The Treasure Hunt Read Free Page A

fretfully wondered if Polly was going to move to Colorado.
    Mother sat back on her heels and looked up. With one hand she smoothed back the ringlets of gray hair that had escaped from her covering. “I don’t know, Lydia. Maybe he will.”
    â€œWould that mean Polly is going to move to Colorado?” There, the question was out—the painful question that had been bothering her since Saturday evening.
    Mother bent to dig more carrots. “Yes, it probably would.” Mother’s voice sounded strange, as if there was a lump in her throat. Something told Lydia that if Polly moved away, it would be just as hard on Mother as it would be for her.
    â€œWhy can’t Sam just get a home here in North Dakota?”
    â€œYou heard what the men said,” Mother replied, still in that muffled voice. “It’s very hard to buy land here.”
    â€œWell, yes, I know that.”
    â€œSam is not the only one who’d be interested in homesteading in Colorado. Ben and some others would be interested too. You see, young men who didn’t homestead here in North Dakota could get land very cheaply in Colorado. Father and I homesteaded here, so we would need to pay more for land in Colorado. But it would still be much less than here.”
    Lydia moved closer to Mother. “You mean we are interested too?” The thought left her breathless.
    Mother got to her feet while holding the pail of carrots. She patted Lydia’s shoulder. “I don’t know if ‘interested’ isthe right word, but I can tell you this much. We’re praying about it.”
    â€œWhy would we want to move?” Lydia asked, keeping step with Mother as she hurried to the house.
    â€œFor one thing, the wheat price is very low, Lydia. Father says there will be very little money left over by the time he has paid for the threshing, the twine, and the bags. We might not even earn enough money to buy seeds next spring. So that is one reason why we would consider making a new start somewhere else. And another reason…Well, Lydia, if our children are talking of moving so far away—”
    â€œThen you want to go too,” Lydia finished for her.
    As she went back to jiggling the wash tub, her feelings were as mixed-up as the clothing that splashed about in the suds. Colorado sounded exciting—but frightening too.

    That night before they slept, Lydia told Lisbet about the conversation with Mother in the garden. Lisbet sucked in her breath. “That sounds as if Father and Mother are actually thinking of moving to Colorado.”
    â€œAre you glad?” Lydia asked.
    For a minute there was only the sound of Lisbet’s breathing in the darkness. Then she said, “I don’t want to move. I like it here. Our friends are here.”
    â€œThat’s just how I feel, but I didn’t tell Mother that.”
    â€œWhat I can’t understand—” Lisbet said slowly. “I mean, Father often talks of how God blesses us with happy hearts, even if we don’t have all the things we’d like to have. Why isn’t he content here? Why would he dream of making more money in Colorado if he keeps saying it’s not money that makes us happy, but trusting and obeying God?”
    â€œYou should ask Mother those questions. I wondered about that too, but I didn’t know how to put it into words. Ask her tomorrow.”
    â€œWell, I’ll see…” Lisbet’s voice had grown sleepy. Soon the two sisters drifted off to sleep.
    That night it rained, and the next day the air had a sharp, cold tang to it. “We’ll have frost soon,” Mother said, giving voice to her prediction. “We’d better bring in the last of the pumpkins, beans, and corn.”
    All day Mother and the girls trundled back and forth between the garden and the cellar, bringing in the late vegetables for winter storage. Joe, Ben, and Jake went to help thresh at another farm with the