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way the people in the saloon were acting when they found out who you are. It seems to me that the answer is simple.”
    â€œI’m listening,” Jamie said.
    â€œYou can take us to Montana.”

C HAPTER F IVE
    Jamie didn’t know whether to laugh or let out a disgusted snort, but he did neither. “I told you, Moses, I’m not looking for work.”
    â€œI’ll wager that you’ve guided wagon trains before, though, haven’t you?”
    Jamie’s broad shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. As a matter of fact, he had guided several wagon trains to where they were going, but that didn’t mean he wanted to do it again, especially under these circumstances.
    â€œAnd you know the country,” Moses went on. “You told Mr. Ralston you’d been up there.”
    â€œI’ve been to Montana Territory,” Jamie admitted. “Where are the homesteads you people are claiming?”
    â€œThey’re in a place called Eagle Valley. Do you know it?”
    Jamie frowned slightly. “I know it, all right. It’s a beautiful little valley with plenty of decent land for farms and ranches. The last time I was there, though, it was covered with buffalo. The Sioux and the Blackfeet considered it part of their hunting grounds and fought over it now and then.”
    â€œMr. Hendricks was assured that the Indians in the area had been pacified.”
    Jamie snorted disgustedly. “Who’s this fella Hendricks?”
    â€œThe captain of the wagon train. His name is Lamar Hendricks.”
    Jamie knew that wagon train captain was an elected position, making Hendricks the leader of the immigrants, but it was a title without much real power. The wagon master was really the one in charge.
    And this bunch didn’t have one, since, as Moses had correctly pointed out, Jamie had broken the son of a gun’s leg.
    â€œWho told Hendricks the Indians weren’t a threat?”
    â€œSomeone with the government. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, I believe. I don’t really know the details.”
    That answer didn’t surprise Jamie. There must be something in the water in Washington, D.C., that made all those bureaucrats think they knew better about everything than everybody else. Darned fools was what they really were.
    â€œI wouldn’t go so far as to say that the Indians are pacified. From what I hear, there hasn’t been much trouble up there lately, but that’s because the big buffalo herds have moved north into Canada and most of the bands have followed them. They could come back any time, and then it’s liable to start all over again.”
    â€œCaptain Hendricks and his people just want to live peacefully. I’m sure they’ll make every effort to get along with the Indians.”
    Jamie didn’t say anything in response to that. All across the frontier, settlers had risked their lives moving into areas where the Indians didn’t want them. Running such risks was just part of being a pioneer. The choice was up to them.
    He was curious about something else, though. “You mentioned Hendricks and his people. Aren’t you one of ’em?”
    Moses smiled and pushed his spectacles up on his nose. “Not really. I’m just traveling with their wagon train, and they agreed to let me stay with them in Eagle Valley until the spring. But when winter’s done I’ll be moving on to Oregon. I’m supposed to take over a synagogue in Portland.”
    â€œThat’s like a Hebrew church, isn’t it?”
    â€œThat’s right. I’m a rabbi.”
    Jamie grunted. “First one I’ve ever met, I reckon. I figured you were a farmer like most homesteaders are.”
    â€œI am. It’s just the crop I help to cultivate consists of people’s souls. It’s a calling that I’ve followed all the way from my home in Poland.”
    â€œFrom Poland all the way to the American frontier. That’s