When another morning came, it surely seemed as if all my fears were
about to be realized, for the day dawned dark and forbidding, the rain
came down in torrents, while the wind sighed and moaned as it drove
floods of water from one end of the wagon to the other, wetting us
completely even before we were awake.
I could not believe father would set off on the journey at such a time
as this, and was wondering how we should be able to cook breakfast,
when he called to mother that she make ready the morning meal, for in
half an hour the train would be in motion.
No one had been sufficiently thoughtful to store beneath the wagon a
supply of dry fuel, and the consequence was that we had nothing with
which to build a fire, save a few armfuls of water-soaked wood which
father and Eben Jordan succeeded in gathering, for where so many
emigrants were encamped, fuel of any kind was indeed scarce.
[Illustration]
I almost forgave Eben for having appeared so ridiculous when he
strutted around fully armed, as I saw him striving to gather wood for
us when he might have remained under the cover of his father's wagon;
indeed, before many days passed both Ellen and I saw that there was
much good in the boy's heart, even though he was too often disposed to
make matters disagreeable for us girls.