"'Go west, young man,' they said. 'Go west.'" Jackson declared, hitting his knuckle on the table. "So I did. 10,000 miles further than they intended." He chuckled. He then stood up, his voice loud and proud. "And I found gold in beef cattle."

He began walking the room. Watching him from the table was Anna, Elsa, John, and Mr. Haddock. They were having a nice supper, thanking John for coming and Mr. Haddock for bringing the colt. "We made more money selling meat to the miners than they ever dug up in their claims. Didn't we, John?"

"Well, you sold them. I drove 'em." John said. He looked at Mr. Haddock. "He was known around the diggings as 'the California horse trader.'"

Jackson chuckled, bring a bottle of wine to the table. John took a bite of his food then hummed loudly. "This is the finest trifle I've ever eaten, Mrs. Hume," he said as he looked at Elsa. He was trying to change the subject.

"Oh, it's more than a trifle, John. It's a charlotte russe." Elsa smiled. She was glad someone appreciated her efforts at making the meal decent.

"Charlotte russe!" Jackson exclaimed, sitting down at the table again. "My dear sister-in-law occasionally bestows on us simple bush people the fruits of her learning."

"And it's as well that I did, Jackson, or Anna would have been brought up with the kangaroos, and we'd be dining tonight in a bark hut." Elsa defended. Jackson always seemed to slightly mock her modest ways. Or he at least likes to poke fun at it.

"Elsa, you never appreciate the sacrifices made in building a property like this." Jackson fired back, pouring himself a glass of wine. Great, these two were about to starting bickering again, Anna thought.

"Would you pass the decanter, please?" She asked. Jack stared her in the eyes and set it down. She let out a sigh, looking at one of their guests. "Mr. Haddock?"

"I'm sorry," he said, grabbing the bottle. "I didn't realize-"

"That women may also enjoy what custom deems is a man's privilege?" She asked, taking the bottle from him. So he was just like Jackson. Thinking that women were meant only to bear children and care for their husbands.

"None of your speeches." Jackson declared, wishing she would shut up.

"Aunt Elsa is quite right, Father. Women should have the right to do anything they're capable of." Anna said, joining in on the conversation.

"You hear that?" Jackson asked, looking to Mr. Haddock. "The notion is like a germ. My own daughter is infected with your nonsense." He blamed as he pointed to Elsa. Anna was thinking just like her aunt and it drove him insane.

"Your own daughter, as you well know, has a good mind. She has a way with horses and an eye for stock breeding." Elsa said. "Now, would you have these gifts developed, or would you condemn her to domestic dullness?"

Tired of listening to Elsa, Jackson turned and looked at Anna. "You should be in a ladies' college and not in the stables." He said.

"Well, whatever the complexities of the argument, Mrs. Hume, you're certainly proof that the legal profession's been denied the services of a great advocate." Mr. Haddock smiled. Oh, so Mr. Haddock wasn't like Jackson? This was interesting.

"Women lawyers?" Jack exclaimed. "Ha. That'll be the day." He scoffed. Elsa traced her finger on her wine glass, a faint smile on her face.

"That such sweet libation should have fathered-" John began. He stopped, looking back at Elsa. "I am sorry, madam." He looked back at the group. "Mothered such a disputation." He chuckled.

Everyone lightly laughed as Elsa brought her drink to her lips. "Elsa, if you're finished with the port." Jack trailed.

She set down her glass again. "Quite."

"Well, it's a far cry from the dark rum we used to drink on the track," John said as the port was being passed back to Jackson. He liked thinking about those old days with Jackson out on the open plains.

"Ah, yes." Jack smiled. He raised his glass. "Here's to those long-gone days on the trail."

John raised his glass as well, placing it near Jack's. "Well, for me they're not long gone, so here's to their future." He corrected as he tapped Jack's glass.

"Ah, there's no future there, John," Jackson said, shaking his head. The days of roaming around in the wide open fields were long behind Jackson. And he thought they should be behind John too.

"I wouldn't swap the sunlight plains for all the tea in China," John argued, narrowing his eyes at Jackson. He loved riding his horses out there. The feel of the wind in his face as he chased down wild animals. It truly was breathtaking. "They are a vision splendid."

"John! How romantic." Anna smiled. She loved looking at the fields too. She was glad to see someone else admiring their beauty.

"Romantic? Your brain's gone soft." Jackson scoffed. "We've got the railways and roads now." These people really were going mad. The open fields romantic? It was about time they settled it and turned it into something useful.

He turned his body, facing Hiccup. "Mr. Haddock, we can ship refrigerated beef to the markets of England, Europe," he declared. He pointed back at Anna and John. "That's where the future lies."

Anna tightened her jaw as John shook his head. "Oh, you were always a long way ahead of the old squatters-" He said.

"Squatters-" Jackson sighed, rolling his eyes.

"-which is why there are very few left." John continued as Elsa smiled at their bickering.

"They tore the guts out of the country," Jackson exclaimed.

"They tore the guts out of the country?" John argued, narrowing his eyes at Jackson.

"I look forward to the day we'll be one of the great food-producing areas in the world." Jackson began to shout. Anna rolled her blue eyes and kept her mouth shut. That seemed to be all her father ever talked about.

"And you have it all under control." John scoffed.

"Yes, I have, except for those mountains, and if I had the capital I'd run fences up there-"

"Praise be the lack of capital!" John shouted back, cutting Jackson off. Soon, you couldn't understand either one. They began to shout over each other, thinking they were right and the other was wrong. Really, it just turned into a shouting fest.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I propose a toast?" Hiccup asked, making them stop their arguing.

The two men looked at each other. "Uh, yes." Jackson nodded.

"To our two romantics. To one who sees what is, and one who sees what can be." Hiccup smiled, raising his glass. He was glad the arguing had finally stopped. He was growing a headache from their shouting. "Lord grant that the two are compatible."

John and Jackson laughed, looking at each other. They clinked their glasses together in a truce. A knocking come from the door then it slowly swung open. Kristoff entered, holding a large pile of firewood.

When he saw who was at the table, he felt a need to explain himself. "Cassandra said to bring some more firewood."

Jackson tightened his lips as John nodded his head. "Hello, Kristoff."

"Good evening, Kristoff." Hiccup smiled.

Kristoff gently smiled then rushed to the fireplace. He felt like he didn't belong in this room. Everyone here was of respected status and he was just a worker. He also felt that he walked into something important, something he had no right to hear.

"We all seemed to be introduced," Jackson said, watching Kristoff walk across the room.

"Not all of us, Jackson," Elsa said. "I'm Mrs. Hume." She smiled.

"How do you do, miss?" He smiled, nodding his head at her. They seemed friendly enough to him, at least at the moment. Maybe he could get in and out quickly before that changed.

John stirred on his chair, turning to face Kristoff. "Kristoff, Mr. Harrison was just talking of taming the Snowy River county." He explained as Kristoff rolled up his sleeves. "You know it better than any of us. What do you think?"

Kristoff out his hands into his back pockets. He was nervous about what to say. He didn't want to let his mouth fly and get him fired. So he decided to tread lightly. "Well, sir, I think you might sooner hold back the tide than tame the mountains."

Everyone glanced around at each other. Anna and Mr. Haddock could hardly keep a smile from growing on their faces. Wanting to get out of there before they asked him any more questions, Kristoff nodded his head. "Excuse me then."

John chuckled in his seat.

"That boy has a quality about him." Hiccup said as Kristoff shut the door.

"Yeah, the mongrel quality of the mountain people." Jackson spat.

John turned and looked at Jackson. "Does that include your brother?" He asked.

"I have no brother," Jackson replied, nearly growling. John popped his eyebrow then looked at Elsa. She sat still, her lips in a tight line.

Feeling the tension growing, Jackson began to rise from his seat. "Well, we'll have an early start in the morning. Good night."

Everyone else sat still as they watched the man of the house exit the room. Clearly, something had set him off.

xxx

"'And Laban said unto him-'" Eric read from the bible. "'I pray thee if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience."

Hans and Ben came barreling into the cabin. They threw a couple of logs by the fireplace. Hans saw Kristoff cleaning his saddle by his bed and felt a need to push his buttons a little. "Here. Last time I saw a saddle like that it was at the circus, you know?" He grinned. Kristoff stopped, watching Hans. "And a monkey ridin' on it."

"Where's your rope, Hans?" Kristoff asked as he continued to clean his saddle. "Give up?"

Hans decided to leave him alone. It was true, he hadn't figured out the rope trick yet and had given up. But he wasn't going to admit that to Kristoff. So he backed away, keeping his mouth shut.

Ralph entered the cabin, slamming the door behind him. "Lads, I want everyone saddled and packed by sunrise." He declared. Spotting the jug of water, he walked across the room. "We'll eat at the Perry homestead."

"The only time the boss eats his own beef," Shang said while polishing his gun. He smiled, looking up. "And he don't know it."

Everyone began chuckling in the room.

"Anything special we've got to take?" Kristoff asked, walking towards Ralph and Shang.

Ralph let out a little sigh and walked to meet Kristoff. "There's been a change of plans," he started. "You won't be going along on this muster, Kristoff." He said before bringing his cup to his lips.

Hans began laughing in the background. He rushed forward. "They probably seen that half-pint mule of yours, eh?" He grinned.

"He's a mountain horse and he knows that country even better than I do." Kristoff defended. Sven wasn't some half-pint mule. He trusted that horse with his life.

"I don't make the orders," Ralph said. "but when I give 'em that's the end of it."

Unable to bear being in that room any longer, Kristoff stormed out. Eric continued to read from the bible as Hans rushed and opened the door for Kristoff. He mockingly took off his hat and tilted it at him. "Anybody not ready to go by dawn gets their tail ends kicked." Ralph declared.

Kristoff was furious but there wasn't anything he could do about. He couldn't complain to Jackson. He couldn't complain to anybody. So, he just leaned against the wall, thinking through what he was supposed to do.

Ralph walked out, so Kristoff called out to him. "Mr. Ralph?" He stopped, looking at Kristoff. "Why? Why me?"

Without saying a word, he turned and looked towards the house. You could hear someone playing on the piano. It was clear to Kristoff now why he wasn't going along. He looked down. "I think I know."

"You'll get your chance, Kristoff." Ralph encouraged, patting his back. Once he left, Kristoff leaned his arm against a pillar on the porch. The piano song truly was beautiful coming from inside. It at least made him feel a bit better.

~~~~~~~~~~