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“You’re not lazing around, you’re healing. We need you when you’re completely healed. What does the doctor say?”
“He said three more weeks of rest,” Beatrice piped up from the doorway of their house.
“Well, three weeks it is then,” Carter said and then softened his voice. “It’s for your own good Aaron. Your job will be waiting when you get better.”
Aaron mumbled something and kept his face lowered.
“What’s that?” Carter pressed.
“I said I don’t like to get paid for nothing.”
Carter grinned. “Well, you’ll just have to bear with it.”
He thumped Aaron on the shoulder. “If you need anything, all you have to do is ask.”
“I know boss and uhm...Thank you, we sure do appreciate everything, my wife and I.”
“No worries, you’re an asset to the ranch. Now get some rest.”
Despite his exhaustion, Carter took a tour of the ranch, spoke with his workers and spent some time with the ranch head.
Chapter Five
Carter never got to see Stephanie. His body ached for relief as he stood listening to the thirty or so men gathered in the town meeting hall of Chester Town, the second largest town in Montana after Butte. He tuned his ears back to the discussion. It grew heated as man after man stood up to give his views on the best way of approaching the Government officials.
“They owe it to us,” a dark wiry man said, jumping to his feet. “His face was flushed with anger. “That’s their work; to improve the state to enable us ranchers.”
Feet stumped hard on the ground in approval.
“Why I hear the State of Utah has done the same without needing to be begged and pushed,” a voice from the back added.
“Even the Eastern states are getting their share of revenue from the Government, why not us? Take Ohio, for example, the city has been developed beyond belief. Columbus will soon over take the leading cities in the country.”
Columbus rang a bell in Carter. He searched his brain until he found the connection. The newspaper where he had sent the mail order bride advert had their offices in Columbus. Carter grinned. He had completely forgotten that he had placed an advert. His face creased into a frown.
He had not received any reply. Carter hated failure and he would hate to fail at finding a bride. He had been so engrossed with the ranch that he completely forgot about it. If he hadn’t heard anything in three weeks, he would research other publications which carried mail order bride adverts to widen his search.
“They’ve been sleeping on the job!” a loud voice boomed in the hall.
Carter suddenly felt fed up with the meeting. It was packed with people who thought with their hearts rather than their heads. He pushed his chair back, its legs scraping against the cement floor noisily. The hall gradually hushed up.
His own stature and the family name helped. Circle one was one of the three largest ranches in Montana and when Carter had something to say, people listened.
“The way I see it, we have nothing to lose by adopting a discreet approach and everything to gain.”
Carter was silent for a moment as he waited for his words to sink in.
“If we approach them from a point of anger, waving our rights at them, we’ll only anger them and I can assure you we’ll not have achieved our goal.”
“You suggest we beg them?” A man from the back asked.
“No, that’s not what I mean at all. My suggestion is this; we pick someone to explain the benefits of the system to the state government. Everyone wants to know how they’ll benefit. That’s my idea,” Carter said and sat down abruptly.
The applause started from the front and like a wave, spread to the back so that Carter remained the only man with his hands folded neatly on his lap.
“I propose Carter Taft to speak on our behalf,” someone shouted.
Carter shook his head.
