"My father has kept in contact with our family here over the years.  He didn't receive a reply to his last letter which he sent at the end of May."

Elinor smiled and said, “Unfortunately that is not an uncommon event out here. The mail is not what it would be in the cities. It may have fallen prey to outlaws or Indians or an accident along the way.” Not that robberies or attacks were common place, they did happen, and mishaps occurred.

Turning her attention back to Elinor, she continued, "Father is afraid that something terrible might have happened and since I was on my way out here, he asked me if I could find out.  Personally, I am hoping his letter or the reply got lost somewhere along the line."

“And to whom was the letter sent to, if I might inquire? I know of a great many people in the Kalispell area.” Elinor pried. Wondering if it was Shade Thornton. At the moment she was setting aside her hatred of all things Thornton as she realized the woman had no connection with the death of her Calvin.

"Since his brother died, my father has been keeping correspondence with my cousin Chance."  She paused for a moment before continuing, "I do hope nothing terrible has happened to him or his brother Shade.  I met them once about seventeen years ago when we were on our way to San Francisco. They were both very likeable and charming in their own ways.  In a way I am looking forward to seeing them again but whether or not they will be welcoming of a cousin they haven't seen in a long time is another thing."

The mention of Shade Thompson made her blood run cold. Oh see had long ago admitted that Cal had most probably gotten what he deserved, and if it had not been Thornton, it would have been someone else. Cal was the bad seed, not that the other boys were much better.

But this woman had nothing to do with that event or anything to do with the Steelgrave-Thornton feud. And it wouldn’t be long until she would be far away from Elias, the Evergreen, and the rest of it. She took no pleasure in what she was about to say;

While she waited to see if Elinor would say something about whether or not she was acquainted with her cousins, Sarah began to try and remember what she could about her cousins.  Her father had mentioned more about Chance than Shade.  He had said that Chance was married with children and was running the family ranch.  As for Shade, she would no doubt find out more about him when she got the ranch.

“Your cousin, Chance Thronton and his family, were found dead this past June.”  Her voice somber as strangely, emotions welled up inside her as this revelation. “Other than those stark facts, I have no information as to the why or how of it. I’m terribly sorry.”

Deciding that she didn't want to dwell on such sad news, she decided to change the subject, "Perhaps you could tell me about Kalispell? It would be useful to know what is like there and if I should get someone to escort me out to my cousin's ranch."

Fighting the urge to be nasty, nasty as only a woman can, she paused, reflecting on her lost son, the outlawry of the rest of her sons as well as her husband. Times were changing and soon there would be no escaping the hangman’s nose for they were all guilty of murder, rustling, arson and worse, if there were other things that could be considered worse.

“Kalispell is certainly a western town, and it’s as wild as the law will allow. But a woman is safe to walk the streets, unlike Whitefish to the north.” she paused, looked out as the land moved past while the coach rolled back and forth, to and fro. Suddenly faced Miss Thornton-Carlton. “There is a long standing feud between the Thornton’s and the Steelgrave’s. Shade killed my youngest and since then my husband and my other sons have vowed to avenge that death.” She paused again. “ But you should be safe enough in Kalispell, and there are reputable men in town you can rely on to escort you safely to the Lost Lake Ranch and your kin.”

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anything about what happened between your son and my cousin.  Even though I am on the other side in this feud and by rights we are suppose to be enemies, I do not wish to make matters worst."

Elinor smiled. “It is the way out here, men settle dispute with guns.” She said matter of factly.

For the next few minutes, Sarah contemplated on what she do next.  The one thing she didn't want to do was to ignore Elinor.    Maybe the answer lay in letting Elinor talk about it.  Knowing both sides of the story would prove useful in the future.  "I understand if you do not want to talk about this.  You mentioned your husband and sons wanting revenge but I would like to know how you feel about this situation."

“To be quite frank about it, Cal brought it on himself.” She looked at the woman as she spoke. “As I have learned, there was a fight over my sons attempt to assault Regina Cantrel. Thornton  heard the struggle and beat Calvin severely. Sometime later, Calvin lay in wait, intending to shoot Regina. Instead, Shade killed him. Thornton was arrested and tried, the shooting was ruled self-defense and Shade Thornton was not charged. Rightfully so, I might add.”

"It all sounds like something out of a dime novel.  I do hope that level heads will prevail in the future."

Elinor smiled at the statement. “Perhaps it is closer to the truth than people believe. The dime novels are most times based on fact, fact badly blown out of proportion.

Sarah sighed, "I suppose that even though things are starting to be civilised out here, there is still a long way to go before it will be like San Francisco or any of the cities in the east.  Even though they have their problems, people still get into trouble but the difference is they don't resort to gunfights...at least not in my experience."

“Yes, that’s very true, and the time will come when gunfights in our businesses and streets will come to an end, hopefully. I mean, I realize there will always be crime and criminals, but the gunplay in public will cease.” Elinor explained. “Although, I have to tell you, it’s not as wild as in those dime novels. Kalispell is a nice place that occasionally becomes ugly. Though I understand they have a new town Marshal with Military background

The countryside seemed so peaceful.  "What is like to live out here?  Is it as hard as some people have said it can be?"

“What’s it like? Considering where you are from, there are not as many niceties, mail is dreadfully slow. The General Store sometimes does not have everything to fill your order.” She smiled, “And yes it can be a hard life, depending on your station of course.  The Thornton's live quite well, have a beautiful home, I understand. Their ranch is very large and encompasses some beautiful country. I think you’ll like it out here.” She paused, there are Indians and they can present problems, but of late there's been no trouble. And there are outlaws, but this stage rarely carries anything they would be interested in."