by Pat Wahler
Earlier that evening, Reuben drove John and Fannie to a party at a neighbor’s farm. Although they could scarcely contain their excitement, Archie, who hadn’t been invited, moped about with a long face. I tried to distract him with a story, yet half my attention strained for the sound of horse hooves.
Shortly after darkness fell, the front door flew open. Jesse and Frank sauntered in, followed by two of their old comrades, Clell Miller and Bill Fox. Zerelda raised her brows at the unexpected additions to her dinner table and their presence set my teeth on edge, yet I tried not to be frosty when Jesse leaned in for a kiss.
He took my hands and held them wide apart, staring at my belly. “You’re blooming like a flower in spring.”
With a broad smile, Zerelda nodded. “We’ve been keeping a close eye on her.” She raked a dark glance across the faces in the room. “Well, everyone come sit while the food is hot.”
I didn’t recall the taste of anything I put in my mouth that evening. His presence reduced everything and everyone else to nothing more than buzzing gnats. He brushed his foot against mine under the table and grinned at me in a way that made my pulse race.
“Will you be ready for spring planting?” asked Frank.
“I think so,” Zerelda said, though some are warning about the possibility of locust hatchlings coming out of the ground. In all my years, I never saw such a sight as what came to us last summer. I hope to God I never see such a thing again.”
Jesse’s attention turned to his mother. “I checked the field. It seems much better than a few months ago.”
Zerelda buttered a piece of biscuit with vehemence. “Whatever happens won’t keep us down, of that I’m sure.”
The subject changed to merrier topics, and not even the presence of morose little Clell or tight-lipped Bill could take away my smile.
After dinner, Zerelda shooed me away from the kitchen. I pulled a shawl over my shoulders and walked outside into the cold evening for a private moment with Jesse. Stars twinkled from a sky black as ink, and moonlight sparkled on a thin blanket of snow that covered the ground. We sat on the top step and cold seeped through my skirt.
“I feel so much better now.” I leaned against him. “I want to go back home with you.”
“I knew Ma would soon have you on your feet.” His smile disappeared. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take you home just yet. We’ve got a meeting tonight at the old cabin on the other side of the woods, but I promise to buy your train fare within the week. It’s time for us to be together again, Zee. I’ve missed you.”
He pulled me tight against him, and I sighed. Jesse had spoken about the tiny cabin he used when his comrades were in the area. It was a few miles from Zerelda’s farm, near a large pond. The men used it to avoid detectives or other lawmen who often rode past to spy on the farm.
“If you finish your meeting early enough, will you come back tonight?”
“No, it isn’t safe. Too many eyes are watching. But we’ll see each other again very soon.”
I pressed myself into the warmth of his body until Frank, trailed by Clell and Bill, came outside.
“It’s time we go, Dingus. We’ve been here too long.”
Reluctantly, he pulled away from me and stood, grabbing my hands to help me to my feet.
“Good night. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”
He kissed me and touched my cheek before heading for the woods where they’d hidden their horses. The moon, although at three quarters, shone so brilliantly, I could see their shadows as they walked away. My lips moved in a silent prayer for them.
After they disappeared into the darkness, I shivered and went inside where Zerelda and Charlotte were clearing the table. Reuben put on his jacket to fetch John and Fannie home from their party. By the time the last plate had been stacked in the cupboard, the children came running through the front door.
Fannie went to where her young brother stood beside his mother.
“Look here, Archie, we brought you some peppermint candy.”
The child’s eyes rounded. He took the small gift and popped the confection into his mouth with a smile.
“No more of that now, young man,” Zerelda commanded. “It’s been a long day, and we all need to get to bed.”
Charlotte, Ambrose, and Perry went to the pallets they used at night in the kitchen, shutting and bolting the door as was their custom. The rest of us went to the sleeping room we shared. John and Archie slept in a bed next to mine. I pulled a quilt up to Archie’s chin and kissed him good night, then fell fast asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow.
A powerful crash shook the house. My eyes flew open. Reuben leaped out of bed and shouted. “Get up! Get out of the house!”
I smelled smoke and saw curls of it drifting under the kitchen door. Reuben tried to open it, but the door wouldn’t budge. He ran through the parlor to get outside. The rest of us followed in our night clothes and stocking feet. I grabbed a blanket and pulled Archie along with me.
On the side of the house, flames licked at the clapboards of the kitchen. Ambrose, Charlotte, and Perry stood there, the back door from the kitchen standing wide open.
Reuben shouted, “Tear off the boards!”
He and Ambrose worked frantically, prying boards from the structure, while Charlotte and Perry shivered. Over the sounds of splitting wood, I thought I heard gunfire coming from the woods, but smoke that billowed from the open kitchen door diverted my attention. Zerelda headed straight for it.
“Stay here,” I told the children, and threw the blanket to Charlotte.
I followed Zerelda into the smoke, coughing as it burned my lungs. A light flickered from the center of the room where a small metal sphere lay, engulfed in flames. Despite my warning, the children followed us into the kitchen, their faces pale and mouths trembling. Reuben, Ambrose, and Charlotte chased after them, and we all stared at the strange object.
Archie pointed to it and spoke aloud what we all wondered.
“What is that, Papa?”
Reuben grabbed a tobacco stick, and used it to push the orb off the floor and into the fireplace. A moment of relief—and then the fireplace exploded.
An ear-ringing roar sent small pieces of hot metal flying in every direction. Reuben was struck. Another piece hit Ambrose. Zerelda screamed when a hunk of metal smashed through her right arm. Another burning fragment struck Archie below his waist. The child doubled over and fell. I gasped at a scene that seemed straight from the bowels of hell.
Rueben and Ambrose stamped out the flames before carrying Archie outside. I went to Zerelda, who groaned, blood pouring from her arm. The men rushed back in, and between the three of us we carried her from the kitchen to her bed.
She moaned. “Where’s my child? Where’s Archie?”
“I’m going to him now,” Reuben told her.
A moment later, I heard Reuben howl into the night sky for help. I tied a rag around Zerelda’s mangled arm, and Charlotte brought water to bathe away the blood.
Zerelda’s eyes burned with pain and fear. “Zee, find out how my baby fares.”
I nodded and left Charlotte—her dark eyes filled with sorrow—to care for Zerelda. In the yard, Ambrose had placed a kerosene lamp next to Reuben, who leaned over Archie’s still form, ministering to his wound.
Neighbors had begun to appear with unbuttoned jackets thrown over nightclothes in their haste to arrive.
“What happened? I heard a terrible explosion,” Dan Askew, the nearest neighbor, called.
Reuben’s fingers were dark with blood. “Someone go for help,” he cried out. “We need doctors right away. There are terrible injuries here.”
I started to walk toward Archie, but Ambrose took my arm and pulled me away. A small stream of blood trickled down the side of his face.
“Miz Zerelda’s arm is ’most tore off, and that poor little child took a hit to the gut. He ain’t long for this earth. While tearing off those boards, we heard them cowards in the woods hollerin’ and shoo
tin’ guns. Somebody came here and threw that fireball into the house on purpose.” Ambrose wiped his face with his sleeve. “They meant to kill us in our sleep. Lord knows what they might try next. Somebody’s got to get word to the boys.”
My hand covered my mouth. More people arrived, running this way and that between Archie lying outside and then into the house. Three horses were tethered near the barn.
I nodded to Ambrose and slipped in the house to put on shoes, stuffing the pistol Jesse sent and an extra dress in a bag. I covered my sleeping gown with a wrap and slipped outside.
In the chaotic scene, no one noticed when I went to one of the horses and forked my legs over the saddle, just like a man. I dug my heels into its flanks and pointed the animal’s head toward the cabin where I’d find Jesse, keeping my face so low over the horse’s neck that his coarse mane whipped against my skin.
For the first time, I truly understood my husband’s feelings. Anger and hate burned in my blood, too.
23
Branches lashed at my face as I urged the horse forward through woods thick with branches and underbrush. I pulled the reins this way and that, trying to remember where the cabin stood. Finally, completely disoriented, I reined in and peered into the darkness. Where is the cabin? Which way do I go? When something rustled in the woods behind me, I reached for the pistol and turned my steed.
A man on horseback emerged into a patch of moonlight. His clothes were dark, his hat was pulled low, and the only thing I could really make out was the glint of the weapon pointed at me.
“What brings you this way, little lady?”
My fingers tightened on the pistol’s grip. I said nothing. “Seems there’s quite a commotion going on at the James’ place. I watched you ride out, so I know your husband’s around here somewhere. On your way to fetch him, aren’t you?”
“No,” I spat the word.
“Come now. We both know better than that, Mrs. James. How ’bout you take me to Jesse? I’ve a mind to collect that reward money. Gonna enjoy seein’ that southern piece of scum dangle. But I’m in no hurry. Got plenty of time for a bit of fun with his wife. It’d be an extra reward. A bonus I didn’t count on.” He smiled, lowered his gun slightly, and spurred his horse toward me.
The idea of the man’s hands on my flesh made me want to retch. I lifted the gun and fired it straight into his chest. The man’s eyes went wide as he slid from the saddle, hitting the ground with a thud. His animal snorted and bolted into the brush. I stared down at the unmoving form until my entire body began to shake. My teeth chattered, and my heart thudded in my throat. I turned the horse around, bent over it’s neck, and sped away from what I’d just done.
“Jesse! Jesse! It’s me!” I called into the night, trying to make sure I wouldn’t be shot by one of his men. I finally found the clearing and saw Jesse and Frank crouched on the porch, weapons drawn. Two rifle barrels poked from openings in the cabin’s walls.
I heard Jesse and Frank swear, and they holstered their guns. Jesse reached me first, pulling me from the horse, cursing softly under his breath. My hands were so stiff, Frank had to pry them from the reins. Jesse carried me inside to a chair by the hearth where a low fire blazed. Frank grabbed a blanket and threw it over my shoulders while Clell brought hot coffee.
My teeth chattered against the cup as Jesse murmured. “Just a small sip. Don’t try to talk yet.”
I pushed the cup away. “Someone came to the farm while we were asleep. They set fire to the kitchen and threw some sort of metal fireball inside. Reuben pushed it into the fireplace, and the whole thing exploded.”
Jesse looked at Frank, their faces hard. When Jesse spoke, his voice made me shiver again.
“Was anyone hurt?”
“Reuben and Ambrose are wounded, burned. But they’ll survive.” I swallowed hard and stared into the lethal blue of Jesse’s eyes. “Your mother’s arm is torn up but … Archie …”
Jesse surged to his feet. An expression, unlike anything I’d ever seen before, sliced like a razor toward the others. “Get your weapons. We’re riding to the farm now.”
Clell grabbed his arm. “It’s a trap. They’ll be waiting to gun us down no sooner than we get there.”
Frank’s face was pale as death, and a vein throbbed in his neck. “Wait. Let’s find out who did this first. Then I swear, we’ll make them pay.”
Jesse’s lips were rimmed with white when I reached for his clenched fist. “Most of the close neighbors had come to help by the time I left. I’m sure if he’s not there already, the sheriff will arrive soon.”
My voice faltered as the image of Archie’s colorless face and the bloody hole torn into his belly flashed into my mind.
“Drink,” Jesse said, pointing to the cup. “It’ll help.” He squeezed my shoulder before leaving me to join the other men. They stood at a small table in the cabin’s kitchen, methodically checking their weapons. The sound of sharp clicks mixed with whispers kept me silent, still trying to make sense of what had happened.
Finally, Jesse came back and hunkered down at my side.
“You’ve been through too much tonight. I want you to sleep here. Bill will stay with you, and then he’ll see you back to the farm tomorrow. Ma’s going to need you. I’ll have some of the boys keep watch over the house. Once we know who’s responsible for this, we’ll make our plans.”
My chin snapped up.
“Jesse, I took someone’s horse to get here. I don’t even know who it belongs to. And that’s not all.” My eyes closed while I drew in a breath. “A man tried to stop me in the woods. He knew who I was and wanted me to take him to you so he could collect the reward.” I stared into Jesse’s face, unable to tell him what else the man said. “I shot him with the gun you gave me. It’s in my bag.”
“Is he dead?”
“I think so … I don’t know.”
“I’ll wager he’s a part of this, either a Pinkerton or a bounty hunter. Why else would he be in the woods late at night watching? Bill will take care of everything. You rest now. And when you go back, tell Ma no one is to know you were there when any of this happened, or the sheriff will never let go of asking you questions.”
“What if they’ve already told him or told the neighbors?”
Jesse shoved a second pistol into his waistband. “If there’s one thing my family knows how to do, it’s keep their mouths shut over things other people don’t need to know.”
I curled inside the blanket next to the fire with my hand protectively over my stomach. I didn’t feel any cramps and could only hope the wild ride hadn’t affected the baby. Then I remembered what I’d done and took deep breaths to keep from vomiting. I mouthed a prayer for forgiveness, and then, even frightened as I was, the fire’s warmth lulled me into a troubled sleep.
When light peeking from behind a dark curtain finally woke me, I looked around and saw no one but Bill, who sat quietly at the table. He stepped outside while I changed and then stepped inside while I went out to relieve myself. I walked past a horse and small buggy standing near the horse I’d taken from the farm. A third horse was tethered to a post. When I returned, Clell was tying the two animals behind the buggy.
“I’ve got your bag, ma’am,” he said. “You’re to take this rig back to the farm.” He offered his hand and helped me climb onto the driver’s seat.
“Where did it come from?”
“Oh, I ’quired ’em nearabouts.”
“I see,” my voice shook. I didn’t ask any more questions, being in no position to fault him for anything he might do.
“I’ll ride with you a ways then turn the nag you borrowed loose a mile or so from the farm. Somebody’ll find him quick enough and take him back where he belongs.”
“What about,” I gulped, “the man I shot?”
“I tracked back from where you came and found him. He’s dead all right. You shot true, and that’s the best way to shoot when your life’s on the line.”
Another sin on my soul. Yet now was
n’t the time to consider it. What I’d find at the farm filled me with dread enough.
Once we were close, Bill pulled the reins and stepped down from the buggy. He mounted his own horse and took the reins of the other.
“Keep your pistol handy and stay on the lookout.”
I watched him ride off, took a breath, and then slapped the reins. The horse moved forward, buggy wheels crunching over frozen ground until ahead of me, in the dim light of morning, the farm appeared, eerily silent. The caustic scent of blackened and charred boards burned my nose, and bile rose in my throat.
Reuben sat on the front steps, hands covering his face. I seated myself beside him and put an arm around his shoulders. He looked up finally, eyes red and face splotchy. “He’s gone. My baby boy is gone.”
My heart twisted. Sweet little Archie. He would not catch a tadpole in the spring after all. “I’m so sorry.” We sat for a quiet moment before he spoke again.
“Zerelda’s arm couldn’t be saved. Dr. Allen amputated it just below the elbow early this morning. She’s resting now, thanks to a dose of morphine.”
“I’ll go check on her.” I gave his shoulders a squeeze and stood on shaky legs. Inside, I crept past Charlotte in the kitchen and on toward the sleeping room where someone had pulled a curtain halfway across the window. Zerelda lay in the darkened room with her eyes closed. Heavy bandages were wrapped around what remained of her arm. On a small cot next to her bed lay Archie’s body, covered with a blanket as though he, too, was merely sleeping. Perry stood next to him, staring at his young friend with a trembling lip.
I rested a hand on his shoulder. “Your mama is in the kitchen. Run along and see if you can help her.”
Perry took a final anguished look at Archie, and then left to do as I bid.
Zerelda stirred and moaned. Her eyelids fluttered open. “What can I do for you, Aunt?” I asked.
She emerged from the fog of morphine enough to look up at me with bleary eyes. “It is too late to do anything but help get my child ready for the grave.” Her words slurred and her voice rasped as though she’d strained it. “Were you able to find my boys?”