Wild Heart on the Prairie (A Prairie Heritage, Book 2) by Vikki Kestell Read Free Book Online

agreed. He, Karl, and Søren walked into town and toward
the hardware store. The bell on the door tinkled, announcing their entrance. Both
men immediately liked what they saw.
    The store was large and well stocked; out a side door was a
fenced yard filled with cut lumber. The owner greeted them pleasantly. Jan and
Karl introduced themselves and Søren, saying that Jensen had sent them.
    “We must buy wagons and oxen today and then come back to
make our purchases. Would your sønn be willing to come with us? We do
not know the town or the language. He would be a great help to us.”
    Sauli, a thirteen-year-old boy, was pleased to be asked to
help. Although five years separated them, Sauli and Søren grinned and began
chatting away, some in Swedish or Riksmaal, some in English.
    Jan was glad for it. Søren could use some time with
another boy , he thought. And, who knows? Maybe he will learn more
English today.
    Even with Sauli’s help, it took most of the day to find
three good wagons and three sound yoke of oxen for sale. And the purchases were
more expensive than Jan or Karl had imagined.
    “So!” Karl allowed grudgingly. “They will be worth that much
more when we get off the train, ja ?”
    The wagons they bought were not covered like “prairie
schooners.” They were large, plain boxes with high sides. Jan and Karl did not
expect the trip from where they left the railroad to their land to take more
than three days, if that. They planned to cover their goods with canvas
tarpaulins during the trip and sleep under the wagons at night.
    The men tested the wagons and the oxen for an hour, driving
up and down a worn track outside the stock yards. Karl was concerned about one
of the oxen that had a particularly surly and unpredictable temperament. Jan
and Karl gave both boys sound warnings not to stand within reach of any of the oxens’
horns or hooves, especially the temperamental one’s.
    They then looked for and found a wagon repair shop and
purchased two spare wheels and a spare axle and tongue. When Jan and Karl were
satisfied with their purchases, they allowed Sauli to drive one of the empty wagons
to his father’s store.
    The boys rode together, Sauli pointing out interesting
things to Søren as they wound through town. With every hour he spent with
Sauli, Søren picked up new English words.
    The three wagons pulled to a stop in front of the Rehnquists’
store, spanning the full length of the storefront. It was past three o’clock in the afternoon and they had not stopped to eat at midday.
    Each driver set the wagons’ brakes; Jan and Karl tied the first
team to a thick post. They tied the second and third teams to the wagons in front
of them. Jan left Søren with the wagons with orders to keep the oxen calm.
    “Mind their hooves and horns, Sønn ,” Jan reminded him
yet again.
    Karl produced the list he and Jan had worked so hard on and
began to read it off to Mr. Rehnquist: Two plows, two sickles, an axe, two hatchets,
a whetstone, a pickaxe, a pry bar, a shovel, two hoes, a rake.
    “May I suggest that you also buy a sod cutter?” Mr.
Rehnquist explained the sharp, plow-like tool’s use in cutting through prairie
grass and removing blocks of thickly rooted sod. “Even if you do not use the
blocks for building, you will want to cut the grass and its roots out so you
can plant in the soil beneath.”
    “ Ja , one of those,” both Thoresen men spoke at the
same time.
    Two hammers, a saw and extra blades. Two sizes of nails,
one keg each.
    Mr. Rehnquist pointed out smaller tools. “Will you need a
rasp or an auger? Chisels? A planer?”
    “My brother is a woodworker,” Karl replied. “We brought his
finer woodworking tools with us.”
    Candles and matches. Lamps, wicks, cans of kerosene. A cask
of grease. A washtub. Two large cast-iron cauldrons. Cast-iron skillets, pots,
and Dutch oven. Grain grinder.
    The items stacked up; Mr. Rehnquist had Sauli fetch some
boxes and crates. Sauli and Jan packed the