For some time Aggie found no difficulty in keeping her word, for the
train were obliged to pass over a part of the Rocky Mountains, and many
a strange adventure they met upon the way. Those that had been over
the route before said they got along remarkably well, while those to
whom the experience was new, declared that with the breaking down of
some wagons, the unloading of others, and letting them and goods they
contained down the precipices by ropes, and the accidents attendant
upon such work, they found the journey anything but delightful. The
children enjoyed this part of the trip more than any other, for, with
the exception of Guy, they had no more work to do, and had much more
to interest and amuse them.
But upon the whole they were rather glad when they got upon the level
ground again, and especially so when they neared the shores of the
great Salt Lake, and passed by the city that stands upon its shores.
Mr. Harwood had intended to visit it, and spend three or four days in
looking about the city and endeavoring to learn something about the
manners and customs of the people that inhabited it, but several of
the party were anxious to reach their destination, and for that and
many other reasons they passed the dwelling place of the Mormons by.
Although the children were greatly disappointed at not being able to go
into the city, they could not help speaking and thinking with delight
of the beautiful country they had passed over to reach it.
"It seems to me," said Aggie one day when they stopped to rest, "that
four seasons had wandered out of some years and lost themselves up
among those mountains."
"You're crazy!" said George contemptuously.
"I think not," said Guy kindly, "but what could have put such a queer
idea as that into your head, Aggie?"
"Why you know," she said, "the grass was fresh and green there as
if it was spring time, and yet very often while you were gathering
buttercups to make me a chain, George and Gus would be pelting you with
snow-balls, while the summer sun was shining upon us all the day long."
"That's so," exclaimed George, "I should never have thought of it
again. It's the queerest place I ever saw in my life, except this very
great valley which we are in now. Papa says it is over three hundred
miles from the Rocky Mountains to the Sierra Nevadas, yet although we
haven't been out of sight of the first for more than a week, we shall
see the tops of the others in a few days, and then, hurrah! we've only
to cross them and we shall be in California! Won't that be glorious?"
"Yes, I shall be glad," said Aggie, "for I was beginning to think as
mamma said the other day, 'that we never should see a house again.'
And won't you be glad, Guy, not to have to get up so early to make the
fires in the morning, and to work so late at night, often after walking
over the hot sands all day?"
"I don't know," said Guy rather sadly, "You have all been very kind to
me here, and though I have often worked very hard, I guess it won't be
all play for _me_ in California."
Little Aggie often thought of these words of Guy in the days that
followed, as they drew nearer and nearer their destination, and each
member of the company spoke of his or her hopes or prospects. She
noticed that upon that Guy, as well as his mother, was always silent,
and many, many hours she sat in the wagon puzzling her little head as
to what would become of their favorite.
She even spoke of it to Guy when they were alone together, but he
seldom would say anything about it. He was not like some people that
find comfort in talking over perplexing questions, and it certainly was
a very perplexing question to him, how he was to support his mother in
the strange country to which he had induced her to come, for though
young, Guy was too wise to think that gold lay all over the land, and
all that any one had to do was to stoop and pick it up, though many
older than himself in the train still believed that old fable, which
deceived many in the time of Cortez, over two hundred years before.
But although Guy was so uncertain as to what his fate would be in
California, he soon became as anxious to reach it as the rest, for
nothing for many weeks occurred to break the monotony of their journey,
and the only excitement they had at all was in looking out for Indians,
which were said to be very plenty upon their route, and in being
constantly pleasurably disappointed in not coming upon any.
One day, indeed, they were greatly surprised by the descent of
a terrific rain storm upon them, for they had never dreamed of
encountering rain in that elevated region, where not even a drop of
dew was found in the early morning. At the time it occurred a party
from the train, among whom was Guy, were out hunting. They saw the
black clouds rising above the mountains, but leisurely continued their
way intent upon obtaining some game for supper, when, suddenly, a blast
of wind swept down upon them, bringing with it torrents of water, as
if, as Guy afterwards said, another deluge had come to sweep every
living thing from the earth's surface.
For a moment the horses stood still as if stunned, and their riders
bent low over the saddles, then, suddenly wheeling, the animals turned
their heads away from the furious blast, and in that position waited
for it to expend its fury. Neither whip nor spur would induce them to
move, though Mr. Harwood used both freely, being anxious to gain the
camp and satisfy himself of the safety of his family. The horses chose
the best position, according to the instinct which had been given them
to escape from danger, and they maintained it until the fury of the
storm was spent, and then obediently carried their riders to the camp,
where they found two or three of the lighter wagons blown over, and a
number of articles scattered hither and thither. All the people however
were safe though greatly frightened.