May and Jed Beginning the Journey

With his head in his hands, "Gone," is all Jed can muster and the catastrophe of what happened crystallizes in May's mind. Wet and worn, Jed flops on the bench next to the ferry landing. May and Jed had watched all the money for their farm float away in little kegs down the raging Wabash River.

She wants to turn back to Kentucky, back to her parents' prosperous farm, but she decides to trust her husband. The newlyweds face a long detour in Chicago, working to replace the funds for their far...