Inn of The Dunes

Emma was in the Inn when she heard the raised voices outside. She opened the front door and heard Sarah’s voice, “Must you go? How can you go? You haven’t found Nellie yet!”

“You, young lady, don’t seem to realize what searching for a missing person involves!” Matt answered defensively. “I went to so many villages looking for Nellie, I’ve lost count! As for St. Louis, don’t forget, Miss Hamilton, I also make my living as a fur trader. I turn in animal furs every so often to the Great Northern Fur Company and they pay me handsomely for them. Great Northern is a company I’ve always been loyal to and they have always counted on my bringing them furs. A company that thinks of me as practically an em-ploy-ee! If you can’t understand that, then that’s your problem!”

Matt’s argument only made Sarah more furious. She narrowed her eyes at him and argued right back, “My problem? I’ll tell you what my problem is! My problem is I have a sister missing and she hasn’t been found yet! You, Mr. Fur trader-frontiersman, were supposed to find her! Mr. Fur trader-frontiersman that everyone raves so much about! Mr. Fur trader-frontiersman that everyone has so much faith in! They tell me he’s going to find my sister. Well, Mr. Fur trader-frontiersman, it’s November and I’m still waiting!”

Matt, in a combination of anger and wounded pride, chided her, “You don’t seem to understand this takes time. The trouble with you, Miss Hamilton, is you want your sister found right here and now, don’t you? Well, don’t worry, when I do find Nellie, she’ll be delivered to you personally and you can be on your way to Green Bay!”

“That’s just fine with me!” exclaimed Sarah. “Oh, and by the way, Mr. Toussaint,” she added. “When you get to St. Louis, don’t forget to play a poker game or two!”

Then quite unexpectedly, Sarah turned around and ran from Matt. He saw her run towards the forest path that led north to the Lake Michigan beach.

“Hey! Come back here! Sarah!” he called out.

Emma came out on the porch after hearing the ruckus outside and had seen Sarah take off into the forest. The woman innkeeper saw Matt was just standing there, as if in disbelief that Sarah had run off from him.

Emma yelled at him, “Matt! Don’t just stand there! Go get her!”

He gave a nod and ran in the direction Sarah took. Rather than ride on Chestnut, Matt thought he could easily catch up with her on foot. He saw she was just ahead of him but Sarah glanced back and had seen him following her. She ran even faster than before and he soon lost sight of her. Matt now wished he had taken his horse but kept running on the path that would soon fork into two paths. One path that went directly into Big Pines village and the other path skirted to the right and went around the edge of Big Pines. It was the path that led to the Lake Michigan beach.

Matt didn’t think Sarah went into Big Pines. The only person she knew there was Sunflower. He thought it was more likely she ran to the beach so he took that path. He proved his hunch right when he saw an Indian boy on the path. He was coming from the beach with a few fish in a netted bag. Matt asked him, “Did you see a young lady going to the beach?”

The boy nodded. “Yes, she ran past me,” he said. “She ran to the beach.”

“Thanks!” he answered.