Pioneer Village

"Why don't you just go on home after you take care of your business Marty? We'll probably stay here in town a day or two and take care of things before we come home. We'll visit her grave if nothing else. I'll stop by your place when we get back. Thank you."

Marty quickly sold the items he brought to town and purchased his supplies. He was riding out of town within two hours of entering it. As he rode, he thought about Callie and wondered where things went wrong for her. He felt somewhat guilty about her leaving the farm and ultimately getting killed. He knew it really wasn't his fault but he still felt she might be alive still if he had handled her differently. She just wasn't what he was looking for in a woman, not that he was looking then and he certainly wasn't looking right now. He supposed she was just too modern in her outlook but even back in their original home cheating wasn't looked on favorably.

Marty stopped at the Peterson's small place on his way home. When he rode into their yard Harold was on the roof of the barn patching holes. He almost fell twice trying to get off the roof. When he finally made it to the ground safely and walked up to shake Marty's hand, Marty could smell alcohol on his breath. After he told them about Callie, he asked if they would keep an eye on the Carter place while they were in town taking care of her belongings and closing up the house she lived in.

Harold loudly said, "Why shore we'll watch out for them. It sure is a shame that fine young woman ended like that. Well, I best be gettin' back ta work. It feels like rain and I want to get these roofs done afore it comes."

Marty decided he couldn't just let him climb back onto the roof in his condition if he could help it. He said, "Uh Harold. Do you think that's such a good idea right now? I think you've had a few drinks today and I sure wouldn't be climbing around on a roof if I had a few. It's too easy to fall."

Harold seemed to instantly become hostile and he turned toward Marty as he said, "Well I really do not give a hoot what YOU would or would not do. I have work to do here and it is no body's business whether I have had a drink or two before I do it. I will thank you to keep your nose out of my business." He turned back to the ladder and unsteadily climbed back onto the roof. Marty shook his head and mounted his horse to ride back to his home.

As Marty turned to leave Rebecca grabbed the reins. Marty looked down at her and she gave him a quick smile. She then said, "Thank you Marty. I tried to tell him he shouldn't be on the roof in his condition but that just made him angry. You have a safe trip home and come back soon."

The next three days went by as they normally did. Marty worked from shortly after dawn until almost dusk either improving his homestead or milling grain. As he worked, he thought about all the modern conveniences and labor-saving devices he wished they had. He found it hard to believe this earth hadn't progressed any more than it had. From what he could determine in many ways their technology was at early 1800 levels rather than the late 1800's they were living in. Finally, one day he gave up working on a project in disgust and decided to spend some time trying to build more efficient machinery for his farm. He had taken several classes in blacksmithing and even some engineering classes in college and thought he could make some simple machines if he could get the metal he needed.

He was deep into his first project late one evening, a primitive hay baler, when Rebecca came riding in on a galloping horse. When she stopped and dismounted, she dropped the reins and ran into the shop where Marty was working. She was crying and cried out to Marty, "Marty, you said you were a Corpsman in the Army. Can you please come to our place and help Harold? He got drunk again and when he fell, he dropped the lantern in the barn. He hit his head and knocked himself out. It was all I could do to get him and the stock out before the fire got too bad. I did what I could for him but he's burned really bad. Can you please come help?"

Marty dropped his tools and ran for his house. As he went, he said, "Yeah. Let me get some gear and I'll be right there."

They rushed back to the Peterson homestead and into the house. By the time they arrived the barn was completely burned. Harold was breathing heavily and moaning in pain, still unconscious. Marty worked over him for several minutes trying to help. They set a broken arm as well as cleaning and treating the burns and a cut on his head. Harold lay unconscious as they worked. Finally, Marty stood and walked over to the table where he sat down.

Marty stretched his legs out from the chair, let out a deep breath and said, "Rebecca, I've done all I know how to do. From the looks of things, he probably has a concussion as well as the burns. All we can do now is watch him and hope for the best. I'm sorry."

"Thank you for what you have done. It's late. Let me fix you a late supper at least."

"I really shouldn't. We both have plenty to do. I can get something when I get home. I can find something, I'm sure."

"No. I won't hear of it. You just sit and relax. I have to cook something for us anyway so it's no bother."

After a late but very good meal Marty returned home. He told Rebecca before he left that he would check back the next day to see if she needed anything. When he returned just before noon, he found Rebecca crying. She saw him and ran to him. She grabbed him in a hug and said, "Harold died early this morning. He never regained consciousness. What am I going to do now? This makes two husbands that have died on me now."

Marty gave her the comfort he could, just holding her gently until she stopped crying and pushed away from him. He said, "I'm sorry about Harold. You let me know if I can help in any way. I'm sure the rest of the neighbors will help too. As for what you are to do, you still have this place. I'm sure we neighbors can help you finish proving up on it so you will have a place to live. We can talk about that more later though. Is there anything I can do for you right now? What do you want to do about the funeral?"

Rebecca said, "We neither one had any family hereabouts so I suppose we can just bury him here on the place. I came from a long ways away with my first husband, and Harold never told me about any family anywhere."

"OK. First, I'll go tell the Carter's then I'll come back and begin digging the grave."

The next days were busier than normal for Marty. In addition to the work he was doing on his place, he went over to Rebecca's daily to help her with the heavier work. She always managed to get him to eat a meal with her. He noticed as the days went by the meals were becoming smaller. All at once, he realized they had eaten almost all her food. He pushed back from the table and said, "Rebecca, I just realized we've probably eaten all your food, haven't we?"

Rebecca looked down at the table and nodded her head slightly as she whispered, "Yes, I'm sorry. I'm doing the best I can. I really need to go to town and buy what I can but we're... I'm almost out of money. I don't know how I'm going to hold on here."

Marty put his napkin on the table and said, "We're GOING to make sure you hold on. Look, I'm getting farther behind at home. I have a lot of grain I need to grind or sell and"

Rebecca cut him off as she wailed, "I'm sorry! I knew I shouldn't let you do all the work here that you've been doing. I'll get by somehow."

"NO, that's not what I meant. I think we can work together here. I can still help you out here but it would help if you could come to my place and help me there too. There are a lot of jobs at both places you can do and that would allow me to do the heavier work you can't do. I take a lot of time cooking, cleaning and doing lighter work that you could do if you were willing to do it."

Rebecca smiled and slowly the tears stopped. She wiped her tears with her apron and said, "I can do that. Why don't we go back to your place now and we can get started? I still need to go into town for supplies though."

"We can do that too but I have a lot of supplies still. We can use them for now until we get more caught up then we'll go into town together. The Carter's and I usually go in every month to stock up. You can come with us. If money is a problem, I'm sure I can help there too. I can pay you for your help."

"NO. You won't pay me. You've been helping me for no pay and I'll do the same. We'll trade help and call it even."

PIONEER VILLAGE

CHAPTER 7

BY SW MO HERMIT

The arrangement with Rebecca worked well. In fact, it worked in an outstanding manner. Marty was surprised how well they worked together and how fast Rebecca caught on to the work. It appeared as if they were getting about two and a half times the work done that Marty could accomplish alone.

Marty and Rebecca spent the mornings doing the harder physical work on both places. They tended the gardens, the crops and livestock then after lunch they worked in the mill or on Marty's projects trying to build more modern equipment and conveniences with the limited technology and quality of metal available. Marty was constantly surprised how well and how fast Rebecca caught on to what he was attempting and was able to help.

By the end of the first week of the arrangement Marty noticed Rebecca eyeing him speculatively as he worked. Finally, she asked, "Marty, what are you doing in the shop? What are all those small pieces of metal you're making going to be for? I know you're making something different but what is it and how did you come up with the idea?"

"I'm trying to make a machine that will make bringing hay in for the winter easier."

"Oh. Whatever gave you an idea for that?"

"It's something we used to use where I came from but I've not seen anything like it here so I thought I would try to make a simpler copy of one like I used to use."

Rebecca looked at him strangely and said, "Oh". She then told him supper was ready and they went into Marty's house for the meal. As they ate, Rebecca asked, "Just where did you come from that you had a machine like you're trying to make?"

"It was quite a distance from here I'm afraid. Not many people have ever heard of it."

Rebecca finally gave up her questioning in exasperation and vowed to keep a close eye on Marty. There was something really strange about him and his friends.

The next morning Rebecca was working in the garden again when she heard Marty return from the field where he had been cultivating the crops. She knew he couldn't be done and went to the shop to see what the problem was. When she got to the shop, Marty was contemplating the obviously broken plow. She said, "What happened other than the obvious?"

"I don't know. It looks like metal fatigue. See here where it's broken? It was either a non-spec part or they used an aftermarket part made out of really poor metal. It looks like the metal had been cracked for some time and I didn't notice it until it broke."

"Well, can we repair it or will we have to buy a new one?"

"I think I can repair it but it'll take a while. I doubt seriously we can find a repair part for this model cultivator. Are you at a place where you can help? It would go faster."

"Of course. What can I do?"

"I have some special tools in my storage room that I need. Can you come help me get them out?"

As they walked toward the house and then around it to a back-door Marty said, "Rebecca, I'm not sure this is a good idea. Maybe you should just go on home and let me do what I can with the cultivator and we can get back to it tomorrow."

"No. You said yourself I could help and I'm going to. What's the problem anyway? Why did you change your mind all at once?"

"Some of the tools I have are going to be strange to you and I don't want to upset you or shock you."

"You won't. Now come on, we're wasting time here." She turned and headed for the barn, wondering why Marty would keep tools there that he normally needed in his shop. She turned when she realized Marty wasn't following her and saw him opening a door in the side of his house that had a large padlock on it. When she got near him again, she stopped and her mouth dropped open in shock when she saw the lock hanging on the hasp. It looked like a modern lock. She felt her heart throb when the door swung farther open and she saw the conex as Marty unlocked it and swung the doors open.

Rebecca slowly walked toward the open doors. Marty was already inside when Rebecca got to the doors. He looked up quickly when he heard Rebecca say, "Oh, my GOD! You have a welder and a generator! How did you get those? You're NOT from here are you?"

Marty stood and looked at her when he heard her identify the tools. He watched as she wandered into the conex and began touching and identifying tools and equipment. "A chain saw, oh, there's a bench grinder and a circular saw!" She turned to him with a look of wonder and hope in her eyes and continued, "You're not from here, are you? You weren't with us when we came here. How did you ever get these..."

"Rebecca, where are you from? And no, I'm not from here. I told you I came from a long way off. I have no idea how far."

She began crying and said, "I didn't think I would ever see anyone from home again or see any of the things I used to use. Where are you from? How long have you been here?"

Marty once again held a crying Rebecca in his arms until she calmed down. He said, "I've, no, we've been here almost two years now. We're from all over. I came from a small town in Missouri. The Carter's are from eastern Oklahoma. I'm not sure where the Stiles and Talleys are from. I never asked but we're all from the same drop."

"Oh my God. Are you going back when your time is up? If you've been here almost two years it's almost time for you to leave if you're going to. Can I go back?"

"No, I have decided to stay here. There isn't anything back home for me. I lost my farm to the bank and I love it here. Sure, I work hard and don't have all the modern conveniences I used to have but I'm living well and doing fine. I'm staying. I don't know if they will let you go back or not. I was under the impression we had two years to decide and return to the town we arrived in if we wanted to return to our own earth. How long have you been here?"

"Almost four years. My husband that come with me died after we had been here short of three years. We had decided to stay so didn't go to our drop point when the two years were up. I was just barely getting by when Harold came along and we got married several months ago. When we were dropped, they told me I had to wait for a five-year mark to return if I didn't go back at the end of two years. I knew I couldn't make it alone until then so I decided to marry Harold. I didn't know he was a drunk until after we married. I probably would have left him to go back. He wasn't much of a husband you know. If divorces were more acceptable here, I would have done that because of his drinking but I decided to wait and run off to go back when the five years were up."

They spent the rest of the day talking about their respective pasts as they repaired the cultivator. They drug the generator and welder to the door and welded the break in the metal then put everything away and closed the container once more. As they finished, Marty said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to weld much longer. I Don't have much gas left and even with the stabilizer I'm afraid it'll go bad soon even if I don't run out beforehand."

That evening they talked so late Marty said, "Rebecca, it doesn't make much sense for you to go home this late and I worry about you traveling in the dark anyway. Why don't you sleep in one of my extra rooms tonight?"

She looked at him with a frown as she considered his offer. Marty said, "I promise that's all I have in mind. You know you can trust me. If I was going to do something, I would've done it before now don't you think?"

Rebecca smiled and said, "Yes, I suppose you would but what if I WANT you to do something?"

Marty looked at her and asked, "What brought that up—especially now? Do you want me to do something?"

"I don't know. No, not now. I don't know why I said that. I suppose it's because you're from back home. I don't know. I have thought you were a great guy since we got here to the farm and those thoughts have just grown as we worked together. That's all. And no, I don't want to take the chance of getting pregnant. You know how the people look at unmarried mothers and children born out of wedlock. I could maybe barely get by with it for the next month or two since Harold died so recently but it would be a stretch."

Marty smiled and said, "Fine. I know how you feel. You're a great woman too. You have strength of character and body and a fine personality. Now, let's get cleaned up and go to bed. The work is still there for tomorrow."

The next morning, they were up with the chickens once again but things felt different otherwise. For one, since Rebecca spent the night breakfast was earlier. There also seemed to be a change in the air, they interacted differently now that they knew they shared a common background. They began talking about the things they missed (and didn't) from their old lives. Electric lights and power were the favorite followed by hot water on demand. Rebecca also missed her washing machine and other kitchen devices. She asked, "Why don't you use your generator for power Marty? Surely you could find some way to set it up?"

"I think I can but I never seem to have time to do anything like that. I don't have many spare light bulbs either so I didn't see any reason to try and use it for that. When I built the flume and mill, I intended to hook the generator up and use water power for electricity but I just haven't had time to build the infrastructure. I also have to figure out some way to get the RPM's up enough to generate. The gasoline engine runs at a much higher RPM than I can generate from water power. I even have a couple more generators in the back of the conex. One of them is a tractor mounted one set to operate from the PTO (power takeoff) but it's supposed to run at 640 RPM. I took everything I could load when I lost the farm and took this job so I have a lot of things potentially useful but impractical to use right now. Well, I suppose this is more and less than a job but you know what I mean. I keep most of my higher technology things hidden in the conex for obvious reasons and only take them out when absolutely necessary."

"I wish we could have brought more things like you did. My first husband, Tom, grew up on a farm but wanted to get away from that life. He moved to the city as soon as he got out of school. I grew up in a small town and did the same. We met at work, fell in love and got married. He worked as a mechanic and I was counter help in the parts department and going to college at night. I was working on what I hoped would be an engineering degree so I could design better vehicles. We lost our jobs when the dealership closed and took this one in desperation. If we had been able to bring some tools and equipment, he might still be alive. He was killed working on a huge wagon when it fell on him. He had managed to become a blacksmiths apprentice here."

Somehow, Rebecca never returned to spending the nights in her cabin even after the busiest time of the year came to a close. If she didn't have work to do in the garden or mill, she was right with Marty as he worked on his "inventions". His first hay baler worked, but poorly. It did make it easier to bring the hay in however so they began improving it almost immediately.

As they worked, they both lamented the fact it was so difficult to get metals and other materials to what they now called their home. Rebecca said, "What we need is a railroad siding or at least a good road so we can get large wagons here with the metal you need. Or we need to move to a larger town."