When Seth stepped onto the porch Tasha met him with a cup of coffee. She gave him a small smile when she handed it to him. Seth could smell breakfast cooking. He started to step past Tasha into the house but she stood in the doorway and just pointed at a chair on the porch. She said, “Sit. Granny’s making breakfast. We’ll call you when it’s ready.” Seth sat on the old hard chair watching the sun come up while he drank his morning elixir.
After the meal Granny and Tasha cleaned up the mess. Seth was in the shop working on a couple of the old machines he wanted to get back in shape. He didn’t know the name of one of them. It really wasn’t a machine per se. It was a set of huge strong fingers to attach to the dozer for digging into the ground. He thought he could use it instead of a plow to prepare ground for a garden. He wanted to move the fingers closer together if he could.
Seth heard the women talking and looked toward the noise. All three of his guests had their packs on and they were heading for the trail toward the road. One of them was on each side of Gramps trying to help him hobble around. Seth yelled, “Wait.” He headed toward them almost at a run.
When Seth got to his guests he stood in front of them and said, “You don’t have to leave now. Gramps can’t walk all the way to New Mexico even if the rest of you can. Stay until he is better at least then maybe I can take you back home.”
The three looked at each other and began talking in whatever language they used. Seth thought he really needed to at least know what the language was but he didn’t say anything. Finally Tasha looked back at Seth and said, “We cannot pay. We have less than ten dollars between us. We left that on your table for the food and medicine you have already given us. We cannot promise we could get money to pay you if you take us to the reservation. It would be better for Grandfather if he could stay for another day or two but we did not want to abuse your hospitality.”
“Don’t worry about that right now. Just take Gramps back into the house and let him rest and recover. I’ll be in the shop if you need anything.”
Shortly after they returned to the house Seth once again heard voices talking in their native tongue. He watched when Granny left the building and headed into the woods carrying her pack. He started for her to stop her when he decided not to. He reasoned she wouldn’t leave the other two here alone with him. Perhaps she was leaving to take care of some function or even to bathe in the stream. Soon after that Tasha came into the shop where he was working.
Tasha didn’t say anything after she entered the shop. She stood watching Seth work for a moment then moved on wandering here and there throughout the building. After she had given the shop a good once over she left by the garage door. Seth watched her off and on as she wandered around the rest of the property. When she started into the mine he walked to the door and said, “Tasha the old mine is very dangerous. I haven’t investigated the whole thing but I have already seen some support beams that are weak and shaky. They might collapse at any time. I would rather you not go into the mine but if you think you have to don’t go past the first bend in the main tunnel.”
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