by Al Lacy
“Yes. She says so in the letter.” As he spoke, he took the letter from the envelope and extended it to her.
She smiled, handed him the photograph, and began reading the letter.
Dan looked at the picture, drinking in her beauty.
When Suzanne finished the letter, she looked up at Dan with a twinkle in her eye. “You’d better get a reply to Miss Jenny Blair quickly, Danny boy. She may have answered other mail order bride ads. Not only did she write a heart-touching letter, but she is exceptionally beautiful.”
“That’s my opinion too.”
A slight frown pinched Suzanne’s brows together. “She’s almost too good to be true.”
Dan chuckled. “Yes. I was thinking the same thing. But I imagine that’s how Jim Brady felt when he first laid eyes on you.”
Suzanne looked up at him and smiled. “Now, aren’t you the diplomat?”
“Nothing diplomatic about it. I think you’re still beautiful, and you are one of the most charming ladies I have ever met.”
Suzanne shook her head and took off the spectacles. “That sweet compliment will get you a double portion of Irish stew!”
“Great! And when my stomach’s full, I’ll write the letter to Jenny and put sufficient travel money with it. I’ll ride into town and mail it first thing in the morning.”
“Smart boy!”
“Do you want to read the letter from the sanatorium before we eat?”
“Guess I’ll do that. Why don’t you go get washed up?”
Dan wheeled and went to the washroom just across the hall from the kitchen. The rain beat on the roof of the house and soaked the windows while he washed his hands and face.
When he was through, he returned to the kitchen to find Suzanne sitting on a chair by the table, letter in hand, weeping. Her spectacles lay on the tabletop. When she looked up at him, a veil of sadness covered her usually lively eyes. Dan’s heart went out to her. He rushed to her, bent over, and put his arms around her.
“Suzanne, what is it?”
“My sister died on August 4. They buried her the next day.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Dan said softly.
“They have included the bill for the funeral and burial plot.”
Suzanne clung to him and wept for a long moment, then pulled a handkerchief from her dress pocket. Dan released her and stood back so she could wipe the tears from her eyes and face.
Sniffling, she said with a shaky voice, “Sarah—my sister—was my last relative on earth. I’m … I’m the only one in my whole family that is still living.”
“I can relate to that. I know what it’s like to have no living relatives, Suzanne. I, too, am a sole survivor. But you know what the Lord said in His Book. ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ All of those we hold dear may die before we do, but our heavenly Father will never die.”
Suzanne sniffed and dabbed at her nose. “That’s so true, Danny boy, and it’s wonderful to know. I told you Sarah was saved at the same time I was when we were children.”
“Yes.”
“It’s such a comfort to know that she is no longer sick and lonely, but she is safe and well in the arms of the Saviour. I can’t wish her back in this world for a moment, but as old as I am, I know it won’t be long till I’m in the arms of Jesus—and with my loved ones who are there with Him in heaven.” A watery smile graced her lined face.
Dan nodded. “I’m sure Jim is waiting, ready to be the first of all your loved ones to meet you at the pearly gates.”
She sniffed again. “Oh yes. What a glorious day that will be. Of course, I want to see Jesus first of all.”
“I’m sure you will.”
She looked him square in the eye. “I want to tell you something.”
“Yes?”
“Since I won’t be sending money periodically to the sanatorium for Sarah’s care anymore, I’m going to give you a substantial raise in salary.”
“Oh, Suzanne, that isn’t necessary. And especially since you have to pay for the funeral and burial plot.”
“I’ve had money set aside for that for quite some time, so that’s already taken care of. I’m going to triple your salary.”
Dan shook his head. “Now, Suzanne, you can’t—”
“Oh yes, I can. The ranch makes me a good living, and without the expense of caring for Sarah, I can afford to pay you well.”
Dan rubbed the back of his neck. “How about just doubling my salary?”
Suzanne set her jaw stubbornly. “No. You’re doing a wonderful job, and I’m tripling your salary. Anyway, you’re going to need it when you marry that girl the Lord is sending you.”
Dan’s face tinted. “You’re a case, Mrs. Brady, a real case. I don’t know how to thank you, but to say thank you. I appreciate having the job in the first place.”
On Thursday, August 24, Jenny Linden picked up the mail at the post office during lunch break, and her heart leaped in her breast when she found a letter from Dan Tyler.
She rushed out of the post office and sat down on a bench in front of the building. With trembling fingers, she tore the envelope open, and with the letter were two hundred dollars in cash and a photograph of three smiling young men in Confederate uniforms.
Her eyes went quickly to the letter:
August 5, 1865
Miss Jenny Blair
Box 23
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Dear Miss Jenny,
I received your most welcome letter yesterday, and I wish I could deliver this one in person. Yours was the seventh letter of response to my ad, which I placed in several eastern newspapers. The other six were from fine Christian young ladies, but after much prayer over each letter, I did not have God’s peace about any of them. After reading your letter, a sweet peace came over me, and I knew you were the one the Lord had chosen for me.
I have enclosed a sufficient amount of money for the trip, which your railroad people will schedule for you. You will travel by rail to Santa Fe, New Mexico—and by stagecoach to Albuquerque, and on to Mogollon. Please advise me of your arrival time in Mogollon, so I can be there to meet you.
In your letter, you asked about my past. I was born and raised on a cattle ranch near Chattanooga, Tennessee. When the Civil War broke out, I joined the Confederate army and chose the cavalry. I served in the cavalry until some six months before the War ended. They needed guards at the Andersonville Prison Camp in Georgia, so I was sent there to be a guard. Two of my close friends in my cavalry unit were also sent there at the same time. Their names are Clay Holden and Joel Stevens. They are both Christians. They are with me in the photograph I have enclosed. I’m the good-looking one in the middle!
Clay and Joel are the reason I’m in Arizona. They came here ahead of me. They own and operate a combination stable, blacksmith shop, and wagon repair shop.
In my ad, I explained that I work on the Box B Ranch near Mogollon. I work for the elderly widow who owns the ranch and live in a log cabin behind the ranch house. Her name is Suzanne Brady, and you will love her. I have made arrangements with her so you can live in the ranch house until we get married. You and I will discuss a wedding date after we have gotten to know each other and have prayed about it.
We have a great church here. You will love Pastor David Denison, his family, and all the wonderful members of the church.
I will be eagerly waiting to hear of your arrival time. No doubt you are aware of the significance of the number seven in the Bible. God planned for you to write the seventh letter so I would know that you are the PERFECT one for me!
Until I meet the beautiful blue-eyed blonde in the photograph in person, I will try to contain myself.
Yours expectantly,
Dan
Jenny bit her lips. This is the man who murdered her father. She studied his face in the photograph, considered the letter, and told herself he seemed like such a nice man. Generous, too. He had included far more money than she would need for the trip to Mogollon.
How could he be a murderer?
A coldness settled over her. “Mm-hmm. But then, hypocrites are like that.”
She studied his face again. “I agree, Dan. You are quite good-looking.” A frown creased her brow. “You’ll be a good-looking corpse, won’t you?”
The next day, Jenny went to the railroad station and made reservations on the trains and stagecoaches that would carry her to the man she would shoot, and bought her tickets with his money.
That evening, she wrote her acceptance letter, giving Dan the time she would arrive in Mogollon on the Wells Fargo stagecoach. It would be at four o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, September 5.
The next morning, a sense of deep satisfaction enveloped Jenny when she handed the letter to the postmaster. Yet, when she walked out of the post office, a mental picture of Dan’s smiling face came to her mind. A strange, unexplainable feeling washed over her. She shook it off and hurried on down the street.
Though it was her day off, she would now go to the general store and give the Hendersons a false reason why she had to be gone for an indefinite period of time on a trip out west.
As she walked toward the store, she told herself once again that she would have to wait till she was in Mogollon to make her plans on how to shoot her father’s murderer and get away with it. She might exact her justice before they married. On the other hand, though Dan worked the ranch for this widow woman, maybe he had some money in the bank. If that was the case, she would shoot him after they got married, make it look like someone else did it, and as his widow, she would collect whatever money was his.
Either way, Dan Tyler didn’t know it but he had only a short time to live.
Jenny arrived at the store, and the Hendersons accepted the reason she gave for needing to take a trip out west. Zack assured her that her job would be waiting for her.
When she arrived home, she went next door to the Bowden home, gave the same reason for the trip west to John and Dorothy, and left her house in their care. They volunteered to take her to the railroad station the next morning.
Sleep was very elusive for Jenny that night. As she lay in her bed, she let her mind have free rein, and it transported her back to her childhood. She thought of the days when she was a happy, carefree little girl with parents who doted on their only child. One pleasant scene melted into another as the years passed by in her mind.
Finally, in her memory, she was watching her beloved father walk out the door to fight in a war from which he would never return, then found herself standing over her mother’s open coffin, with tears streaming down her face.
Lying in her dark room, Jenny let her mind run to the good-looking hypocrite who had murdered her father. She could almost feel the grip of the revolver in her hand, and pretending it was aimed at Dan Tyler’s heart, pulled her finger back as if she was squeezing the trigger.
“I know it won’t bring Papa and Mama back,” she breathed, “but that bloody killer has to pay for what he did!”
After only a few hours sleep, Jenny rose wearily from bed the next morning. A fevered excitement filled her as she prepared a hasty breakfast.
Downing the last drop of coffee, she quickly rinsed the few dishes and glanced around the kitchen to make sure that all was in order. She then moved from room to room, and once again, her mind was filled with memories. This house had been her home all of her life, and now she was the only member of her family left.
Frustrated with the tears that filmed her eyes, she quickly wiped them away.
Returning to her bedroom, Jenny let her gaze linger on her own things. Suddenly she became aware of the time. She tied her bonnet on with the ribbon under her chin, then picked up her purse from the dresser and opened it to check on the revolver. It was there, and seemed to say, “I’m here, Jenny, and I’m ready to be your weapon!”
On the dresser, next to her purse, was the small Bible Laura Denton had given her. Since she was supposed to be a believer, she knew she would have to carry a Bible to church in Mogollon. She placed it in the purse alongside the revolver that was to end Dan Tyler’s life. She picked up the satchel she had packed the night before and went through the bedroom door without looking back.
Once again, Jenny went to the kitchen, made sure the fire was out in the stove, then headed up the hall toward the front door. She paused for a moment at the parlor door and set her gaze on her mother’s rocking chair by the big window. Fresh tears threatened to spill. She swallowed hard, rushed to the rocking chair, set the satchel down, and ran her hand over the arms of the chair. Blinking at her tears, she said in a low voice, “Mama, I’m sure you wouldn’t approve of what I’m about to do, but I know for me to have any sense of peace, I must see that the man responsible for your death and Papa’s pays for it. I have to do it. I love you.”
With those words, her resolve took control. She hurried into the hall and out the front door. She closed it, locked it, and headed for the porch steps. At the curb, John and Dorothy were waiting in their buggy to take her to the railroad station.
Just as she reached the steps, an ugly thought struck her, and she stopped. What if the authorities would catch her after she killed Dan Tyler, in spite of the care she took to kill him without being detected?
She bit her lower lip. If they were to learn that I had done it and arrested me, I would never be able to come home again. I would spend the rest of my life in prison. Am I prepared for this?
The unexpected thought gripped her for a moment; then again the horrendous thought of her father’s murderer getting away with it and being free to live out his life overtook her mind.
Jenny drew a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and descended the porch steps. She smiled at the Bowdens as she hurried toward their buggy, satchel and purse in hand.
23
ON FRIDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 1, Clay Holden and Joel Stevens were busy in their blacksmith shop. Clay was putting shoes he had forged the day before on a draft horse from a nearby ranch, while Joel was working the bellows, preparing to forge four more for a customer’s horse that was waiting in the stable.
Clay nailed the first shoe on the hoof of the horse’s right foreleg. As he bent down to pick up another shoe, he saw movement at the wide double doors from the corner of his eye, and turned to see the form of Dan Tyler coming in with a wide grin on his face. Dan’s eyes were sparkling. There was an envelope in his hand.
Clay straightened up. “Hey, Joel. We’ve got a happy man here.”
Joel stopped working the bellows and turned to look at the man who was walking toward them. “Yeah, he sure does look happy. I’d say that letter in his hand is probably from that cute little blue-eyed blonde in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.”
Dan used a thumb to push his hat back a little on his head. “Well, Joel, ol’ pal, you are dead on center.” He lifted the envelope up so both could get a good look at it. “I just stopped at the post office, and here was this letter from Jenny in Harrisburg. She’s coming to be my mail order bride! She’ll arrive in Mogollon on the four o’clock stage on Tuesday, September 5!”
Both men laughed happily.
“That’s great, ol’ pal!” said Clay. “Congratulations!”
Joel popped his palms together. “Yeah! Congratulations!”
Clay rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “Too bad she couldn’t have come in time to attend the wedding tomorrow.”
Joel nodded. “Yeah. Too bad. It would have been nice to have her here to see Dan perform as best man for this double wedding. It’s going to help prepare him to be a groom. Jenny would probably like to see how he functions in a wedding atmosphere.”
Dan chuckled. “Well, I’d like to have her here for your wedding, gentlemen, but even more important—she’ll be here for ours!”
Clay and Joel laughed.
Dan snapped his fingers. “Hey, I just thought of something!”
“What’s that?” asked Joel.
“Well, since I get to be best man for both of you guys, maybe we can work it so both of yo
u can be best man at my wedding.”
Clay moaned and shook his head. “No, Dan. Two guys can’t be best man. It would have to be best men, but that would be impossible, because I’m better than Joel! I’d be the best man. He’d only be second best.”
Joel gave him a mock scowl. “Oh, yeah? You’ve got that backwards, ol’ pal!”
Dan laughed. “Okay, okay, sorry I even brought it up. When it’s time for my wedding, we’ll flip a coin to see which one of you will be best man.”
“Hey, flipping a coin won’t change anything!” said Joel. “Even if I lost in the coin toss, I’d still be the best man at your wedding.”
Clay cuffed Joe playfully on the chin. “Hah! That’s a matter of opinion. If all the people who know both of us got to express their opinions as to which one of us is the best man, they’d vote for yours truly!”
Grinning, Dan said, “Sorry, boys. I didn’t mean to start a fight. I’ll get out of here so you can make peace and get back to work.”
Clay snorted. “You mean you’re not going to let us read that letter in your hand?” said Clay.
“Not on your life! What that cute blue-eyed blonde said in here is just between her and me!”
Joel nodded. “Of course. Seriously, Dan, we’re both very happy for you. We’ll tell Martha and Mary about it this evening when we eat supper at the Denisons.”
“Thanks, but you won’t need to. I’ll be going to the parsonage with this good news before I head back to the ranch for lunch.”
“Well, they’re going to be as happy for you as we are. Our father-in-law and mother-in-law to be will be happy for you too.”
Jack and Lorna Sparks were behind the counter at the hardware store when they saw Dan come in with the same wide grin and sparkle in his eyes. There were no customers in the store at the moment.
Lorna elbowed her husband. “I think we’re about to be told that a certain happy cowboy has received a letter from a certain girl in Pennsylvania.”