrow is the Lord's day."

A gunshot announced the beginning of the raising and the men from fourteen to forty set to work with a will. Lorna was mesmerized, watching with eyes wide open as the building began to materialize before her eyes. It seemed almost like magic… the way they laid the logs on one after another, chinking them together, higher and higher. The rafters were laid and the shingles fixed into place. The women milled around casually, laying out their baskets, rocking babies, holding on to restless children. They didn't seem to be in the slightest awe of the building, either watching carelessly or barely giving the work more than a glance. Lorna was simply rooted to the spot, barely responding when people came to talk to her… unfortunately and unconsciously branding herself as rather shy and unsociable. But she warmed to one young women, simply because she looked as lonely and out of place as Lorna did.

"You are the new teacher, jah?" she smiled and Lorna felt instinctively that it was a true smile… not merely a polite one… warm and friendly and sympathetic. "My little Laura, she has talked much of you. I am Ilse Danby, but please to call me Ilse. I am not much used to being a 'Mrs.' yet."

As Lorna talked with her, she found Ilse surprisingly ready to pour out her heart… there were simply no secrets with her. And so it wasn't long before Lorna knew all her new friend's life story… and had told much of her own. Ilse was the type in which one could comfortably confide. She was but a year older than Lorna and had come to America from Germany only seven years before. She had met and married Josh Danby in Ohio, a widower with two young children, and together they had migrated to the Dakota Territories.

"An' so I haf no children of my own yet," Ilse said, her brown eyes sparkling. "Laura and little Benjie are like my own and so dearly do I love them."

"Laura is the bonniest wee lass I've ever known," Lorna's words caused the proud stepmother to beam. "An' I canna wait t' start teachin' Benjie. He's such a joy of a child," and so saying, she turned to smile at the rambunctious little four-year old contentedly toddling along after his peers.

Talking with Ilse drew Lorna's attention from the building and whiled away the hours swiftly. Before she even realized it, the call went out that the school was finished and a rousing cheer filled the twilight sky.

"Let the teacher enter first!" someone called out and Lorna felt herself being pushed toward the new building, carried along with the flow of the crowd. Jason was at the doorway, laughing as he pulled her away from the crowd which really was getting overbearing and Lorna gasped out her thanks as she stepped up on the little landing before the entrance of the school.

"Go ahead," he smiled. "See what ya think."

Lorna couldn't resist a cry of delight when she stepped inside the new school, unconscious that a steady stream of people was pouring through the doorway. It was beautiful, though rough… so big and roomy. Like a dream after the cramped little building she had started out with. But she didn't have long to admire it, for someone was loudly clanging on an iron pan outside and calling for the auction to begin.

The ladies stood off to the side, waiting eagerly while the men pressed forward in impatience. Abner Crawford had mounted the sheriff's old crate, rickety as it was, and began with a rather large basket. A veritable feast must have resided in that basket, and Abner missed no detail as he described the contents in ecstasy.

"Never mind what's in it," someone called from the audience. "Tell us whose it is!"

"Th' first basket is Bessie Lawson's." Abner announced obligingly. "Who'll start the bidding off at twenty-five cents?"

As the bidding began, Jason reached into his pocket to ensure that his five dollars were still there. It wasn't much but he had felt no more could be spared. He was running on a tight budget. But, there really was no need to worry. A basket rarely, if ever, went above two dollars.

The married women were first and there was slight competition between the husbands and their sons and brothers, just to get the bids somewhere. But it was done quickly and the families retreated from the scene to enjoy their picnics. Ilse's was the last of the married women… a large and sumptuous basket filled with sausages and sauerkraut, strudels and spaetzle. She waved cheerily to Lorna as she passed by, on her husband's arm, with Laura and Benjie prancing at her side.

Now that the bidding began with the single women's baskets, things got a little… well… fierce. There weren't enough women to go around and, although meals were provided for those who didn't win a bid, the men were already glaring murderously at each other, each determined to triumph over the others. The baskets were going rather higher that year than in times past… with the highest reaching two seventy-five. But still Jason felt confident as he waited. Perhaps it was indiscretion on his part to be pursuing a girl whom he had met during a train robbery… but he didn't care. It was worth a try, at least. And she didn't seem altogether averse to his friendship. He smiled just at the thought of her lively, dancing green eyes and quick smile. She was unlike all the other girls… like a breath of fresh air.

"This next basket is a novelty indeed, fellers. This one is th' schoolteacher's… Lorna McAllister! Who'll start th' biddin' for me at twenty-five cents?"

And so it began. And for a long while the bidding was truly frightful, inching up ten cents at a time by a wide variety. And Lorna suddenly was frightened. It was a foolish thing to do… who knew who she would be forced to spend the evening with? Why… she didn't know a single one of them. And then she heard a voice… and, aye, it was a familiar voice after all… calling out the bid of two dollars. And she smiled. But the bidding didn't stop there, although the bidders had been eliminated until only three remained. A rather scrappy-looking beanpole of a man, a distinguished gentlemanly sort of a man with carefully-groomed mustache, and… Jason. And Lorna knew instinctively who she wanted to win. The bid climbed to four dollars and, with a muttered word not quite fit for ladies' ears, the beanpole dropped out of the bids. Lorna felt a measure of relief. But now the bid was at five dollars… and the mustache-man called out again… "Five dollars and twenty-five cents!"

Jason sighed and stepped back. There wasn't much could be done now. If only he had brought an extra dollar or two.

"Going once… going twice…" called the auctioneer, with great deliberation and much dramatics. Never before had he sold a basket for so high.

"Six dollars!" Lorna called out impulsively. She was determined not to eat with that man… whomever he was. She didn't much like the look in his eyes. And, thank her stars, she had money. Hardly a cent of her teacher's salary had she spent.

"Who said that?" Abner was jolted completely out of his call.

"I did," Lorna said, a trifle more quietly. It seemed as if all were staring fixedly at her and she suddenly felt that she had done something she wasn't quite supposed to.

"I'm sorry, miss, women aren't allowed to bid. No exceptions." Lorna's face fell and Abner, somewhat indignant, returned to where he had left off. Almost. It took him a while to remember where exactly he had been. And in that brief moment of hesitation, Lorna pushed through the crowd and reached Jason's side.

"Bid for me, please," she whispered, slipping her money into his hand and then stepping back. He felt his heart suddenly stop beating… if only for a moment… and that was something he had never before experienced.

"And so we were at five twenty-five," Abner was saying.

"Six dollars!" Jason was grinning from ear to ear as he fought his opponent all the way up to the fabulous sum of eight dollars… and the other man dropped out, shooting Jason a rather poisonous look. Jason went to claim his basket… and the maker thereof… and they found a spot beneath an oak tree in the school yard.

"Thank ye fer doin' that," Lorna smiled as she pulled the cover from her basket. "I… I admit that I didna really want t' eat with someone I didna know."

"Well, shame on me fer not bringin' more money," Jason laughed. "I should've known that yers would go higher than most."

Lorna blushed suddenly and turned her full attention to the basket. And she found she had quite a task in actually explaining the contents of her basket.

"These aire bridies… have ye really never had any? They're some o' my favorite… beef an' onions in a pastry. An' I have neeps an' tatties…"

"Looks more like turnips and potatoes to me," Jason said solemnly.

"Aye, I guess ye can call them that. These are bannocks… oat cakes. Och, but I wish I had haggis… an' cranachan… an' crowdie! But… I couldna get them. An' Mrs. Sullivan probably wouldna have allowed it anyway. She insisted I add in th' apple pie an' th' beans. But th' shortbread is my own choice. An' she agreed wi' me on that… until I put caraway in them." Lorna laughed over the remembrance of her little arguments with that worthy lady.

"Well, I'm glad ya got them past her after all." and Jason proceeded to please Lorna by enthusiastically eating nearly everything in the basket, and enjoying it all.

As the supper was cleared away, a circle formed in the center of town… just as casually as you please… no formal announcement or anything. Old Bryan Hodgson brought out his fiddle and Tim Humphrey his harmonica and between the two of them, managed to play the old fiddle tunes. Lorna's eyes were dancing as the music started and couples hurried to join the circle.

"Will ye dance?" she turned to Jason suddenly, before even thinking what she was saying. She hadn't danced since her rѐiteach… her betrothal party. And the last person she had danced with had been Robbie. Hadn't she promised herself never to dance again? But that promise suddenly seemed very dim. She heard nothing but the sound of the fiddle and the tap of dancing feet.

"I… don't dance," Jason said slowly. "I can't."

"Och, ye…" Lorna tossed her head as she jumped up and held out her hand. "Everyone can dance. Come an' I'll show ye."

While normally Jason would have stood his ground and insisted on not making a fool of himself, there was something about Lorna's red hair glistening in the moonlight and her green eyes reflecting the starlight. Perhaps he had lost his head. Whatever it was, he took her hand and joined her in the circle. And found, surprisingly… that he could dance after all.

"Isna the music beautiful?" Lorna laughed as they wove in and out among the other couples in the traditional folk dances mingled of many cultures. "I wish I could play a fiddle like that. Do ye play?"

"A little," Jason grinned.

"Och, why ye should play somethin'!" Lorna urged. "D'ye have yer fiddle with ye? Or mayhap ye can borrow his?"-with a nod toward Bryan Hodgson.

But Jason did stand his ground this time. He had no intention of playing before the entire town. But Lorna would not let it go until he had promised to play for her… someday.