by Annie Boone
The moon was partially hidden by clouds, but there was just enough light for them to walk along the river banks without much trouble. Just when Tim thought all was going well, the wind picked up.
They kept going, but the gusts of wind made the trek more difficult for Delilah. Huge pellets of rain began to fall. Delilah started crying again. He knew he had to find a place for them to get out of the cold rain.
They’d made it past the bend in the river. Tim remembered Mr. Jansen telling him that this point was more than two miles from home. To Tim’s way of thinking, they wouldn’t have too much further to go. Lewiston couldn’t be more than another day or two away. But, for now they needed shelter.
On one of the Sunday picnics with Aunt Jemma and Mr. Jansen, he remembered Mr. Jansen telling him of an abandoned mine through the woods. Tim began to run as fast as he could practically dragging Delilah behind him. The rain was coming down in what seemed like buckets. Delilah was soaked and Tim could hardly see for the rain pelting his face.
“We’re almost there, Delilah. Just keep running with me,” Tim begged.
Tim almost missed the opening to the old abandoned mind. The water was rushing down the rock-sided mountain so intensely that it created a waterfall curtain across the opening. Tim pulled his sister through the downpour and into the opening of the damp cave.
“I’m scared, Tim!” Delilah cried. “I want to go home.”
Tim knew that she was frightened. He was, too.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine when it stops raining. We can stay here until the storm passes,” Tim said, with more confidence than he felt.
Tim unwrapped his small bundle, but the blanket was soaked through with the rain.
They were shivering. Delilah was still crying and Tim wanted to cry with her. But at least the mine protected them from the storm. When lightening lit the sky, Tim could see spider webs filling the edges of the cave. They crawled back from the opening where the water splashed as it poured down the mountainside.
Exhaustion finally hit the children. They cuddled up together and fell asleep as the storm raged outside. They didn’t realize the mountainside had started to fall. Rock and mud rushed down with the water. The opening that they had crawled through just hours before was closing up. The beams that framed the opening were creaking under the pressure of the rock from above.
Tim and Delilah didn’t notice that they could no longer see the flash of light from the lightening. They were still huddled together, eyes squeezed shut, asleep.
***
Jemma woke up the next morning to the birds chirping after a restless night. She was relieved that the children weren’t awakened by the horrible storm. They must have slept through it, she thought, since they didn’t come to her room during the night.
The hail had hit so hard on the roof of their little cottage, the noise had been deafening. She was thankful for a sunny morning after such a mighty storm the night before.
As she got up and made her way into the kitchen she noticed there were a couple of wet spots in the main room.
“Oh my. Looks like the wind and hail did some damage,” she said.
She was surprised when Tim and Delilah didn't come out. Surely they heard her rise. She was making enough noise in the kitchen to ensure they’d wake up and come join her for breakfast.
She went into their room saying, “Wake up you little sleepyheads. It's time to get our day started. Rise and shine!”
Jemma stopped cold just inside their door when she saw that both beds were empty. She started to panic, then tried to be logical. They were surely around somewhere.
She went straight to the back door and called, “Delilah! Tim! Where are you?”
When she received no answer she went to the front door, voice rising and quickening with what was now edging on hysteria, “Delilah, Tim? Where are you, children! This isn’t funny, children. Come at once.”
When Jemma realized the children weren’t coming, hopeless fear struck deep in her belly. She grabbed her shawl and started running toward town.
Nick was standing out in front of the mercantile when he saw Jemma running towards him. He could tell something was wrong, even from far away.
He jumped on his horse and urged it into a gallop. He came up short beside her. He jumped off and in one move pulled her into his arms.
“What’s wrong, Jemma? What is it?” he demanded.
“The children are gone, Nick. They're gone. They weren’t in their beds this morning. They weren’t outside, either. They're gone!”
She could not control the sobs. She clung to him and looked up at his deep blue eyes. They were black with emotion.
“Please, help me, Nick. Help me find them.”
“You go to the inn and tell my father. I'll head to the Hewitt farm and then out to Josh’s. We’ll gather all the farmhands and we won't stop until we find them. It's going to be all right, Jemma. I promise, we’ll find them.”
Jemma wasn’t sure that he would be able to keep his promise. But she prayed that God would intervene.
Please, God, help us find them. They’re all I have left of Billy. Please, please, please. Be with Nick and those who search, God. Put them on the right path.
Chapter Nineteen
The Silver Dollar Inn had become the central gathering place and refueling place for those out looking for the children. Bonnie and Emil encouraged Jemma to stay and wait for the reports from the groups as they went out and came back.
Thad had just returned from a three-hour search. Jemma went to him as soon as he walked in the door. The look on her face said she was hoping for good news.
“I'm sorry, Jemma. The heavy rains last night have made it incredibly difficult to find any trace of the children. Footprints or any indicators like that have been washed away. Think again about where they might be headed. Do you have any idea which direction they would have gone?” he questioned.
“I’ve no idea, Thad. I feel so foolish. I didn't even realize they were gone. I don't even know how long they’ve been gone.” Jemma began sobbing again. “They could be anywhere.”
Bonnie walked over and put her arms around Jemma. “You've got to stop crying, Jemma. You need to keep a level head to help with the search. And those children are going to need you when they come home.”
“Oh Bonnie! What am I going to do if we can't find them? How will I ever forgive myself? How will my parents ever forgive me? Billy and Sylvia left those children in my care. They trusted me! And now I’ve let this happen!”
Nick had just come in and overheard what Jemma said to his mother. It was those words that empowered him to try to think of a more strategic approach. Josh was standing close and Nick went to his friend to get help on a new plan.
“I think we need to go over the facts again. Let’s answer some questions to help us find a logical way to go,” said Nick.
“What questions?” asked Josh. “I think we have all the facts, Nick.”
“Maybe, but humor me a minute. What time did they go to bed? When was the last time Jemma saw them at the house?”
Jemma had been paying attention to what Nick and Josh were saying. She walked over and joined them. “Eight o’clock. That’s the last time I saw them,” she said.
“All right. Does anyone know what time the storm came up?” asked Nick.
“I think it was around midnight or so,” said Josh. Then he nodded his head. “I see what you’re doing. It makes sense to put a likely timeline together so we can know how far they may have gotten.”
Nick nodded. “What else can we consider? I feel like I’m leaving something out. Something important.”
“Has Tim ever been to any of the outlying areas that might be familiar? He would likely go in a direction he already knows a little about.”
“The mines. We talked about going to the abandoned mines,” Nick said, nodding vigorously. “He’s familiar with the river and the mines are just beyond that.”
“All right, that makes sense. Where did we always
go when we were exploring at his age?” asked Josh.
“The river. We always went to the river,” answered Nick. “The river has to be the starting place and then the mountain behind it.”
“Let’s get going, then,” Josh said. “We'll find them. I’ll bet that’s where they are.”
“I hope you’re right. It makes sense that they’d go that way. They probably didn’t get too far out of town before the rains hit. There’s no way they could travel very fast.”
Jemma nodded. She felt encouraged for the first time, but she was still terrified that the children were hurt, or worse.
***
Both men jumped up into the saddles of their horses and took off toward the river. As they passed the red chapel, they both lifted silent prayers that the Lord would guide their direction and help them find the children.
As they rode, Nick could not get the sight of the hysterical Jemma out of his mind. Seeing her hurt like that was worse than the belly punch he had gotten just the day before when she had broken up with him.
He was angry at himself for not standing up to her. He’d just taken what she said and rode away. He regretted that decision made in anger and hurt.
This may be the last thing he could do for her, but he was determined to bring those children back to her. He wasn’t sure how he’d get over it if he couldn’t do this, but he would pursue this with all that he held dear.
As they poked their way along the river bank, Nick tried to think of how he would bridge the gap between himself and Tim. He vowed that when this chapter was closed, he would do all he could to get on the right track.
“What’s on your mind, Nick?” asked Josh.
“Just trying to think like an eight-year-old runaway, I guess.”
“I really don’t think they could have gotten that far. The moon would have been offering low light last night and the rain would have slowed them down.”
“I’m just worried they fell in the river or met a hungry bobcat.”
“I know. I think your hunch about the mines is going to pay off, though.”
“I hope so. I really do. I don’t think Jemma can survive another tragedy so soon after losing her brother.”
Josh nodded, and the two men kept pushing forward to the area where the mines were.
***
The day went on and groups came and went out of the inn giving bits and pieces of a scattered story. Gossip was starting to take over when the children weren’t found right away. But the sad truth was that not a single sign of Tim and Delilah had been found. It was as if they had disappeared.
An old ranch hand from the Hewitt' farm told Emil, “Soon we're going to be looking for little cold bodies.” He didn't realize that Jemma was within earshot and had heard this.
The thought of Delilah and Tim being injured was a frightful notion. But dead? How could she cope with that? But as time went on she began to realize the absolute worst case scenario could be true.
She gasped and ran from the room fearing that his abrupt words were closer to the truth than anything she had heard all afternoon.
Bonnie went after her.
“Now don't you listen to that old coot,” she told Jemma. “Over half of this town is out looking for those children. You have to keep faith that we're going to find them.”
“I know, Bonnie,” Jemma said. “I'm trying to be strong. I want to go help look. I feel so helpless staying here. It's not like me to just sit around when something needs to be done.”
“I know it's not,” Bonnie said. “But the best place you can be is right here. What would happen if the children were found and then we didn't know where you were?”
“But I can't sit here and watch people come and go, not seeing any progress.”
“Well then come back to the kitchen with me. We can help Cook stir up some food for all these folks.”
“Thank you, Bonnie. Thank you for understanding. I can help in the kitchen. It will hopefully keep my mind occupied.”
“I know what it is like to have a mama's heart Jemma. You may not be those children's biological mother, but you’re their heart-mama now.”
The women went back to the kitchen where Cook was already beginning to fry a huge batch of chicken.
“We’ve come to help, Cook,” Bonnie said. “Put us to work so our minds can relax.”
Cook nodded grimly. She put Bonnie in front of a pile of potatoes that needed to be peeled and chopped. Next, Jemma was instructed to shuck corn.
“Busy hands make the time pass. You both just stay back here with me,” said Cook.
Chapter Twenty
Nick and Josh continued moving forward, seeing no sign of the children. The light was starting to fade and the winds were coming up again. Both men knew that before dawn there would be another storm.
They had both been through many late summers in Cutter’s Creek. Storms always came fast and furious this time of year and usually at night. There was no time to waste. They needed to find Tim and Delilah before it got dark.
“Let's head up the side of the mountain here and take it slow. What if we try it on foot? If we’re walking we may see something we’ve been missing,” Nick suggested. “Even the smallest sign that they’re still alive, I’ll take.”
“I can’t find any fault with that reasoning. You might be right. We’ve all been in the wagons or on horseback. Maybe getting on the ground will help us see something.”
They swung out of their saddles and headed out into the wind.
Walking slowly and methodically the men searched the ground and the bushes for any sign of the children. They called out, “Tim, Delilah!” Their voices were hoarse, but they continued to yell hoping the children would hear.
For almost two hours they walked, looking. But, the rains from the night before had washed away any sign they may have been able to see. Knowing they had covered more ground than the children could have possibly covered, they turned back down the mountain and to the river.
They said nothing. Their silence said it all. When the red chapel came into view, Josh asked, “Nick, are you ready to call it a night?”
Nick looked at him grief stricken and said, “I can't go back and not have something to tell her, Josh. You go on home. You’ve been out since early this morning with me.”
If you’re not going back, then I’m not either. I'll stay with you. We’ll do this together,” Josh said.
“Thanks, buddy. I appreciate your help more than words can say.”
“Where to now, Nick?”
“I don't want to think about it, but unless they fell in the river with the high waters from last night’s storm, there’s no way they went down the river. We would have seen something. The landscape opens up on the other side of the railroad tracks. We’ve searched every possible place they could have gone in that direction. I’m pretty sure we’d have found them if they’d gone that way.”
“I agree. Let's head back up the river just to see,” Josh suggested.
“All right. I rode through that area twice earlier today and I saw nothing. But maybe there’s something I missed. I was so eager to cover as much ground as possible, I could have ridden right over a sign.”
***
The situation was taking a terrible toll on Jemma. She was tired and irritable. She was terrified that there would be no news about Tim and Delilah. She was terrified that the news that did come would be more than she could bear.
Her eyes felt scratchy and were bloodshot. Red-rimmed from crying on and off all day, she needed to close them to give them a rest. Every time she did close them, she saw visions of the funeral she would have to plan for her niece and nephew. The thought was unbearable.
Bonnie invited her to sit in one of the settees in the main parlor. Most everyone had gone home, needing to tend to their families. It was dark now, anyway, and not much else could be done until daybreak tomorrow.
Cook was cleaning the last of the dishes and Emil was still in his sentry post at the front desk. He
looked up at his wife over his wire-rimmed glasses. He motioned for her to come to him.
“I know you have the words to comfort Jemma. You’re so good with people this way. I’ll keep watch here in case anyone else checks in,” he said.
Bonnie nodded and leaned in to kiss her husband on the cheek.
“Let me tell you a story, Jemma. Help pass the time,” Bonnie said as she walked to Jemma and sat beside her. “I lived in Chicago once.”
“You did?”
“I sure did. That's where I met Emil.”
Jemma smiled weakly. She’d go along with Bonnie, but she was only halfway paying attention to her story.
“I was just like you, a young teacher in the bustling city. After my parents were gone, God rest their souls, I decided the big city was where I needed to be. I’d been there for only a year when I met Emil. He was the widowed brother of one of my fellow teachers.”
Jemma appreciated the distraction and she knew what Bonnie was trying to do.
“He lost his first wife to a terrible fever. He was grieving and alone. He moved in with his sister and got a job at the Clarence Hotel. I worked with his sister at the middle school.”
“I know the Clarence. It’s very fine.”
“Yes, it is. Emil took me on our first date there.”
It made Jemma remember her first date with Nick at the Silver Dollar Inn the first week they were in town. Sadly, it was another cheerless memory that she’d rather forget right now.
“We got married and moved to Kansas City.”
“Is that where Nick was born?”
“Yes, that's where he was born and we lived there until he was almost ten.”
Jemma nodded. Nick had shared the story of their move to Cutter’s Creek to run the inn. Jemma was vaguely interested to hear Bonnie’s version of the story.
“We were young and eager to start something new, so Emil bought into the first Silver Dollar Inn. The one that was closer to the mines. I thought he had lost his mind when we arrived. It was nothing but a big wooden box miners were sleeping in on the rare occasions they needed a roof over their heads. It smelled like dirt and sweat. I hated that place!”