Page 28 of Caroline’s Compass

“Wait until we reach dry ground. I have enough trouble.”

Lucy whispered to Grace, “She accepted correction.”

Grace whispered back, “The world may end before breakfast.”

Caroline pointed at both of them. “Carry the spare coils downstream.”

Their amusement vanished.

Thomas and two men stretched a guide rope from a cottonwood on the near bank to a stout willow downstream on the far side. The line followed the bearing Caroline had taken the day before. Nathaniel placed riders along the water, though he remained on the near bank where his injured shoulder would not be tested by the current.

Avery's wagon entered first. Water climbed to the hubs. The oxen lowered their heads, strained, and followed the diagonal line. When the wheels rolled onto the far bank, a cheer rose from the company.

“One,” Caroline said. “Do not celebrate eleven wagons early.”

Martha smiled. “You have a gift for improving a happy moment.”

The first Whitaker wagon crossed next. Caroline walked beside the oxen until the water reached her thighs. Thomas remained on the upstream side of the team, one hand on the lead rope. The current shoved hard enough to make her skirt pull around her legs.

“Step where I step,” Thomas called.

“I found the path.”

“Then step where you stepped yesterday.”

She almost laughed and swallowed creek water instead. Thomas caught her elbow without disrupting the team. Together they guided the wagon onto the far shelf.

By the time Rebecca brought the second Whitaker wagon across, Caroline's boots held enough water to sustain a small garden. She stayed at the far landing, directing each driver toward firmer ground.

The Hall wagon followed the two Whitaker wagons. Mr. Hall insisted he could drive without assistance. Mrs. Hall insisted that his success finding the creek did not prove he could cross it.

Caroline shifted two riders downstream and placed Rebecca at the lead team while Thomas checked the guide rope.

Halfway through, Hall shouted that the wagon was drifting. Mrs. Hall shouted that he had been drifting since their wedding. Rebecca corrected the oxen, and the wheels found the gravel shelf.

On the far bank, Hall raised both arms in triumph. Mrs. Hall climbed down and told him to check the axle before celebrating survival.

“Marriage appears useful in emergencies,” Thomas said.

“Marriage appears loud,” Caroline replied.

“The qualities may overlap.”

Turner's wagon crossed next without trouble. The Bell wagon followed. Mrs. Bell carried her china cup in both hands and refused to place it in the wagon because she no longer trusted crates. Mr. Bell said a river was a poor place for tea. She said this was why she had not poured any.

Coleman's wagon entered seventh.

The repaired rear wheel struck a buried stone. The wagon lurched, and the oxen turned their heads downstream. Mr. Coleman hauled the line in panic. His left wheel lifted as the current caught the box broadside.

“Do not pull upstream!” Thomas shouted.

Coleman pulled harder.

Caroline saw the reserve rope tighten from the far bank. If the men held it another moment, it would drag the wagon against the current and turn the whole box over.

“Release the rear rope!” she yelled.

No one moved.