The Iron Wagon (31 page)

Paul ran his gaze over their faces. “Well, let me tell you this. Every one of you will find out that the Bible is absolutely true when you hang at Yuma Prison. When you die at the ends of those hangman’s ropes and plunge into the fire of hell, you’ll wish you had listened to me and made Jesus Christ your Saviour!”

The outlaws said no more to Paul.

Later, when darkness fell over the desert and they stopped for the night, Lisa volunteered to cook their meal.

“That’s mighty kind of you, Lisa,” Paul said. “One of the compartments on the side of the wagon contains bacon, beans, and biscuits I bought before leaving on the trip.”

Paul released the horses from the iron wagon, tied them to a nearby tree, and gave them food and water.

The prisoners ate inside the cage, and after the meal was over, Paul walked them at gunpoint to a low, bushy spot nearby, where they could relieve themselves. Then he returned them to the iron wagon and locked them once again in the cage.

Paul thought about having Lisa sleep on the driver’s seat of the wagon, but since he would be sleeping underneath the wagon, this would put her too far from him. Wanting to keep propriety correct yet have Lisa close to him during the night so he could protect her if needed, he placed his bedroll under the middle of the wagon, telling her she could sleep in it. He then made a pallet with extra blankets for himself a few feet away at the rear of the wagon.

The next morning, as the iron wagon continued westward, Paul, Lisa, and the prisoners suddenly saw a band of eight angry Apache Indians galloping toward them on their horses, whooping their hatred loudly and clutching their rifles in the air.

Paul lifted his rifle from beneath the driver’s seat with his free hand and cried out, “Lord, help us!”

Lisa gripped her hands together. “Yes, Lord! Please help us! Those Indians mean to kill us!”

All five of the outlaws in the cage were frozen with terror but uttered not a word.

As the wild Indians were drawing closer, a dozen U.S. Army soldiers rode their horses out of a wooded area alongside the road and began firing their rifles at the Apaches.

Seeing that they were outnumbered by the soldiers, the Indians quickly turned their horses about and galloped away. Lisa breathed a prayer of thanks to the Lord, as did Paul. The Dub Finch gang was obviously relieved.

Paul stopped the iron wagon, and when the soldiers gathered around on their horses, he thanked them for coming to their rescue. As the soldiers rode on, Lisa wiped away tears.
“Paul, I’m glad the Lord saw to it that these soldiers were camped at this spot on the road to Yuma.”

“Amen, Lisa! We have a wonderful God, don’t we?”

“We sure do!”

Paul, Lisa, and the outlaws arrived in Yuma late in the afternoon on Tuesday, October 8. The trip had taken longer than Paul figured because of the interruptions along the way. The one interruption he was so thankful for was when he had to take time to go to the Apache reservation and meet with Chief Windino in order to take Lisa with him—where he also had the joy of leading the chief to the Lord.

When Paul drove the iron wagon onto the Yuma Prison grounds, Dub Finch and his gang members were looking very solemn. As Paul pulled the wagon up to the guard tower, two guards came through the gate and stepped up to the wagon.

Paul introduced himself and explained why he was bringing the Finch gang back to the prison.

One of the guards opened the gate. “Go ahead and drive the iron wagon inside the walls of the prison, Deputy Marshal Brockman.”

While Paul was doing so, the other guard hurried toward the warden’s office to tell him about the remaining five members of the Dub Finch gang being brought back to the prison.

The first guard closed the gate, then moved over to where Paul had stopped the wagon. “Follow me in your wagon, Marshal. I’ll take you to the warden’s office.”

Moments later, as they were drawing near the building that housed the warden’s office, Warden George Henderson came out the door with the other guard at his side.

Paul jumped to the ground, shook the warden’s hand, and introduced Lisa Martin.

“Miss Martin, I am so sorry for the loss of your parents,” Warden Henderson said, then turned to Paul Brockman. “And thank you, Marshal, for your courage in bringing the five remaining members of the Finch gang across dangerous country back to the prison.”

The warden called more guards to come to the iron wagon. “Marshal, can you unlock the cage, please?”

When the pale-faced outlaws had made their way out of the cage, Warden Henderson stepped up to them, his eyes narrowed. “You have just under a week to do hard labor here at the prison before you are hanged as the judge has scheduled it—Monday, October 14.”

Fear was in the hearts of the escapees, but they tried not to show it. Paul removed the ankle chains and handcuffs. Then the Finch gang looked at Paul with fiery eyes as the guards took them away at gunpoint.

The warden took Paul and Lisa into his office. There the warden handed Paul a telegram that had come for him two days ago from Deputy Leroy Woodard in Phoenix. Paul read the message, which stated that he could go directly on home to Denver because Marshal Pierce would be back on the job on Wednesday, October 9.

When Paul told Lisa the news, she clasped her hands together. “Oh, Paul, I’m so glad that we can now head straight for Denver.”

After leaving the prison, Paul drove the iron wagon down Yuma’s Main Street with Lisa at his side as he kept his eye out for a nice hotel. When he spotted the Western Hotel, he pulled the wagon onto the hotel’s parking lot.

Paul and Lisa obtained separate hotel rooms, then had supper together in the hotel’s restaurant.

The next morning, as Paul helped Lisa up onto the driver’s seat of the iron wagon, he told her that it would take them about nine days to make it to Denver.

As they traveled eastward, talking about the things of the Lord, both Paul and Lisa were secretly becoming more attracted to each other. Each night, they prayed together for the Lord’s protection. Paul let Lisa sleep in the cage of the iron wagon, and he slept on the driver’s seat.

Each day, Paul prayed silently while driving the wagon, telling the Lord he felt that Lisa was “Miss Right” for him.

Paul was unaware if it, but Lisa was silently praying also, asking the Lord to guide her. She felt that she was falling in love with the handsome, kind, unselfish Paul Brockman, who so loved his Lord and Saviour.
Lord, Paul would make me a perfect husband
.

As they traveled day by day, Paul and Lisa ran into a few problems. On the third day after leaving Yuma, Paul had to interrupt a stagecoach holdup. He stopped the wagon when he
saw what was happening and hastily snuck up on the three robbers, his gun drawn and cocked. Surprising them, he made them drop their guns, then arrested them.

With Lisa at his side on the driver’s seat, Paul carried the robbers a few miles in the cage and delivered them to the marshal of the next town, which was only five miles from the spot of the robbery.

After Paul and Lisa had been back on the road for some three hours, Paul heard Lisa sniffle and looked at her. Tears filled her eyes.

“Lisa, what’s the matter? Why are you crying?”

She looked at him through her tears and said, “Oh, Paul, these are happy tears. I’m so grateful for all you’ve done for me. It means so much that you are willing to take me to Denver and see that I find a place to live, a place to make a living for myself.”

Holding the reins in one hand, Paul reached over and took hold of Lisa’s left hand. He looked deeply into her teary eyes. “I have to tell you this, Lisa. I am head over heels in love with you. I know it beyond any doubt.”

She sniffled slightly, blinked at her tears as she stared into his eyes. “Paul, I feel exactly the same way about you!”

Paul quickly pulled the wagon off to the side of the road. “For the last couple of years, I have been asking God to send Miss Right into my life. And I know that He has. Lisa,
you
are Miss Right. I know it.”

They shared a tender kiss; then the lovely blonde said, “I know the Lord has sent Mister Right into my life, Paul.
You
are my Mister Right.”

Paul stroked her cheek. “Well, since we both know what the Lord has done, I want to ask you a question.”

Lisa blinked. “What is it?”

“Will you marry me, Lisa?”

She gave him a potent “Yes!” and they shared another tender kiss.

As the days passed and Paul and Lisa drew closer to Denver, Paul told her all about his family and how the Lord had worked in their lives.

While the iron wagon was crossing a bridge over a wide river, Lisa said, “Paul darling, we have a lot of plans to make. And—and”—fear crept into her voice—“what if your family doesn’t like me?”

Paul looked at her and frowned. “Are you kidding? They are going to love you! I guarantee you, Papa, Mama, Ginny, and Meggie will be absolutely overjoyed to have you in the family. Sweetheart, just put those negative thoughts out of your mind, and let’s enjoy making our plans for a wonderful future!”

Lisa patted his hand. “I’m sorry, darling.” Her face beamed with love for this man that God, in His wisdom, had given her. “I’m sure you know your family well, so I’ll stop worrying and we can start fully enjoying our lives together.”

“Yes!” Paul said, and the iron wagon was once again rolling through the dust of the road. “We, ah, should set a date for our wedding soon.”

“That’s fine with me.”

“We’re making pretty good time, Lisa. Looks like we’ll be arriving in Denver next Thursday, October 17.”

She smiled at him. “The sooner, the better.”

“You can join First Baptist Church in Denver on Sunday, October 20.”

“Yes!” she said excitedly.

“And, honey, speaking of setting our wedding date, we should give it a little time before getting married so you can get acquainted with my family, some of our close friends, and Pastor Bayless and his wife, Mary. I’ll find you a place to stay until then.”

“I appreciate that, darling.”

“I’ve been thinking about the wedding date,” Paul said smiling at her. “How about we ask Pastor Bayless to perform our marriage ceremony on Sunday afternoon, November 24?”

Lisa smiled. “That’s enough time from now. Yes!”

When they entered the next town, Paul pulled the wagon up in front of a general store, which had a sign saying they had a jewelry department. He took Lisa inside and bought her an engagement ring and a wedding ring.

When they were once again seated on the driver’s seat of the wagon, Paul placed the engagement ring on Lisa’s finger, saying he would keep the wedding ring until the wedding. He got another tender kiss.

Paul and Lisa arrived in Denver late in the afternoon on Thursday, October 17. Paul drove the iron wagon toward the federal building. “Soon my father will be heading home from the office, so I want us to talk to him right away.”

Lisa smiled. “That sounds great, Paul.”

A few minutes later, in his office, Chief Brockman was just
rising from his desk, getting ready to go to the corral behind the federal building to mount his horse and head for home. There was a tap on his door, and John recognized it. Smiling, he rounded his desk, calling out, “Come on in, son!”

Paul opened the door and stepped into the office, leaving the door open behind him. He was beaming. “Howdy, Papa!”

They hugged each other; then John took a step back. “Well, how did the trip to Yuma go? I’m so glad to see you!”

“It went fine, Papa. If the hanging went as scheduled, Dub Finch and his four remaining gang members were hanged three days ago.”

John nodded. “Well, they won’t be killing anybody now.”

“Right,” Paul said. “I’ll tell you the whole story of the trip later. But right now, I want you to know about something absolutely marvelous that happened to me on the trip.”

John’s eyebrows arched. “Oh? Tell me.”

Paul smiled at his father, then turned toward the door and called, “Okay, sweetheart! Come on in!”

John’s eyebrows arched again, and his eyes widened as he saw the lovely blonde enter his office. “Well, hello, Lisa!” He smiled at her. “It is good to see you!”

“Papa, could we sit down and talk?”

“We sure can,” replied John, with Paul’s word
sweetheart
to Lisa echoing in his brain. He knew then and there that the Lord had answered Breanna’s and his prayers.

John went to Lisa and gave her a fatherly hug. When the door was closed and all three were seated, John was told the complete story from both Paul and Lisa about her parents’
death, how the two of them met, how Paul had taken Lisa all the way to Yuma with him, and that they had fallen in love.

Paul smiled at Lisa. “Show my papa your engagement ring, sweetheart.”

John was delighted to learn that Paul and Lisa were engaged.
Thank You, Lord!

Paul then told his father the full story of the Dub Finch gang, the trip in the iron wagon, and how he had been able to lead Chief Windino to the Lord.

John was elated at the news about Chief Windino. He said, “Well, let’s head for the ranch. Lisa, you can sleep in one of the spare bedrooms of the ranch house tonight.”

Lisa smiled warmly. “Thank you, Chief Brockman.”