The Widow's Mail Order Husband (Mail Order Brides) (10 page)

A Sunday morning…

The family was sitting at the table having breakfast, when Mary announced, “I miss church.”

“What brought that on?” Tom asked.

“I guess maybe it was the visit to Minerva.  We both attended Zion Church every Sunday.  It was a big part of our lives.  After Joshua was killed, it became my sanctuary.  I belonged to two or three circles, and the sewing circle was my primary social activity.  They sustained me during my grief.  I miss the feeling church gave me.

“I would like to begin attending church.  The Lonesome Dove Church is kind enough to let us use their building for school, I would like to be a part of their congregation,” she said.

“I sort of lost my religion when God took Caroline,” he said.

“For me, the loss of Jos
hua was when I turned to the church and it sustained me,” she said.  The Bible says God gives and He takes away.  He took Caroline and Joshua, but He brought us together.”

“We were married there.  We went to church frequently back then.  Not every week, but frequently.  Caroline had friends there.  Maw and Paw went there when I was a youngun,” he said.

“I would like to start going to church, Tom.  It would mean a lot to me,” she said.

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that,” he said.

“Let me put it another way,” she said.  “I’m going to start going to church and I want the children to go also.”

“Now, Mary, we talked about this before.  It’s not safe for you to go running about the country,” Tom said.

“I go running around the country to the school nearly every day,” she said. 

“And I have a cowboy riding behind to make sure you get there and back home, too.” 

“I didn’t know that,” she said.  “I didn’t see him.”

“You weren’t supposed to see him,” Tom said.  “I genuinely worry about you.”

“Nevertheless, I want to go to church, and I will go,” she said.

When Sunday came, she began getting Emily and Matt dressed.  “What are you doing?” Tom asked.

“I told you the other day, I’m going to church.  You can go with me or have someone ride as a guard.  I would prefer you go, but either way, I am going,” she said emphatically.

“You are the out stubbornest woman I ever knew, Mary Hartness,” he said.

“But you still love me don’t you, Tom?  I don’t ask for much, but I want to do this, with or without your approval.”

“I’ll go with you,” he said.  “I guess one Sunday won’t kill me.”

“Thank you, It means a lot to me.  I will only go the Sundays the circuit preacher is there.”

In the course of a normal week, Tom usually only saw and talked to his ranch hands.  On this Sunday, he met and talked to people he hadn’t seen since they were organizing the school.  On the way back home, he said.  “I have to admit, I enjoyed that.  It was nice seeing some of the folks again.”

In her normal term of endearment, she reached across and patted his hand.  “I enjoyed the music,” she said.  “It would be better if they had a piano, though.”

Going to church once a month would become part of their agenda.  Mary made several friends among the congregation and it gave her the opportunity to talk to the parents of her students about their progress or lack thereof.

At the breakfast table one morning, Mary asked, “Tom, were you baptized?”

“Yes, Maw had James and me baptized when I was about Emily’s age,” he said.

“Where was it done?” she asked.

“They had a service by Grapevine Creek and the preacher dunked us there.  He laughed.  “I remember thinking, “Maw’s going to be mad at him for getting our clothes wet.”

Mary’s smile lit the room.  “I would like to have the children baptized.”

“Matt’s too young to be dunked,” he said.

“They don’t dunk babies.  They sprinkle water on their heads.  I would like for Emily to be also, but I’ll leave that decision up to you,” she said.

“She’s your daughter too,” he said.

“Thank you.  It’s important to me.  I thought you would say something along those lines.  I appreciate it.  I’ll make arrangements with the preacher the next time we go, then.”

Before services, Mary and Tom met with the preacher and expressed their desire to have the children baptized.  The preacher said, “Mr. Hartness, Mrs. Hartness, It’s a wonderful idea. We can do it today, just before the close of the regular services..

“You look confused, I personally don’t do immersion with young children. It tends to scare them on what should be a glorious, memorable day for them. I will simply sprinkle them and recite the ritual. In God’s eye, it is all the same.”

‘Thank you, Pastor. I’m grateful. I think baptism is an important rite of the church.,” Mary said.

“I commend you on your attitude. I presume you were baptized?”

“Yes, I was baptized into the Lutheran Church back in Maryland when I was a child,” she said.

Tom said, “I was dunked down at Grapevine Creek.”

Just before the final hymn, the preacher announced, “There has been a request for a baptismal service for two of our youngsters, The children of Tom and Mary Hartness.  At this time, I would extend the invitation to anyone else that would like to be baptized. 

“Would those who wish the sacrament of baptism or christening, please come forward?”  Three other sets of parents came forward with their infant children and participated in the service, while the preacher sprinkled water on the heads of the youths.  With the baptism over, the services concluded with the final invitational hymn and the closing prayer.

“Thank you, Tom.  This meant a lot to me,” Mary said as they walked from the church.

“It pains me to admit I was wrong.  I enjoyed the service and it was nice seeing some old friends again,” Tom said.

The cowboy was low in the saddle
, riding hard and fast.  He looked over his shoulder, and was relieved to see he had outdistanced his pursuers.  He pounded into the area between the barn and the ranch house on the Lazy H.  He pulled up on his horse hard.  He was out of the saddle and running toward the house almost before the horse stopped.

“Hello the house!” he called out.  “Hello the house,” he called again. Both Rosa and Mary came to the door.

“What is it,” she asked.

“Injun raid,” he said in between gasps for air.  His headlong flight had left him short of breath.

“Where?” the now alarmed Mary asked.

“The Rocking H,” he said.  “It was the Kiowas.  They’ve killed three of the hands and two others are wounded.  They was chasing after me, but I outrun them.”

“ Are James and Elizbeth and the children okay?” Mary asked.

“Miss Elizabeth and the children are okay.  Mr. James is one of those hit.  I’m to tell Tom and then beat it for town to get the doctor,” he said.

“You go for the doctor, I’ll find Tom and tell him,” Mary said.

“Thankee ma’am,” he said.  “I’ll just get a drink of water and be on my way.”

Less than two minutes later, he was on the road to Grapevine, while Mary started toward the corral, hoping to find Tom or one of the hands there.

She found Sheb, one of the ranch hands there.  “Get Tom,” she told him.  “The Kiowas raided the Rocking H.  Tell him James is hurt, but Elizabeth and the children are okay.”

Ten minutes, Tom came running into the house.  Mary related the details of the event and told him they had gone for the doctor.  Tom went out of the room and returned, carrying his rifle and two revolvers.  He also had a revolver in a holster on his belt.  “Rosa will show you how to shoot this in case they show up here.”  He handed one gun to Rosa and the other to Mary.  He told Rosa what he wanted her to do and told Mary to listen to Rosa.  “She has been through this before, he said.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I’m going to see to James, and then we’re going after them,” he said grimly.

“Tom, please be careful, we love you and need you,” she said.

“Rosa,” he said in a choked voice,  “You take care of my family, hear?”

“Si Senor.  Vaya con Dios, Senor Tomas,” Rosa said.

Stuffing two boxes of cartridges into his saddlebags, Tom and all of his ranch hands except one headed for the Rocking H.  The man left behind, Case Richards, was a gray haired man who had lived on the Lazy H ranch for over 40 years.  He had been involved in several skirmishes with the Comanches and Kiowa Indians.  He was charged with the safety of the Lazy H women and children.

“Mrs. Hartness, I’ll be in the hayloft in the barn.  If anyone tries to get in the house from this side, I’ll see them and stop them.  If they try to get in through the front door,  don’t open it, shoot through the door.  If you hear shooting, it will be me.  Stay in the house.  I’m the best shot on this ranch.  That’s why Tom left me here.  Just remember what I said and everything will be all right.”

Two hours later…

Mary heard gunshots from the back of the house.  Through the window, she could see three bodies face down, arms flung outward, rifles still in their grasp.  “Rosa, get the children out of here,” she said.  “Stay with them, please.”

“”But Senora…” Rosa pleaded. 

“Please, Rosa.”

“Si Senora,” Rosa said.  She picked Matt out of his cradle and led Emily to the back part of the house.

Mary could see a wounded Case Richards, empty rifle in his hand, struggling with another Indian.  He was losing the struggle.  Mary went out of the door, holding the pistol in front of her, both hands on the grip.  She made a noise, distracting the Indian.

“Get back in the house,” screamed Case.

The Kiowa warrior dropped the wounded cowboy and advanced toward Mary, his knife held low, grinning at the easy coup he was about to count.  Mary closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger.  She was nearly deafened by the sound of the revolver.  The recoil kicked the barrel of the gun up above her head.  The Indian continued toward her as she brought the gun to bear once more.  She pulled the trigger again.  The Indian took another step and… fell to the ground, mortally wounded.

Mary heard the sound of horses and looked in the direction of the sound and saw two Kiowas fleeing to the west.  She went to Case and saw blood on the right side of his chest.  He had raised himself to a sitting position.  She saw the bullet had exited beneath his shoulder blade.  “Can you walk?” she asked.

Case grunted and said something that sounded like “Damn fool woman.”

“Let me give you a hand,” she said.

With her help, Case was able to get to his feet, and together they made it to the kitchen, where Rosa was standing, gun in hand.  They managed to get him to a bed.  Rosa took over, directing Mary to get some whiskey from the kitchen, while she tore the shirt off. 

When Mary brought the bottle of whiskey, Rosa poured it into the wound.  Rosa had placed the ranch’s medical supply kit on the counter in the kitchen, in the event it was needed.  She packed the wound with gauze on both his chest and his back.  She applied tape to hold it in place. 

She handed him the bottle of whiskey.  He took two long pulls from the bottle and said, “Thankee, Rosa.  Mrs. Hartness, you saved my life, but coming outside was a fool thing.”  He took another long swallow.  In a few minutes, he passed out, whether from the whiskey or the loss of blood, neither Mary nor Rosa could say.

The sun had set, and the shadows were long. The bodies of the dead Indians were still in the yard. Mary heard sounds outside. From the door, she could see horses belonging to several men. She heard one of the men say, “Let’s get him inside.”

She opened the door and went out. She gasped in shock.  Two men were pulling Tom from his horse. “What happened?” she asked. 

One of the men replied, “We caught up to one group of the Indians and there was a gunfight. Tom caught a bullet. He’s alive. We sent a rider to James’ place to get Doc Williams if he’s still there.”

“Let’s put him in our bedroom. We’ve got Case in the other,” Mary said.  Once he was on the bed, she went to the bedside, and took his hand.  His eyes fluttered open.

“I’m sorry, honey.  I guess I forgot to duck,” he said.

“They’ve gone for the doctor, Tom.  We’ve got Case in the other bedroom.  Rosa’s taking care of him.”  She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.  “You just be quiet and rest until Jonah gets here.”

“What happened here?” asked one of the men.

“Four of them came into the yard. Case was in the hayloft, and managed to shoot three of them. The fourth one had him, but let him go and started toward me. I shot him,” she said matter of factly.

Suddenly, the enormity of what had transpired that day hit her. She sank into a chair. “Dear God, I killed someone, how much more?” she asked.

“I’ve got to see about the children” she said, as she wearily got to her feet.  She went to her children.  She hugged Emily so tightly, Emily said, “Mama, you’re hurting me.”

“I’m sorry, baby girl, I’m just so glad to see that you’re all right,” Mary said.

“Mama, is Papa all right?” Emily asked.

Her Mama said, “He’s been hurt, and they’ve gone for the doctor, but I think he’ll be all right.  Tonight, when you say your prayers, you might say a special one for your Papa.”

“I will,” Emily said.

Ten minutes later, Dr. Jonah Williams came in, carrying his black bag, his wife Helen close behind.  “James is going to be all right,” he announced.  He’ll have to take it easy for a while though.

“Now. What do we have here?” he asked.

“Doctor, Case Richards is in the other bedroom, shot in the shoulder.  It went through and Rosa cleaned it and packed it,” Mary said.

“Helen, you check the other one, while I take a look at Tom,” Williams said.  “Gentlemen, if you’d let me have the room, I’d appreciate it.  I’ll keep you informed.”  The ranch hands left them.

Mary walked to the door with them.  “Thank you for bringing him home.  I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to him,” she said.  The tears were finally coming as her emotions caught up with her.

“Ole Tom is going to be all right,” one of them said.  “He’s too tough to be knocked out by one Indian bullet, you wait and see.”  He patted Mary on the shoulder awkwardly.

She went back into the room.  “Dr., I’m going to be with my children.  The last thing you need is a hysterical woman in here.  I’m afraid I’m about to lose it,” she said, as the tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Dr. Williams, put his arms around her, and said, “You do what you need to do.  I’ll take care of Tom.  I promise you that.”

Mary left the room and went to join her two children and Rosa.  Rosa came to her immediately when she saw the emotional state of Mary.  “Senora, sit here on the bed.  I’ll bring your son to you.  He is ready to be fed.  She put a small cloth on Mary’s shoulder and brought Matt to her.  Mary opened her dress so Matt could get to the nipple and nurse.  She patted the bed beside her and asked Emily if she wanted to sit there.

Emily immediately climbed on the bed and scooted as close as she could.  With Matt on one arm, and the other around Emily, Mary closed her eyes as Matt drank hungrily.  As he did so, a calm descended on Mary.  As she relaxed, her tears flowed down her cheeks.

“Mama, why are you crying?” Emily asked.  “Are you sick?  Is Papa going to die too, Mama?”

For the first time, Mary realized how much the death of her mother had impacted Emily.  She felt her mother had left her and now, perhaps her father would too.  She pulled Emily to her and hugged her fiercely.  “Your Papa is badly hurt, but Dr. Williams is with him and is going to take care of him.  We can pray that God guides his hand.  Emily, I want you to know, I will be here to take care of you.  Do you understand.  I won’t leave you.”

A knock at the door.  Mary covered her breast discreetly and called out, “Come in.”

Dr. Williams came in.  “Mary, may I speak to you privately, please?”

“Yes of course,” she said.  “Emily, you stay with Rosa.  I’ll be right back.”

She went into the hall with the doctor and closed the door.  “Did he…?  Is he going to…?”  She could not voice the questions.

“No, he didn’t die,” he said in his most gentle voice.  “And I don’t think he is going to, but the bullet is still in there and it has to come out.  I’m going to knock him out with some ether, and probe for the bullet.  When I find it, I’ll use forceps to extract it.  He won’t feel any of that, but he’s going to be a very sick boy for a while. 

“There have been some amazing results following Dr. Lister’s directions on sterilization, so I need to put my instruments in boiling water to sterilize them before I start.  I’ll wash up and do that, then I’ll go get the bullet.  I’ll let you know as soon as I find something.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” she said.  She returned to the bedroom and her daughter and settled in to wait for the outcome.