The road to New Braunfels was a long one. They walked and sometimes rode for days
on end, always keeping within sight of the Guadalupe River. Some days it rained on
them, and Mina shivered in her wet clothes.
Now there were more trees, and the land rolled up into low hills. In the valleys,
forests of many kinds of trees grew, some with very broad leaves. And the open meadows
were blanketed with wild flowers. They passed farm houses scattered along the way,
and small towns-Cuero, then Gonzales.
One night in camp after everyone had lain down to sleep, Mina was awakened by something
moving about in the branches of the big tree that spread out above. Anna lay sleeping
beside her, and Mina touched her shoulder gently.
"Anna, are you awake?"
Whatever was up in the tree stirred. Mina's heart began to pound. The night was perfectly dark with no moon at all.
"Anna," Mina repeated.
Anna stirred sleepily. "What is it, Mina? What is the matter?"
"Do you hear something up in the tree?"
Both girls were silent, listening. There was no sound.
"No, Mina, I hear nothing."
Mina sat up on her blanket. She remembered her vision of an Indian with a raised
tomahawk.
"What if it is an Indian?" Mina whispered.
Anna caught her breath. "Oh, Mina," was all she said.
Papa lay a few feet away, on the other side of the campfire. Mina knew he had his
gun beside him, loaded.
There were still some glowing coals. Mina crawled over to the coals, and put some
kindling on them. Soon a flame flared up, shining on the girls' faces. Anna looked
paralyzed with fear, her eyes big, her mouth open, but saying nothing. Mina shielded
her eyes from the firelight, and looked into the tree.
Papa stirred awake at the light. "Mina, what are you doing?" He grabbed
his gun and jumped up.
"Papa, there is something up in the tree. I heard it moving about."
By this time the Kaufmanns had awakened.
"What is it, Ernst? What is happening?" Herr Kaufmann asked.
Then Mina saw it. She saw two eyes shining in the firelight, nothing more.
"Papa, there it is," she screamed, pointing to a thick branch that reached
out directly above them.
"Stay down," warned Papa, and he took aim carefully at the eyes. The gun went off and echoed through the valley. Then in the firelight a great cat leaped from the branch, and ran off into the darkness.
For a moment everyone was silent. The explosion of the gun still in her ears, Mina
stood up. In that circle of light she felt small in the vastness of Texas.
"That was a panther!" said Herr Kaufmann, breathlessly.
"Well, he will not return tonight," Papa said, lowering his gun. "That
panther was after our provisions. I am sure of it."
Mina wondered if that was all he was after.
The road continued on and on through the rolling hills. Almost three weeks had passed
since they left the beach. Mina felt so weary. Had she been walking all her life?
It seemed so. She was thinner, and the Texas sun had baked her skin brown and her
hair even more golden.
In the north a dark bank of clouds moved in their direction. It made everything in
the sunlight look even brighter. The air was still. Then the cloud spread over the
sky, blotting out the sun, and a cold wind began to blow. Mina got her coat out of
the wagon, and Frau Kaufmann wrapped a shawl around her shoulders.
"Well, we are in for a cold night." Papa held onto his hat as the wind
whipped his coat. "But we should be getting to New Braunfels soon."
The road led closer and closer to a bend in the river. The town of New Braunfels
came into sight on the opposite high bank. In spite of the cold wind Mina jumped
up and down happily. She and Anna joined hands and danced about.
"We are here, we are here," Mina sang. Even the cold could not chill her
spirits. "Thanks be to God," Papa said, and he halted the oxen as they came to a
grove of trees.
Big raindrops began to fall, faster and faster until the rain poured down. They all
took shelter in the wagon.
When the rain stopped for a moment. Papa got out. "Before darkness falls, I
am going to have a closer look at the river."
"I will go too." Mina followed behind him.
As they walked down the bank, they saw a ferry boat tied to the other bank. The river
had become swollen with rain, and the current tugged at the little ferry, threatening
to carry it away downstream. On the branch of a tree near the rushing river hung
a horn.
"Papa, look, here is a horn for calling the ferryman." Mina put the horn
to her mouth and blew hard. It made a blast of sound. Mina blew again, but no one
answered the call.
It had grown quite dark by this time. As Mina and Papa started back up the bank,
someone called from the opposite side.
"Halloo . . . halloo, there."
Papa answered, "Halloo."
"You will have to wait till morning," came the voice again. "The river
is too swift to cross by night."
"Very well," Papa answered.
There was only a cold supper that night. Mina wrapped blankets around her, and shivered,
huddled sitting up next to Papa in the wagon.
The wind howled and tore at the blankets. Could it be, Mina wondered, that the little
village across the river was to be their home in Texas at last?
