“Not a lot to tell,” he says. “After I crossed the Ohio River, I joined some folks headed north along the Mississippi. Families, mostly. The Hoffmans were with them. When it was time to cross, everyone hired passage on a steamboat, but I hardly had any money left.”

I can sympathize.

“So I kept going upstream a few days until I found an old raft, lodged on shore after high water, and I wrangled it into the river. I drifted across—mostly downriver with the current—pulling the sorrel mare behind. Didn’t know if she’d make it, but she’s a dab at swimming, that girl. Landed near St. Louis, where I met the Hoffmans again. We decided it must be providence.”

We’re still meandering aimlessly, and I’m not taking everything in the way Mr. Joyner wanted. “So you and the Hoffmans decided to travel together?” I ask.

“I helped out a little in exchange for meals. It’s a big family; father, mother, six kids, and the oldest only fifteen. The little ones are hard to keep track of sometimes. We’ve been trying to join a company since we got here, but no one would have us.”

He pauses, frowning. Then he adds, “The Hoffmans’ English is a little funny, and apparently I look too much like my mother’s people. Finally, Major Craven let the Hoffmans join his outfit. Then Mr. Joyner offered me a job, and the Major didn’t object, so I stayed on. How about you? How’d you get here?”

For months I imagined telling Jefferson everything that happened to me, imagined the sympathy on his face, maybe the quick hug that would ensue. Now, though, I just want it all behind me, so it comes out in a rush: “I left a few days after you did. Sold Chestnut and Hemlock to pay my way here, but I got robbed along the way. In Chattanooga, I found work on a flatboat, which brought me all the way to Missouri, but I got sick for a bit, and that slowed me down. I arrived weeks ago.”

“Wait. You got robbed?”

If I tell him I lost Daddy’s gun, the hurt might be too much, so I say, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“I figured if I stayed in one spot, it would be easier for you to find me.”

“I have the worst luck,” I say, shaking my head. The only place I avoided was the place Jefferson had been the whole time.

“Hey, we’re going to change our luck, right? As soon as we get to California.” His grin is so easy now, like the weight of the world has fallen away. Maybe it’s being away from his da that’s done the trick.

“Sure, Jeff.”