Several other women nodded or voiced their agreement, and one by one they all joined in until only Gertrude and Marie hadn’t said one way or the other. Marie, a slender young woman with a lot of curly black hair, shrugged and said with a slight French accent, “One gunman is much the same as another, I suppose.”
“Well, I’m not going to vote against everyone else,” Gertrude said. “I do hope you won’t have to use that awful gun, though, Mr. Morgan.”
“So do I, miss, so do I,” Frank said.
He was going to be damned surprised if that was the way it turned out, though.
With the question of whether or not Frank was going with them settled, Fiona sent the young women back to their rooms. Then she said, “Would you care to join me in the dining room for dinner, Frank? We can discuss the arrangements for the trip.”
“I’d like that,” Frank replied with a nod. “I’ve got some questions about supplies and things like that.”
They spent the next hour in the hotel dining room, eating and discussing the trip. With Skagway being the jumping-off point to Whitehorse and the rich gold fields of the Klondike country, it made sense to buy as many of the supplies needed for the journey as they could here in Seattle. Goods were cheaper and more plentiful than they would be in Skagway.
“We’ll have to buy some fresh meat when we get there, of course,” Frank said, “and then I can probably bag some game while we’re on our way from Skagway over the pass to Whitehorse.” He smiled. “Did you ever have moose steaks?”
A little shudder went through Fiona. “No, not that I’m aware of.”
“Well, I bet you’ll be trying them before we get where we’re going. But we’ll stock up on sugar, flour, salt, things like that, before we leave here. Also ammunition.”
“How many bullets do you think you’ll need?”
“It’s not just for me,” Frank said. “I intend to pick up some pistols for the ladies, and a couple of extra rifles.”
Fiona’s eyes widened. “You intend to arm them? They’re mail-order brides, Frank! I doubt if any of them have ever even held a weapon.”
“I don’t know. That Meg strikes me as the sort who might’ve burned some powder sometime,” Frank said with a grin. “She’s pretty feisty.” He grew more serious as he went on. “I can give them some pointers while we’re on board the ship. But I think it’s important that the ladies be able to protect themselves, at least a little. There’s no telling what might happen along the way. If I wound up dead, the bunch of you wouldn’t be totally defenseless.”
“Don’t even say such a thing! We’re relying on you, Frank. Nothing can happen to you.”
He frowned. “Out here, it’s best to be able to rely on yourself as much as possible. I’m not trying to scare you, Fiona. I just want you—and those gals of yours—to go into this with your eyes open. Seattle can be a rough place, but it’s still civilization. Alaska’s not. It’s just as much an untamed frontier as the country west of the Mississippi was fifty or sixty years ago.”
“Bad weather, bad food, and bad men, as you said earlier, eh?” she said, cocking an eyebrow at him.
“That’s right. And I forgot to mention the bears and wolves and varmints like that.”
Fiona shook her head. “Why would men even want to go to a place like that?”
“For what they think is the best reason of all…gold.”
“But you don’t think that?” she asked with a shrewd look on her face.
“I’m old enough to know that there are a lot of things in this world gold can’t buy you.”
“Then you’re a wise man, Frank Morgan.”
“I don’t know that I’d say that. Anyway, maybe you’d better not say anything to the ladies about the guns until we’re on board the Montclair. I think Miss Gertrude might have a fit if she thought she was going to have to learn how to shoot a pistol.”
“I think you’re right about that,” Fiona said.
After they finished their meal, Fiona went back upstairs to her suite, while Frank headed for the waterfront again. He wanted to talk to Captain Hoffman again and make arrangements for Stormy, Goldy, and Dog to come with him.
A different officer was on deck this afternoon instead of the surly Brewster. He was pleasant enough as he told Frank to come aboard and said in answer to Frank’s question, “Captain Hoffman is in his cabin, sir. Do you know where that is?”
“Yeah, I do. Thanks.”
Frank went below to the captain’s cabin and rapped on the door. When Hoffman asked who was there, he said, “Frank Morgan, Captain.”
“Come in, please.”
Frank went in and found Hoffman sitting at the desk, looking over some of the charts spread out there. The captain glanced up with a smile.
“Is your business with Mrs. Devereaux all squared away, Mr. Morgan?” he asked.
Frank thumbed his hat back. “Yeah, she’s agreed that I’ll be coming along to Alaska with her and her young ladies.”
“Mail-order brides,” Hoffman said with a shake of his head. “I’d heard of such a thing, of course, but this is the first time I’ve encountered it. Have you met the young ladies?”
“I have,” Frank said. “Seems like a fine bunch. I’m not sure how well some of them are going to like living in the Klondike, but that’s not my business. All I have to do is get them there.”
“Much like me,” Hoffman said. “I’ll deliver my passengers and cargo to Skagway, and there my responsibility ends.” He tapped one of the charts. “I was just looking at the route I intend to follow.”
“You’ve sailed to Alaska before?” Frank asked as he leaned over and looked at the map. This late in the season, he wasn’t too fond of the idea of setting out with an inexperienced captain.
“Oh, yes, many times,” Hoffman replied. “Don’t worry, Mr. Morgan. We’ll have no trouble.”
“What about the weather?”
“It’ll be at least three weeks, probably a month, before the weather represents a danger. We’ll be in Skagway in less than a week.”
Hoffman seemed to know what he was doing, Frank thought. That eased his worries.
“Is it going to be all right for me to bring my horses along?” he asked.
“Horses?” Hoffman frowned. “The Montclair normally doesn’t carry livestock.” He thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. “But I suppose we could make a place for them in the hold. We could open one of the hatches for light and air. It might not be very comfortable for them, being cooped up that way, though.”
“They can stand it for a few days,” Frank said. “I want my own mounts with me when we get there.”
“I don’t blame you for that. A man likes to have what he’s accustomed to.”
“I have a dog, too, but he won’t take up much room or be any trouble.”
“That’s fine, as long as he doesn’t fight with cats. We have a couple who sail with us to keep the rats out of the cargo.”
“Dog will leave them alone as long as I tell him to.” Frank added, “I’m going to see about having some supplies delivered for us to take along. Better to stock up on things here in Seattle rather than waiting until we get to Skagway.”
Hoffman nodded. “I believe that was Mr. Trench’s plan as well. There should be adequate room in the hold for whatever you want to bring along. Although having those horses in there will cut down on the available space.”
“We’ll work it out,” Frank said. He held out his hand. “Sounds like it’ll all be fine. I’m looking forward to sailing with you, Captain.”
Hoffman shook with him. “I hope it’s a pleasant journey for you, Mr. Morgan.”
Frank said so long and went up on deck again. He was headed for the gangplank when he heard a step behind him. A man said, “Morgan.”
Frank turned and saw the ship’s officer called Brewster. He gave the man a curt nod.
“You’re coming along to Alaska?” Brewster asked harshly.