“Surely. Won’t you come in?”
“Are Lena or the kids in the house?”
“No. She’s away for a few days with our kids visiting her parents.”
“All right.” Raina entered and said, “I want you to help me get away.” She went on to explain how she was running from Billaud.
Antoine’s face darkened. “He is a cruel man. He cheated me out of my money on that stallion I sold him. But Billaud won’t let you go.”
“He won’t know it. I’ll pay you for this, but I want you to go buy a wagon and a team.” She went on, giving him instructions about where to put it, and told him that she would be leaving late that night and needed him to be waiting for her with the wagon and team. “And another thing, it must be loaded with hay.”
“That will not be hard. It’s bad weather to be traveling though.”
“But it’ll be bad weather for those who try to find me, too. I appreciate this, Antoine.”
“That’s what friends are for. Don’t worry. I know where I can get a wagon and team cheap.” She gave him cash and then left. She went at once back to the Silver Dollar and started cooking breakfast. That day she made everything as usual. She cooked and served and managed to stay away from Billaud all day long. Finally night came, and she asked Roxie, “Where’s Millard gone?”
“He’s after some woman. He won’t be back until tomorrow probably. I wish he’d stay gone forever.”
Raina went up to her room and gathered together what she wanted to take. She didn’t have a suitcase, so she tied her things in a bundle using a blanket. She did not have many clothes anyway, but she did throw in six of the small romance novels that she loved especially.
She sneaked down and got a bottle of whiskey and went to the place where Roxie kept the medicine. She found a bottle of the laudanum they all used when they had aches and pain and poured part of the whiskey out and filled it to the top with the strong sedative.
Finally the saloon grew quiet. She looked at the clock and saw that it was after midnight and the town was shut down in the midst of the storm. Quickly she left the saloon and went to the jail. She knocked on the door.
A voice said, “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Ben. Open the door.”
The door opened, and Ben stared at her. “What are you doing out this late?”
“Why, I’ve been having a birthday party, Ben. I’ve come by to get you to celebrate with me.” She held a bottle up.
Ben Hogan’s eyes livened. “Come on in out of the cold!” he exclaimed.
“Get us some glasses. We’re going to have a good time.”
Getting Ben Hogan drunk was the simplest part of the whole plan. He drank quickly, gulping the whiskey down. She had been pretending to drink with him but actually did not swallow any.
Finally his eyes began to shut. He said, “I don’t feel so good, Raina.”
“You sick?”
“I think so.”
“Well, here. Lie down on this cot. You’ll feel better in a minute.” She helped him over to the cot.
He practically collapsed. He put his feet up and began snoring, his mouth open wide.
Quickly Raina got the key off the wall, entered the jail section, and saw that the prisoner was waiting for her. “We’ve got to hurry,” she said. “Get as far away as we can.” She unlocked the door, and he stepped outside.
His face was flushed, but he smiled and said, “If this works, it will be a miracle. I’ve got to have my gun.” He found his gun and gun belt, strapped it on, and said, “What now?”
“Come along. We’ve got to be away from this town as soon as we can.”
She led him down the alley to Antoine’s house. She was glad to see, even in the darkness, that Antoine had lit a lantern and was standing there in front of the house.
“That you, Raina?”
“It’s me. And this is the man I told you about.”
“You’re the fellow that was in jail?”
“That’s right. I’m Tyler Kincaid.”
“He’s taking me away from here, Antoine. You get everything fixed?”
“Sure did. I built a little kind of a box on the wagon. You get in there and shut the door. It’ll be pretty dark, but you don’t have to stay in there too long, I hope. And here, I had this much left over from the money you gave me.”
“You keep it, Antoine.”
“I’m going to drive you to my cousin’s house. I’ll borrow a horse from him to get back here.”
Raina nodded. “Thanks so much for doing this for me.”
“It’s no problem. I’m glad to help you get away from a man like Billaud. I just wish you had come to me sooner.”
“I never saw a way out until now.”
Antoine looked up at the continuing storm. “You were right about the weather. There won’t be anybody out looking for you at this time of night and in all of this.” Antoine turned to the bed of the wagon, scraped some of the hay away, and opened the small door. It was about five feet square. He said, “Put your blankets in there, and I brought some extra ones. It’s going to be cold tonight.”
Ty stared at the hiding place and smiled. “Well, I never done anything like this. You want to go first, Miss Raina, I believe is your name?”
“Yes.” She got in, and they spread the blankets around to make the floor somewhat softer and then wrapped up in them.
“I’ll stop when we get to my cousin’s house. If somebody stops me, just don’t pay any attention. But I don’t think they will. They don’t know you’re out, do they, Kincaid?”
“No.”
Antoine shut the door, and they heard him piling loose hay over it. Then the wagon sagged as the young man got into the seat, and the wagon jerked as the horses pulled out.
“Are you scared being here in the dark with no light at all?” Kincaid asked.
“There are things that are scarier than this.”
Kincaid replied, “I guess you’ve had it pretty hard.”
“I can tell you know why I have to get away. My brother-in-law that’s married to my sister. He—-he’s been after me for a long time, ever since I was fifteen. He’s going to get me, too, one way or another. I’ve got to get away.”
“Well, we’re on our way. I guess Billaud’s a bad man to cross.”
There was silence for a time, and finally Raina said, “God will take care of us.”
“Well, that’s a good thing to think. But why do you trust me?”
The wagon jolted and threw her against him. He made no attempt to touch her, and she immediately moved away. “I have nobody else, Kincaid.”
The wagon rumbled on, and both of the passengers inside the small box wrapped up and kept warm under the hay and with their covers.
Raina wondered if she had done the right thing. Finally she asked, “Can I trust you?”
“You’ve just about saved my life. I’m not much good, but I always pay my debts, so yes, you can trust me.”
“I’ve not had much luck with men being honest with me.”
“Sorry to hear that, but I promise you I’ll keep my word to you. Not too many people would have helped me the way you have.”
They both fell silent.
Once the wagon stopped, and Raina whispered, “I hope it’s not the sheriff.”
“Not likely in this kind of weather.”
Raina held her breath, but then the wagon lurched on. “Guess we’re all right.” Raina heard Ty’s uncontrolled coughing. “We need to get you to a doctor.”
“I’ll be all right,” he muttered, but Raina knew a little about sickness and wondered if he would live long enough to get her to the territory.
CHAPTER 5
Even though Kincaid could feel the wagon swaying and hear the whistling of the wind, he knew that his fever was rising. His forehead was beginning to feel like a furnace.
He longed to be out of the rather small cocoon where they were hidden from the eyes of men. Close places had always troubled him, and
this was a tight one and pitch black, with trouble on the outside. Everything was wrong with it.
“What’s the matter, Kincaid?” Raina’s voice was soft in the darkness.
He said nothing except, “Well, this fever of mine’s going up.”
The wagon jolted on and suddenly Ty felt her move closer to him, felt her hand on his shoulder and then up on his forehead. “You’re burning up with fever. Here. You need to drink all the water you can.”
They had put two water bottles in the hiding place, and now Ty groped for one and felt it. It was cold, but his lips were cracked and parched with the fever. He drank all he could hold, put the top on, and murmured, “That was good.”
“Maybe we need to get out of this thing. We may be safe now.”
“I don’t think so. We’ll wait until we get to Antoine’s cousin’s place. That ought to be good enough.”
“I wish this storm had held up. It sounds as if it’s getting worse.”
The wagon rolled on, and Kincaid continued coughing at times.
Then he heard her say, “Here. Let’s wet this handkerchief and put it on your face.”
“All right.” He waited until she had moistened the large handkerchief that she wore around her neck and began to bathe his face with it. “Feels good,” he muttered. “I would have to pick this time to be sick.”
“You didn’t pick it. Sickness just comes on.”
From time to time Raina moistened the handkerchief. It would grow almost hot from the fever that was running through him. “What’s your plan after we get out of this thing, Ty?”
“We’ll immediately head for Indian Territory.”
“It might be hard to get there, don’t you think?”
“I expect so. It’s an out-of-the-way place. I’m hoping we can catch a steamboat at Baton Rouge.”
“Does the Mississippi River go all the way to Fort Smith?”
“No, we’d have to get off where the Arkansas River feeds into the Mississippi, but steamboats go up the Arkansas all the way into Fort Smith. The trouble is I don’t know if we can do that.”
“Why not, Ty?”
“I think Sheriff Farmer will send out word with our descriptions. We’ll have to sneak in somehow.” He suddenly hacked a raw cough.
She said, “You’re so sick. I’m afraid.”
“I’ll be all right. I’ve been sick before.”
Sometime later Raina heard Antoine say, “Whoa!” and the wagon ceased to heave and pitch. “Here we are, Ty.” She got no answer and realized that he was asleep. “Ty, wake up!”
Ty came awake slowly, and his voice was thin. “Are we here?”
“Yes. Antoine will let us out now.”
A few minutes later they heard the scraping at the door of their hiding place and then it opened. A freezing blast of air mixed with snow swirled in, and Kincaid murmured, “That’s real winter there.”
The two got out, and Raina said, “You did a good job, Antoine.”
“Well, come in to my cousin’s house and get warm, and I’ll fix you something to eat.”
It was a welcome break for both of them. They went inside, and Raina saw a heavyset woman with black eyes and a man who looked somewhat like Antoine.
Antoine said, “Give them something to eat. They’ll be moving on.”
“We don’t have much.”
“Anything. Heat up some beans or bacon or whatever you can find.”
“We’ve got some ham and some corn.”
“That’ll be good.”
Thirty minutes later the fugitives were standing beside the wagon. The wind was rising now. It was winding around the house corners, and it had blown down the chimney, making the smoke whirl inside the house.
The whole world was cold, and Raina saw that Ty was using all his strength just to hold on to the wagon. “Get on into the wagon, Ty. I’ll drive. We’ll cover up with these blankets.” She turned to Antoine and said, “Thank you, Antoine. You may have saved our lives. Stay out of Sheriff Farmer’s way though.”
“You do the same. But he won’t likely be out in this kind of weather. Everyone will just think I went to see my wife and kids overnight. I’ll be fine.”
Raina climbed into the wagon and picked up the lines. She had driven a few times. The horses were sluggish, so she took the whip and touched them with it. They pulled forward, throwing her back into the seat. “You all right, Ty?”
“Sure.”
“Wrap up in these blankets. It’s getting worse all the time.”
As they moved on, Raina saw that Ty’s head was nodding. He looks terrible, she thought. I’ve got to get him in some shelter.
They drove for a while in the driving wind, and the weather was getting worse.
“Ty, there’s a house.”
“We probably don’t need to stop there. If anyone is tracking us, they would stop and ask at houses about us.”
“No, it’s vacant. Antoine told me about it. Folks sold out last week, and it’s for sale, so it’ll be abandoned. Nobody will be out looking at a house to buy in this storm. And there’s a barn to put the team in.”
“All right.”
Raina drove the team up to the barn, got out, and had to struggle to open the doors that were crammed with snow. She did get them open wide enough and drove the team in. She noted that Ty was only able to fall out and hang on to the side of the wagon. “Look, Ty. They left some feed here. The horses will need it. Let’s go in, and I’ll come back later.”
“I wish I was more help. I hate being sick.”
“It’ll pass.” The two of them made for the house, and Raina said, “Look. They’ve got a lot of firewood stacked up against the side of the house here.”
“We’ll probably need it in this storm.”
When they went inside, the faint light came through the windows, but there was a lantern with coal oil in it. Raina lit it and set it on the table. “Here. You come on in and lie down. I’m going to get a fire started.”
“Let me do that.”
“No, you lie down. We’ve got to take care of you.”
“Whatever you say.”
Raina was glad that the wood box was filled. There was even some rich pine kindling there. She got the fire started, and while it was catching she went out and fed the horses and unhitched them. Going back to the house, she looked in the wagon and got the box of groceries and took it inside. The snow was falling thick now so that she could barely see the house. She stepped inside and felt immediately the difference that the small fire had made. I’ve got to be careful with the wood. It’s got to last.
She went over to the stove and got out the frying pan and a saucepan. She quickly cooked some grits, added condensed milk and some sugar, and then she fried up some ham and added two eggs. She fixed a plate for Ty and said, “Just stay in your bed. You can eat there.”
“I can get up.”
“No need to. Here.” She watched him struggle in the bunk, leaning back against the wall. His face was flushed, and his eyes were bleary. When he took the food, his hands trembled, but she said nothing. She ate her meal and watched as he tried to get some down. “You need to drink all the water you can.”
“I don’t know why I’m not eating like I should.”
“Fever does that. Especially pneumonia.”
“Well, it’s bad news if I’ve got that. I think more people die of it than live through it. Can’t eat any more.” He handed her the plate.
She saved the food. She then saw that he had slumped back. A spirit of fear came to her. She was alone in the middle of a snowstorm such as she had never known. She saw that Ty was unconscious. His breathing was irregular, and the violent coughing came at fairly regular intervals.
I got Ty into this, she thought. I wish I hadn’t. He may die here…. The thought frightened her, and she tried to pray, but she was not a woman of prayer and could only say the Lord’s Prayer that she had memorized. It didn’t seem right, but she didn’t know what else to do.
She rationed out the fire, built it up, and put a pallet on the floor. She lay down on it, wrapped up in two other blankets after covering Ty. The warmth of the cabin soon got to her. She tried to pray again but failed and dozed off to sleep.
Raina was awakened by the coldness of the room. The fire had died down. She shivered, got up, and built up the fire again.
Going over to the bunk, she looked down and said, “Ty, are you all right?”
He did not stir nor speak.
She saw that his lips were crusted over, and his breathing had a frightening rattle to it. She had seen pneumonia before, and to be alone with a dying man and no one to help was the scariest moment of her life.
She remembered that the horses needed water, and taking a bucket she went outside and returned. She filled a dishpan with snow until it was full then set it on the stove. As the snow began to melt, she stirred it to hurry the process. Finally she got a large fruit jar and began to dip it out into the bucket. It took her four trips to get the horses satisfied, and she had to keep on heating the snow as it was the only water available.
She returned to her makeshift bed and wrapped up in the blankets, continually repeating the Lord’s Prayer as she slipped into a fitful sleep.
The storm went on for two more days, and it was a Herculean struggle for Raina to exist. She had to keep the horses watered and fed, and just getting to the barn took a mammoth effort. When she came back each time, she was so weak she had to sit down and pant like a dog. Keeping the fire going with what wood was available was also a chore. Each time she had to go break the firewood loose where it was frozen and bring it into the house so it would thaw out before it could burn.
Her worst problem, though, was with Ty. She knew for sure now that he had pneumonia, and there was nothing she could do for him except to help him sweat it out. She would warm the blanket at the stove and put it on him. He tried to fight her for he was blazing with the fever, but there was nothing else she could do.
The Western Justice Trilogy Page 54