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Show Nettie, Page 29 Taggart's wagon and their own, chatting with Becky and Nettie. The three of them called on the Dicksons a couple of times that first day to inquire after Diena. She was lying in the covered wagon while her mother tried desperately to keep her little daughter warm and comfortable by a small stove. The girls knew things were worsening when that evening two elders climbed into the wagon. The next morning found a foot of snow on the ground as the girls gathered for a few moments' chat before joining their families in the wagon. A group of men and women had gathered near the Dickson wagon. Nettie eyed the group curiously, then glanced questioningly at Becky. "Diena died last night. They're trying to decide what to do," Becky explained. As the girls huddled near the breakfast fire, the saddened group dispersed and Diena's mother climbed back into the wagon. It was a dismal start to their journey and Nettie's excitement was dulled by the little girl's death. Their parents called them to come to their own wagons and the girls split up, promising to join each other again at the campfire that night. Nettie shivered in the*cold and climbed into the buckboard, drawing Clarence and Alice close to her and snuggling under the quilts in the wagon. "Mama, what is Sister Dickson going to do?" "She's decided to send William with Diena's body to find his father. They think he's probably still near Evanston." "Poor William," Nettie thought. She still had vivid memories of |
