by Peterson, Tracie; Davis, Mary; Hake, Kelly Eileen; Stengl, Jill; Warren, Susan May
Buck swung into his saddle. His jaw clenched in a grim line. “Whether it is or whether it isn’t, our job is to end the creature’s life.”
The bear’s trail was easy to follow; it had dragged the carcass through grass and brush. Less than a mile up the creek, they found the remains of the young Hereford crossbreed. “There lies our next year’s winter beef supply,” Buck grumbled, still on horseback. “This bear has an eye for a tender steak.”
Jughead and Cholla snorted and shied at the strong scent of bear. “Steady, boy. That bear should be miles from here by now.” Buck patted his gelding’s neck, but the horse would not be quieted. “I don’t like this.” Buck exchanged glances with Myles, then studied the surrounding brush and trees. Plenty of hiding places for a bear.
Cholla reared slightly, eyes rolling. “What if it stayed around to eat from the kill again?” Myles asked and hauled his gun from its sheath.
Buck swung his mount around, rifle at the ready. “It could happen. This bear doesn’t seem to follow standard bruin behavior. Let’s see if he’s still around.” He gave a whoop.
“That should frighten every critter in the county.” Myles chuckled. The laughter froze in his throat. Not twenty yards away, a huge cinnamon-brown form rose out of a patch of mist. The bear’s roar was more than Cholla could endure. With a rasping squeal, she reared high, pawing the air. Myles forced her back down, but it was impossible to fire while fighting his horse. The bear made a short charge, then paused to rise up and roar again. Foam dripped from its open jaws.
A rifle cracked, and the bear flinched. Infuriated, it charged at Jughead. The mustang bolted with Buck sawing at his reins and shouting.
Myles brought his rifle around, but Cholla chose that moment to shy sideways into the trees. The shot went wild, and Myles lost a stirrup. Furious and frustrated, he decided to let the screaming horse loose and try his chances on foot. He leaped to the ground, and while the bear made a short dash toward Cholla, Myles fired. In his haste, he hit the hump on its back.
Instantly the bear spun around, spotted Myles, and charged with incredible speed. Myles caught a glimpse of flaming eyes, yellow tusks, and a red tongue. Without a thought he cart-wheeled to one side, made a front roll, and propelled himself upward to catch hold of a tree branch. He swung his legs up as the bear charged beneath him, still roaring.
All well and good, but now his rifle lay on the ground. “Buck, I’m up a tree!” Could he be heard above the animal’s fury?
The bear quickly figured out where Myles was and returned to the tree. Its roars were deafening, and it pushed against the tall pine, making it wave wildly. Then, to Myles’s horror, the bear began to shinny its great bulk up the trunk. Even as Myles scrambled to move higher, one great paw slapped into his leg and pulled. He let out a shout, clinging to the trunk with all his strength. “God, help me!”
Shots rang out in rapid succession. Buck stood ten feet away in plain view, pumping bullets into the beast’s back. The bear gave another roar, then a grunt, and dropped to the ground in a heap.
Myles hugged the tree trunk, laughing in hysteria. Relief made his arms go limp. Had he eaten breakfast, he would surely have lost it. Pain knifed through his leg. “Thank You, God. I’m alive.”
“Amen.” Buck’s voice sounded equally shaky. “You all right, Myles? I’m so sorry—I never dreamed my yell would bring the bear down on you like that. I thought he had you for a moment there.”
“I think he got my leg. That beast went up a tree like a squirrel—I’ve never seen the like.”
“It is a grizzly. I guessed it from the tracks, but I didn’t believe my own eyes.”
Myles tried to climb down the tree, feeling weaker than a kitten. His leg was wet. His head felt swimmy. “Check its neck, Buck. I have an idea he’s wearing a collar, or used to be.”
Buck bent over the carcass. “Biggest bear I’ve seen in years.” He reached a hand into the coarse fur. “You guessed it, Myles. A leather collar with a short length of chain. Those rumors about the circus bear were true. I can’t believe no one reported this!”
“No doubt the owner feared negative publicity. They probably expected to find the bear before they left, but he was too smart for them.”
“Maybe he was smart, but a circus animal wouldn’t know how to survive in the wild. Stealing stock was his only option. Look how skinny—no fat surplus for hibernation. He would never have lasted the winter. I can’t help feeling a little sorry for the old bruin.” Buck shoved the inert body with his boot.
“Not me. This isn’t the first time that old buzzard came after me.” Myles released his hold on a branch and dropped to the ground. His leg buckled. He fell to his knees and grabbed it. The hand came away red. “Buck, I need help.”
Rushing to his side, Buck pulled out a knife and cut away the trousers. The smile lines around his eyes disappeared. “Looks nasty. Got to stop that bleeding.”
Chapter 12
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
JOHN 14:27
While Beulah mixed pancake batter, gazing dreamily through a frosty windowpane, she saw Jughead trot into the barnyard, riderless and wide-eyed. “Mama!” Dropping her work, she raced upstairs. “Mama, Jughead came home without Papa. Something bad has happened, I just know it!”
Violet nursed Daniel in the rocking chair. Her body became rigid; her blue eyes widened. “Let’s not panic. Papa might have released Jughead for some reason.” She bit her lip while Beulah wrung her hands. “Send Eunice over to tell Al. He’ll know what to do.”
Dead leaves whisked across the barnyard, dancing in a bitter wind. Frost lined the wilted flower border, and ice rimed the water troughs. His reins trailing, Jughead hunted for windfalls beneath the naked apple trees. Beulah’s gentle greeting made the horse flinch and tremble. He allowed her to take his reins, however, and seemed grateful for her attentions. She patted his white shoulder, feeling cold sweat beneath his winter coat.
In the barn, Eunice was saddling Dolly. Excited and frightened, the younger girl chattered. “Can you believe how cold it is today? And yesterday I didn’t even carry my coat to school. Good thing there’s no school on Saturday or I wouldn’t be home right now. Good thing Al hasn’t left yet. Maybe he’ll decide not to go to California after all. Maybe…”
Beulah tuned out her sister’s prattle. If anything had happened to Papa or Myles…Beulah hauled Jughead’s saddle from his back and hung it on the rack. Would Papa want her to blanket the horse now, or was Jughead warm enough with only his winter fur? Taking the gelding to his stall, she slipped off his bridle. The slimy snaffle bit rattled against his teeth, but Jughead was too good-natured to hold that against Beulah. He bumped her with his Roman nose and heaved a sigh, seeking reassurance.
Beulah patted his neck and rubbed his fuzzy brown ears, resting her cheek against his forelock. “Papa will be all right, Jughead. Don’t worry.”
“I’m leaving now, Beulah.” Dolly’s hooves clattered on the barn floor as Eunice mounted.
“Be careful. And hurry, Eunice.”
After Dolly galloped up the driveway with Eunice clinging to her back, Beulah closed the barn door and returned to the house. Her face felt windburned when she removed her wraps.
Wandering from room to room, she looked for chores that needed doing. No one was hungry for pancakes, so she covered the batter. At last she decided to bake bread and cookies. The men might come home hungry. Her thoughts kept returning to Myles and Papa.
Dear God, please keep them safe! I love them both so much.
While the bread rose and the first batch of cookies baked, she sat at the table and tried to soak up the stove’s radiated heat. Wind howled around the eaves and rattled the windows. Beulah shivered.
Violet entered the kitchen and sniffed. “It smells good in here, Beulah. You’ve been working hard.” She spread a quilt on the floor and set Dani
el on it, handing him a spoon and two bowls for playthings. Sitting at an awkward angle, he crowed and waved both hands in the air. He grinned at his mother, and Violet smiled back.
Beulah stared. “How can you be so calm, Mama? Papa could be in terrible danger out there, and it looks like snow again!” She waved a hand at the window.
“God is with him, Beulah. I’ve been praying since you told me about Jughead, and God assures me that He is in control. Remember Philippians 4:6–7: ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ If I chose to worry about Obie every time he went into a dangerous situation, I would be in a home for the insane by this time.” Violet smiled.
Daniel leaned too far forward and fell on his face. Unfazed, he grabbed the spoon and batted it against a bowl.
Beulah studied her mother’s expression. “But how, Mama? How can you trust God this way? You can’t see Him, and you know that bad things happen sometimes.”
Violet poured herself a cup of coffee. “When you truly know the Lord, you know that evil and pain are the furthest things from Him. He is all the joy and meaning in life, dearest. Without Him, life is nothing. It’s the Holy Spirit who gives us peace, Beulah, along with love, kindness, and every other spiritual fruit. He doesn’t force Himself into our lives—we have to allow Him to fill and use us for God’s glory.”
Beulah removed the cookies from the oven and put in another batch. “Last night I asked God to help me be kind to Marva, and He did. I have given my life to Jesus, and I know He is working in me, but I don’t have the peace I see in your life and Papa’s. Most of the time I don’t even want to be kind and good. Hateful things come out of my mouth before I think them through!”
Violet rose and wrapped an arm around her daughter’s drooping shoulders. “Darling, don’t you understand that all people are that way? None of us in our own strength can be always kind or loving or unselfish. Those traits belong to God alone. And yet God can use anyone who is willing to be used by Him. You say He helped you last night? Then you know He can change your heart when you allow Him.”
“I’m willing right now, but I might not be tomorrow,” Beulah admitted. “You know how ornery I am.”
Violet squeezed the girl’s shoulders. “Yes, the tough part is surrendering your will to His will. I understand entirely. Where do you think you got your ornery nature? It wasn’t from your father.”
“Then how do you do it, Mama? How can you be so full of faith and patience and everything?”
“Remember when Jesus talked about taking up our cross daily? He meant that every day we must die to ourselves and let Him live through us. That is the only way to have lasting peace and joy in your life—and it’s the only way to have faith through any crisis. When you know God well, you will understand how completely He can be trusted with your life.”
Beulah nodded, thinking over her mother’s words. She sampled a cookie, chewing slowly. “Mama, I need to talk with you about Myles. Last night, right before you told me to—”
Watchful began to bark from her post at the back window.
“Someone is coming,” Violet said. Both women rushed to look outside. Behind them, Daniel began to cry. Violet hurried back to pick him up.
“They’re back!” Beulah exclaimed. “Al and Eunice are with them.”
“Thank the Lord!” Violet rejoined her at the window.
“I’m going out there to greet them,” Beulah declared. She hurried to the entry hall for a coat and hat, then rushed down the steps and across the yard. “Papa! Myles, are you all right?” Both men looked pale and drawn.
Obie caught her before she could spook the horses. “We killed the bear, but not until after he took a swipe at Myles. Got to get the doctor out here right away. Help us take Myles into the house, and I’ll ride to town.”
“I’ll go with you,” Al offered. “I’m not leaving today. I’ll catch a train next week. I can’t run off to California when Myles is hurt.”
Nobody argued. Beulah rushed back to the house to inform her mother, and together they decided Myles should have Samuel’s bed. The men carried Myles up the stairs just as Beulah tucked in the top bedsheet. The sight of his bloody boot and trouser leg stopped her breath for a long moment. “Oh Myles!” she exclaimed. Her head began to feel light and foggy.
“It’s not so bad. You should see the other guy.” He gave her a crooked smile. “I’m pretty thirsty.”
“I’ll get you a drink. Do you want water or coffee or milk?”
“Water.”
As she left the room, she heard her mother order quietly, “Al, help me cut the boot from his foot. Beulah, we need a basin of hot water.”
“Yes, Mama.” All the way downstairs and while she worked, Beulah prayed: Lord, please fill me with Your Spirit today and help me to show love, peace, joy, and every other fruit. Please help my dear Myles! Help the doctor to heal his leg like new. And please keep me from fainting when I see all that blood.
She held the basin with towels to prevent sloshing water from burning her hands while she mounted the stairs. A bucket of cold water for Myles weighted her right arm.
“Put it there on the bureau,” Violet said. “Thank you, Beulah. Al and Papa have gone for the doctor.”
Beulah offered a dipper of well water to Myles. He propped himself on one elbow and drank. “Much better.” When he returned the dipper, their hands touched. Beulah felt her lips tremble. She could not meet his gaze.
Beulah dropped the dipper into the bucket. On the floor at her feet lay the shredded shirt Obie had used to stanch Myles’s blood. It was leaving a stain on the floorboards. Beulah closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Don’t think about it, she told herself. She gingerly picked up the shirt and wrapped a clean sheet around it. Blood soaked through.
“You may toss out that old shirt.” Violet was tearing a sheet into strips. “Then again, I suppose we can boil it and use it for rags.”
Beulah trotted downstairs and put the bloody cloth in a pot to boil, then ran outside and was sick behind the withered perennial bed. Her head still felt light afterward, but at least her stomach had settled. The cold, fresh air helped.
“The bleeding has slowed,” Violet was saying when Beulah returned to the room, “but you’ll have to be stitched.”
“I thought as much.” Myles looked pale.
“Beulah, will you please check on Daniel?” Violet asked. “I think I hear him stirring.”
Beulah gave Myles a longing look, then hurried to obey her mother.
Daniel had pushed up with both hands to peer over the side of his cradle. His little face was crumpled into the pout that always appeared just before he started crying. He grinned when he saw Beulah and flopped back down on his face, crowing and kicking at his blankets. Beulah melted. “Oh sweetie, I do love you! I wish you would sleep right now, though.”
“I’ll take him for you, Beulah.” Eunice stood in the doorway. Curls had escaped her braid to frame her round face, and the hem of her dress was soaked. Her blue eyes looked lost and lonely. “Is Myles going to die? You should have seen that bear. It was huge. Papa says it charged at Myles and he swung into a tree like a monkey.” She wiped a fist across her eyes and sniffed. “Please let me take Daniel. I don’t know what else to do.” Tears clogged her voice.
A wave of love for her sister warmed Beulah’s heart. “Myles lost a lot of blood, but I don’t think he’ll die. Of course you may take Daniel. You’d better change into dry clothes first. If you don’t, you’ll be coming down sick next thing, and we don’t need that.” Her voice softened. “Thank you for riding for help this morning. You’re pretty wonderful.”
Eunice’s dimples appeared before her smile. She nodded and hurried to her room. Beulah settled into the rocking chair and cuddled Daniel close. He was too busy and awake to snuggle, so she let him sit up and
amuse himself by playing with her buttons while she sang “Auld Lang Syne.”
Eunice spread Daniel’s blanket on the floor and set up his blocks before she took the baby from Beulah. “We’ll be fine. I think the doctor is here; someone arrived just now.”
“Thank God! And Eunice, Al decided he’s not leaving today.” Beulah smiled at the overjoyed expression on her little sister’s face. “He’ll catch the train next week.”
Eunice caught hold of Beulah’s skirt as she whisked past. “Beulah, I’m sorry I said you were heartless. You love Myles, don’t you?”
Biting her lip, Beulah nodded. “But don’t you tell anyone!”
The dimples appeared again. “I won’t. He’s not Al, but I like him a lot.”
Peace filled Beulah’s heart as she returned to Samuel’s bedroom. Next thing she knew, she was being shooed from the room. How she wished Myles would request her presence! Not that Mama would have allowed such a thing. Not that Beulah could have endured the sights or sounds of a sickroom without passing out on the floor.
Beulah hurried to the kitchen to prepare more coffee and cookies for everyone. Someone—Eunice?—had removed the batch of cookies from the oven and punched down the bread dough. It was ready to bake.
Dear God, it’s hard to be helpful when all I want is to be with Myles. I guess this is the best way for me to serve today. Please help me to have a cheerful attitude and to give thanks.
Obie and Al were grateful for the hot food. Beulah joined their sober conversation midway through and gathered that someone besides Myles was hurt. “Who got shot last night, Papa? What happened?”
Obie wiped his nose with a handkerchief. “The sheriff. One of those drifters who’s been causing trouble in town all month had a drop too much at the tavern last night and took offense when Boz offered him a night’s rest in jail. Before anyone could react, the man pulled a gun and shot Boz from point-blank range.”
Blood drained from Beulah’s face…again. “Will he live, Papa?” she croaked.