Payne Township, Sedgwick County, Kansas - 1874
Early the next morning, ARJ woke with a start. Mum stood, hands on her hips, looking at the floor near the door. “Arthur, you’ve tracked mud into the house!” She didn’t sound happy. Dad strode across the room to the spot by the door where his boots stood to see what Mum was talking about.
Dad let out a sigh. “There’s mud all over my boots!” He exclaimed. “I know I wouldn’t have walked in like that.”
“Well, I don’t know who else would have been wearing them! See? It’s by the door, also.” Mum pointed out. “Kindly watch what you bring in with you!”
Dad nodded “I beg your forgiveness, Anna...” His voice trailed off and then he spoke again.
“I met the Brown’s on the road yesterday when I went out to check the south fields. They live in the next mile north.” He said, changing the subject. “A nice family who moved here just before us, about September.”
“Oh?”
“I believe it might have been Mr. Brown who paid the sheriff a visit the day after the mob was here. He never said as much… but I got the feeling…” Dad looked at Mum who was busy getting rid of the mud. “They have a little boy about the same age as John William. I believe another child soon to be here, also.” Arthur looked at Anna. “I think you and Mrs. Brown should meet.”
“It would be nice to get to know another woman a little better…” Mum said, as she got the rest of the mud from the floor. “Maybe the next warm day after the mud on the road dries up, we should pay them a visit.”
“It’s probably wise to let your brothers know, although I’m praying everything will go well when you stand in front of the judge.” ARJ’s ears perked up at the topic. Slipping out of bed, he went to Dad, waiting until there was a lull in the conversation. “Dad?” he said, “I’d like to go to court with you.” His father grasped his shoulder and smiled down at him. “Please?” ARJ continued, knowing he shouldn’t beg.
“That’s going to take some thought, son. I’m not sure you’d understand the issues being spoken of in a courtroom. You would probably be very bored.”
“Please think about it. I’m nearly eight-years-old.”
Dad smiled again. “You are growing up swiftly.” He said, as he stepped out onto the porch to get his boots.
After breakfast, Dad sat at the table in the morninglight penning a letter to his brothers, Uncle Albert, and Uncle William. ARJ sat with him but stayed as quiet as possible, watching his dad’s face as he wrote. The words must have been serious because Dad’s eyes would narrow, then his mouth would stretch tight as if he had no lips. He sucked in his breath sharply at one point and several lines later, released the air as he signed his name.
“Where do Uncle Albert and Uncle William live?” He asked his father when he was finished.
“They live in a place called Denver, Colorado right now.”
“Is that in America?”
Dad stood and reached for a blue book that stood on a shelf on the wall. He thumbed through the pages until he found a map of North America. Sliding the book in front of ARJ, Dad pointed at a small x he had made near the center of America.
“This is where we are.” ARJ stared at the tiny x. “And this is where your uncles, aunts and cousins live.” He pointed to a second x near some squiggly lines.
“What are all these lines that they live by?” ARJ pointed.
Dad picked the book up and studied the map closely. “Those are the Rocky Mountains.”
ARJ sat and stared at the map for a long time as Dad sealed the envelope and got ready to leave for town. “Where is the Isle of Wight?” He finally asked.
“It’s on another page.” Dad said, leafing through the book until he found the right one. “Right there.” He said, pointing to a tiny green spot surrounded by blue under a large green island Dad said was England.
‘It looks so small and far away… and on a different page.’ Arthur thought to himself.
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