The Stewards of Reed, Volume 1: The Rise of Fallon by RM Wark Read Free Book Online Page A

kitchen by the time he came back inside. She had put a kettle on the fire. “You should have some tea with breakfast.” Her voice was tired and unusually quiet.
    Gentry hugged her. “I shall be fine, Mother. I promise.”
    His mother gave a faint smile but said nothing.
    His father had hobbled into the kitchen just as Gentry was finishing up, but he only smiled at his son. For once, words escaped him.
    Gentry finished packing up Casper as his parents watched from the front porch, sipping their morning tea. He returned to give them a quick hug good-bye, and then headed down the same path that Adam had the day before. Hammond started whittling on a stick trying to occupy the time (and his mind), and Edith went back into the house to start her daily chores.
    As she was sweeping the floors, Edith happened to notice a bronze tube upon the side table in the sitting room. “I suppose I should not be so surprised to find this,” she sighed, shaking her head. “Of all the things for the boy to forget.” Gentry had only been gone less than a half hour, and Casper was a bit weighted down, so she figured she should be able to catch him if she hurried.
    “And where might you be heading off to this fine morning?” asked Hammond as he watched his wife run down the front steps of their porch.
    Edith stopped and turned around to face her husband. She held up the tube in one hand, and placed her other hand at her hip in a pose that was all too familiar. She did not have to speak a word. Hammond just shook his head and chuckled, returning to his whittling stick.
    It took Edith nearly two hours to catch up with her son. He had been traveling east on the road to Bartow when he heard the sound of a horse galloping fast behind him. Pulling over to the side of the road, he was surprised to see his mother. “Mother, what are you doing here?”
    “Perhaps you were not as prepared as you thought,” she replied, retrieving the message tube from her satchel and holding it in the air.
    Gentry’s eyes grew wide as he stared at the tube. “Thank you, Mother. I do not suppose this is the best start to such an important journey.” His face was solemn and he shook his head in disbelief that he could have forgotten to pack the most crucial item of all. Nevertheless, the grave expression was soon replaced with a wide grin as he reached for the tube and put it carefully inside his coat pocket. “Alas, every journey has its troubles; it comforts me to know that mine have come to pass so soon in my travels, and gives me hope that the remainder of my journey shall be without incident.”
    Edith could not resist smiling at her son’s boyish grin and naive logic. “Let us hope so. Take care, Gentry.”
    “Always, Mother,” he said. “Good-bye now.”
    As he turned to go, his mother called after him. “Safe travels, son. We shall be waiting for you.”

    *************

CHAPTER FIVE
The Start of Gentry's Journey

    It was at best a two-day journey to Bartow, especially with the weight that Casper was bearing, but the weather was cooperative and Gentry made good progress. Since parting ways with his mother earlier that morning, Gentry had not seen another soul on the road the first day, and that was just fine by him. That night he and Casper camped out in a little clearing beside the road, just a few hundred feet from a small stream with plenty of fresh water to drink. He started a small fire to keep them warm through the night and hopefully keep the wild animals at bay. Then he pulled out the route map that he had prepared with his father the day before and studied it some more. At last his eyes grew heavy and sleep fell upon him.
    He awakened to the sounds of birds chirping the next morning. He fed and watered Casper, ate some bread and started back on the road. A few hours later he encountered two men with a wagon load of goods, heading in the opposite direction. They were on their way to Henly but were planning to stop over in Reed for the night.