[b]Ohio Country[/b]


The overcast sky had given way to flurries of snow. Although it was just after three in the afternoon gray clouds hung heavy in the sky, obscuring the sun behind them and making the chilly afternoon dip even lower. The clouds were snow clouds. The flurries would intensify in short order and leave the entire area blanketed in snow.

"We should head back to town before the snow gets too bad, sir."

George Washington looked away from the sky and down at his aide. Lieutenant Reynolds looked up at him a hint of a smile on his face and an expectant look in his eyes. Behind the two officers were the two senior non-commissioned officers in the regiment, Sergeants McCall and Ferguson, on horseback and Washington's slave Henry on foot.

"Let's go," Washington said tightly.

He lead the party the two miles back to Fort Fredrick amidst the continuous snowfall. Halfway there Washington ordered Sergeant McCall to let Henry ride on the back of his horse to quicken their pace. The sergeant made a sour face at the thought of having a slave up so close to him, but he would not disobey orders and let Henry hang on to the rump of his horse for the rest of the way back to the fort. 

Fort Fredrick was little more than four wooden walls, but it was a far cry from the building Washington had arrived to find four months earlier. Despite the short autumn season already giving way to an early winter, Washington and his men were able to build proper shelter before the first serious snowfall arrived in November. The soldiers had even managed to help the small settlement next to the fort improve upon their own homes and buildings before the winter.

Washington went back to his quarters with Reynolds and Henry in his wake. The slave went about setting the fire in the cabin while Reynolds spread out a map and accompanying documents on a table. Reynolds jotted notes on a piece of paper as Washington donned a pair of spectacles and looked down at the map.

"You sketched this with your own hand, sir?" Reynolds asked with a glance up at the older man. "I am impressed, sir."

"I have some experience with surveying, lieutenant," was all Washington would say. 

Reynolds squinted at the map before measuring distances and points on the map. While Reynolds tried to calculate distance, Washington already knew the figure he would come up with.

"I would say forty miles, lieutenant," Washington said before Reynolds could. "The settlement can't be much further than that."

"Forty-two miles, by my calculations."

Washington grunted and looked up as Henry stoked the fire to roaring.

"That'll be all, Henry" Washington said to his slave. "You can retire to your room until I need you."

"Yes, sir," Henry said with a sweeping bow before departing to his own little room off to the side of Washington's.

"Same for you, Lieutenant."

"Sir? Reynolds asked. "You do not wish for me to write the survey report?"

"I am capable," said Washington. "With the weather, I need some activity to occupy my mind. It will do me good. If you need a task, then head into the settlement and see if their supply wagon ever came in. Report back if it has still not arrived. That'll be all."

Reynolds gave Washington a salute before leaving the room. He was alone with just his thoughts and the crackling of the logs in the fire. He sighed and walked towards the window. The snow they had raced to beat was now coming down steady and blanketing the area. It was going to be a long winter, maybe even longer than last year's winter if that were possible.

Just the thought of last year made Washington's melancholy worse. Last year was perhaps the darkest year of his life. All he had fought for as a young man, all his striving to better his place in the world and make himself a true gentleman, had been snatched away from him by the cruel winter. The commission to the British Army he had longed for twenty years ago had come his way, but at a terrible price. He was now a professional soldier by trade, his salary going directly to Martha and his stepchildren to help them in the new house. The land they had purchased in North Carolina was a far cry from Mount Vernon but compared to some of the other Virginia planters the Washingtons had landed on their feet.

Washington turned to his work. The past week had been spent mapping out the area between Fort Fredrick and the Iroquois village. His superiors wanted a detailed map in order to plan a settlement. The ragtag community next to the fort -- dubbed George Town by the residents -- was temporary at best, a site to live on until the Ohio Company and British Army could clear out the space for a proper settlement. The job was part of his bad humor as well. Word had it that in the south, a great expedition was being mounted to drive Cherokee further west. While the men in the south would see plenty of action, Washington was stuck here just sitting and waiting and potentially acting as a diplomat with the Iroquois.

"Enter," Washington said when he heard a knock at the door.

Reynolds entered with snow covering his hat and the shoulders of his coat. He took off his hat and held it to his breast.

"Sir, I talked to Proctor in the village. He says that the supply wagon they've been waiting on has yet to arrive. It's now three days overdue."

Washington looked away from Reynolds and out at the snowfall. Supplies were already running low among the soldiers, so there was no question the village was running out as well. Sickness was also beginning to filter through the barracks and into the town and medicine was supposed to be on the way. That wagon was desperately needed as the heart of winter approached.

"Reynolds," Washington finally said. "Pick the six best men in the regiment and have them mount up. We're going to ride out and see if we can find this missing wagon."