Chapter Two
That evening set a pattern for their trip to Lake Bennett. They would eat around a campfire with the others, and after supper, Myrtle and Aaron would go for a walk, talking and simply getting to know one another.
“We should reach Lake Bennett tomorrow,” Aaron told the women. “Even with the extra food you brought, we only have enough to make it there, and we’ll have to buy more at Lake Bennett.”
Josie nodded. “We all planned for that. We’ll buy the food.”
Myrtle agreed. “We don’t want you to have to pay more because we decided to all travel together.” She thought longingly of food that wasn’t hardtack or jerky, but she would eat it with a smile. She felt like she had a lot to make up for.
Aaron nodded. “That would be good. When we get there, you four need to stay close to me. I don’t want any trouble. Lake Bennett is crowded with miners right now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I get more offers to buy some of you.”
Lula frowned. “We’ll all be quiet and try not to draw attention to ourselves.”
“That would be best,” Aaron said. “I have a friend there who kept my boat, and he should be able to trade me for one bigger. I only planned for two people, and the boat I have will not fit all of us.”
Ella nodded. “We understand. And we’re all willing to help with the journey in any way we can.”
“Good. We won’t be able to make it otherwise.”
The four friends exchanged looks. “We’d also be willing to cook along the way if it would help,” Myrtle said.
Aaron shook his head. “It won’t. We need to be able to move quickly, and there won’t be time for fishing or hunting. There will be more hardtack in our future.”
It was all Myrtle could do not to groan. “Whatever you feel is best,” she said, trying to keep her voice light and happy.
“Since we won’t be walking during the day, perhaps we could do some berry hunting in the evenings without slowing down much,” Lula suggested.
“That’s not a bad idea. And I’m sure we’d all love something different to eat,” Aaron said. “There tend to be a lot of berries along the Yukon River.”
Myrtle was thrilled to hear their days of only eating jerky and hardtack were going to end soon. She wasn’t certain she could bear even another day of it.
“Hopefully, Rusty will have something we can bring with us. I know how hard it is not to have any variety in our diets.”
“Rusty is your friend?” Myrtle asked.
Aaron nodded. “He is. He lives at Lake Bennett all the time, and helps where he can. He makes a decent profit that way as well. He’ll buy a boat from one man and sell it to another for more. He’s a smart businessman.” He stood and held down a hand to help Myrtle up.
Myrtle didn’t want to take another step that day, but she got to her feet with a smile. “If we see berries, I’ll give a shout,” she told the other women.
They all nodded tiredly. Walking so many miles up and down a mountain wasn’t easy for any of them.
“I think we’re all ready to have a break from so much walking,” Myrtle said to Aaron as they left camp.
He nodded. “Including me. The worst part of this journey is almost over.”
“I’m thankful for that!”
“Have you given more thought to what you want to do once we reach Yeti?”
She shrugged. “I’d like to bake pies. But if I need to do something different, then I’ll do it. I want us to do well financially, and it sounds like I’ll have a stove to pay for.”
He smiled. “Not really. I’ve already purchased it. But if you’re going to bake, you may want two stoves, and then you would need to purchase a second one.”
“I just might...”
Myrtle had started to look forward to her walks with Aaron in the evenings. They were difficult after walking all day, but she was learning a great deal about her new husband.
The others were already bedded down for the night when they returned to camp. It was their last night on this leg of the journey, and they were all exhausted and tired of walking the steep trail.
Aaron quickly kissed Myrtle goodnight, and she went to her bedroll with the other women while he slept close to the fire. It had been easier to do things that way, and though they often kissed, they hadn’t found a way to become truly intimate. It would happen.
*****
Thankfully, Rusty—Aaron’s friend—had a large boat they could buy at Lake Bennett.
It cost more than Aaron would have liked, but he would make it work.
True to their word, the ladies purchased food for the second half of their trip, but he could see by their expressions that the price had shocked them all.
It took them a few hours at Lake Bennett, but they were soon on their way.
“We’ll take the boat downstream until we reach the spot nearest Yeti. The Yukon River doesn’t go through town, so we’ll walk from there. The Tozitzna River does go through Yeti, but I’ve found it’s easier to walk from there.”
“Is that where salmon is caught near Yeti?” Myrtle asked. “Sally wrote to us about fishing somewhere near Yeti.”
“Yes, the Tozitna runs adjacent to my property. You’d be able to fish there if you wanted to. There’s plenty of salmon and whitefish. I actually prefer whitefish, but I would never turn down smoked salmon.”
“Good to know,” Myrtle said.
“I love to fish,” Josie said. “Are the whitefish trapped like salmon, or caught with a fishing pole?”
“They’re trapped either with a fish trap or with a net. Are you thinking that will be your way to contribute to what the others are doing?” Aaron asked.
Josie shrugged. “I might. I’m not sure yet. There are so many options that I want to hear them all before I commit to something.” Josie was always one to keep her options open.
“I wish we had a list of what was most needed,” Ella said. “I like the idea of hunting, but is there enough game to hunt year-round?”
Aaron laughed softly. “There’s always game in Alaska.
In the summer, especially during molting, you can hunt for ducks.
Mallard is my favorite because they taste the most like chicken.
Then in the fall, there’s moose. You can get bear anytime except winter, but they’re best in the fall.
Unless you’re hunting for their hides, and then it’s best to hunt in spring, when their hides are pristine. ”
“I like the idea of shooting a bear,” Ella said. “You seem to know a lot about hunting in Alaska.”
Aaron nodded. “I have a buddy who came up here as a trapper. He’s taught me a lot.”
“What’s his name?” Lula asked.
“Alex. I guess when I talk about men I work with, I should use their names.”
Lula nodded. “Alex is the man I’m supposed to marry.”
“Do the men know you ladies are coming?” For the first time, Aaron considered what a surprise it would be for the men if they weren’t forewarned. He was certainly happy he’d had warning, so he knew to clean up his cabin.
“They should,” Ella said with a frown. “We all sent them letters right before leaving.”
“Good. You don’t need to be surprising them all.”
Myrtle frowned, looking down at her hands. When Aaron made comments like that, she felt awful for having surprised him with her friends.
Aaron was mostly silent as they made their journey, letting the women talk about whatever they would.
At times, he was surprised by the topics they covered.
They spoke of everything from politics to the latest fashions from Paris.
He had no idea women could carry on an intelligent discussion about politics, but he could see the ladies were as well-versed as any man he’d spoken to.
Finally, after another two weeks of travel, where they stopped every night to make camp, they arrived at the turnoff to Yeti.
It was late in the day, so they made camp one last time.
Aaron had never felt so ready to be home as he was in that moment.
If it had just been him, he’d most certainly have pushed on to sleep in his own bed that night.
They were up with the birds the following morning, the ladies getting more talkative the closer they were to Yeti. They talked about what their husbands would be like, and it was all Aaron could do not to laugh at their words.
Josie seemed to understand that her future husband would be gruff and outdoorsy. Ella seemed to think she was marrying some sort of fairy tale prince. And Lula...Lula seemed to be fretting more than the others, worried that the man she married would be unkind.
He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to distribute the women to their future mates, but he was determined it would happen that day. Perhaps he would simply take them to work with him.
That would probably work best. They were all meant to marry men who worked for the lumber operation.
During their last day on the trail, Myrtle walked beside Aaron. She would be his partner now, and her friends wouldn’t be as big a part of her life as they had been. Of course, they would probably all go into business with the others if there was a job that appealed.
Myrtle knew that her bringing her friends along unexpectedly had cost Aaron more than he was expecting, so she was determined to make some kind of income to make up for it.
Her first view of the town was a bit of a shock.
There were three or four houses and a store.
Nothing else. She had to wonder how people survived with so little.
She’d been raised on a farm, but it was only a fifteen-minute walk into town.
This town...well, it left a lot to be desired.
No wonder the women who had gone before them were working so hard. So many things were needed in Yeti.
Aaron first went to his cabin and opened the door for her. “This is where we’ll live. I’m going to take your friends to the lumber mill to meet up with their future husbands. Mr. Johnson will marry them, I’m certain. Do you want to be there for the weddings? Or do you want to get settled in?”
“I’m going to settle in, I think. They’ll all be there for each other.
Do you mind if I show myself around and see what is available to me?
” She really wanted to bake. That was her dream.
She knew some of the others baked as well, but maybe she could take some of their burden from them.
“Would you let Everett know that another woman from Beckham is here, and I have a surprise for Belle? Ask her to meet me at ten at the store in the morning? I want to surprise her.”
Aaron nodded. “I will do it.”
After Aaron left with the others, she poked around the cabin. The new stove was there, making her wonder who had set it up. There were a few pots and pans, but she would need more to get started if she was going to make it as a baker.
She went down the trap door into the shallow cellar and was a bit surprised there was nothing there.
Had Aaron done nothing to prepare for winter?
It was already mid-September. Perhaps he meant to eat jerky and hardtack all winter, and while that might be fine for him, she was already sick of both.
She hoped she could get some things ready.
As she explored, she made mental notes of things she wanted to do for the cabin. Curtains were a must, although they would block the beautiful view of the mountains in the distance.
She could hear the trickle of water, so she followed its sound down to the river Aaron had mentioned. It looked both deep and wide. She could easily catch fish there if she chose to.
When she went back inside, she made a list of things she’d need if she was going to start a bakery.
She knew the other women sold their wares at the store in town, but she wouldn’t mind having an actual bakery, where someone could come in and have a piece of pie.
She’d have to think about that. Perhaps one of the other ladies would want to serve meals to the men while she started the bakery. All things they needed to think about.
The more time she spent thinking about it, and writing her list, the more excited she became.
She was starting a new life, and she would no longer be working for someone else.
She’d be working for herself. Every hour she put in would be for her future and not to line the pockets of already rich men.
She was going to love being her own boss. She could feel it deep in her bones.