Chapter 2

Day 6

I awoke to the sound of a scream! Jumping up I looked wildly around imagining all sorts of disasters. I saw the younger girl holding the blanket to her chest shaking like a leaf. "What the hell!" I burst out. She gave me a wild look. "Do you speak English?" She didn't reply. "Sprechen sie Deutsch? Parlez vous Francais?"

"Where are my clothes? Who are you?" she answered. I started walking toward her.

"Stop! Don't come any closer!" she screamed as she scrambled back holding the blanket around her.

I raised my hands and backed off, "I'm Alex and I found you and the other girl in the wagon passed out with a fever. Your clothes are either in the stream being washed or in the wagon."

"My sister, is she all right?"

"If you mean the other girl, she is on the other side of you."

She scurried backwards keeping an eye on me the entire time. Seeing the other girl, she dropped down and began crying.

"Do you mind if I check her temperature?" I asked, making a tentative movement toward her.

She looked at me distrustfully and seemed to be thinking about hitting me.

"Look, I've already seen everything you two have. I'm too tired to have any carnal interest in either one of you right now anyway."

She backed away as I approached, "I am going to be checking your sister's temperature and trying to get some fluids in her for awhile. Why not get dressed in the wagon?" She stumbled as she walked dropping the blanket and revealing her body. "You're going to be weak for a while, you've been in bed for at least 4 days."

She nodded at my remark then she remembered that she was naked, blushed and blurted, "You are no gentleman!"

She ran to the wagon keeping an eye on me all the time.

"There is a revolver in the chest, if it makes you feel safer", I called. I checked her sister's temperature again and saw a flash of white skin going into the wagon out of the corner of my eye. To be honest, between the stress of suddenly being here and finding the girls ill, I really hadn't had any interest in their bodies.

I went to the fire and got the pot to clean it again and start cooking some more soup. I went to the stream, scooping out some more sand, and put my hand into the pot to clean it. I saw something shining in the bottom of the pot while I was scrubbing. I reached in and pulled out what appeared to be a small gold nugget.

"This looks like the gold nuggets I saw at the Sutter Museum. No way!" I thought to myself. I looked around and picked up a small rock and tried to break it. It just flattened out. "Damn! Now what do I do?"

"Alex", I heard. "Where are you?"

I finished washing out the pot and returned to the wagon, leaving the gold where it was. It didn't have any use I could see right now.

"Where's the rest of the wagon train and our oxen?" she demanded in an imperious tone as if it was my fault that they weren't here.

"Look." I paused. "What is your name anyway? I can't just keep calling you girl."

"Elizabeth."

I resumed, "Liz, all I know is I found you and your sister here in your wagon by yourselves."

"Don't call me Liz, it's Elizabeth!" she automatically retorted. I'm sure she was in shock, because she suddenly burst into tears. I went to her and held her until she stopped crying. Sniffling she said, "Thank you."

"Elizabeth, what's your sister's name?"

"Claire." She started crying again. "Is she really going to be all right?"

I avoided answering right away because I still didn't know what they had had. "Can you tell me what you were sick with?"

"Cholera is what the wagon master said."

I let my breath out in relief. I had been treating them the right way with the water and soup. I didn't have to worry about catching cholera since I had gotten a shot in Mexico not long before due to a cholera epidemic there.

"How long have you been sick? Do you remember?"

"What day is today?"

"I don't even know what year it is and you want to know the date?" I thought to myself. Aloud I replied, "I have no idea. I've been lost for the last eight days myself."

"The last day I remember clearly was Sunday, April 25th, and I think that was about 4 days ago."

"I found you four days ago and I haven't seen anyone since then. Right now, we need to try and get your sister well. I need some help in getting her to drink some water and soup. Could you get her to drink some?" I looked at her, "I think you need some as well. Drink as much of this water as you can and boil all the water before you drink it". She gave me a strange look. "I've put in a teaspoon of salt and six teaspoons of sugar per quart for your diarrhea. It will not cure the cholera but it will keep your body from losing all your fluids. Boiling the water will help you from getting sick again."