Sisters By Heart
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“I can’t believe we’re here,” Maggie exclaimed. “Look at that view.”
She and her sister stood in the shadow of a pine tree overlooking the town of Sisters by Heart, Oregon Territory. They were so high up on their mule they could see clear to the coast of California. In spite of all the work it took to get them there—a three-day ride across the Cascades from Portland—Maggie felt like she had arrived in paradise.
She was glad they had come back to settle their father’s affairs before going home to Chicago for Christmas. He would have been happy for her and pleased that she was getting married after all these years. But his passing came too soon. He hadn’t even met her husband or heard him speak a word. Now he was gone, leaving her alone in the world.
“What do you think?” Maggie asked. The sun beat down on their backs but the cool breeze made her feel as if she had taken a trip to the Arctic Circle instead of just over the mountains from Portland.
Her older sister shrugged. “It’s not so different than our old home.” Astrid pointed to some buildings across the way. “There’s my favorite café right there, and I can make out the post office.”
“But this is a whole new world,” Maggie said, feeling as if her heart were about to leap free of her chest. The air tasted sweeter than anything she had ever known.
And when she looked at Astrid standing beside her with her dark hair shining under the sunlight, her blue eyes twinkling with excitement, her brown skin glistening beneath the heat of the afternoon sun, she thought that she might have never left home at all.
This was a place where people loved one another and respected each other. There wasn’t even any fear of Indians because there weren’t any Indians. “I wish Mother could see us now.”
Astrid glanced up at the sky. “If only Dad were still alive. We both miss him every day.”
The sisters exchanged knowing looks. They had missed him terribly after their mother died. His absence had created an emptiness that no one else could fill. Their dad had been a kind man who always treated them kindly.
That was why, despite their mother’s disapproval, he had allowed them to take a job with the Hudson Bay Company at Fort Vancouver while they studied business administration at Willamette University in Salem.
After graduating in 1859, Maggie returned to Portland and found work as a bookkeeper. Astrid became an assistant buyer for the same company. Neither was particularly successful; neither cared. What mattered was that they stayed close together.
They were family and that’s what families did. When Maggie first met Robert Martin on the banks of the Columbia River, he seemed as perfect as she imagined her ideal man would be. He was handsome, intelligent, honest, and caring.
It didn’t hurt that she had fallen head over heels for him within days of meeting him. He swept her away and promised to love her forever. And though they were married two months later in Portland, Maggie never felt closer to her beloved husband than during those first few days of their courtship.
She had been certain then that life couldn’t get better than it already was. She was wrong.
“We’ll be home for Christmas,” Maggie announced, “and I’m sure Mom will welcome us home.”
She and Astrid sat on the grass, leaning against their mules while they watched their horses graze nearby. “You don’t mind if I marry your father, do you?” Maggie asked suddenly. “You know I want to.”
“Of course I don’t,” Astrid said. “He’d make a wonderful husband. I’ve told you how much I love him.”
Maggie smiled and touched her sister’s shoulder. “Me too. You know he’s going to be so surprised when we tell him. He doesn’t even remember telling me that he wanted a divorce. He must have gotten cold feet.”
“Cold feet? Why would he have cold feet?” Astrid asked, frowning.
Maggie shook her head. “That’s a good question.”
They sat in silence awhile longer until Astrid asked, “Why are you so nervous, anyway?”
“I think my stomach hurts because I ate too many cookies this morning.”
Their horses wandered over to them, nudging each other to reach the clumps of grass nearest to them. Their noses sniffed the mule’s feed sacks hanging on one side of their saddles. They snorted softly and let out little whinnies of contentment.
“Do you think your sister is pretty?” Maggie asked.
Astrid laughed and turned around. “Oh, come on!” She reached behind her to touch the spot where Maggie had pinched her earlier. “Don’t be silly, Maggie! You know you’re the prettiest girl in our school.”
“You know that doesn’t count,” Maggie argued. “All of the boys there belong to the Sons of Liberty. No one will ever look at us.”
Astrid laughed again and slapped her sister on the back. “And here you are worrying about something so ridiculous.”
Maggie frowned. “What if you’re wrong and he really does want a divorce?”
“He won’t,” Astrid assured her. “Not unless something terrible has happened.”
“You can’t say you’re not worried,” Maggie insisted.
“I wouldn’t worry even if I were,” Astrid countered. “Nothing could happen to Dad that would cause him to want to leave you.”
Maggie knew that Astrid meant well. But what if she was wrong? What if the worst had happened? What if their dad was dead?
“Come on,” Astrid urged gently, patting her sister’s shoulder. “Let’s go find Dad and give him his lunch basket before we eat ours.”
After returning to the barns, they found their father standing by the open trap door of the loft. The wind from the Columbia River blew through the opening; it rustled the cottonwood branches above them. As usual, they were alone except for the three guards stationed outside.
“Hi, Dad!”
Their father turned and smiled at them. “Hello, girls,” he greeted them warmly, coming down off the ladder and taking his daughters’ hands. He looked tired, but he was in excellent health for a man of his age.
There were lines around his eyes and mouth and gray hairs showed in his hairline. He had lost some weight since their last visit, probably due to the hard work involved in maintaining Fort Clark. “Did you two miss me?” he asked with a wry grin.
“Yes, very much,” Maggie said with a nod.
The wind lifted the hem of her dress up slightly, revealing her shoes and legs. Their father noticed it, too, and grinned broadly. “I’ll bet you did!”
He took a sack of flour out of one saddlebag and handed it to each daughter. “I thought you might like these.”
Astrid accepted hers with thanks while Maggie opened her bag to get out a cookie. Her face grew pale as she pulled out a small wrapped box instead.
“Dad…”
“Here.” Their father held out the package. “Open it.”
Maggie shook her head. “It’s for Father’s Day next month.”
Her father gave her a stern look. “I’ll be home then.”
She reluctantly unwrapped it and found the ring inside. She stared down at it in confusion for several seconds before finally holding it out to her father. “I…I’m sorry, Dad. It didn’t fit.”
She couldn’t bring herself to wear the ring and felt bad about wasting such a nice piece of jewelry.
“No, it fits perfectly.” His blue eyes sparkled when he looked at her. “You should have worn it yesterday. You know Mother loved that ring.”
“I know.” Maggie put the ring back into the box and closed the lid.
Her father patted her hand. “Give it to me later. Maybe I can get it resized. Or maybe you should marry another boy.” He winked. “Then you wouldn’t need to be bothered by things like this.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “You always tease us about marrying,” she accused, “and yet you never seem interested in anyone yourself.”
“Well now, I do,” their father protested. “But no one wants to marry a single bachelor.”
“That doesn’t count,” Astrid interrupted. “There are plenty of men who don’t mind a widower.”
“Of course, there are,” Maggie agreed with a shrug. “Just as there are men who prefer a widow or divorcee to an old maid.”
“I’ve heard of those, too,” their father chuckled. “And I’m sure there are some.”
Astrid nudged her sister. “Come on, Maggie. Let’s go see what kind of cake Mother baked today. We might still have time to try one before dinner.”
They left their father to talk with the guards on duty outside while they returned to the house. They found their mother busy in the kitchen helping with lunch preparations. “Girls! Come help!”
“We have to take care of our dad first!” Astrid reminded her mother.
With a sigh, their mother went back to preparing vegetables. “You girls will be late for your lesson tonight if you don’t hurry up.”
“Can we come right after?” Maggie begged, knowing full well how important it was for them to keep up with their lessons. If she failed to improve her grades this quarter, the school board would expel her for not following her duties.
“If you insist,” their mother said dryly. “But I doubt you will.”
Their father joined them then, and all four walked together toward the stables. After seeing the horses fed, he led them to the house and sat down on the porch. The girls helped themselves to coffee and cookies, and then sat with their father, sipping their hot drinks.
“What news from Fort Walla Walla?” their father asked quietly. “Anything new?”
“Not really,” Astrid told him with a frown. “But there are rumors of Indians raiding near the border.”
“Is the army doing anything?”
“Nothing,” Astrid replied flatly. “It’s just a rumor. Nothing more.”
Their father shook his head sadly. “Maybe you should write to General Miles and ask him for some reinforcements.”
“He’ll send only so many men,” Maggie warned him.
“We should be able to handle it with enough soldiers,” their father argued. “There aren’t any outlaws roaming through these parts, and there shouldn’t be any danger of Indians attacking us. Not in this area of Washington state.”
“It’s just a rumor,” Astrid insisted.
Their father glanced up at her and frowned. “Do you think so?”
“Why else would he send a warning letter?” Astrid shot back. “It wasn’t an accident that someone saw smoke over there, and then it started to rain. And the other day we heard gunfire coming from the direction of Mount Rainier.”
“Could be hunters,” their father said dismissively.
“Or it could be Indians trying to scare off settlers,” their sister pointed out. “We can’t rule that out either.”
“All right,” their father conceded. “So let’s wait until tomorrow to see if there is something serious going on.”
Maggie sighed heavily. They were talking about the same thing she had heard from several sources, including Tom. But it didn’t change much, especially since she and Astrid were stuck in Seattle for the time being. Still, if there was trouble ahead, it was better to warn others of it instead of letting it grow out of control.
“Father!” Astrid called. “Come look at this!” She rushed toward the woods near the edge of the field where they kept the cattle penned up during the winter months. Maggie and their father hurried after her.
Astrid reached the woods and stood on tiptoe, peering between the trees. Then she pointed with a grin. “Look, Father.”
“What?” Their father stepped closer to peer into the darkness beyond the wood’s edge. “Oh, good heavens! It looks like—” He broke off, his eyes wide in alarm. “Don’t move,” he ordered, grabbing a lantern off the front porch. “Keep quiet. And stay where you are.”
The girls remained motionless, staring hard at the woods. A moment later their father returned carrying the lighted lantern. When he lit it, they could see an Indian sitting on a log, watching them with cold blue eyes. “Who are you?” he demanded in his guttural language.
“That’s none of your business!” their father barked back. He held the lantern aloft to show the dark shape standing near by.
The Indian stared hard at the figure but did not answer.
Their father lowered the lantern. “Are you alone?” he asked.
“Yes,” the man said.
“Where are your comrades? Are there more of you waiting in the bushes?”
“No,” came the answer in English. “Only me.”
Their father nodded and returned to the house to fetch a rifle. As soon as he returned, he took aim and fired. The Indians ducked under cover before their father could get another shot off, and their father cursed loudly.
“What is happening here?” Astrid exclaimed sharply. “Have you lost your wits or what?”
“I’m trying to do my duty,” their father snapped back. “They were about to attack us.”
“Attack?” Maggie echoed, stunned.
“That’s what Indians would do!” Astrid cried, shocked at their father’s actions. “They’re not bandits! You’re supposed to try to talk to them first.”
“I tried that,” their father answered angrily. “And I got shot at, too. We have no choice now but to kill them, and that is exactly what I intend to do.”
“Then you will be putting the entire family at risk,” Astrid declared defiantly. “You know how Indians are. There must be a way to capture one without getting hurt. Look how fast they disappeared.”
“I’m not taking any chances,” their father snapped back. “Now help me find the trail again.”
With two lanterns lighting up their surroundings, the girls joined their father in searching for signs of where the Indians had gone. “We don’t want them sneaking up on us,” Astrid cautioned her father.
“They won’t,” their father promised. “Not with our lights shining down on them.”
The search proved fruitless. Even when they went farther into the woods and looked carefully at every tree, shrub, and boulder, nothing indicated where the Indians had escaped to. Their father’s only consolation was that they appeared to be headed northward toward British Columbia, rather than south toward Seattle and the coast. “There are fewer white people along the coast,” their father muttered, shaking his head. “Maybe they’re going inland to steal horses.”
But Maggie couldn’t agree. If anyone knew how to catch an Indian, she thought, it was their father. She remembered how he had taken an arrow to his arm when they were children and never missed a beat with the rifle afterward. That had been years ago though, and he had gotten older while he had not.
“We should go back home,” Maggie told him. “It’s late and we’re exhausted.”
“Let’s give it one more day,” he countered, still scanning the ground for clues. “If the Indians aren’t around tomorrow, then we’ll pack up and leave.”
“All right,” their mother agreed. “I don’t think we need to worry about them bothering us anymore anyway.” She paused. “I wonder who the other person is.”
Neither parent answered. They simply watched the woods in silence for a long time, wondering if there was anything else out there in the night that could hurt them. But nothing moved and there was no sound except the rustle of the wind through the trees. When their parents finally walked away, the three girls followed quietly, leaving the woods behind in peace.
***
When they reached the cabin, everyone settled in for bed early. The next morning, both Astrid and Maggie awoke earlier than usual to watch over the cattle as their father fed them in the pasture. While he finished feeding the animals, the girls sat on logs in the yard, looking out over the grassy plains stretching out from the hills.
“I wish this place belonged to someone else,” Astrid said suddenly.
“Me too,” Maggie agreed. “I feel like I’ve always known it, but I just didn’t realize how much until I got here. Now that we’re actually living here instead of coming to visit, I understand why you and your sister love it so much. It’s a wonderful place to live.”
Their father returned shortly after they started talking. He glanced around nervously, as if expecting to see the Indians lurking in the shadows again. The girls exchanged puzzled looks; he had seemed to relax considerably during their stay in town. And yet, there he stood, tense as a board. “Is something wrong?” Astrid asked him softly, worried about his sudden change in demeanor.
“N—no.” His voice sounded strained and he turned away.
Astrid’s eyes narrowed. This wasn’t like her father. What could be making him act this way? Her brow furrowed in concern as she tried to remember the last time he acted so strange. Then it came back to her. He had been upset when he found out that the Indians had stolen a horse. She shook her head and wondered what the Indians could have done to make their father so angry.
“Did you hear the news?” Astrid suddenly blurted out. “About the Indian attack?”
Her father nodded. “I heard it on the wireless.”
“That’s terrible,” Maggie added. “How many died?”
“At least two, and maybe four,” their father told them. “It doesn’t matter though. We’re safe here with all these fences between us and them.”
“Are the Indians coming this far west now?” Astrid inquired. “That’s very unusual.”
“No,” their father answered, shrugging. “Probably some young warriors, venturing out to try to prove themselves.”
“Well, they can’t do it by attacking lone men,” their mother told him. She gave her husband a meaningful look. “I’m surprised you even let them get within shooting distance.”
He laughed and leaned against the log he had been sitting on. “Don’t worry, it was just a few boys trying to impress their chief.”
“You’re kidding!” Astrid exclaimed. “You mean to tell me a band of young renegades attacked you?”
“Not exactly,” their father replied defensively. “They were after my wife, and it was just luck that saved me.”
Astrid looked at her mother. Was that true? Had their parents really fought off an entire raiding party in the middle of a field with only a single shot fired? She recalled the story their father had once told her of how he had almost killed his friend by accident when they were young and in training with the rifle.
She hadn’t realized it was such a close call. It made her realize how lucky they’d been. She remembered thinking it would have been awful to lose her parents. To have them snatched away from her before she ever got a chance to know them. That thought made her sad.
The End