A Daughter's Quest by Lena Nelson Dooley

man turned toward her and nodded, his scraggly beard bobbing up and down in rhythm with his head. “Yep. Him and his brother.”
    “I’ve been trying to find Jim Mitchell. He and my father were in the war together.” She tried not to sound too eager.
    “Well, I was just telling Hiram here”—he gestured toward the man behind the desk—“that both those boys got in a gunfight in a saloon north of here, and it didn’t end good for them. They both died from their wounds.”
    Shock robbed Constance of speech for a moment. Jim Mitchell was dead. If that was true, she would be released from her promise, wouldn’t she? But what about the gold?
    “Where did you say this happened?” She stared up into the man’s face, trying not to show him how interested she was in his answer.
    He scratched his cheek through the beard. “Let me see. I think it was at Camden Junction. It’s about a five-hour ride north of Browning City. I heard tell they are both buried there. Seems like they were the end of the line for the Mitchell family in these parts. It’s just too bad. I always did like their parents.”
    Camden Junction
. Constance would have to find out where that town was located. Maybe she could go there and be sure this man knew what he was talking about.
    After finding out that she didn’t have any mail, Constance walked slowly back to the boardinghouse. What did all this information mean to her? How she wished that God would talk to people today. She wanted to ask Him what she should do about all that was happening in her life.
    That gold had to be somewhere. Maybe it was on the farm. Tomorrow after she finished baking, she would go out there and see for herself. She knew Martha planned to take her students to work in the garden, so no one would miss her.
    All the time she worked in the garden that afternoon, she wanted to tell Mary what was going on, but she didn’t want to worry her. Maybe if Constance found the gold and gave it back to the government, then she would feel released from her promise to her pa. No one needed to know what Jim Mitchell did. She didn’t want to give his family a bad name now that he was gone…if he really was.
    The next day, she started baking earlier than usual. By the time Mrs. Barker got to the kitchen, Constance had a couple of pans of biscuits all ready for breakfast. She had started making double the amount of bread every other day, so she wouldn’t need to bake bread today. There was enough left from yesterday’s baking. By the time Mrs. Barker had breakfast ready, Constance had enough pies made to last through supper.
    “You really are in a hurry.” At least Mrs. Barker didn’t sound upset. “Do you have special plans for today?”
    “I just thought I would spend some time looking around the countryside today. Maybe I have spring fever.” Constance kept her eyes on her work.
    “You know, Constance, if you want to take a day off from the baking, it would be okay. You do more than your share of the work around here as it is.” Mrs. Barker came over and gave Constance a quick hug.
    Tears sprang to Constance’s eyes. Mrs. Barker made her feel more like a family member than an employee and boarder.
    When she finished helping clean up the kitchen, she went by to see Mary. After they visited a few minutes, Constance told her that she wanted to explore the area for a while. Mary didn’t seem concerned, so Constance soon left. She walked to the livery stable, being careful not to go by the smithy on the way. When she stepped into the large shadowed barn, an older man came out of one of the stalls.
    “Can I help you, miss?” The man leaned his pitchfork against the wooden rails.
    “I’d like to rent a horse.” Constance tried not to look nervous, even though the anticipation of maybe finding something today made her almost quiver.
    The man looked her up and down, but not in a bad way. “Have you ever ridden before?” He must have been sizing up her abilities. He probably