Diane R. Jewkes Read Free Page B

America.” His shoulders relaxed, and a small smile played around his mouth. “But also a fine opportunity to make money, too.”
    “As though you need any more,” laughed Alec.
    Making money had always been a special talent of Hawke’s. He could smell a good investment. Alec had begged him repeatedly to teach him his techniques. He had tried to teach him. Lord knows, he had tried. Being raised the eldest sons among the upper classes had taught them both a lot about living with money and the obligations wealth brought to a person, but they had seen greed destroy many men. Hawke handled his wealth with the same equanimity and control he handled everything in his life.
    Hawke turned his head, looking out the window through the puffs of black smoke coming from the engine. He watched the landscape change once again. The flat, dry desert floor they had been traveling through changed to scrubby bushes, scattered trees, bound in the distance by blue and purple mountains clawing at the endless sky.
    He had been amazed at the vast openness of the country they had covered. It felt like they had been traveling endlessly since they left New York. He was awed at the openness of the prairie since leaving the Mississippi. He had never seen so much land with so little on it. A sea of grass.
    The towns had appeared like small scars in the endless green prairie, and telegraph lines stretched into the horizon like guidelines showing the way through the vastness. He wondered how he would ever track a man through this huge never-ending expanse.
    He remembered what Arthur Cove had told him when they met in London; this land would change a man. He was beginning to understand how the man might think so. Cove’s enthusiasm for the raw untamed West had played into his decision to correspond with Case Jonston.
    The rancher seemed to be not only surprisingly open to his suggestions, but also very forthright and honest, someone he could have a solid working relationship with.
    “Have you fallen asleep looking out at this unchanging brown nothingness?” Alec grumbled. “I thought you said this ranch was in the mountains. I see nothing but dry ground and scraggly trees all around.” The time it took to cross the country had astounded and wearied both of them. “Why would anyone want to live out here?”
    “There’s more here than you’re seeing,” Hawke said, pointing towards the mountains looming ahead. “This is not just dry ground, Alec. Look around. Don’t you see the river down there, the trees? Look at how tall the grass is. Don’t look at this land the same way you look at the manicured lawns of England, or the suffocating jungles of India, but more like the highlands of home. It’s vast, but it’s far from empty. Think of it, soil that hasn’t been depleted by over-planting and great areas yet to be developed. The possibilities are staggering.”
    Alec snorted. “I haven’t seen anything bigger than a rabbit since we left St. Louis. And dirt is dirt to me, laddie. I thought you said this place was full of game. You know I had hoped to do some hunting while here … guess it won’t happen.” He looked sullenly out the window. “It all looks the same to me … shades of brown.”
    The conductor came down the aisle, announcing they would arrive in Socorro in thirty minutes. He stopped by the two men.
    “Sirs,” he nodded, touching a finger to his cap. “I would venture this is your first trip out West. I hope you enjoy your stay. If you look out your window and to the left, you’ll see one of the many herds of pronghorn in this area, good eating should you be lucky enough to shoot one.” Tipping his hat again, the conductor continued down the aisle, calling out the upcoming station.
    The men spotted the group of tan-and-white pronghorns sprinting and hopping across the plain. Laughing, Hawke slapped his friend on the shoulder. “Those look like rather large rabbits to me.”
    • • •
    Stepping down from the train,