In the late 1870's, orphans Benjamin and Molly are finally old enough to strike out on their own. Leaving behind the life they knew in Dry Ridge, Kentucky, the siblings head for Texas, a new territory where Benjamin has been ordered to undergo advanced training for the Second United States Army Dragoons. But along the way, hardship strikes when one of the axles on their Conestoga wagon fails just outside of Marble Falls, Texas. Deciding to seek shelter for the night, the pair comes across an abandoned white rock house and agree to stay there until they can get on the road again.

Soon after, they meet Joe Eagle, a local Indian boy who saves Molly from a rattlesnake. The three quickly become friends, and Molly soon discovers that she has feelings for Joe. When the siblings decide to stay in Marble Falls and make enough money to buy the white rock house, Joe begins to wonder if Molly truly cares for him or if the white rock house is her only love.

As the distance grows between them, Molly and Joe must find a way to either put aside their feelings for each other or find a way to start a new life together at the white rock house.

Molly's White Rock House

A Young Adult Romance NovelBy Bobby Beddoe

Abbott Press

Copyright © 2012 Bobby Beddoe
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4582-0199-7

Chapter One

A mama sparrow was the only witness to the Conestoga wagon that pulled away on that warm July day in 1878. Molly and Benjamin looked back over their shoulders at the orphanage's sod house as final whiffs of smoke curled from the chimney. Molly continued to gaze at the only home she and her brother had ever known until it soon disappeared from view. She turned back around and smiled; they were on their way to Texas. Corporal Benjamin, Molly's brother who was now eighteen years old, had received transfer orders from Lieutenant Colonel W. W. Hughes's office, Headquarters Company of the Second United States Army Dragoons, to report at the Fort Mason Headquarters of the Frontier Forces, under Major J. E. Payne, for advanced training. At seventeen years old, Molly quit school so she and Benjamin could stay together.

She wore a tan riding skirt in brushed twill for the trip. Unacquainted with the rough wilderness to which they were headed, Molly had mixed feelings about the journey. However, Benjamin had his orders, and knowing that he could take care of both of them under even the most extreme circumstances, she felt safe traveling with him.

Benjamin was of medium height with a fair complexion, blue eyes like his sister's, and light curly hair—unlike his sister's, whose was auburn. He wore a blue uniform with narrow chevrons of a corporal on its sleeves. He had joined the army after dropping out of high school.

They had loaded their wagon to capacity with one-thousand pounds' worth of their worldly possessions. Just before starting out, Benjamin wrote on their old camelback trunk in white:

Benjamin and Molly Texas or bust July 1, 1878

They were somewhat surprised by how little progress they made the first day – only twenty miles – but by the second day, all that changed. They worked as a team, establishing the rhythm of the six horses, and made much better progress. On the morning of day three, Benjamin changed clothes, putting on his buckskins britches, weathered linen shirt, and a soiled, floppy felt hat for the remainder of the trip, saving his uniform for when he reported to Fort Mason for duty.

During the first two and a half weeks, they experienced no danger or major delays along the trail, in spite of having to ford several rivers.

After fording the first river, the Kentucky River, Molly noticed that water had seeped into the bed of the wagon. They pulled up on the west bank, and Benjamin reached in the toolbox and got a handful of tar. He slopped it over the leak, sealing the crack in the hickory board undercarriage. As the sun set on day twenty-one of their trip, they arrived at the border between Louisiana and Texas. They had made pretty good time.

After dawn the following morning, they crossed the Sabine River at Gains Ferry. The ferry was a wooden raft dragged to either side by men pulling along a rope that stretched from one bank to the other. When Benjamin and Molly drove their Conestoga off the ferry, they found themselves in Sabinetown, Texas, west of the Texas state line. As they plodded further into unknown territory, westward over the El Camino Real, it began to rain—not hard, but enough to expose a leak in the canvas cover. Benjamin reined the team to a halt and hopped down. He pulled a can of oil from the toolbox and rubbed the oil on the leaky spot in the canvas. That little maintenance job done, he climbed back onto the seat, and they continued on their way. It finally stopped raining around noon.

Only a few pioneers had dared to enter this forbidden empire that lay before them—and when they did, it was at their own risk. The road wound snake-like around flat and soggy swampland for a good two miles. Then it turned into a somewhat straight trail through the thick, tall piney woods of Deep East Texas. They saw no other travelers the fifty miles between Sabinetown and the village of Nacogdoches. As for houses, there were none visible beyond the limits of Sabinetown. They did, however, see a few peaceful Caddo and Coushatta Indians that curiously watched their wagon until it was out of sight.

It was late evening when they arrived in Nacogdoches. Tired and hungry, they stopped at the Old Stone Fort Inn. There they both took a much-needed bath and then sat down at a table to eat jerky and a few hardtacks while they rested up before taking off again.

Upon leaving Nacogdoches, the moon was full, and the sky was clear. With plenty of moonlight, they elected to travel through the night. The hours passed slowly, with an eerie quiet along that stretch of their journey—except for the clanging of the pots and pans hanging off the sides of the wagon. They saw no human presence anywhere as they held firm and continued pushing their way steadily forward all through the night and on until late the next evening.

Pulling up alongside a limestone outcropping on the west side of the Neches River, they climbed down and then walked around, collecting a few scattered sticks with which to build a fire to bake beans and cornbread for their supper. After a good night's sleep, they were on their way again at daybreak.

This strange, new country told them they were far away from their old Kentucky stomping grounds. These thoughts weighed heavily on their minds, as they realized that they would probably never see their orphanage friends again.

Right after Molly was born, their parents were caught in Civil War crossfire just on the outskirts of Richmond, Kentucky. It was August 30, 1862, and both of their parents died. After the smoke had cleared, a Confederate officer found Molly and Benjamin huddled in their partially burned house. He carried the kids to a Catholic church in Richmond. A nun, Sister Myra Kay, took the children in and inquired about their parents, but the officer didn't know anything other than that their deaths were the result of collateral damage during the Battle for Richmond. The identity of his father and mother would never be known.

Sister Myra Kay later passed the kids to a remote relative of hers in Huntington, Ohio. That woman eventually placed the two in an orphanage because she became too ill to properly care for them any longer. They were orphans no one wanted. They bounced around from pillar to post until they were old enough to make it on their own. Benjamin took care of his sister the entire time, never allowing them to be separated.

Near the end of the third week, it was a clear, starry night. Molly woke up, and as they rode in silence, she edged over toward her brother and said, "Benjamin, is something bothering the horses?"

"Yeah, it's been that way for the past hour, ever since we left Crockett."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Maybe it's nothing," he murmured doubtfully.

They both scanned the horizon but saw nothing. The half-moon was just beginning to shed some light on the road ahead. Off to the side, Benjamin saw a set of eyes. He felt for his Navy Colt .44 revolver. "I think Red caught the scent of something wild the way he shied. Could be we're being followed by a cougar."

They watched the eyes moving slowly toward the wagon. The team of six horses suddenly started rearing and gave high-pitched whinnies, alerting the brother and sister of impending danger. Benjamin cocked his .44; the eyes were now within ten yards of the terrified team. Benjamin aimed, pulled the trigger, and the horrible death scream of the cougar was the big cat's last....