“I’ll never be yours!” Rosa tore away and stepped inside the doorway.
He stared at her then laughed and pulled the door shut.
She heard the bar fall into place. Rosa paced the floor, and fear came like an armed man. She had never known fear like this, and she was thinking of what Henry had said about God. He’s not afraid to die, but he’s afraid to face God and give account. The words came floating back to her, and she slumped down on the side of the bed, put her face in her hands, and suddenly began to weep. She was not a weeping woman, but things had fallen apart, and now here in this darkness, with only the candlelight flickering, she knew that she had reached the end of her resources. She wanted to run and scream, but there was no place to run and no point in screaming. The beast that held her there would merely laugh at her.
Finally she grew quiet, but the words of the minister’s sermon came floating back to her again. She remembered a great deal of it, and the part that stuck in her mind was when Jesus spoke the words ‘Neither do I condemn thee.’ That was what caught her attention, that Jesus, the Son of God, didn’t condemn that woman who was obviously a sinner. She thought on that for a while, getting up from time to time and pacing the floor. She leaned against the wall, put her head back, and shut her eyes. “I can’t go on like this,” she whispered. “I’ve got to believe God.”
She walked over to the bed, knelt down, and began to pray. The words were hard to get out. She’d never had so much trouble, but she had no practice. She nearly gave up, but she kept thinking, That other woman took a chance. She didn’t know Jesus would help her. She was desperate. And then it came to her, and she realized that she was fully as desperate. Finally, weary, she whispered, “God, I don’t have any right to ask You for anything, but I’m reaching out to You, just like that sick woman. She needed physical healing, and I need the other kind. I sinned against You terribly. There is no reason why You should forgive me, but I’m asking You to do that. Do for me what You did for that woman.”
She grew quiet then and waited. From time to time she would try to pray again, but there was a stillness that had crept into her soul now. “Lord, I don’t know of anything else to do. That preacher, he wanted people to believe in Jesus and to follow Him and obey Him, and, Lord, that’s what I intend to do. No matter what happens tomorrow, I’m going to follow You.” She lay on the bed then and after a time grew utterly still. She could hear a night bird crying out and a coyote singing its plaintive song way out on the prairie, but all she could think of was herself and God.
Time ceased to exist, but there came a moment when she whispered, “Lord, I don’t deserve it, but I feel that You’ve done something in my heart. I’m still a prisoner, but I know somehow that I can ask You and You’ll help me and Riordan. Get us out of this terrible situation.” She fell asleep then, exhausted emotionally, and lay as still as if she were paralyzed.
Riordan and Gray Hawk had tracked Henry’s party to a difficult place. Actually Gray Hawk had done the tracking. He had passed over ground that Riordan could not see a single mark on. It was hard, stony ground, but the Indian had eyes apparently like a microscope.
“How do you know we’re following them?” Riordan asked.
“Because Rosa’s horse had one shoe off. Ringo was going to put the shoe on. I’ve been followin’ that track. She won’t be far from Henry or his men.”
They were paused at the foot of a hill. It was late afternoon, and the rays of the sun were feeble. Gray Hawk said, “Well, there it is. That’s where they are. There are their horses in that corral.”
“Well, there are at least six or eight of them. How do we go about this?”
Gray Hawk laughed silently. “I got you here. Now it’s your turn. You’re the tough man with the fast gun. You tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”
Riordan had been thinking ever since they had paused and located the band. The house was on a rise, and he realized they would have a scout out on a moonlit night. They could spot anybody coming from any distance. He stared over at the large barn. As he stared, the door opened, and Rosa came out carrying a bucket. At the sight of her Riordan felt a sudden gladness. “She’s all right.”
“Yes, but look. They’re watchin’ every move she makes.”
“We’ll have to wait until dark. Wait until they all go to bed.”
“That part’s easy. What’s the next part?”
“I’ll think of something.”
The sun went down, and the night creatures began calling softly. It was easy to spot the scout, for he made no attempt to hide himself.
They waited, listening to the noises from the house. Apparently the men were gambling and drinking.
“Maybe they’ll all get drunk and pass out,” Gray Hawk said.
“No, they won’t do that. I don’t know what to do, but it’ll come to me.”
“You’ve got a lot of confidence. I don’t know if we’re going to do any good here at all except to get ourselves killed, and I’m not ready for that yet.”
They did not speak often, but slowly the night wore on. The noise in the house ceased, and it was past midnight when Riordan said, “Here’s what we’ll do. We’ve got to create a diversion.”
“A diversion? What do you mean?”
“We’ve got to get them out of the house, all except Rosa. I’m sure they’ve got her locked up. So here’s what I’ve come up with. I want you to go over to that guard out there by the barn. He’s got to be put down.”
“You want his scalp?”
“I wish you didn’t have to kill him, but if he gives the alarm too soon, we’re done. You go in there and, except for Rosa’s horse, let the horses out at a walk. Bring Rosa’s horse back here to me.”
“And then what?”
“Then you go set fire to the barn, and when it’s burning good, fire off a couple of shots.”
Gray Hawk chuckled. “You white men have crooked minds. What’s going to happen then?”
“The men will come to put the fire out, and when they do, I’ll go in and get Rosa. You come back and meet me here, and we’ll get out of this place.”
“It’s too complicated. It’ll never work.”
“It’s got to work, Gray Hawk. Now get to it.”
Gray Hawk disappeared, silent as a shadow. Riordan sat there. The house was clearly outlined in the moonlight. He had been all the way around, and he saw that there was one window with bars on it. “That must be where she is. I hope they all get out of there so I don’t meet any of them.”
Time seemed to stand still, but finally Gray Hawk came back leading a horse.
“Tie him with ours, Gray Hawk.” He waited until the Indian had tied the horse, and then he said, “Now, go back and set the barn on fire. Let it get to blazing fairly well, then fire off a couple of shots and holler and then run back here as quick as you can.”
“And you’re going in?”
“I’m hoping they’ll all come to put the fire out so that the barn won’t be burned up with the feed.”
Gray Hawk was enjoying all this. “This is the kind of life I like, lots of entertainment.” He disappeared again into the darkness.
Fifteen minutes later Riordan saw a flickering light and knew that it was the barn. It grew higher and higher, and then he heard several shots and somebody hollering. He knew it was Gray Hawk. He straightened up and moved in closer.
The door opened, and men began tumbling out. Henry was yelling, “Get the horses out of there. They’ll burn up! Put that fire out!” They all ran toward the barn.
Riordan knew his moment had come. He made a dead run for the house. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the men fighting the fire. He burst in with his gun in his hand, but the house was empty. “Rosa, where are you?” he shouted.
“Back here!”
He ran to the sound of her voice and saw the barred door. He ripped the bar off, threw it down, and opened the door.
Suddenly she was in his arms. “I knew you’d come, Riordan,” she sa
id weeping. “I knew you’d come.”
“I had to come, but let’s get out of here. They may come back any minute.”
The two fled, and when they got back to the horses, Gray Hawk was there. He was grinning and said, “You’re a good man, Riordan. You should have been an Indian.”
“Too late for that. Let’s get out of here. Gray Hawk, could you take us another way? They won’t be able to follow our tracks tonight, but they’ll pick them up in the morning. By that time we’ll be gone.”
The Indian nodded and jumped on his horse.
Riordan and Rosa mounted up. He looked at her and said as he picked up his lines, “I came to realize I couldn’t live without you, Rosa.”
She gave him a smile and moved her horse closer. When he leaned over, she kissed him. “Let’s get out of here,” she said. “We’ll not get another chance.”
CHAPTER 22
“Looks like it might rain tonight,” Riordan remarked, looking up at the sky. “Those clouds look like they’ve got some rain in ’em maybe.”
Rosa shifted in her saddle and glanced upward. “I hope it does. It’ll wash out any tracks we make.” She looked over her shoulder and added, “I keep thinking I’ll look back and see Henry and his bunch right there, coming at us.”
“I don’t think so. Gray Hawk gave them a false scent to follow. They’ll follow it for a while, and then they’ll figure out that it’s not us. But they will be coming after us. You know that.”
The two were riding in a canyon that twisted and turned, and when they emerged at the far end, they found a small stream with what looked like good, clear water. “We might as well wait here. We can’t travel tonight, and besides, the horses would give out.”
“I’m pretty tired myself… Faye.” She grinned at him.
Giving Rosa a quick look, obviously due to the use of his old name, Riordan nodded. “I am, too. We’ve got a little food left in here. Let’s tie the horses and let ’em feed on that grass. We’ll leave before daylight in the morning.”
The two stepped off their horses and removed their saddles and blankets. Then they staked the two, using lariats to tie them to the tops of young saplings. They were separated so that each of them had plenty of grass, and they began chomping at once hungrily.
“I’ll break some of that dried wood off of that fallen tree. You look through the saddlebag and see what we can come up with. It won’t be much.”
“We’ll make out.” Rosa watched Riordan as he moved away toward the dead tree that had fallen and began breaking small branches off. Then with a sigh she pulled off his saddlebag and found two cans of beans, an end of bacon, and a quarter of a loaf of bread, which was already hard. We’ll soak it in the beans with juice, she thought.
Thirty minutes later they were both seated before the small fire. Rosa was heating the beans up in the skillet. She had added some water to make it more like soup and was dropping the bits of bread in. The bacon was frying in another pan and sent a tingle of smoke upward.
Rosa looked up and followed its track then remarked, “Look. There’s just one star in the sky. I wonder where the rest of them are.”
“They took the night off.” Riordan grinned.
Rosa knew he was weary and tired, and worried for her. She knew that Henry would kill them both if he found them.
“That’s Venus,” he said, nodding his head toward the star.
Rosa looked at him and asked, “How do you know that?”
“Oh, my head is packed with useless knowledge. Venus is called the evening star. Anytime you look up at night and all the stars are gone except one, that’s Venus.”
“I wish I knew as much as you do. It must have been nice to go to school and then go on to college.”
“I was bored out of my skull most of the time,” Riordan said. He picked his fork up, stirred the beans, and cautiously lifted a few to taste. “Still not hot enough,” he said. “I like my food hot.” The two sat there in silence. From far off came the mournful howl of a coyote.
“That sound always makes me sad,” Rosa said.
“Well, he’s probably having the time of his life. Coyotes have an easy life. Something to eat, a little water to drink, and a little family life to make little coyotes. We should have it so good.” Rosa shook her head. “I don’t think anybody has that easy a time in this life.”
“No, I don’t think so either.”
She glanced at him and studied his face carefully. “Something happened to me at Henry’s house.”
A look of concern hit his face. “What did he do to you?”
“No, nothing like that. I mean something spiritual.”
“Well, that’s a great thing. I gave my life to God before coming after you. I have felt so much freer since then.”
“Well, I feel so… guilty still.”
“You mustn’t do that. My grandfather used to say, when you ask forgiveness for a sin, God always gives it. That’s in the Bible, in the book of First John. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ You can take that to the bank. God Himself said it. Grandpa said, too, that you could take your sin out in a boat in the ocean, drop it in the deepest part, and then put a sign up somehow out there that says ‘No Fishing Allowed.’”
“I think the beans are done. We have one plate.”
“You take the plate, and I’ll take the pot.”
She divided the meal up. She had a spoon, and he had a fork.
“Bacon’s about done. Wish there was some more of it.”
“You know. I want to do something, Faye. I know families pray over food before they eat it. I’ve never done that, but I’d like to start.”
“Well, go ahead and start. We did it all the time at my house.”
“You do it then.”
“All right.” Riordan bowed his head and said simply, “Lord, we thank You for this food, we thank You for every blessing, and we ask You to give us safety, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
“Amen,” Rosa echoed him. “Is that all there is to it?”
“That’s it. You don’t think God expects a long oration for a blessing over food, do you?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything. I don’t know how I’m going to live the kind of life I know a godly woman does.”
“You are a godly woman, Rosa. That’s what God made you when you called on Him.” He took a mouthful of beans, moved it around in his mouth, and then immediately began to make a face. “These are hot!” He took a sip of water from the canteen that they shared and said, “I’ve been having thoughts myself about how I started out with God when I was just a boy, but I got away from it somehow and got interested in art. Things were so easy at our house. Never wanted for anything, but I see now that I did. I needed God, and I wasted a lot of my life.”
The two continued to eat the beans and the bacon, washing it all down with cool water from the brook.
Finally they sat back, and Riordan said, “We’ll wash the pot and the frying pan in the morning. I’m too tired.”
Rosa put two more small pieces of wood on the fire. She listened to it crackle, and the movement sent fiery sparks upward. “Look. They look like tiny stars going up to the heavens.”
“They do, don’t they? Here. We’re going to have to make some arrangements.” He got up and went to where he had thrown his saddle and got the blanket he carried behind the cantle and brought it back. “Here. Let’s sit on this. It’ll be more comfortable.” They sat down close together.
Rosa was very aware of his presence and his arm pressing against hers. “I have to tell you that I haven’t been a good woman.”
“You don’t have to tell me, Rosa.”
“I guess I do. I want you to know. A man came into my life, and I thought he loved me. He said he did.” Her voice was unsteady, and she looked down. The light from the fire flickered on her face, and she added, “He was unfaithful and left me, and I grew bitter. I’m like that woman that
preacher preached about, the one that committed adultery.”
“Well, that’s all over now. Both of us have made a decision to serve God. I guess we’re at some kind of fork in the road, and we’ve got to be sure we don’t take the wrong way.”
“How can I be sure what God wants?”
“Lots of scriptures talk about that. It says to wait on the Lord. Don’t rush ahead. Pretty hard for some of us to do.”
They fell silent for a time.
Rosa broke the silence, “I think Henry Beecher is going to come for us.”
“No doubt. He’s that kind of man.”
She turned to him suddenly and put her hand on his forearm. “I think you need to go back East, Faye. He couldn’t get you there.”
“One thing I’ve learned is that you can’t run from trouble. You have to trust God and face it. Sooner or later things come back to haunt you.”
“Faye, you’ve led such a simple life. I don’t know what could haunt you.”
“You know, Rosa, when people talk about the big sins—murder, adultery, theft—that’s not been my problem. I’ve been troubled by the spiritual sin.”
“What kind of sin is that?”
“Something that you do that’s wrong, but other people don’t see it. God says it’s wrong, but it’s on the inside of you. People could look at you and never know it. Like envy. You could envy somebody’s possessions. Nobody would know it, but that’s a sin. So I’ve had trouble with sins on the inside.”
She was quiet for a long time. “I still think you ought to go back East. You can be a great painter.”
“I’ll probably be a painter wherever I am. I’ve grown to love this country, Rosa. I didn’t think I would. It looks so barren to some people, but I like it. That’s the way God made it. And there are plenty of subjects to paint. Indians, for example. Nobody is really doing that.”
“But Henry will hear about it. How would you feel if you had to shoot him?” A long silence passed, and Rosa could see that he was thinking hard.
Finally he said heavily, “I don’t want to kill anyone, Rosa. I’d rather save someone, and that’s all I can say.” He thought for a while and then added, “My mother asked me why I had to leave to come after you. I told her I had to do it because it was the right thing to do… and I thought, too, that I might be falling in love with you.”
The Western Justice Trilogy Page 23