And she certainly didn't know that he was the man powerful people had spent seven years trying to find.
Their second meeting occurred two weeks later.
The woman was returning from a neighboring farmhouse where she had repaired curtains and helped organize household accounts.
She traveled in a small wagon driven by a hired teamster.
The weather had been clear when they left.
But mountain weather changed quickly.
By afternoon, snow began falling.
The wind strengthened.
The driver became nervous.
They reached a narrow road above the creek when one of the horses stumbled.
The wagon shifted.
A wheel struck a buried rock.
Then the axle cracked.
The driver cursed.
He climbed down.
Examined the damage.
Then looked toward the darkening sky.
"We're in trouble."
The woman remained seated.
"Can you repair it?"
"Not here."
He glanced toward the horses.
"We need help."
She looked toward the distant tree line.
"How far to the settlement?"
"Too far before dark."
A cold wind struck her face.
She pulled her shawl tighter.
"What do you suggest?"
The driver hesitated.
Then pointed toward the forest.
"There's a cabin on the northern ridge."
She frowned.
"Whose cabin?"
He looked uncomfortable.
"The mountain wolf's."
She stared.
The driver continued.
"Only shelter within several miles."
The woman remembered the giant from the boardinghouse.
His pale eyes.
His scarred face.
His quiet voice.
Then she looked toward the strengthening storm.
"Then perhaps we should ask him for help."
The driver shook his head.
"I've heard stories."
"So have I."
"About what he does to strangers."
She studied him.
Then said quietly, "I heard stories about myself before I came west."
The driver looked confused.
She smiled faintly.
"Most were untrue."
He considered.
Then nodded reluctantly.
They began moving toward the northern trail.
But the broken wagon couldn't travel far.
Eventually the driver decided to take the horses and seek help from a nearby logging camp while the woman waited in a sheltered hollow.
She objected.
He promised to return quickly.
Then disappeared into the snow.
An hour passed.
Then another.
The light faded.
The temperature dropped.
Her hands began trembling.
She tried walking, but the snow was deep, the ground uneven, and the exertion quickly exhausted her.
She returned to the sheltered wagon, wrapped herself in blankets, and waited.
By the time darkness approached, she was frightened.
Not because of the mountain man.
Because she could feel the cold entering her body.
Then she heard hoofbeats.