“Do you recall how long it’s been going on? With Pritchard, for example.”
“It goes back quite a ways, but I only brought the last three years of logs. Pritchard was a big customer, given his riverfront store. He served a lot of the ship captains with repair parts and other ship needs, but he was also supplying goods to men up and down the river. I may not have been the only one he was using for shipping. He could have used other firms as well, and I’d have no knowledge of it. And as for delivery, like I explained to Faith, his orders were more often than not delivered to locations along the Willamette.”
Seth rubbed his chin. “We know about some of those places. I’m hoping you can help me by marking spots on this map of the river where you know there to be hidden storage sheds.” Seth pulled a rolled paper from his desk drawer and spread it atop his desk. “You’ll see there are already some places marked. Nancy’s brother Gabe and I were able to locate several by following Berkshire’s men from place to place. This also resulted in Berkshire being forced to help the government. He thinks they believe him true to helping dissolve this affair, but the men in charge know Berkshire is a liar. They realize he’s been giving just enough information to keep them interested but that he’s not sharing what he really knows.”
“And who does Berkshire report to on the other side?”
“Lakewood. At least that’s how it appears. Lakewood is a wealthy man in his own right, but he doesn’t have the kind of money that has been used to buy officials in addition to the goods.”
“Are there no inspections on the reservations? I thought the Indians were closely policed regarding guns and alcohol.”
“They are to a point, but before I left the investigation, we learned that most of the supplies were moved in at night andthen hidden on the reservation, not kept in the homes. We know that not all of the Indians have any desire to rebel. They’re tired. Weary from the mistreatment and abuse. They don’t have it in them to fight. However, once a war is started, I believe most will rise up to fight alongside their relatives.” Seth shook his head and sighed. “I honestly can’t say that I would blame them. We’ve made a real mess of their treatment.”
Andrew knew this as well as anyone. It was the reason he’d removed his grandfather from the Nez Perce reservation to live with him on theMorning Star. Of course, that hadn’t come with the approval of anyone, but rather a stealthy raid in the middle of the night.
“I’ve worked with representatives from Lakewood as well as Berkshire himself. In fact, Berkshire just came to me. He wants a big shipment of weapons taken from Astoria to Wheatland. It wouldn’t be difficult to get them from Wheatland to Grand Ronde. I figure it’s less than forty miles by land.”
“When will the delivery take place?”
“I’m supposed to pick up the guns at Astoria in two weeks. They’re coming up from California. Berkshire wants them in Wheatland by the end of March.”
“Well, that should give us time to speak to the army and see what, if anything, they want to do about it. The logs should be a great help and will maybe even give them additional names. I’ll need to get them to Major Wells in Fort Vancouver, and they’ll probably want to talk to you.”
“I’m taking a load of flour to the fort tomorrow. I could take the logs as well.”
Seth grinned. “Your timing is perfect. I’ll write a letter to Major Wells after supper and explain the situation. I have a feeling your help is going to be a boon to this investigation.”
“I’m glad. I’ll do whatever I can to help stop these men. The last thing we need is another Indian war.”
After supper, Faith, with help from the Clifton sisters, finished cleaning the kitchen while Seth and Andrew completed the last of their business. She’d heard Seth mention a letter he needed to write but had no idea what the two had discussed or what solutions they might have come up with. She had mixed feelings on the entire matter, wanting desperately to help keep the peace between the Indians and whites, as well as being consumed by her own issues.
“Thank you for your assistance,” Bedelia said, taking up the dishcloths. “I shall hang these to dry, and then Sister and I will head upstairs for our evening Bible reading.”
Faith put the last of the dishes in the cupboard, then glanced around the room to see if anything else needed to be dealt with. Everything was in order. They’d sent Nancy to rest as soon as supper concluded, and Mimi and Clementine had papers to grade. Since there was a stranger in the house, Mrs. Weaver had taken her meal upstairs so that she and Alma could eat together, and once the Clifton sisters had gone up, that would be the last of the boarders and family. At least Faith hoped it would be. Seth might want to stick around until Andrew departed, but hopefully he’d see that Faith wanted a little time alone with the captain.
She went to the front room and found there wasn’t much left of the earlier blaze in the fireplace. Since everyone would soon retire to their rooms, there didn’t seem much sense in building up a big fire. Unless, of course, Andrew was of a mind to stay and visit. Hoping to encourage him, Faith placed another log on the fire and smiled as the dry wood easily caught.
It seemed to take forever for Seth and Andrew to conclude their business. Faith paced back and forth, remembering the frustration of the day and wondering what her next plan should be. She really needed to see her father. Lance Kenner was an authority on the law, and she had no doubt he’d have some ideas. However, Seth was a good lawyer, and John Lincoln was well known in Portland for his legal mind. Surely the two of them could come up with some ideas on what she could do next.
She heard the men coming down the hall and struck a pose by the side of the fireplace. When Seth entered the room first, she hesitated, not knowing what to say.
“I was going to show Andrew to the door,” Seth said, giving her a knowing look. “Instead, I think I’ll check on Nancy and let you show him out. Thank you for coming tonight, Andrew. As I said before, I believe this will be most useful.”
Andrew was still holding the books he’d brought. Faith wondered why he wasn’t leaving them with Seth. Could they have held nothing that would help the investigation?
Faith waited until Seth had left the room to offer her thoughts on the matter. “I know your information will be helpful. It can’t help but fill in some of the missing pieces.”
Andrew nodded. “I think it very well might, but you can’t pin all your hopes to this. Those men have been very good at sneaking around and conspiring against the government. They are wolves posing as sheep—or worse still, maybe even white men posing as Indians. It will be hard, if not nearly impossible, to know who can be trusted.”
She thought of the accusations against her aunt and uncle. No one who knew them as she did could ever believe them capable of doing anything to cause the Indians harm. But therewere very few white people, outside of family, who knew them that well. Mercy and Adam Browning had spent most of the last twenty-five years with the Indians.
“I should get back to theMorning Star. We leave early.”
Disappointed, Faith walked with him to the door. “Why are you taking the logs back with you? Were they not as useful as we hoped?”
“Just the opposite. Seth wants to get them to one of the army men at Fort Vancouver. I have to make a trip there tomorrow to drop off flour and then head out to Astoria. I’ll be gone for quite some time.”
The thought of Andrew leaving again left Faith feeling empty inside. Something desperate rose up inside her. She wanted him to stay, or else she wanted to go with him. She needed him, just as she needed air.
