Chapter 12

We did get a breakfast fixed of sorts and we ate it with relish. "You know, we probably don't have more than ten or twelve miles before we're in Portland," I said. "We could see about spending the night in a tavern if you guys would like."

"I'd be a little bit afraid to, Ed," Sam said. "We'd either have to leave all of that gold with the horses, or we'd have to lug it up to our room. I'm afraid that either way it would be noticed."

"Damn, you're right. You know, we might have been better off if we hadn't found so much."

After breakfast, we got the horses saddled and the mules packed. I was surprised at how easily everything went. As we started back toward the road, I said, "You know, maybe we should get a wagon as soon as possible. It might be easier than loading and unloading all that weight every day."

"Yeah, but a wagon kind of traps us into going by road in this kind of country," Cassie said.

"You're right there. Maybe we should just stay with the mules for a while. I'm going to try to get rid of about five pounds of the gold in Portland and as much more as I can in Boston. The only problem is, the gold coins we get to replace the raw gold weigh almost as much as the gold itself."

"Can't you just deposit it in a bank?" Cassie asked.

"Yes, but if I deposited it in a bank in Boston, I'd have to come back to Boston to get it if it was even available when we came back. This time period is in the middle of what was called the Free Banking Era. This was another one of Andy Jackson's contributions. He abolished the central bank and allowed hundreds of banks to be started by almost anyone who wanted to start one. Even stores issued paper money."

"That sounds crazy," Sam said.

"It was. Many of the new banks that were started didn't have the cash reserves to cover their deposits. Counterfeit paper money was so ubiquitous that many merchants refused to accept paper money. Gold coins were about the only safe currency."

So, we're stuck with carrying all of this gold around with us for the rest of our lives?"

"No, we'll be spending a lot of it. I figure if we're going to go to Oregon we may as well go in style. We'll also want to take along a herd of cattle and a herd of horses."

"Yeah, I've read that cattle sell for about ten times as much in Oregon as you'd pay for them in St Louis," Sam said.

"So, anyway, our primary reason for stopping in Portland is to convert raw gold into gold coin. If they have one bank we'll go to it. If they have two banks, we'll go to both of them. We'll do the same in Boston, Providence, Hartford, New York, and Philadelphia and how ever many other cities we need to visit until it is all converted."

"Wow, that's going to take forever," Cassie said.

"It'll take a while. I hope to get rid of five pounds or more in Portland. We have around eighty pounds I'd guess, so that would take sixteen stops if we got rid of the same amount each time."

"Five pounds would be about fourteen hundred dollars worth?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, about 140 gold eagles. Considering a working man makes about 24 gold eagles a year, that's a lot of money."

"That's almost six years worth of a man's salary," Cassie said.

"Yep."

I think we were all awed by the shear amount of gold we had found.

It was almost noon when we got into Portland, so we stopped at the first tavern we saw and had a decent lunch. It wasn't as good as what we'd gotten in our last few stops, but it wasn't bad either.

Portland had three banks, probably because of the free banking. The first one we went to, the guy wanted to buy the gold, but he would only offer paper money for it. I turned him down and left.

The second bank was a lot larger the manager said he'd buy the gold, but he'd only pay $18 an ounce if I wanted gold coin in exchange. I accepted and he weighed it out. He came up with sixty-eight and a half ounces. He counted out 123 gold eagles and three silver dollars.

We managed to convert more raw gold to coin at the third bank, then we left town. I didn't know if anyone was watching us or not, but I didn't want to take any chances. We only went about five miles before we left the road and found a secluded place to camp.

I don't know if we were quite as tired as we had been yesterday, but we certainly hurt as much. We unloaded, unsaddled, and hobbled the horses and mules. All except Hawk. I didn't have a worry in the world that he would wander off.

After dinner, Sam said, "Ed, we need to find somewhere we can camp for a few days and just rest up. We should ride a little every day, but only a few miles. We really need to get used to the riding instead of walking."

"Okay, that's not a bad idea, but why don't we do it this way? It's about fifty miles to Portsmouth, which is our next stop. Why don't we just take our time for the next few days? Maybe go around five miles a day at first, then start working our way up again. If we decide we don't want to travel any when we get up, we'll just laze around all day."

Sam and Cassie were both beaming. "That sounds good. I've been so worn out the last few days I haven't even felt like making love," Sam said.

"I haven't either, love," I said as I gave her a big hug. "Maybe tomorrow."

We sat around for a while, just enjoying contemplating a slower pace, then I said, "We're probably going to want to spend the winter in Independence or St. Joseph, Missouri. It's the middle of June now, and I'd say we want to get to western Missouri by the end of September if we're going to find a place to spend the winter."

"How long would it take us to get there from the east coast?" Cassie asked.

"If we took it easy and averaged twenty miles a day, it'd take us about two months. If we left the east coast by the end of July, we'd have plenty of time."

"Good, maybe there will be 'Time Enough for Love'," Cassie giggled.

"Did you read Heinlein?" I asked.

"He was my favorite author. Remember the line marriages in 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' and 'Friday'? Remember the plural marriage in 'Stranger in a Strange Land'? Remember the plural marriage in 'The Number of the Beast'? I'd say our marriage is going to be one man and at least two women," Cassie said with a grin.

Sam looked a little confused, but Cassie said she'd fill her in. I just sat there thinking of the stories Cassie had mentioned. The marriages she sited all seemed to work out well. Even the marriage in "Friday" was a good one, Friday was rejected because she was an artificial person. Why was I letting it bother me that Sam and Cassie wanted to share me?

We were all too sore for lovemaking that night, but I hoped we wouldn't be by tomorrow.

Day 48 - Thursday, June 17, 1847

When I awoke this morning, I was between two naked beauties, as was becoming usual for us. This morning, I didn't shy away from either one of them. I slipped an arm around each of them and cuddled them close.

Cassie woke up first and when she realized my arm was around her, she smiled and asked, "Did my Heinlein examples have an affect on you?"

"I don't know if it was that, or if I just finally came to the realization that I have two beautiful women who love me and that I was being a damned fool for fighting it."

"Whatever the reason, I'm glad."

"So am I," Sam said as she stretched in my arms. "Maybe now we won't have to hide our lovemaking."

"Sam, my love, if you were any more of an exhibitionist, we'd be doing it in the middle of Boston Commons at noon," I said with a laugh.

"Ooh, that sounds interesting," Cassie giggled.

"Not you too," I said.

"With just the three of us, yes. With an audience, I don't think so."

We finally got up when bladder pressure and hunger forced us to.

As we were eating breakfast, I asked if the girls would like to stay here another night. "This creek isn't big enough for a good bath," Sam said. "I'm starting to smell and I need a good bath. Why don't we go down the road a ways and see if we can find a better creek."

Cassie and I agreed with that, as long as we didn't have to go too far. Hawk came over and watched as we folded our sleeping bags and tent. I'll swear he was curious as to what we were doing.

We saddled and loaded. It seemed like it was taking about a half an hour to get the horses saddled and the mules loaded. Once we got a wagon, some parts of it would take even longer.

We got back on the road and turned south. We hadn't gone more than a mile when we met three riders heading in the opposite direction. They pulled up as we got close and one of the guys introduced them. "Where are you headed?" he asked.

"Boston. You?"

"Haven't you heard about the big gold strike up in Maine? It's around some little town called Newry or something like that."

"No, I hadn't heard about the gold strike. I do know where Newry is though. I came through there about a year ago. When you get into Portland, ask for directions to Lewiston. When you get to Lewiston, go northwest about forty miles and you'll be at Newry."

"Thank you. Was there much prospecting going on there when you went through?"

"None that I know of. Where did you hear about the strike?"

"My brother-in-law heard about it from his banker, who heard about it from a banker in Portland."

"That's interesting. I wonder where the banker in Portland heard about it. Anyway, I don't plan on doing any prospecting. My wife and I would like to find a little farm somewhere and raise cattle and kids."

The guys laughed and then wished us a good day and took off north. After they were gone, Cassie said it was amazing how quickly a rumor spread. We had to agree.

We had gone almost ten miles by my estimate when we crossed a stream that Sam said had potential. We turned right and followed the stream a couple of hundred yards, when we came on the perfect campsite. There was plenty of grass and plenty of water and a great place to set up the tent.

We unsaddled and unpacked and set up our tent. Then we built a fire ring and got a fire started for fixing lunch. After we had finished eating, Sam said it was time for a bath. We all stripped off and got in the water. Thank God it was getting warmer and the water felt nice.

Sam decided that she and Cassie were going to wash me. I'm not stupid, so I didn't argue. After they had washed me, thoroughly I might add, Sam soaped up her hands, then handed me the soap. She started washing Cassie, so I took the hint and helped.

Washing Cassie was a lot of fun. She wiggled and squirmed and giggled when we washed different spots. After we finished her, Sam held her arms up and said it was her turn.

I was aware that Sam had experienced sex with another girl, so I wasn't surprised when she touched Cassie in unconventional places. I was a little surprised when Cassie didn't avoid Sam's naughty bits. Of course, Sam was unfazed by who touched her or where they touched.

After we had finished bathing, we laid out on a blanket to let the air dry us. We had pretty well dried off when Sam gave me a big kiss and asked, "How's the sore body coming along?"

"Well, yesterday, I was as sore as I'd ever been in my life. I didn't think I was going to die, but I kind of wished I would. Today, it's not so bad. I still don't feel like starting a marathon, but I'm not in agony either. I figure that by tomorrow I'll be fine."

"Good. Then tomorrow you'll make love to Cassie for the first time."

Okay, I knew I could argue and I knew I could refuse. I also knew it wouldn't do any good. I looked at Cassie and she had a pleading look on her face. "How do you feel about that, Cassie?" I asked.

She grinned and said, "Well, I guess I can wait until tomorrow if I have to."

"You know I love you, don't you?"

"Yes, Ed, and I love you too. I think the three of us are going to have a very good life together, even if we are in a different time."

"I think so too, sis," Sam said.

I must have gone to sleep, because the next thing I knew Sam and Cassie were fixing dinner and Hawk was nuzzling my neck.

The girls had made a pot roast similar to the one we had the other day. This one was even better though. Sam had also baked biscuits to go with the roast and they were every bit as good as Mrs. Jenkins' and I told her so.

"Are we going to travel or stay here tomorrow?" I asked.

"Why don't we decide that in the morning? This is a nice enough place to spend another day, but I think we're all feeling a lot better, so it would probably be a good day to travel too," Sam said.

"I could go either way," I said. "After my little nap there, I feel even better than I did before."

"Goody," Cassie said, then she tackled me. Being tackled by a naked young lady isn't a bad experience. It is especially nice when you're naked too. Cassie started kissing me like there was no tomorrow, so I rolled to my knees, then got up, lifting her with me.