Wishing On A Star

Chapter 13

Two handsome men approached us and introduced themselves, "Good afternoon ladies, allow us to introduce ourselves, my name is Steven Simms of the Union Pacific Railroad, and this is Mr. James Wilbur of the United States Geological survey he's out here to conduct a survey in Utah territory at our request." Hanna and I stood, and after shaking hands introduced ourselves. "I'm Holly Draaka, and this is my friend Hanna Halidar." "Those are some rather unusual surnames," replied Wilbur. Hanna smiled, and said, "We have rather unusual husbands, Mr. Wilbur. We all sat back down and listened while the two men went into the dry details of re-routing a railroad line. Finally, Mr. Simms asked us, "Are your husbands with you ladies by chance?" I immediately saw where this conversation was going and firmly, but politely replied, "Oh yes, Mr. Simms, currently they're on a hunting expedition south of here, naturally it's a little too rugged for us, so we spend or time shopping, and wiling away the hours in this dreary hotel." This seemed to concern Mr. Simms, "Madam if there's something deficient with this establishment I would most certainly like to know. As a representative of the railroad, we have a duty to our customers comfort." Laughing, I replied, "Relax Mr. Simms, there's nothing wrong with the accommodations, I've no doubt the railroad does an excellent job, it's just…Hanna and I are simply used to…Shall we say, accommodations on a much higher level." Hanna snickered at my double entendre, but I knew Mr., Simms would not understand.

Seeing that they weren't going to get much farther with us, both men bid us a due, and headed for an adjacent saloon. Hanna snickered again and said in a low tone, "You realize of course those two thought we were "sporting ladies." I looked at her in horror, "Are you serious?" Grinning, she replied, "Believe me Holly, I know." By this time we were getting bored, so we went back upstairs to our room, where I helped Hanna improve her reading skills as she read aloud the local newspaper, until it was time to head back downstairs for dinner. Before we did however, I called Morkai to assure him everything was fine…

Hanna and I shared a fine vintage of wine and made note of the other diners. Our two "Gentlemen" spotted us, and sat well away from us. Midway through or meal, two army officers sat down at the next table, and upon seeing us, struck up a conversation. It seems both were coming in from Fort Bridger, heading for Fort Laramie. The men introduced themselves as a Captain Harley Duggan, and a Lieutenant Joseph Elrod. We spoke off and on during the course of our meal, about subjects in general, then a thought came to me. Turning to the Captain, I asked, "Good sir, do you know anything of the Nez Perce?" The captain looked at me for a moment, then replied, "Why yes ma'am, Lieutenant Elrod and I were personally involved in that nasty piece of business several years ago, why is it you ask?" Now that I'd gone this far, I was hesitant to continue, but I pushed on. "I happen to be very good friends with a Nez Perce woman who might wish to contact her family." Both men studied me for a moment, "Does this woman live off the reservation," asked the Captain. "She does," I replied, "She is married to a good friend of my husbands." "I see," replied the Captain, "You are aware that Chief Joseph and many of his followers were allowed to return to land around Kooskia, up in Idaho Territory, perhaps her best course of action would be to travel there with her husband, the Indian agent up there might be able to tell her more."

"Is there a way perhaps to correspond with the agency up there rather than making the trip, perhaps for nothing?" The Captain thought a moment, then replied, "Just write the Department of Indian affairs in Lewiston, Idaho Territory, I'm not sure what the agent's name is, they change all the time, but that's all I can tell you." We continued to chat for a little longer, then I paid our bill, leaving the two officers to finish their meal. Back in our room, I told Hanna, "Well it's not much, but I found out a few things for Weeko."

The next day, we rented a buckboard, then visited one of the larger mercantile's in town where I purchased ten pounds of coffee, as well as hardtack crackers, flour, and material to make repairs on our clothing, a bag of numerous colored beads for Weeko plus assorted sundries, as well as several periodicals. Then it was out to the Na'Vas, being careful to make sure we weren't being followed. Upon arriving at where I thought our ship was hiding, Hanna and I became alarmed when we were unable to locate the opening in the rock. A hasty call on my wrist cron and shortly an opening appeared in the rock. Nargra stepped through holding a plasma rifle. Pointing to the obvious "door," he said, "Clever eh? Morkai and I built it from extra materials we carry onboard to repair crates or general ship repairs. We then sprayed it with "Bond All" and spread sand and rocks over it, looks just like the rock wall doesn't it?" We had to admit you really had a hard time spotting the small door. Nargra helped us carry the supplies inside the ship; both were relieved to see I had bought plenty of coffee. I explained to the men that with these other supplies, we could make tasty items we enjoyed, like cakes and pies.

While we were on board the Na'Vas, a call came in from Gitel being relayed from Sara, "She says she received a positive reply from her family, but apparently there's still some problems, you'll have to ask her. Anyway, her brother is working in some place called the Judith Basin." "That's up in Montana Territory," whispered Hanna. "She says he's working at a ranch called the O-H ranch, there's a town called Stanford which has a post office, perhaps you can contact him there." Before we closed communications I asked to speak to Weeko, I informed her of what the Captain told me, she then asked me to correspond with the Indian agent there and inquire about anyone named "Small Bear." Clearly, I had work to do once we returned to town.