Chapter 10

The little convoy had gone about 13 miles over fairly rough country, and the day was coming to an end. Fortunately, they were close enough to a little hamlet with a saloon/hotel where Alice Brown had scheduled an overnight stop. Naturally, everybody but Alice spent some time in the saloon after supper. Keith got into a long conversation with a couple of local businessmen and came to bed shaking his head.

The next day, they made about 20 miles in country a little less demanding on the mules. They repeated their overnight stay in a saloon/hotel, and Keith sought out some local businessmen for another long conversation. Again, he came to bed looking very thoughtful. Sam wondered what was going on, but figured that Keith would tell her when he was ready.

Each of the next 4 days were a repeat of these days, and Keith was looking more and more thoughtful as he came to the conjugal bed each night. This distraction Keith was showing was really beginning to bug Sam, especially since she had some news of her own. They were due to make Santa Barbara the next day, so she decided to break her news to Keith that night, then she would figuratively twist his arm to make him tell her what he was thinking about.

They had made their delivery to the freight office and were having supper with Alice and the two drivers, when Alice dropped a bombshell of her own. "Gentlemen, I have been thinking about closing down the business. There is no longer enough freight going overland between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara to make a freight line profitable. We just can't compete with the coastal boats. Unless something comes up in the next few days, we are all going to have to look for a new job!"

A stunned silence was soon followed by everybody trying to talk at once. Finally, Keith said, "EVERYBODY, PLEASE LET ME GET A WORD IN. I have an idea which may save the company. Every night of this trip, I have talked ta local businessmen in the small towns we passed through, and everyone had the same sad story ta tell. Whenever they needed ta pick up new stock, they had ta hire an' send their own wagons ta pick up the merchandise. This was ridiculously expensive cuz they rarely had a full wagon load, yet they had ta pay for a full wagon's capacity. What they needed wuz a freight line that would deliver small loads ta each town along the route we followed.

"These businessmen were willing ta pay more than Mrs. Brown currently charges fer a full wagon load of freight, as long as they didn't have ta pay for the whole wagon. So, what I propose is that we arrange with these small businesses ta handle their freight needs fer a rate based on the size or the weight of the merchandise they want delivered. It would be a package here an' a couple of crates there, but I think that it could easily amount ta double what Mrs. Brown usually charges fer a whole wagon load right now.

"I don't have exact numbers ta quote, because I don't have all of the information I would need, but I'm sure that Mrs. Brown could pull those numbers right out of her head. I think that we could easily work something out if we discuss it in a meeting, tomorrow."

Alice said, "Oh, Keith, that's brilliant! Let's meet tomorrow an' work out the details. An', while we're at it, we kin arrange fer ya ta take over full management of the company. I'll be a silent partner. Ya kin run the operation, but I'll be available fer any background information ya might need."

John Schmidt turned to Bill Jenkins, "Now, that's what I been talkin' about. It takes a man ta run a freight company. I guess I'll stay around fer a while longer ta see how things work out."

An expression of relief spread over Sam's face at this announcement, now she could give Keith her news without worrying about their future. That night, as they lay cuddling in bed, Sam said, "Dear, there's sumpthin' I need ta tell ya. I wuz afeared ta say anythin' sooner, cuz I didn't know how we could manage it, but I'm gonna have a baby!"

Keith was immediately stunned to complete rigidity. This frightened Sam—did Keith reject the idea of a baby? Then Keith let out a whoop that must have wakened everybody on the floor. Moments later, there was a banging on their door and cries for information about their safety. Keith ran to the door and opened it enough to say, "Sorry, folks, I didn't mean to bother y'all. Sumpthin' jus' surprised me. Everythin's OK. Thanks fer checking up, but we're fine. Good night an' I promise ta be quiet fer the rest of the night."