against it and clotheslines attached to it It looked like a house that had been well used for three years by five people and by horses who loved to rub against it to get the flies off But no one had ever lived in the silver house Josie knew the story Mr Ranald McLeod had come to the Curlew district from Ontario just like thousands of other homesteaders He had worked for three years to prove up his claim and build a house for his bride who would come from back east as soon as it was finished Josie thought that he must have loved her very much because he had built a fine house It wasn’t big no homesteader could afford the lumber for a big house but it was not a one-story box like the other houses around Curlew It had an upstairs with two dormer windows one in front and one in back as well as curly gingerbread trim under the eaves and a wide front porch On a hot day like this Josie liked to imagine sitting on that porch with a glass of cool lemonade in her hand looking out over the wide prairie landscape There would be no chores to do no one to hustle her out to pump water or bring in the washing Josie heard hoofbeats and looked down the track It was Sam of course He was taking the chance to get King up to
a gallop for a few minutes In this weather Pa always said Let the horses take it easy when they can But Sam couldn’t resist an excuse to go fast The train will be here in five minutes he said We shouldn’t be wasting time I know said Josie She pressed her bare heels into Ginger’s round sides and the pony reluctantly started trotting at a gentle pace Sam turned King and rode alongside The track had been worn through the prairie grass by horses and wagons In the three years the Ferriers had lived near the town of Curlew it had gotten wide enough for two horses side by side Josie could remember when it was so faint and narrow that it could barely be seen in some places Now Pa said that soon it would be a proper road and then maybe they could get a Model T Ford Sam looked over at Josie Why do you like to look at that house so much he asked idly Josie thought for a minute It’s special she said It’s like a house from far away that got here accidentally And it’s so sad that Mr McLeod doesn’t live in it Somebody should It’s the best house around here She didn’t tell Sam that she always thought of Mr McLeod’s lost bride She was the sad part of the story of
the house Not that she had died No she had come from Ontario when the house was ready down to the fancy brass doorknobs She arrived at Curlew station with her trunks Mr McLeod met her of course and drove her straight out to the house People said that she sat in the wagon for a long time and looked at the little wooden house and the land around it flat and treeless as far as the eye could see Then she said I can’t live here Take me back to the station She took the next train east to Ontario and Mr McLeod never went into the house again He still lived in a boarding house in town and came along this very track to farm his land but he left the house alone Josie wondered whether his bride ever thought of him now Did she ever wish she had given the house a chance You’re quiet Sam said curiously Are you thinking about ghosts Ghosts said Josie Are you trying to scare me Why would the silver house have ghosts Sam looked a little embarrassed I guess it’s just because it’s empty It always seems a little spooky to me as if it’s waiting for something It makes me think of that old house we used to ride past back in Iowa Everybody said it was haunted
Josie frowned She barely remembered a little falling down house that stood alone in a field near their old farm but she had been just eight years old when the Ferriers left Iowa Sam had been nearly twelve Haunted she said Nobody told me Mama wouldn’t let us scare you with ghost stories said Sam Anyway this house is different It just reminds me because it’s empty He looked down the track We’re almost in town I can see the water tower See you at Pratt’s He nudged King into a gallop again and rode on ahead Josie squinted her eyes against the dust they stirred up She didn’t have to hurry Ginger Sam wanted to get to the station in time to see the train pull in He would help Mr Pratt the postmaster unload the bags of mail and lug them over to Pratt’s Dry Goods Grocery and Post Office In return Mr Pratt would pick out the Ferriers mail right away In the meantime Josie had plenty of time to get the canning jars and spices Mama needed to make pickles For the first time since coming to Canada she had managed to raise a proper garden and now she had plenty of cucumbers but no jars Once they had passed the houses at the edge of town
