by Bill Bright
To frowns and “tut-tuts” from the front rows, the two boys crawled out of the dining room and shut the door behind them.
They found themselves in a storage room with chairs and tables stacked floor to ceiling against the walls. The only other door to the room was on the far side. To get there, they had to cross the room, which wouldn’t have been a problem if it weren’t for the fact that there was a man in the center of the room. He was on his knees, praying.
When the man gave no indication he’d heard the boys enter, Daniel decided to risk disturbing him. He figured if they were quiet, they could slip by the man unnoticed.
Daniel started to stand but was pulled from behind, back down to the floor. Ben shook his head and motioned for Daniel to follow him. He crawled into a corner of the room behind some tables. There was enough space in the corner for both boys to sit, but it was tight.
Ben pointed through the tables to the praying man and mouthed the word, “Finney!”
Robely Epps felt comfortable with the weight of the pistol. He examined the firing mechanism.
“I can give you a real good price on that one,” the salesman said.
Epps said nothing. He didn’t like the man. The salesman’s eyes were set too close together and his nasal twang grated on Epps’s nerves. Epps toyed with the idea of telling the man he wanted to fire the pistol before buying it and that salesmen were his favorite target.
He looked down the sight at the salesman.
The man tittered nervously and, despite Epps’s glare, moved the barrel to one side. “Do you mind if I ask how you intend to use the pistol?”
“I shoot things.”
“Yes, of course. What I meant was…”
“Not safe to travel,” Epps said.
“You’re one hundred percent right about that,” the salesman said. “I know a man who, just last week, was traveling to Syracuse, which you would think was a safe road—what with the canal and all—but as he was getting to—”
“I’ll take it,” Epps said.
After paying for the pistol, Epps walked outside, removed it from its solid-cherry carrying case, tossed the case into the back of Asa’s carriage, shoved the pistol into his waistband, and covered it with his coat.
He drove around behind the gun shop and loaded it. Then, with a snap of the reigns, he went to pick up Asa at the hotel.
Chapter 33
Asa felt someone at his elbow. He turned.
“What’s going on here?” Epps scanned the packed hotel dining room with distaste.
“It’s a religious meeting,” Asa said.
“You think the boy’s in there?”
“A religious meeting?” Asa scoffed. “That’s the last place he’d be. I was waiting for you and got curious.”
The two men walked through the lobby.
“What kept you?” Asa asked.
“Had some business to take care of.”
Once they were outside, Asa climbed into the carriage. He took the reins. “What do you think? East?”
Epps had yet to get in. Looking up and down the street, he said, “It’s been days since we’ve seen him. Suppose he could be anywhere by now.”
“I think we’re running out of time.”
Epps stepped into the carriage. He tugged to get his coat situated. “My thoughts exactly. Time’s just about up.”
As they pulled away from the crowded hotel, Asa glanced back. Everywhere he looked he saw people with their heads bowed in prayer.
A sensation swept over him such as he had not felt in years.
With his knees tucked up to his chin, Daniel’s back began to cramp. Next to him, Ben squirmed. They suffered in silence behind the stacked tables while Reverend Finney, who was most fervent in prayer, muttered, “O God…O God…help him, Jesus, help him!”
Ben whispered in Daniel’s ear, “Should we be praying?”
Daniel replied with a reproving frown.
“It feels like we should be praying, that’s all,” Ben insisted.
The door to the dining room opened. Raucous and restless voices spilled into the storage room. The closing of the door cut them off.
For a time, all was quiet again, except for Finney’s prayerful mumbling. Daniel and Ben exchanged glances. Had someone come in or not?
“Excuse me…Reverend Finney?”
Daniel recognized the voice. It was Gillett, the man who had addressed the gathering, defending Finney’s revival methods. From his tone and the silence that preceded it, he was hesitant to interrupt the evangelist’s prayers.
“Reverend Finney? Pardon me, but it’s time…”
Finney didn’t respond.
“I apologize for interrupting your prayers,” Gillett said, “but the people are waiting.”
“The room is full to capacity,” Finney said. It sounded to Daniel like a statement, not a question.
“Yes, sir!” came the enthusiastic reply. “It’s amazing that word has traveled so quickly. I saw people running to get here!”
Silence.
Daniel wished he could see Finney’s reaction, which he assumed was exhilaration masked with piety. There wasn’t a preacher in the world who wouldn’t love to preach to a room that size, filled to capacity.
Ben also seemed curious to hear Finney’s response. His ear was cocked, and he was listening hard.
“Ask them to leave,” Finney said softly.
“What?” Gillett cried.
“The emotion is too high, Mr. Gillett. I fear an undesirable outburst. Please ask them to leave.”
There was a shocked silence, then, “With all respect, Reverend Finney, I fear an undesirable outburst if I ask them to leave.”
“Ask them to leave, Mr. Gillett,” Finney insisted.
Silence. Then footsteps.
The door opened, the volume from the dining room increased, and the door closed, pinching it off.
While it was difficult to make out Gillett’s words through the walls, the reaction of the people was clear enough. It sounded like a riot.
The door opened and closed quickly this time.
“Reverend Finney, you must make an appearance!” Gillett pleaded. “I fear the outcome if you do not speak to them.”
“Trust in God, Mr. Gillett.”
“While I am confident you believe you are doing what is right and good—”
“Ask them to leave, Mr. Gillett.”
“Reverend Finney…”
Daniel didn’t know what Finney did to stop Gillett’s protest, but whatever he did, it worked.
The door opened and closed, signaling Gillett’s departure.
On the other side of the wall the noise from the gathering grew so loud the walls shook.
This time when Gillett returned, it took a longer time for the door to close. Did Gillett have to force it closed to keep the people out? Daniel wondered.
“Reverend Finney…”
“Mr. Gillett, if they won’t leave, ask them to pray.”
“To pray?”
“No public prayers, but secretly or together as families. Ask them to pray unceasingly between now and seven o’clock this evening, at which time I will preach at your church.”
Ben grinned excitedly. He gave Daniel a thumbs-up signal.
“Reverend Finney!” Gillett exclaimed. “Thank you! Thank you!”
Again Gillett left the room. This time, as he addressed the crowd, the noise on the other side of the wall subsided until it was as quiet as the proverbial calm after the storm.
When the door opened and closed this time, the only sound was the clicking of the latch.
“They’re doing it,” Gillett reported. “They’re praying, just as you asked.”
“Yes, Mr. Gillett. As they should.”
Daniel closed his eyes with a prayer of his own—that the two men would leave the room so he could stand up and stretch out the knots in his back.
A commotion from the far side of the room interrupted him. From the sound of it, an entire regiment
was storming the room.
“Reverend Gillett,” a voice boomed. “Will you kindly tell me what’s going on here?”
“Sheriff Beecher!” Gillett said. “Allow me to introduce to you Reverend Charles Finney.”
“Finney? I’ve heard of you. You’re the preacher that caused all the ruckus in Western.”
“A revival, Sheriff,” Gillett corrected him. “Reverend Finney has just agreed to preach at my church tonight.”
“So what’s going on out there?” the sheriff demanded.
“An inquiry meeting,” Gillett answered. “As it turned out, the room was not large enough to accommodate the crowd, and when it threatened to get out of control, Reverend Finney asked everyone to leave.”
“Just like that? He asked them to leave?”
“When they wouldn’t leave, he asked them to pray.”
“To pray?”
“That’s what they’re doing now, Sheriff. They’re praying.”
Footsteps could be heard crossing the room. Once again the door to the dining area opened, stayed that way for a minute, then closed.
The sheriff grunted. A favorable grunt, Daniel thought.
“Sheriff Beecher resides in Utica,” Gillett explained. “Since we have two courthouses in the county, one at Utica and one here in Rome, he divides his time between the two towns.”
“Sheriff,” Finney greeted him.
“Mr. Gillett,” the sheriff said. “I’d like a word with Reverend Finney in private, if you’ll excuse us. Haskins, you and Rollins wait for me outside.”
Two additional men accounted for the loud entrance earlier.
Gillett said, “Sheriff, if you’ve received any complaints about the noise from the meeting, you should talk to me.”
“It’s a personal matter, Mr. Gillett.”
There was a scuffle of feet, followed by the closing of a door. The sheriff and Finney were alone in the room.
At least they thought they were alone.
Ben pulled on Daniel’s sleeve, his eyes wide. He mouthed, “What do we do?”
Daniel didn’t know. They’d been there so long, to reveal themselves now, and with the sheriff there…In his mind he could see only one ending. And it wasn’t a happy one.
He pressed his forefinger to his lips.
Ben objected silently.
Daniel persisted, forefinger to lips.
Chairs scraped the wooden floor on the other side of the stacked-tables barrier as the two men sat down.
“How may I be of assistance, Sheriff?” Finney asked.
The sheriff cleared his throat. “I have something to tell you, Reverend Finney, and I don’t want it to leave this room.”
Finney must have made some kind of nonverbal assent, because the sheriff continued. “As Mr. Gillett indicated, I divide my time between Utica and Rome, but I board at a hotel in Utica. With travelers coming and going, as you might expect, we have heard news from Western. Reports of the revival, so called.”
The sheriff cleared his throat and scraped his chair. “I should tell you that the reports have been a nightly source of amusement and a good deal of laughter around the dinner table.”
“You have participated in this amusement, Sheriff?” Finney asked.
“I have often been the instigator,” the sheriff replied.
“Why do you tell me this?”
There was a pause, then, “I came to Rome today on official business, on a road I have traveled for more years than I care to count. Today, however, when I crossed the old canal—about a mile from here—a strange and powerful impression came over me. Awe so deep I could not shake it. How to describe it? It was as though God pervaded the whole atmosphere.
“The closer I came to town, the greater the feeling impressed itself upon me. I followed that feeling to this hotel. When Mr. Frank met me outside a short time ago and took my horse, I could see in his eyes that he was feeling exactly the same thing. And he could see it in me. Neither of us spoke. It was as though we were afraid to speak.
“To my surprise, the man with whom I have business was standing nearby. It’s a minor matter, so Mr. Frank offered the use of his office. When we went inside, the gentleman could not attend to the business at hand. He rose from the table repeatedly and went to the window to divert his attention, to keep from weeping. I was grateful he did, for if he hadn’t, I would have.
“There is such a tangible awe in this town, such solemnity, such a state of things as I have never witnessed in my life. As God is my witness: I will never speak lightly of the things of God again.”
Chapter 34
“Daniel Cooper! I can’t believe you sat there and listened to their conversation!”
Hannah gave the appearance of being offended but seemed more tantalized. She insisted on hearing everything he and Ben overheard. Her eyes lit up with every detail.
They walked side by side, just the two of them.
“What would you have done in our place?” Daniel countered.
“For one thing, I never would have been in your place! You will never seeme crawling on my hands and knees down an aisle of a public meeting room.”
“I told you…my uncle was there.”
His voice was sharper than he’d intended. It wasn’t that he felt threatened by her comments. If anything, he enjoyed sparring with her. But he was angry because while he was walking with Hannah, Ben was with Lucy.
The arrangement made sense. Ben and Lucy lived in town, while Daniel was staying at the Robbins’s farm. But the logic of the pairing didn’t make Daniel any less angry. He knew how Ben felt about Lucy.
“Well, I’m not convinced you should be running from your uncle…the way my father speaks of him.”
That did it. It was the drop that burst the dam.
“Why is everyone always on his side?” Daniel thundered.
Hannah looked startled. She stopped walking.
Daniel knew he’d overreacted, but he couldn’t contain his frustration any longer. “I’m tired of nobody believing me. That’s how all this started. I saw Emil Braxton murdered! I saw Cyrus Gregg in the alley that night. Why won’t anyone believe me? Then Cyrus Gregg had me nailed into a coffin so Epps could take me into the woods and kill me! Then I saw Epps kill a harmless man in the forest! And now my uncle and Epps have chased me all the way from Cumberland. For what? What possible reason could they have for pursuing me this far? Yet everyone keeps telling me what a great man my uncle is!”
His chest heaved with rage.
Hannah studied him. Her eyes became tender and moist. She cupped his cheek in her hand. “I believe you.”
She spoke so softly that Daniel almost missed it.
“You believe me?”
Hannah nodded.
“But you said—”
“You poor boy,” she murmured. “You have seen so much evil…been through so much. You’ve been running so long, you don’t feel you can trust anybody. But you can trust us. Ben…Lucy…me…my father. You’re among friends now. Can’t you see that?”
Maybe it was because he was so tired, or that it had been so long since he’d had friends that weren’t musical instruments, but Daniel found it difficult to hold back his emotions.
“Thank you,” he mumbled. “You’re right. I’m out of practice at being a friend. You may have to remind me of the rules from time to time.”
The clatter of an approaching carriage interrupted them. Daniel’s head snapped around. The carriage was large, with front and back seats. It slowed. Hannah greeted the driver, a weathered old man, and his equally weathered wife. She introduced Daniel to the Gowers, who owned the farm next to theirs.
Mr. Gower offered them a ride. Hannah refused with a sweet smile. As Mrs. Gower eyed her and then Daniel with amused interest, Hannah blushed.
As the carriage continued down the road, Daniel wondered if there would come a time when he no longer jumped at the sound of carriages. He told himself he’d be safe once they reached the farm. Why had Hannah refused t
he offer of a ride?
It was twilight. The heavenly canopy was translucent blue. They walked in silence. Hannah’s hands had retreated into the warmth of a muff. The cold wind kissed her cheeks red.
“Is there a girl in Cumberland?” she asked without looking at him.
“Aya,” he replied. “Plenty of girls in Cumberland.”
A hand came out of the muff long enough to slap his shoulder. “You know what I mean.”
He enjoyed the attack. “There is no girl in Cumberland waiting for me.”
“Why not?”
“Such intimate questions,” he teased her. “Very unbecoming in a lady.”
“They’re not intimate!” she protested. “I’m curious, that’s all. Is there a law that prohibits curiosity?”
“No law. But I’ve heard it’s fatal to felines.”
“Are you going to answer the question?”
Daniel grimaced. “Whatever I say…you’ll hit me.”
“I will not.”
“Will too.”
“Just tell me!”
“All right. It’s simple. They’re too smart. They know better than to waste their time on someone like me.”
She hit him.
“Ow! See? I knew you’d hit me.”
“Well, you deserved it.”
Daniel rubbed his shoulder, more for show than from pain. They walked a little farther.
Hannah broached a question. “Do…do you and Ben talk about me?”
Daniel sensed dangerous terrain ahead. He decided a guarded approach would be wise.
“Aya. We talk. Not a lot.”
“What does he say about me?”
“I’m not sure I should—”
“He knows, doesn’t he?”
Hannah wasn’t even listening to him. Her head was down. “He knows that I don’t…love him…romantically, I mean.”
“You don’t?”
He hadn’t known Hannah, Ben, and Lucy for a very long time, yet everything he thought he knew about them was unraveling.
Shocked at his reply, Hannah’s hands flew out of her muff to her mouth. “Hedoesn’t know?” She turned away, unable to face him. “But the way he’s been acting…oh, why did I say anything? I never should have told you!”