During the War of 1812, four explorers join together to solve the death of their former captain, Meriwether Lewis of the famed expedition. Meet Sacagawea, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon and more!
Excerpt
“I hope the accommodations will be sufficient, Mr. Lewis.” The woman smiled coyly as the tall man looked around the sparse room. She absently brushed a long strand of dirty brown hair back behind her right ear and ran a slender hair over her cotton dress.
“Yes, they will do quite nicely, thank you Priscella. I’ll only be here for a day or so. I’m waiting for a few people who should be joining up with me shortly. I hope to get some hunting in tomorrow morning, and then I’ll be on my way.”
“I’ll prepare supper in an hour or so, Mr. Lewis. My husband should be back from Memphis tomorrow morning and you can settle up with him then. Feel free to make yourself at home.” Her eyes twinkled as she turned and walked away slowly. Lewis couldn’t help but admire how beautiful the woman looked, her brown hair falling loosely over her shoulders, while her simple blue dress showed off her slim waist and ample bosom to an appreciative audience.
He smiled as he closed the door, alone to his thoughts. Meriwether Lewis looked around the small room. The dirt floor was dry at least, despite the recent rain. A small wooden frame bed was pressed against the far left wall, next to a stout looking stump that served as both chair and desk. There was a medium sized open window along the back wall overlooking the woods thirty feet away. He placed his case containing his traveling clothes on the stump and a smaller case that held his papers next to it. His rifle, a state-of-the-art air gun he had purchased at Harper’s Ferry before the expedition, stood in the corner by the back, near his belongings.
He sat down on the bed which squeaked noisily in protest. He was tired, so tired. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He hoped James would get here soon, the Indian agent had with him an herbal potion that often alleviated Lewis’ headaches. But those damn horses had gotten away last night during the storm and the pair of Chicksaw Indians they had hired as guides seemed more clueless in the wild than most of the city bureaucrats in Washington. Staying behind to help find the strays, James had encouraged Lewis to continue on ahead to Grinder’s Stand. At the time, he didn’t argue the point, but now…perhaps I was too hasty in leaving them…
Read more about Lewis and Clark: Murder on the Natchez Trace and Thomas Berry HERE.
Copyright 2010 Thomas Berry. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
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