Choices

Written by Wendy

Disclaimer: This story is in no way meant to infringe on the rights of the creator of the series The Young Riders, Ed Spielman and Ogiens/Kane. All other characters belong to the author. Copyright 2000

Rachel set to work in earnest cleaning the bunkhouse as soon as she had it to herself. After washing the dishes, drying them and puttng them away, Rachel set to work wiping down the cupboards, sink and table. She poured a little soap powder onto the stove top, got a brush out from under the sink and began scrubbing the stove down. When the stove shined to her satisfaction, Rachel rinsed out the brush and emptied the bucket of water she had used. Next she gathered up the riders' dirty laundry and placed it in a basket on the porch. Taking up the broom beside the stove, Rachel moved around the room sweeping up the dirt and crumbs that had gathered. It wasn't until after she had swept under the set of bunks Kid and Lou shared and the dresser next to it, that Rachel noticed a white scrap of paper amidst the debris. Propping the broom handle against the dresser, Rachel bent over and picked the paper up. As she got a closer look at the paper, Rachel realized that it was actually an envelope of some sort.

Stepping closer to the window so that she could see better, Rachel un-tucked the flap and peered curiously in at the powdery substance inside. She poured a small amount of the powder out onto her hand. The powder was pale yellow in color, soft and had a sickly-sweet odor to it. To her it appeared to be some kind of medicine.

"I wonder where this came from?" Rachel said aloud to the empty bunkhouse. "No one's been sick around here for quite some time."

The moment the last sentence was out of her mouth, an image of Lou the afternoon before swam before her eyes. Although Lou had acted like she was in better spirits when she returned from Seneca, her physical appearance had still been poorly. Her face had been pale, her dark eyes had looked dim and they were rimmed with black.

Rachel's initial worry over how sickly Lou had started to look increased tenfold after finding the packet of powder. Even though she didn't know what was wrong with Lou, Rachel felt sure that some malady had befallen the female rider and that was the real reason she had left Rock Creek.

Rachel removed her apron, flattened down the few strands of hair that had escaped from the bun at the nape of her neck and left the bunkhouse. As she was starting to walk into town, Rachel stopped abruptly and changed directions. Cody needed to be told about her discovery and the two of them could go into town together.

Chapter 43

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