As darkness began to fade and morning took hold on the land, Ladybird awoke to the tickling breeze on her face. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes with a yawn. Last night had been hot and they had slept with the window open and now the sounds of morning came in to wake them.

She pushed back the blankets and looked at the bed next to hers wondering how Miriam had slept last night. When she noticed the bed was well made without anyone in it she sprung up.

"Selene!" she cried going to the next bed. "Wake up. Miriam is gone!"

Selene sat up in bed. "What?"

"Miriam is gone," Ladybird said. "She's not in her bed she must have left in the night!"

"No," Selene said getting out of bed as the other girls began to wake. "I knew she wanted to leave but I didn't think it would be like this."

"Maybe it isn't too late," Beatrice said. "Maybe we could stop her."

"I'll wake Mama and Papa!" Selene said running out of the room.

"We should get help," Heloise said. "It will take too much time to ready Missy and we can't run all the way to Angel Veil."

"We might stop her if she went on foot," Wysteria said.

"But how do you stop a train?" Astrid asked.

"I'll get Mr. St. Cloud; he'd know what to do!" Ladybird said. With that she rushed out of the house forgetting her coat and shoes. Her country bred feet came in handy for running up the roads in the dawn's light with her night gown fluttering around her turning her into a rushing mist. When she reached the St. Clouds' home she rapped on the door.

Idris answered in his house coat and was very surprised to see the exhausted young woman turn up on the doorstep at this hour.

"Miriam is gone!" Ladybird wheezed as he let her inside.

Jessop was in the kitchen drinking tea and reading over an article written about him in the paper sent from a friend. He had already taken advantage of the morning in gone for an early walk before most of the people were even awake. That was how he liked it, calm and serene.

"Jessop, we have a problem!" Idris' voice boomed as he entered the kitchen with Ladybird.

Jessop eyes went wide at the sight of the woman, barefoot, and otherwise disheveled. He'd never seen such a mess.

"Jessop!"

"Yes?"

"Miriam Fairchild is missing," Idris said. "They think she may have gone to the depot."

"Right," Jessop said getting up from the table. "I'll see if I can track her down."

"What if she has already gone?" Ladybird asked. "She could have been on any train."

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Idris assured. "Wait here for me to dress and I'll take you back home."

Jessop watched Ladybird sink into a chair then followed his brother out of the kitchen. "I'll start at the depot and see if anyone has seen her," he said. "I can't see her traveling that far on foot in the dark."

"Well you do that," Idris said. "I'll try to keep the family calm."

Jessop raised a brow at his brother. "How do you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?"

"Help people with only words?" Jessop said. "I couldn't make a mouse feel safe but you..." he glanced back towards the kitchen.

"Well..." Idris said. "Look at it this way. We all have special talents. I could never do what you do. If we all could do what others did as well as they, then we would have no need for them. You no need for me, and I no need for you."

Jessop hated when people talked that way, it made him feel too warm inside. "I'd better get after her," he said putting on his hat and going out the door. He rode straight to the depot but the station hadn't seen any women, and in fact no boarded any of the trains which had only passed through. As the morning went on and the town came awake Idris joined him in the search and rode out to Brickyard.

The heat of the day grey quickly and by 8:00 Jessop was wishing for cloud cover. He took his horse towards the river to cool off, riding through the field and grasshopper colonies sending the insects jumping and spinning in the light. As he came down to the river bank below the oaks he caught sight of a boater hat moving in the grass with the dragonflies. Dismounting, he led his horse on until he saw that the hat belonged to a familiar woman. So not to startle her he clicked his tongue to get her attention.

Miriam turned around and first noticed the tall horse over the mound of high grass then she noticed Jessop.

"Everyone is looking for you," Jessop said as he approached her. "They think you've taken a train out."

"I only went for a walk," Miriam said turning back to the wide water. "I needed to clear my head."

Jessop unbridled his horse and let it drink then walked the little distance to Miriam. "You weren't thinking about running away," he said when he realized she had no luggage.

Miriam shook her head. "Not when I think about my sisters and my parents," she said. "I know they all love me very much but...I don't think I've come to love myself very much." She rested her elbows and her chin on her knees.

Jessop looked up the grassy mound then at his horse as it pawed the water. He wanted to take Miriam back and have the whole issue over with but he felt that wasn't the right thing to do at the moment. He sat down stiffly in the grass having been made a little saddle sore.

"You can't recognize it?" Miriam said looking across the river.

Jessop looked and saw nothing but woods yonder. "Recognize what?"

"This is where the house used to be," Miriam said. "It's all grown up now." A grasshopper landed on her shoe and she brushed it away. "Do you ever think about what he did? Kincaid Keller."

Jessop swallowed. "I...I suppose so. But it doesn't bother me as bad as it used to now that he's dead."

Miriam gave a little nod. "I suppose you're right. I just...I just look at my situation sometimes and I see the same evil in different carnations. Heloise likes to tell a story about when the river was born. She tells about the rain drops when they fall and how they say: God, make me anything you want to but please don't make me a river."

"Why?"

"She says because the river goes and goes and it can't be anything else because that's its only function. It's homeless unlike the oceans and the lakes. I thought about that and that's why I can't leave. I don't want to be a river. I want to reside forever like a great lake. That's my family and with them is where I want to be." She wiped her eye.

Jessop looked across the wide river then down at the murky shallows before them. "If ,I'm honest, it's been a long hard road for me too," he admitted and the shock in her face didn't go without notice. "Oh yes. Believe it or not I have tasted what it was like to be the loser." He scratched the side of his face. "To be honest I have to say you have fared better than me. You have more stacked against you and yet you can still stand up as tall as I can."

Miriam felt a little smile tugging at her face. She would have never imagined that he of all people would be one who could make her do so. She watched him stand and offer out his hand to help her up. "You know," she said as she got up and dusted her cream skirt. "Ladybird says you are an old soldier."

Jessop felt his face prickle at the sound of her name. "Why?"

"I do not know," Miriam said gathering her skirts and walking with Jessop to his horse. She watched him put the bridle back on and lead it away from the water.

"I'll hold her while you get on," he said.

"Get on?" Miriam said incredulously. "I couldn't." She looked at the great animal.

"It will take longer with you walking and your parents are worried," Jessop said.

Miriam approached the horse slowly. "I...I'm not sure how ethical it all is," she said trying to lift her leg into the stirrup and take hold of the western saddle.

"Don't worry about ethics," Jessop said. "Just get on."

"I'm trying!" Miriam said. "I'm not Taitiann."

Jessop shook his head and went around to her side. "Come here," he said and before she could object her picked her up by the waist and stuck her in the saddle. "Sit further back so you balance your weight on both sides." He instructed. "Good. Now bring this leg a little higher. Good. Put both hands around the horn for balance."

Miriam looked to the horses head then back at Jessop when he stiffed a laugh.

"This part," he said touching the highest part of the saddle. "Is the horn."

Miriam's mouth went tight and she took hold of the horn and held her head up with dignity. The horse started forward and though at first it made her nervous she got used to it and certainly preferred it to walking.

/

In the yard back home Mr. Fairchild was unhinging Missy from the wagon and Mrs. Fairchild sat on the porch in worries. When she caught sight of Miriam coming on the horse she jumped up and ran to them.

Jessop stopped the horse as the family approached and went around to Miriam to help her down.

"Oh, Miriam. My Miriam. What would I do?" he said.

"There, Papa. I only went for a walk. But I'm sorry I frightened everyone."

"I'm just glad you are all right," Mrs. Fairchild said hugging her daughter. "You know how worried I become when you get this way." 

"Well, Mama," Miriam said. "I know I can't promise to never worry you again but I sure will try." She hugged her mother tighter.

"Thank you for helping, Mr. St. Cloud," Mrs. Fairchild said.

As Jessop began to leave Heloise hurried after him. "Where are you going now, Mr. St. Cloud?"

"I thought I'd visit some of the parents of Miriam's students," Jessop said. "Perhaps I can convince them to let them return to school."

"But how will you do that?" Heloise asked. "They are all afraid of the fire. You'd have to stand guard all day like a sentinel statue and you're a lawyer not a soldier."

Jessop gave the young girl's words some thought. They had a nice town here and everyone had come together once to keep it from going into oblivion. Perhaps the citizens were willing to return the favor to the family that allowed them all to stay on their land. He thought about Ladybird comparing him to an old soldier. Perhaps it was time to put this fantasy into practice. "It just might work," he said to himself.

"What can I do?" Heloise asked with excitement.

"You can keep your eyes peeled for anything strange going on," Jessop said mostly to placate her.

Heloise thought. "Mr. Addams came into Old Town yesterday," she said.

Jessop nodded. He didn't think he'd consider that odd. Andrew was a rogue after all. A river, and a very destructive one. "You keep away from him," he advised then mounted his horse.

Heloise thought she would stay away from him but at the same time she would find out what he was up to.