by Leslie Gould
“We’re probably about ten minutes away,” Tommy said.
“Great!” I answered. “I need a ride home. Do you know of any ride-shares in the area that will pick me up from the hospital?”
“Lucky for you I know a great driver,” he teased back. “But it will cost you.”
I was smiling as we ended the call, but I wondered how Tommy knew where to look in Chicago for Miriam. Had he been in contact with Kenny or Joshua?
A half hour later, I was climbing into the back seat of Tommy’s Jeep once again. This time he reached over and fastened my seat belt for me, then tucked a blanket around me. I guessed it was Mason’s.
Jane reached through the front seats and patted my leg. “So good to have you out of there.”
I nodded in agreement. “It sounds like you and Tommy have been on an adventure.”
“Well, not a very productive one, I’m afraid,” she said. “I couldn’t bear another day of worrying about Miriam, but none of our searching has led to her.”
As Tommy climbed into the driver’s seat, I asked him, “Where have you been looking?”
“The East Side. Turns out Kenny had two cell phones. The one on my account that he used to pick up ride-shares and local clients, and another one that he used to communicate with a guy living in Chicago.” Tommy shook his head. “He’s disappeared again, but he left his second cell phone behind. I don’t know if he forgot it or didn’t want it. But I saw a text that read, She’s not cooperating + car broke down. Make things right today or I’m done.”
“Yikes,” I said. “So how did you know to go to the East Side?”
“Joshua,” Tommy answered. “He’s starting to freak out. He thought Kenny was trying to help Miriam, but she texted him that the place she’s at is scary. Joshua gave us the address. He said it’s the same one he gave you.”
My heart started to race. “The bungalow down the street from a convenience store on East Port?”
Tommy nodded.
I shuddered, thinking of that man peering out of the curtains at me. I opened my mouth to ask another question, but my phone rang before I could.
“Hey, I’m trying to get a hold of Savannah Mast,” a woman said. “This is Pam at the East Side convenience store.”
“Oh, hi,” I answered. “This is Savannah.”
“She’s here.”
“Miriam is there?”
“Yep,” the woman said. “Crying in the back room. I don’t know how long she’ll stay. . . .”
“We’re on our way! Thank you!” I ended the call. “We need to go back to Chicago, to the convenience store. Miriam’s there now.”
Without a word, Tommy turned toward the interstate, heading west. When we reached it, however, it was essentially a parking lot. I craned my neck to try to look around the sea of cars. Flashing lights up in the distance indicated that there was a wreck ahead.
Perhaps Jane sensed my discomfort because she said, “How about if I finish our story while we wait?”
“Sure,” I answered somewhat distractedly. “As long as Tommy doesn’t mind coming in on the end.”
He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Not at all.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant, but my face grew warm anyway.
“All right, then,” Jane said. “If I remember correctly, Mathilde said she would go with Judah to Vincennes but only if Emma would go with her. . . .”
CHAPTER 27
Emma
Mamm had been busy with births in the northern part of the county. Emma doubted that her mother had given up on her staying in Indiana, but at least she hadn’t had time to come back down to tell Emma that she needed to stay.
George had stopped by the Landis place several times and asked Judah if he’d found Mathilde, and Judah had managed to distract George without actually lying. Emma couldn’t get Mathilde’s words out of her head. “I’ll go, but only if you’ll come too. I can’t make the trip on my own, with the children. I need your help.”
The soil remained too wet to plant, so Judah made a plan. They would leave the last week of March, sometime during the night, after Phillip had fallen asleep. That way, hopefully, George wouldn’t find out they’d left. Emma listened to Judah’s plan without commenting. She couldn’t go with Mathilde and go back to Pennsylvania. She had to choose one or the other.
George had a new farmhand named Frank Lawrence working for him and seemed set on staying on his farm instead of going to Chicago, hoping Harriet would return to him. Judah didn’t think the new hand was a good influence, though, and said he seemed to be a heavy drinker too, from his limited interactions with the man.
As the date to leave approached, Isaac asked Emma what she planned to do. “We can’t take her without you,” he said. “Are you going to put your desire for an easier life before Mathilde’s chance at having any life at all?”
Her little brother’s words put her to shame. He was right. Emma knew, if their circumstances were in reverse, Mathilde would do anything to help her. She’d come out in the middle of the night with Judah, whom she didn’t fully trust, when Betha was giving birth. She’d told Emma not to feel badly that Phillip’s farm was on land Mathilde’s family used to gather food on. Mathilde had sent the dogwood decoction with Isaac that had helped heal Emma of her illness.
Emma had to go with Mathilde. It was what the Lord would want her to do. She would write to Abel and explain about the delay and that she would return to Somerset County as soon as she could. She would post the letter immediately, once they returned from Vincennes.
Emma put away dried fruit, jerky, cheese, and the walnuts that she’d collected from the tree on Phillip’s property and stored it all in the cellar he and Isaac had dug. She tucked their provisions into a bag. They would need them while they were on the trail. Hopefully Isaac and Judah would be able to shoot small game they could cook over the fire at night. She also packed a small bag of bandages and herbs, as well as a needle and thread, just in case anyone was injured. Isaac had his bedroll, and Emma could roll up one of her blankets. She prayed it wouldn’t rain and that the road—and ground—wouldn’t be muddy.
Emma wrote a note to Phillip, explaining she and Isaac were taking Mathilde to a safe place, without saying where, and that they’d be home in less than two weeks. Isaac will help you with the planting and then go on to Dat’s to help him after that, if Dat doesn’t get started before we return. We don’t entertain any ideas that you will agree with or support what we’re doing, but both Isaac and I feel led by the Lord to assist Mathilde, who is a widow in need of our help. She signed it, Your sister, Emma.
On the last Monday of March, after Phillip fell asleep, Isaac slipped out of the cabin first, and then Emma followed ten minutes later. The moon was just rising, casting light over the barnyard. She hurried through it and kept going to the creek, where she met Isaac, who had both of their horses and full saddlebags. He helped her onto Red, and then the horses sloshed across the creek and then around the thicket to the entryway.
Emma’s heart raced. Judah stood there, holding the reins of his horse, waiting for them. She was going to Vincennes. It would be the most daring thing she’d ever done in her entire life. Asher would never have believed it. The thought caused a lump to grow in her throat. If only she’d been more willing to seek out adventure with him.
Judah greeted them and nodded toward the thicket. “Emma, would you go in?”
“Jah.” She walked through the tunnel, which was illuminated by the rising moon. “Mathilde,” she called out softly. “We’re here.”
“Oui,” Mathilde said. “I heard you.” She wore her buckskin dress and had the horse saddled and packed. Agnes was asleep in her cradleboard, strapped to Mathilde’s back, with her dreamcatcher dangling above her head. Baptiste, with a bleary look in his eyes, sat at the entrance of the wigwam. Emma scooped him up into her arms and patted his back until he rested his head on her shoulder.
Mathilde grabbed the reins of her horse and led the way out
of the thicket. When they reached the men, Judah first helped Mathilde onto her horse and then took Baptiste from Emma, holding him with one arm while he mounted his horse. He then continued to hold Baptiste, whose eyes were heavy with sleep, as he led the way. Mathilde followed, then Emma, while Isaac positioned himself in the back.
The group rode at a comfortable pace. Emma’s eyes grew heavy too, and she began to recite scripture in her head to keep awake. The Twenty-third Psalm. Then the Beatitudes. Judah turned his head slightly, his finger to his lips. Ahead was a campfire with a group sleeping around it.
Someone called out.
“We’re friends,” Judah answered. “Close to our cabin.” It was true; they weren’t far from the Landis farm.
“All right,” the man responded. “Move along.”
SEVERAL TIMES, UNDER the light of the moon, Emma felt herself nodding off and woke up with a start as her head bobbed. When the sun began to rise, they passed a farm with a white clapboard house that reminded Emma of her home in Somerset County. By the time the world had grown light, it was obvious the horses were exhausted. Judah pointed to a grove up ahead. He turned into the trees, and when the others followed, he stopped and said, “We’ll eat and then rest for a few hours before we go on.”
It was early afternoon by the time they were on the road again, and by midafternoon they arrived at the Erie-Wabash Canal. It wouldn’t open for a few more months, but Judah said they would travel the path alongside it to Lafayette. Then they would continue on along the Wabash River the rest of the way.
“If George is coming after us, he’s either going through Indianapolis and then heading southwest or else going along the canal too,” Judah said. “There’s no way to know.”
She hoped Judah was being honest, but she couldn’t help but question if he did know—and if he’d told George exactly what route they were taking. He would be able to travel faster than they could.
“The canal will be over four hundred miles long when it’s completed,” Judah said as he led the way. “Going all the way from near Toledo, Ohio, to Evansville, Indiana.”
The path was lined with evergreens and lots of maples, cedars, and larch trees, with brush growing between them. Ducks bobbed along the water, and a hawk soared overhead.
A slight drizzle began to fall, and Emma pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. Baptiste babbled from his place in front of Judah. Raindrops danced along the water, casting circles across the surface. Emma tried to suppress her yawns, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Toward early evening, Judah veered off into the woods and said they’d set up camp for the night.
They traveled on, day after day, remaining on the east side of the canal, through rain, sunshine, and moonlight. From his trip the month before, Judah remembered the best places to camp, the spots where the fishing was good, and the farms where they could buy eggs. Emma coughed some but mostly felt better each day. Baptiste grew restless at times but mostly enjoyed sitting in front of Judah. Agnes continued to be a happy baby, smiling more and more each day.
Isaac behaved as if he were on a grand adventure, hunting for squirrels and rabbits when they stopped and catching fish from the canal. From Lafayette they continued along the east side of the Wabash, although the pathway for the canal had ended. Yet there was still a trail, probably first established by Native people. Emma began to believe that George hadn’t followed them after all. Hopefully that meant that Judah was as trustworthy as she hoped.
When they neared Terre Haute, Judah said they had a little over fifty miles remaining. They passed lush meadows and orchards along the river, and once they reached the town, where the junction with the road from Indianapolis was, the group continued west along the Wabash River to the Illinois border and then continued to follow the river south.
As they neared their destination, Emma had stopped thinking of George entirely—almost. The sun was shining, and Emma turned her head toward it, soaking in its warmth. In another week, she would be back in Elkhart County, looking for a different group to travel home with. Or perhaps the Martin and Slaybaugh families had postponed their trip and she could go with them after all. She’d have Isaac ride up to Newbury Township and check as soon as they returned.
God had guided them on this journey and, at the moment, she truly believed she could trust Him to get her home, to give her a good marriage with Abel and a home full of children.
Just as the houses on the edge of Vincennes came into view, the beat of horses’ hooves startled Emma, and she shifted in her saddle. Isaac had stopped his horse and turned it around. Two men galloped toward them.
“It’s George!” Isaac called out.
Judah turned his horse toward Mathilde, sliding Baptiste into her arms. “Hurry!” He slapped the rump of her horse. “Go with her,” he said to Emma, his eyes alarmed.
He started off on his horse toward George, yelling at Isaac to follow the women as Emma dug her heels into Red. Her heart raced. The cradleboard bounced on Mathilde’s back, and Baptiste’s little legs flailed up and down.
A shot rang out.
“Don’t look back!” Isaac shouted. “Keep riding!”
Was George shooting at Judah? Or was Judah shooting at George? Perhaps Sarah was right about Judah adopting the Englisch ways.
Another shot rang out. She ignored Isaac’s command and turned her head anyway. She had to know what was going on.
Judah was on his knees on the trail, still holding his horse’s reins, and George was thundering toward him.
She turned Red around. “Keep going,” she said to Isaac. “Save Mathilde. I can’t leave Judah behind.”
CHAPTER 28
George shot his rifle at Judah again. But this time he missed. His stallion reeled, and the man with him, most likely his hired hand, Frank Lawrence, appeared alarmed. Once he had his horse back under control, George yelled, “You had no right to take Mathilde away. She’s obligated to work for me. I want her back.”
“She doesn’t belong to you,” Judah yelled, clutching his arm.
George pointed the rifle at him again. “Her labor does.”
“You’ve mistreated her.”
“You coerced her to leave. You probably have plans to sell her.”
Judah shook his head. “You know that’s not true.”
Emma stopped Red beside Judah’s horse and slid from the saddle. Then she grabbed Judah’s rifle, which was on the ground. She swung around toward George, pointing the rifle at him and stepping in front of Judah. George didn’t flinch, but Frank did.
“Go on home,” she yelled.
George laughed. “Emma Gingrich.”
“Fischer,” she yelled back.
“You’re just a little lady.”
“With a gun,” she shouted. “You’ll have to shoot me before you harm Judah anymore. Do you want to be charged with murdering a woman?”
“Your brother came to me after you left and showed me the note.”
Emma stifled a gasp. Why would Phillip do such a thing? He’d betrayed them.
“Together we determined you would probably head south,” George said.
“Come on, boss,” Frank pleaded. “This isn’t worth it.” He appeared frightened.
Emma didn’t blame him. She was too. She bent her knees to keep them from shaking.
“You’re right, Frank.” Judah’s nostrils flared. “You don’t want to be implicated in George’s violence.”
George shook his head at his hired hand and then pulled a flask from the pocket of his coat and took a drink. As he did, a group of riders came around the bend of the trail.
“What’s going on here?” an older man in a suit called out.
“Nothing,” Frank said. “We were just finishing up some business.”
George stared Emma down and took another swig. Then he held up his rifle and shot it into the air. As he turned, he shouted, “I’m not done. I’ll see you in town.”
As he turned north and took off at a trot, past the other party, Emma knee
led down to examine Judah. He let go of his left bicep, where a bullet had torn through his flesh. She pulled away his shirt to reveal the torn, bloody muscle. The bullet had most likely hit his bone too, although it had passed on through.
He looked into her eyes. “I don’t think I’ll bleed to death.”
“That appears to be true.” She tore a strip from the hem of her dress and wrapped it around his arm. “We’d better hurry and catch up to Mathilde and Isaac. And warn those at the mission to expect trouble.”
“That’s if he comes back,” Judah said. “We may have seen the last of George Burton.”
Emma doubted it but didn’t say so.
The other party reached them, and the man in the suit asked if they needed help.
“Thank you,” Judah said. “But I don’t think we’ll have any more trouble.” He helped Emma onto her horse with his good arm and then managed to swing up onto his. He motioned for her to ride in front of him. Soon the steeple of the church loomed ahead.
The church was positioned on a piece of property that bordered the river. There was a cross atop the steeple and statues above the doors. There were also several outbuildings on the property, both houses and stables, as well as a few cows and a large garden.
In the center of the property, Baptiste clung to Isaac’s leg, while Mathilde held her horse’s reins. A smile slowly spread across her face when she saw Emma and Judah, but immediately an expression of horror followed. She grabbed Baptiste as she yelled, “George!” and began running toward the church. Isaac rushed after her.
Emma pulled back on Red’s reins. Judah slid from his horse and grabbed Emma around the waist with his good arm, pulling her down.
A boy called out, “I’ll take care of the horses. Allez!”
With his arm still around Emma’s waist, Judah began to run, sweeping her along with him. As they reached the front door of the church, George jumped down from his saddle, his rifle still in his hand. The front door swung open, and a man in a black robe ushered them in. Then he stepped outside and slammed the door.