Let There Be Light

by Al Lacy

  Dan took the satchel and thanked the shotgunner. “The wagon’s right over here.”

  As Jenny walked beside him, she felt the weight of the .38 caliber revolver in her purse. It sent a tingle slithering down her spine. Dan placed the satchel in the wagon bed and helped her up into the seat. To keep up her act, Jenny slipped close to him when he settled on the seat and took up the reins.

  As the wagon headed out of town, Dan told Jenny about Suzanne Brady’s sudden death three days ago, and how surprised he was to learn from Suzanne’s attorney that she had willed the ranch to him, including what money she had in her bank account.

  Jenny found herself strangely attracted to Dan, but struggled against it. This news settled the question as to whether she would kill him before or after the wedding. She would wait until they were married, then as his widow, the ranch would be hers. She would sell it and go back to Harrisburg a wealthy woman.

  Dan then explained that since Suzanne wouldn’t be at the ranch, it would not look good with just the two of them out there, and not married.

  Jenny agreed.

  “I want you to see the ranch, then I’ll bring you back to town. My friend Clay Holden and his new wife, Mary, have offered to let you stay in their home until the wedding. The house has a nice spare bedroom.”

  “That’s fine, Dan. It won’t be very long, anyway. That is, if you agree. You see … I already know I’m in love with you. As far as I’m concerned, we can get married real soon.”

  Dan slipped his free arm around her and gave her a big smile. “Jenny, I’m already in love with you too. I know you are the one the Lord has chosen for me. I have perfect peace about it.”

  “Me too,” she said, secretly meaning something totally different. Her plan was working already.

  “To be proper, we should wait at least a month, then marry.”

  Jenny would rather get it over with sooner, but she told herself it would take a little while to figure out how to shoot him and make it appear that someone else did it. “A month is fine, darling.”

  As the wagon drew up to the gate, Dan pulled rein and explained that the sign that hung over the gate on the thick posts would soon be changed from Box B Ranch to Box T Ranch.

  Jenny smiled up at him and squeezed his arm. “Sounds wonderful to me.”

  Dan put the wagon in motion again, and as they moved down the lane, Jenny ran her gaze over the wide fields dotted with cattle. “This is sure different than Pennsylvania, but I like it.”

  Dan smiled. “I knew you would.”

  They were drawing near the ranch house. It stood proudly in the bright September sunshine. To Jenny, every window sparkled, as if with a smile of welcome. Oh my. Under other circumstances I would really love this place. Well, at least it will be mine for a little while … till he’s dead, and I sell it.

  Dan helped Jenny from the wagon and held her for a moment. She forced another smile and tilted her face toward him. Though it repulsed her, she let him plant a soft kiss on her lips.

  Dan’s heart pounded as he took her through every room in the house. From the kitchen door, he showed her the cabin out back where he used to live. Jenny found that she genuinely liked the ranch and the house, but lied once again as they stood on the front porch. “Oh, Dan, I’ll be so happy here as your wife!”

  Dan kissed her again, then helped her into the wagon seat.

  That evening at the parsonage, Jenny found that she actually liked Pastor David Denison and Clara. And strangely enough, she liked Clay and Mary, and Joel and Martha. The dinner Clara and her daughters had prepared was exquisite. Later, when the Holdens showed her their guest room and welcomed her warmly, she thought that these born-again people did have some fine qualities.

  On Sunday, Jenny carried her Bible to church and found that she also liked the members, who welcomed her so warmly.

  Dan had told her she should join the church right away, so at the invitation, an inwardly nervous Jenny walked the aisle and told the pastor she wanted to become a member. He asked for her testimony of salvation while the congregation continued to sing the invitation song, and because what Laura had shown her in the Bible was fresh in her mind, she was able to fool the pastor.

  On Monday, Dan and Jenny sat in Pastor David Denison’s office, and Dan explained that they were already in love and were certain the Lord had chosen them for each other, but felt they should wait at least a month before getting married.

  Denison smiled and nodded. “I believe that’s wise, Dan.” He looked at the small calendar on his desk. “How would Saturday, October 14, be? That’s just a little more than a month.”

  Dan looked at Jenny, who was once again wishing it could be sooner.

  “That sound all right to you, sweetheart?”

  “Sounds perfect! October 14, it is!”

  As the days passed, Jenny nursed her grudge against Dan Tyler for what he had done to her family, but as she became better acquainted with him, she struggled with the uncontrollable emotions that ran through her when she was with him. She could hardly believe that this kind and gentle man was capable of murder. But she knew he was, because Edgar Toomey was there at the prison camp and told her so.

  On Sunday, October 8, Pastor David Denison reminded the people from the pulpit at offering and announcement time that the Tyler-Blair wedding would take place at the church on the following Saturday afternoon at three o’clock.

  Sitting in the pew with Dan at her side, Jenny’s heart pounded within her. He looked at her and smiled, and she smiled back. The Holdens and the Stevenses were in the same pew, and flashed their smiles at Dan and his prospective bride.

  Jenny told herself that once they were married, she would finalize her plan as to how she would exact her justice on Dan and make it look like someone else had shot him. When he was buried, she would work with the attorney to sell the ranch and collect her money. And then, it was back to Harrisburg.

  A ladies’ trio sang a special song, then Pastor Denison stepped up to the pulpit and opened his Bible.

  “My initial text this morning is Genesis 1:3. Please turn there with me in your Bibles.”

  When Jenny opened her Bible to that familiar page, her eyes fastened on the verse, which Laura Denton had underlined. The words “Let there be light” seemed to be written in letters of fire.

  After reading the verse to the congregation, Pastor Denison commented on how God dispelled the darkness found in verse 2 with the light. He then took them to 2 Corinthians 4:3–6 and preached on how God brings the true gospel light into Satan-blinded, sin-darkened hearts through hearing and reading the Word.

  As he preached, something was happening in Jenny’s heart. Suddenly she saw the truth of the gospel, and of heaven and hell. She saw her lost condition before God so clearly, it startled her. At that moment, as the preacher went on, to Jenny it was like God was speaking to her almost audibly, saying, “Yes, Jenny: Let there be light!”

  Tears were misting Jenny’s eyes as she moved her lips silently. “And there was light!”

  She blinked her eyes in an attempt to keep the tears back. She was successful. She didn’t want Dan to see her tears.

  The preacher went on in his sermon and described hell from a graphic Bible passage. He then warned of clinging to the darkness when God had shined the light of the gospel into a lost sinner’s heart. He closed the sermon and gave the invitation. Two teenage girls and one man walked the aisle to receive Christ.

  Jenny stood there during the invitation, struggling with the light that was penetrating her darkness, but she managed to hold on till the invitation was finished and the service was over.

  The sermon in the evening service was on Christian living, but the gospel was also included. Jenny had another battle when the invitation was given, but once again, managed to stay in the pew.

  24

  AS DAN TYLER WALKED HIS BRIDE-TO-BE to his wagon after the service, he could tell that something was bothering her. When they drew up to the side of the wagon, h
e said, “Sweetheart, is something wrong?”

  A bit distracted by what the gospel light was doing in her heart, she looked up him. “Hmm?”

  “I asked if something’s wrong.”

  “Oh. No, darling. I … I was just thinking about the friends I left in Harrisburg, including Zack and Emma Henderson, who were so good to me on my job. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m happy to be here, but I still miss them.”

  “Well, of course. I understand. I’m glad that’s all it is.”

  Dan helped Jenny into the wagon at the same time Clay was helping Mary into their buggy close by.

  Dan and Jenny followed the Holdens to their house. Dan was invited in, and after coffee and oatmeal cookies were served and devoured, Dan and Jenny walked out onto the front porch. They kissed good-night, and Jenny waited on the porch and waved to him by the light of the porch lamp.

  When Jenny was in her room for the night, her stomach was churning. She picked up her Bible and once again read the verses Laura had underlined.

  Tears were blurring her vision when she read Genesis 1:3 and 2 Corinthians 4:3–6 one more time. Laura and Pastor Denison were both right. Satan had her blinded, but God was now shining His light into her darkness. Suddenly, she burst into sobs and dropped on her knees beside the bed.

  She trembled and her voice quivered as she bowed her head, closed her eyes, and sobbed, “Dear Lord Jesus, I clearly understand now why You went to the cross, shed Your precious blood, died, and raised Yourself from the grave. It was to give sinners like me salvation. I have no doubt that hell exists and is real eternal fire. I know I’m lost and walking the road that leads to hell. I … I can’t stand it anymore!”

  Jenny gulped at the tears in her throat. “Lord Jesus, here and now I repent of my wicked sin. Please come into my heart and save me. Forgive me and wash me clean in Your blood.”

  When Jenny rose to her feet, she picked up the Bible and held it close to her heart. God’s Word said if she would repent and receive Jesus into her heart as her Saviour, she would be saved. Because she now believed every word in the Bible was true, she knew she was saved.

  She had been born again. She was now a child of God and would go to heaven when she died.

  She sat down on the edge of the bed, wiping tears. “Lord,” she said in a soft voice, “thank You for saving me. I … I know that my plan for vengeance is over. Now that I’m Your child, there is no way I could kill Dan Tyler. In fact, I must now tell him that I can’t marry him—that I’m going back home. The … the strange thing about this whole thing, Lord, is that in spite of what he did to my family, I … I have these strange feelings toward him. Please help me to do this thing right.”

  All day Monday, Jenny struggled with what she had to do. She still harbored the grudge toward Dan as before, but she told the Lord she would leave the punishing of the man who murdered her father to Him. She wouldn’t bother to tell the hypocrite that she had gotten saved. She would simply tell him she needed travel fare to get back home, and then she would get out of his life. If it broke his heart, so what?

  That evening, Dan and the Stevenses arrived at precisely six-thirty, for the Holdens had invited them on Sunday for supper.

  Dan was asked to lead in prayer over the food, and Jenny felt anger inside toward him. How could that hypocrite word such a beautiful prayer?

  During the meal, the subject of the Andersonville Prison Camp came up. While Clay and Joel were talking about different incidents that had taken place at the camp, Clay glanced at Jenny, then said to Joel, “Something just dawned on me. Wasn’t Captain William Linden from Harrisburg?”

  Jenny’s ears perked up. She ran her gaze to Joel.

  Joel nodded. “It seems he told me that. Yes, I’m sure he did. I hadn’t thought about it.”

  Clay’s eyes were on Jenny. Her heart froze as he said, “Jenny, did you know or know of Captain Linden?”

  Jenny’s mouth was suddenly dry. Her throat tightened. “I … I knew Captain Linden. I was told that he was murdered by one of the prison camp guards.”

  Dan’s features pinched.

  Clay shook his head. “Not so, Jenny. Let me ask you this. Do you happen to know Lieutenant Edgar Toomey, who is also from Harrisburg? He wouldn’t be a lieutenant anymore, of course, but—”

  “Yes, I know him. Why?”

  “It was Toomey who murdered Captain Linden, Jenny.”

  While Jenny’s face registered surprise, Joel said, “Dan was accused of killing Linden, can you believe that?”

  Jenny felt the edge of a fog trying to seize her brain. “Why. why of course not.”

  Clay set steady eyes on Jenny. “It was Toomey who accused Dan of killing Linden. But when the guards put the timing of it together, it was quickly proven that Dan couldn’t have done it because at the very time Linden was stabbed to death, Joel and I were with Dan in his tent, reading the Bible and praying together.”

  Clay’s words cleared up the fog in Jenny’s brain. She was stunned. “Why wasn’t Toomey prosecuted for killing Captain Linden?”

  Joel looked her in the eye. “Jenny, the camp commandant agreed with the rest of us that it was Toomey who killed Captain Linden. With the circumstances that prevailed that night, it had to be Toomey. We knew that for some reason, Toomey hated the man who had been the leader of his unit and killed him. But there was no way to prove it. News of the War’s end came at that very moment, and Toomey got off scot-free.”

  Jenny looked like she had just taken a shot between the eyes. The food stuck in her throat. She felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Her face turned ashen.

  Dan saw the distress in her eyes. He immediately left his chair, dropped to his knees beside her, and took hold of her hand. “Jenny, what is it? What’s wrong?”

  Her widened blue eyes focused on his face, but she was unable to force a word past the lump in her throat. Her breathing suddenly became rapid. She swallowed uncontrollably over and over.

  The Holdens and the Stevenses looked at each other in puzzlement.

  Dan laid a palm on her cheek. “Jenny, do you want me to take you to the doctor?”

  Jenny shook her head, and with a herculean effort, took a breath of very welcome air. Struggling to clear her throat, she coughed, then drew more air into her lungs. Her lips moved silently for a few seconds, then with squeaky voice, she said, “Dan … can I … talk to you alone?”

  “Well, sure. Let’s go out on the front porch.” He helped her from the chair and put a strong arm around her. “Folks, we’ll be back in a little while. Please excuse us.”

  “Of course,” said Clay. “If you need anything … ”

  “We’ll be fine, thanks.”

  When they stepped out onto the front porch, the porch lamp was giving off a circle of yellow light. Dan still had his arm around her. “Do you want to sit down over here?”

  “Let’s … let’s just move over here and lean on the railing.”

  They stepped to the railing, and Jenny braced her hip against it.

  “Sweetheart, what is it?”

  Trembling all over, Jenny spoke in halting words as she opened her heart and bared her soul. She confessed who she really was, and told him how she had been led by Edgar Toomey to believe that this guard named Dan Tyler had murdered her father. She explained how she searched for Dan with the intent of killing him, and how she finally found him through the mail order bride ad, and that she had come there to marry him, then kill him in a way that would make it look like someone else had done it.

  Still breathing shakily, Jenny studied Dan’s face, fearful of the revulsion she was sure would be there.

  Stunned beyond words, Dan stared at her, speechless. A thousand thoughts were vying for a place in his confused mind.

  “There’s something else, Dan,” she said. “I’ve been a hypocrite. When I wrote that letter and put in what was supposed to be my salvation testimony, I lied. I have a friend in Harrisburg who is a sweet and dedicated Christian. Her name
is Laura Denton. She witnessed to me over and over, even gave me that Bible you see me carrying to church. She had underlined many salvation verses and tried her best to get me to open my heart to Jesus. But I refused. This was why I could put that false testimony in the letter. I knew exactly what to say. At that point, I would do anything to get to you so I could put a bullet in your heart.”

  Dan shook his head. “Jenny, I—”

  “Please let me finish.”

  Dan stared at her as she went on to tell him how the Lord had dealt with her yesterday in the church services. She explained what was really wrong with her, which he had asked about, was the conviction that was eating her up, then went on to tell him how she had fallen on her knees beside her bed last night. She had repented of her sin and received the Lord Jesus into her heart as her Saviour.

  Dan was stunned. Jenny’s eyes were riveted on his face. She was sensitive to the change that was dawning on his countenance. A broad smile suddenly curved his lips, and his eyes came alive with happiness.

  He opened his arms, and with a tentative step, Jenny moved into them. Dan held her tight, and his own breath was a bit ragged. “Jenny, sweetheart, I’m so thrilled with the way the Lord has worked in your heart. I’m glad that you’re saved. I still love you as I’ve already told you over and over again. But … what now?”

  She eased back in his arms and looked up at him through a mist of tears. “Dan, all along—ever since I came here and met you—I have had these strange emotions toward you, in spite of the fact that I thought you had murdered Papa. I couldn’t understand these emotions. But now I know what they are. I have fallen head over heels in love with you!”

  Dan drew her to him. They kissed, then he looked into her eyes and said, “Jenny, I have been that way about you ever since I received your first letter. I knew then that I had fallen in love with you, even as I know right now that I am still in love with you. God knew the whole thing before it ever happened, and He planned that you and I would fall in love in spite of all these circumstances. I still want you as my mail order bride.”