by Montana West
The dogs seemed excited and rushed toward the far side of the homestead where he had buried the dead animals. There was a pack of coyotes trying to dig up the carcasses but when they heard the fierce barking and then Joram shot at them, they scuttled in all directions.
“Don’t come back here.” Joram fired again after the fleeing animals. “I don’t want to kill you, but if I find you here again, I’ll shoot the whole lot of you.”
He walked toward the burial site and was glad to note that the animals hadn’t gone very far in their digging. He would find small rocks and pile them on top of the graves to deter any other predators and scavengers.
CHAPTER THREE
“Mary, we’re hungry,” Patrick told his older sister. “There’s nothing in the cupboards for us to eat.”
“I know that.” Tears filled her eyes. Their parents had been buried for less than two weeks now, but it seemed as though all hell had broken loose.
The family lawyer was waiting in the living room for her. He’d come in a few minutes ago and Mary had excused herself so she could prepare something for her brother and sister to eat as they talked about her father’s estate.
There was just a loaf of stale bread which she had kept hidden because right now food had to be rationed. They didn’t have any money to buy groceries and none of the shops her mother had frequented would give them any credit.
“How will you pay back what you owe?” Was the question everyone asked when she went to beg for food on credit. If the church members hadn’t given them some donations in the days prior to the burial, they would surely have starved by now.
“Here, you and Helen eat this. I made you some black tea, but it doesn’t have any sugar. Just try to eat this and I’ll see about getting us something better for dinner tonight.”
“Yes, Mary.” Patrick looked at her through eyes that were filled with wisdom for a twelve-year-old. Her brother often made her wonder with his insightful advice on a number of issues.
“Good. I’ll be in the living room speaking with Mr. Tongs, and if you need anything please wait until we’re done. We shouldn’t be long.”
She closed the kitchen door and took a deep breath. It was time to face her father’s lawyer and see what he had to say, though she doubted that it was anything good. The man had been coming to the house in the days before the burials to talk about the estate, but she put him off.
On the day her parents were being buried, Mary had gone to her father’s small study to see if she could find any inspiration for the eulogy, and when she went through his desk, she had found a large journal with his personal notes. The contents shocked her because she found out that his business wasn’t doing very well. He’d had to borrow heavily from the bank and from a number of his business associates. That was when she knew exactly what business he was into. He was a partner in a textile factory that hadn’t been doing very well because of pressure from the organized labor movement. The Knights of Labor had succeeded in recruiting large numbers of workers who were laying down their tools to demand higher wages, better working conditions and even medical care.
As a result of the falling profits, her father and his partner had borrowed heavily from the bank. Though Mary didn’t know much about the economics of business, she knew that they were in a lot of trouble. Now the lawyer was here, and she guessed it was to give her all the gruesome details of her father’s state of financial affairs.
Even though Mary was expecting things to be bad, she didn’t realize how terrible they were until the lawyer told her. “Miss Stewart, your father amassed a huge debt and things haven’t been going well at the factory.”
“What does this mean then? I believe my father has a partner. Mister Maurice Jenkins is indicated in my father’s documents as being his partner.”
Peter Tongs shook his head. “Not for a while now. Apparently, when things started going badly, Mister Jenkins decided to get out while he could, and your father was forced to buy him out. That also put a huge dent in his finances. As of the time of his death, your father was the sole proprietor of Stewart Textiles, and so the liabilities all fell to him. He had actually gone to Albany to meet with an interested investor.”
“What does it all mean?” Mary’s heart sank.
“It therefore means that your father has nothing, and the bank and his other creditors are calling in all the debts.”
“What about that investor, can’t he help?”
“When he heard that your father had died, he came to see if there was anything he could do to help. I showed him all the books, and he felt that this was too great a risk. Had your father still been alive, he might have put his money into it, but with Mr. Stewart dead, no one can run the mill.”
Mary didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Worse was still to come.
“This means, Miss Stewart, you have just about seven days to either settle what your father owes, or the bank will repossess everything, including this house and the entire contents.”
“What? You can’t be serious. Where will we go?”
“I’m sorry, Miss. I’m just surprised that you’re still here in light of what Mister Lawrence Winters is demanding from your father.”
Mary frowned. “Who is Mister Winters?”
“He and your father were business associates for over ten years. They built this house together so they could rent it out, but your father decided to live in it instead. The agreement was that he would repay Mister Winters over a period of ten years, but apparently your father never completed making payments to him.”
“Mister Tongs, is there nothing you can do to help us? Where will I take my brother and sister? We don’t have any relatives and have even run out of food. Miss Salome’s daughter has also been coming around to ask for her salary. Apparently she hasn’t been paid for a while. I don’t know what to do.”
“Now, now, there must be someone who can take the three of you in until things are sorted out. What about your parents’ relatives?”
“Our parents didn’t have any living relatives. Isn’t there anything we can do so that we don’t get sent out of our home?”
“Well, that’s up to Mister Winters. The bank manager sent for me when Mister Winters went there to make his demands. He’s willing to settle whatever your father owes the bank, just as long as he will get this house. If you want to continue living here, then he’s the man that I suggest you speak to.”
“Where can I find him?”
“I heard him say that he would be by later today or early tomorrow morning to discuss your vacating this house. Meanwhile, someone will be coming from the bank to do an inventory of whatever is in this house.”
“What if I don’t open the door?”
“Then they will be forced to involve the police, and I don’t think you want that to happen. Just let the men in, and I suggest that you and your siblings get ready to leave this house as soon as possible if you don’t want trouble.”
“You were my father’s lawyer, can’t you help us? We’re broke and the children are hungry.”
Peter shook his head. “I’m sorry, Miss Stewart. When your father was alive, I warned him against overexpansion and when his partner was selling, I advised him to do the same. He wouldn’t listen, and now this is the mess that he’s left behind.”
“Please, sir, whatever little you can give us, we’ll appreciate. We don’t have anything to eat.”
Peter looked at the desperate girl and an ugly expression entered his eyes. Mary had no idea just how appealing she looked, and the man was thinking about how to take advantage of her innocence. He had met her when she was around fourteen, and now that she was on the threshold of adulthood, she was really attractive.
“Perhaps there’s some way that I can help you after all,” he licked his lips and she felt revulsion rising up within her. “You know that you can always count on me.” He drew closer and she retreated. At that precise moment, Patrick and Helen walked into the living room, and though she’d told them no
t to come out of the kitchen until she was done with the lawyer, she’d never been gladder to see them. A look of annoyance crossed Peter’s face and he stepped back. “I’ll be here tomorrow and we can talk some more.”
Mary didn’t sleep that night, she wept until there were no more tears to shed. They were about to be rendered homeless, and she had seen the lustful look in Mr. Tongs’ eyes. Much as her parents had shielded her from the outside world, Salome had been her teacher in matters of life.
“Child, you’ve grown up, and so no more childish games with people of the opposite sex. You’re a woman, and a very beautiful one at that. Be careful that no one takes advantage of that fact. Don’t ever allow yourself to be alone with a man, because he can easily lose control and cause you a lot of grief and pain.”
Much of what Mary knew about relationships, she had learned from Salome. She was terrified, because until now, her father had always been there to protect her. Now she had no one to look out for her, and she and the children would eventually end up on the streets. What kind of dangers were they going to be exposed to and what would happen to them?
CHAPTER FOUR
If Mary thought Peter Tongs was bad, Lawrence Winters was even worse in his pursuit of her. He was a balding middle-aged man with thick fleshy lips that revealed yellow stained teeth when he smiled.
“Your father was my good friend, and I’d like to take care of you.” He licked his lips as he ogled her. She was wiser than he gave her credit for, and she didn’t allow him to meet with her when she was alone. Patrick and Helen were both in the living room with her. “You’re a very pretty girl, and I can take very good care of you and your siblings.”
“Thank you, Mister Winters.” She was careful to keep a safe distance between them. Pat pretended to be reading, but each time Lawrence rose to his feet, the young boy would move to his sister and ask her a question. Mary was glad that her brother noticed just how uncomfortable she was with Lawrence, and even when the man asked for a glass of water, it was Helen who went to get it, much to his annoyance.
“Mr. Tongs told me that you want to continue living in this house even though the bank has passed on its ownership to me.”
“If possible, yes. I will be your housekeeper and take care of the house just as I have been doing ever since my parents died and Salome left us.”
“Well, that will come later. Right now, I want to know if there’s anyone else living in the house. You see, I don’t want to hear that you have been allowing other people to come and live here with you.”
“No sir, it’s just the three of us.”
Lawrence rubbed his hands, “This means that I can come and visit you at any time, just to make sure that all is going well and also to see how you and the children are faring, of course.”
Mary understood the implications of what he was saying, but because she was practically at his mercy now, she pretended to nod. Let him try and come when she had locked the doors, he would be in for a surprise.
“Good, good. Now, is there anything else that I can do to help you for now?”
Mary didn’t want any of his help but the children were hungry. “Mister Winters—”
“Call me Lawrence or Larry,” he said in a sickening lustful voice that made her nearly gag. “Remember, that’s how I’d like you to address me henceforth. You were saying?”
“We don’t have any food to eat.”
“Is that so?” He shook his head. “Far be it from me to leave a friend’s children to starve to death. Here is ten dollars, see what you can buy. I’ll be by later this evening to check on you. I have to go now because I left my wife at the milliners and she should be done by now.”
“Thank you very much, sir.”
Mary bolted the door as soon as Lawrence was gone, and when she turned around, she found that Patrick had followed her.
“I don’t like that man and what he’s implying. We would rather starve than take money from a man like that.”
“Pat, we don’t have any food, and you know how Helen gets when she’s hungry.”
“Still, I don’t like what that man is expecting from you, Mary.”
“Patrick!”
“I know you see me as a child, Mary. But Papa used to tell me that should anything ever happen to him I was the man of the house and should take care of Mama, you and Helen. Now Mama is gone too so I have to take care of you and Helen.”
“You’re just a child,” Mary hugged him, grateful that he was there for her to talk to. “Don’t worry your head needlessly. We will find a way of getting out of this problem.”
“Why did you have to take his money?”
Mary sighed. “Pat, I’m trying to pretend that I need his help so he won’t use force to get us out of this house. As long as he thinks that I’m a helpless female, he’ll behave himself so he comes out looking like a knight in shining armor. If I try to show Mister Winters that I’m averse to his suggestions, he could turn unpleasant.”
“I pray that we find a solution soon, because I don’t like that man coming to the house. He even says he’ll be coming at night to check on us, why? We know how to securely bolt the doors.”
“I know that. God will see us out of this mess.”
***
However, it was easier said than done as Mary found out in the days to come. Lawrence was persistent, that she had to admit. He came by the house during odd hours of the evening, but the children wouldn’t open the door for him. They even devised a plan of keeping him out of the house during the day.
They would complete all their chores, which weren’t many since the auctioneers had come by and carried away whatever of value they could lay their hands on. Whatever was left wasn’t much and they easily worked around it. Once they were done, they would lock the door and sit on the porch even though the weather was chilly. Each time Lawrence came by, he would find them seated on the porch and they gave all manner of excuses not to let him into the house.
Mary knew she was running out of time because Lawrence was getting impatient. Something had to happen soon or she would be forced to give in to his advances and compromise her virtue.
“Dear Lord,” she prayed. “Please open a door through which we might escape. If you don’t help me, I’ll be forced to give in to this man’s wicked ways and that is sinning against you. Please help me.”
She was seated on the porch watching her brother and sister as they played. The sun was shining even though it had snowed the previous night. The snow was melting and Mary felt quite restless.
“Let’s go to the park,” she called out. “Fasten your coats and let’s go.” She didn’t want Lawrence to find them because she was running out of excuses to give him.”
The children cheered and skipped all the way to the park which was just a few blocks away. During springtime, their parents would bring them out here and she blinked back the tears rapidly so they wouldn’t fall. The park was full as people had taken advantage of the rare break in the cold weather to enjoy the sunshine. Children were running all over the place and Mary smiled when she saw her own siblings joining in the fun.
Would life ever get better for them? Lawrence insisted on buying groceries for them whenever he passed by, and though she didn’t want to accept any more help from him, she was forced to.
She found an empty spot on one of the benches and sat down. Someone had left a half-eaten sandwich wrapped in a torn newspaper and she looked around to see if the person would be back for it. No one seemed interested so she carefully and subtly wrapped it, and then pulled it toward her. The children would be hungry after playing but since she had nothing to give them, the sandwich would have to do. Her own stomach rumbled but she ignored it.
“I’m hungry,” Helen came up to her, closely followed by Patrick. “What’s that?”
“Half a sandwich,” Mary didn’t want to meet Patrick’s eyes. He knew the state of their finances and would guess that she hadn’t bought the sandwich.
“Shall I eat it?”<
br />
“Yes, and give a piece to Pat too.”
“Not hungry,” he mumbled, rejecting the piece Helen held out. “I’m okay, just eat it all.”
Helen sat down between them and happily munched the ham and tomato sandwich. Mary felt like crying when she noticed Patrick hungrily eyeing a boy of about his age, eating a thick donut. This was a very humiliating experience and to hide her emotions, she started reading the half-torn newspaper.
It was a page from the top half of The Matrimonial News, and she saw various adverts of men and women searching for spouses. There were also adverts of bridal agencies and a particular one caught her eye.
“Better Connections Bridal Agency seeks virtuous young women to go west as Mail Order Brides. Must be between the ages of sixteen and twenty-six, never been married before and ready to leave for the West on short notice. Godly men waiting for good wives. Welcome.”
“What’s that you’re reading?” Patrick leaned over Helen to peer at the piece of newspaper. “What does it say?”
Helen made a sound of protest and Patrick sat back. Mary held the newspaper out to him. “See what it says.”
Patrick quickly perused the newspaper and when he was done, he turned to his sister. Helen was dozing off. “Mary, don’t you think that it’s better for you to go west and become someone’s wife rather than stay here and be bothered by Mister Winters, Mister Tongs and probably others like them?”
Mary looked at him sharply. She hadn’t mentioned that Mr. Tongs had made any overtures toward her.
“I’ve seen the way they look at you when they think I’m not watching them, and I don’t like it. Mary, why don’t you go and register with one of these agencies?” He pointed at the newspaper. “This one called Better Connections looks like it’s a good one. They say that there are godly men waiting for good wives, let’s go and register there.”
Mary laughed softly, reaching out a hand to tussle her brother’s hair. “All right then, but Helen is asleep. Let’s give her a few minutes more and then we can go. It’s on our way home, in any case.”