Hannah Alexander (16 page)

Joseph knelt beside the litter, partly because his legs gave way. “I was told they had two.” He looked into Victoria’s heavy-lidded eyes and saw the anguish there. Bad men were closing in, hungry for the kill, and now there was a whole crowd of vulnerable victims instead of just two.

“I was coming for Naaman and Josetta,” she said hoarsely.

“Who’s going to get the rest of them out of town?” He looked up at Heidi, who hovered at Victoria’s other side, blocking the sun.

“That’s what Mrs. Frasier wanted to know,” Heidi said. “She told Mrs. Reich they’ve got a good hiding place, but sooner or later, what with all the ruffians scouring the town, they could find the whole bunch.”

“Did she say where they’re from?” Joseph asked.

“From up near the Missouri River.” Heidi poured laudanum from a vial into the corner of Victoria’s mouth.

Victoria swallowed and closed her eyes, her face flushed with fever. Joseph stared at the woman he loved and prayed with more intensity than he’d ever put into a prayer that she would heal from the abuse her poor body had taken.

“Some man named Duncan killed their owner,” Gray said, interrupting Joseph’s silent beseeching. “That means nobody owns them now, doesn’t it?”

“That’s what it should mean, yes.”

“So shouldn’t we take them all with us to Kansas Territory so they can be free?” Heidi gave Victoria another dose of laudanum, capped the vial and held up a different one. “This is feverfew.”

“I’m glad you brought it.” Bless the young woman for her wisdom, despite her willful companions.

Heidi gently touched Victoria’s face. “She feels hot to me. I’ll give her a little extra dose, okay?”

Joseph nodded his approval.

“Dr. Fenway brought it back to America from England,” Heidi said. “It should help with the fever.”

Heidi gave Victoria the next dose of medicine, slowly, so as not to choke her. “Gray was fishing with some of the other boys along Capps Creek and heard them talking about Africans. Tell him, Gray.” In her excitement, she nearly dropped the vial she’d been using.

Joseph gently took it from her and recapped it, then patted her shoulder. “Well done, Heidi.” He turned to Gray. “Tell me.”

Gray hesitated, as if afraid Joseph might become angry with him again. “One of the boys was a son of a slaver who’s been camping out at the edge of town. He talked a lot. The rest just kind of stayed away from him. I don’t think many of the folks around here like the ruffians. They’re slavers with a killing streak.”

“I don’t like them, either,” Joseph said. “But since so many travelers stop at Jolly Mill to camp and resupply on their way to Kansas and Indian Territories, that’s where the rabble-rousers hang out. They cause trouble for the travelers.”

“How’re we going to sneak thirty Africans across the border?” Heidi asked.

“Who says we are?” Joseph gently lifted Victoria and settled her more comfortably on the pallet.

“Francine says we have to, Captain,” Heidi said. “We can’t let the border ruffians find them and force them back into slavery.”

Joseph tried not to grimace. If Duncan had anything to say about it, slavery might not be his plan at all. “We don’t even have enough wagons with us to carry them.” Now he wished he’d been less eager to send McDonald south with so many of their people. If they’d brought more wagons with them, they might have been able to pull this off. As it was, Heidi was right to be concerned.

“There’s a cavern across the creek from the town,” Gray said. “Several of the other fishermen told me they think the Africans hide there, but people have had accidents and died down there, so most folks keep away.”

“You mean they’re living in the cave?”

“Well, they sure don’t live in town,” Heidi said. “But they don’t live in the cave, either. At least, not most of them. Buck and Francine had a full-time job keeping them fed at first, but then they made friends in the area and others started helping. The Africans knew how to dig roots and trap their own food.”

“One of the boys told me that cavern goes all the way to a settlement called Plymouth,” Gray said. “So if they have to escape, they can get out that way.”

“That’s less than ten miles from here, and from what I’ve overheard, Duncan’s men know about that hiding place.” Joseph studied Victoria’s pale lids against the redness of her face. This was her mission they were discussing. She couldn’t have handled it herself. In her efforts to protect others from danger, she’d volunteered herself for a mission of death.

Or had she? He’d learned long ago that Victoria had the heart of a gentle warrior. Or perhaps a prophet.

“I think we can do something,” Gray said.

Joseph looked up at him. The boy had a mind of his own when his brother wasn’t busy influencing him—and it was a good mind.

“Well, see, the wagons are all set higher so they could travel over the rough trails we’ve had since St. Louis, but if we follow the road from here, we won’t have such rough trails.”

“You’re thinking about a refit of the wagons?” Joseph asked.

“We might be able to build carriers on the undersides of the wagons, make them big enough to fit a whole passel of people.”

“Where are we going to find weathered wood to match the wagons?” Heidi asked. “Too obvious, and we won’t have enough time.”

“Well, you got any better ideas?” Gray frowned at her.

“We’ll figure something out.” Joseph helped Heidi to her feet. “Did anyone say whether or not the border ruffians have threatened the Frasiers?”

“Francine and Buck told me two of the men have been snooping around their house, questioning the Africans who live with them, Josetta and Naaman.” Heidi shuddered. “That man with the white braid?”

“You’re talking about Thames?” Joseph asked.

Heidi nodded. “He’d been threatening Buck and Francine that some man named Otto Duncan and a posse of his men and dogs are on their way to Jolly Mill to claim his property. What’s he talking about?”

Joseph’s heart ached for young Heidi, alone in the world, grieving the loss of her whole family, and now forced into this hotbed of murder and danger. She should already be living far out in Kansas Territory, working alongside Victoria, surrounded by the loving people of their wagon train and healing from her tragedies. Instead, she was facing yet more horror. One had to wonder if she would ever completely recover.

“Come here, you two.” Joseph held out his arms as the last of his annoyance melted away.

Heidi stepped into his hug and clung to him as if she desperately needed reassurance. Even Gray hesitated for less than a few seconds until he joined them. Joseph gathered Heidi against him and laid an arm of comfort across Gray’s shoulders, wishing he could instill strength into them, give them hope in what seemed to be a hopeless situation.

“Duncan seems to think he’s going to get away with his evil ways forever,” Joseph said. “He thinks he should own those Africans.”

“He doesn’t own them.” Gray pulled away and spat on the ground with some force.

“In the end we know evil doesn’t win. That’s why we’re fighting.”

“It’s up to us,” Heidi said, her voice muffled from his chest.

“No, the results of the fight aren’t up to us. Our actions are our only responsibility,” Joseph told her. “In the end, Duncan won’t get away with what he’s doing, but we have to look higher than ourselves and seek God. Our job is to do the right thing now, and God will see to the end, whenever it may be. We might not see it right away.”

Heidi lowered her gaze. “I don’t think Dr. Fenway believes in God’s righteousness.”

“She’s suffered a great loss, as you have, Heidi. Sometimes when that happens, our faith is tested. But God will hold on to her as she struggles. He is a loving Father who doesn’t leave us. He isn’t going to die.”

“Will He hold on to me?” Heidi asked.

Joseph tightened his grip on her. “He has you surrounded.”

“I’ve seen bad men get away with their evil,” Gray said.

“As I said, you haven’t seen the end of the story, son. I believe Kansas will be a state soon, and you might well be the state’s future.” He placed a gentle kiss on the top of Heidi’s head. “I think that someday you’ll be a doctor working alongside Dr. Fenway, surrounded by patients who depend on you. You’ll probably marry and have children and a home of your own.”

He patted Gray on the shoulder. “You have a fine mind and the ability to make good judgments and sift through necessary information for the truth. You could be a judge or a senator or even the president.”

“Not if we don’t get out of this situation,” Gray muttered.

“That’s the kind of thinking you’re going to have to change. Your brother has heroic qualities, but he needs you to anchor him with your common sense. It’s going to take courage to stand up to him. We’re on this journey for you and for the children of the wagon train. This is for the future of our country.”

Joseph gave Heidi a final hug and released her, studying Victoria’s face. He knelt and touched her skin and nodded to Heidi. “I know Buster told you that Thames is dead, but that doesn’t mean we’re clear of his influence. I don’t know if Thames was lying about Duncan or not, but we’ve got to be vigilant. If he comes, he won’t be alone, and we must be prepared.”

“We’ve got to get those people out of here and hightail it to Kansas,” Gray said. “Hopefully before that Duncan fella gets here.”

“But how can our wagon train possibly move all those people out of Missouri?” Heidi asked. “There’s no time to refit the wagons.”

“The wagon train needs to load up and leave,” Joseph said. “Today. They’ll attract too much attention if they stay. Tell Fritz and Reich not to wait on us, not to finish setting up camp, but to head out toward Neosho to wait for McDonald.”

“No!” Heidi cried. “We can’t leave you alone. I need to stay with you and treat Victoria.”

“And I need you safely away from here before Duncan and his men show up and start a war with Jolly Mill.”

“I don’t care about safety, Captain.” She touched his arm and gazed up at him with winsome eyes. “I have to stay with Dr. Fenway. Please. I can help.”

He sighed. This one was also going to be a handful. “There’s something you can do to help. I need you to go through Dr. Fenway’s things in your wagon and find a stack of blank sale bills. They’re used for livestock and slaves. Leave the papers with Francine and Buck, and have two of them filled out for Naaman and Josetta Brown, but tell them to use different names. They must travel with the wagon train posing as slaves. You stay with Gray and the Reichs.”

“Captain—”

“We’ll need your help on the wagon train, especially with the doctor unable to manage right now.” He reached into Boaz’s saddlebag and pulled out Victoria’s Colt revolver. “Gray, keep this with you. I know you can shoot.”

“Yessir.”

“Take care of Heidi.”

“I will, sir.”

“Whatever else you do, make sure Heidi and the children stay out of danger.”

Heidi crossed her arms, her delicate chin jutting out, eyes narrowing.

Joseph bit his tongue to keep from smiling. She appeared to be growing into the image of her mentor and friend, stubbornness and all.

“Miss Ladue,” he said quietly, “your help is needed with the wagon train. I was given to believe you had been prepared by Dr. Fenway to care for our people in our doctor’s absence. If she’s failed to teach you what you need to know—”

“She hasn’t failed anything.”

“I’m sorry you’re being forced to take on a grown woman’s role, but the adults on our wagon train know to follow their captain. As your captain, I’m telling you that your best place now is with our people.”

Heidi’s shoulders began to slump. She stiffened them again for a moment, but then tears filled her eyes. She bent over and picked up the bag she’d brought. “Here. If her fever doesn’t go down, she’ll need another dose of this feverfew extract, and if she’s hurting, more laudanum, but don’t let her choke.”

“When you get back to town,” Gray said, “you’ll find Buck and Francine’s cabin across the creek, built in against a rock cliff. There’s a spring beside the house, and I thought I could hear something like water falling behind the house, like maybe there was a cave opening there, but I couldn’t find it, and they weren’t too quick to answer questions.”

“If you could hear it, then others can, too,” Joseph said. “The doctor warned me that Buck and Francine would trust only her. Even after they trusted Mrs. Reich, I can see why they’re concerned about strangers, especially after all of today’s activities.” He slung the medicine bag over his shoulder. “I’ll take good care of her, Miss Ladue,” he said gently. “She’s going to be fine. I have enough alcohol to keep her wound clean, and we’ll follow behind you, but don’t wait for us. You might ask Mrs. Fritz or Mrs. Reich to purchase more whiskey for the road before the wagons head out. Now, both of you go.”

They did as he told them, disappearing into the brush as quietly as they’d arrived. He heard no sound of footsteps once they had time to reach the creek. Maybe they were lighter on their feet than he had feared.

They would need more talents than light feet to keep them out of danger for the next few days. May God have mercy, and blind the eyes of the enemy in time to save them all.

Chapter Fifteen

V
ictoria lay on the moving pallet with her eyes closed against the sun’s glare. She felt so much better than she had...what...an hour ago? Probably the effect of the laudanum. Joseph had stopped once and dribbled some into the side of her mouth between her cheek and her teeth, then worked her throat with his fingers as she swallowed.

She hadn’t even opened her eyes. Actually, hadn’t been able to because her eyelids felt so heavy. She had, however, felt the light touch of his lips on her forehead and heard his whispered words of prayer and of love.

Echoes of his words to Heidi and Gray remained in her memory, almost as if she had dreamed the conversation. His gentle voice had somehow pierced the darkness where she’d been wandering...his observations about God holding her as she doubted...as if he knew what she’d been thinking, even more than she’d realized.

Was it true? While her faith wavered, was God holding on to her, as He would hold on to Heidi while she struggled with her grief? A more intriguing question—was the Almighty using Joseph’s words to reassure her and erase her doubts?

A new determination filled her as she lay there, exercising trust that Joseph would take tender care of her and that Boaz wouldn’t take off running through briars or over rocks. Joseph would have called her new determination a reaffirmation of her faith. She wasn’t sure what it was, only that she had never doubted God’s presence. She’d doubted His kindness, maybe, and His mercy, because she knew from reading through her Bible that nothing happened without His permission. But God was God. His ways were not her ways, and being His child she had to accept that He had control of her future.

She opened her eyes slowly, squinting against the brightness of the sun that shone in the longest day she had ever endured.

Judging by the cooler air, the daylight would be gone within two or three hours, and if she’d truly overheard Joseph telling Heidi and Gray to send the wagon train away, they should be gone.

“Joseph?” Victoria’s voice was so hoarse she could barely hear herself.

Immediately, Boaz stopped. She expected to see Joseph rushing to her side, but instead he urged Boaz to move on. The faithful animal rumbled deep in his chest and remained where he was. Victoria smiled. That gelding had excellent hearing. Joseph was probably still half-deaf from the loud report of her rifle in his ear today.

“Joseph,” she called more loudly.

He appeared almost immediately, relief filling his dark eyes as he dropped to his knees beside her and pulled the medicine bag from his shoulder. He touched her cheek, his eyes filled with such tenderness that she once again felt her chest swell with love for him. How she relished his every touch, his expression when he held her gaze, the words of love he’d shared so freely.

“My fever’s going down.” Her voice was still hoarse but getting better. “My eyes aren’t burning as they were.” In other words, she wasn’t delirious with fever or pain, and yet she retained all the sweet caring she’d felt toward him when she was at her worst.

“Are you cold?”

“I feel warm enough. My vision’s blurred, though. How much laudanum did you give me?” Maybe that was what caused these tranquil, tender emotions.

“Enough to make you comfortable. I didn’t want you hurting.” His voice still held only compassion, no sense of urgency or distress. It was as if their time together blocked out all other thought for him.

“Oh, I’m not hurting.” She smiled up at him.

He chuckled.

She loved the sound of his amusement, even if it did come from her predicament. Laudanum was better than she’d thought for discomfort of all kinds.

In all the years she’d treated her patients with the medicine, she’d never felt the effects of it. Now she could understand why addictions were so common with this concoction. “I heard you sent the wagon train on.”

“They should be out of sight of the village by the time we arrive.”

“Out of danger?”

“Nothing’s certain so near the border. If they took Naaman and Josetta and filled out the bills of sale, they should make it to Neosho without trouble. We will do all we can to be there by the time the other wagons arrive from Elk River, but if we don’t make it, McDonald knows the way.”

“We’ll be a large target with twenty-five wagons.”

“I don’t plan to take the main roads. I know some trails that are familiar only to the locals. If we can avoid detection for a few days, we should get past the danger spots and into Indian Territory, then ride far enough west to slip into Kansas Territory undetected.”

Victoria attempted to sit up, but she was too dizzy to remain upright. Joseph helped her lie back down, his touch gentle and lingering, as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to release her.

“How far are we from the village?” she asked.

“It’s just past the trees ahead. Rest a little longer and we’ll get you more comfortable.”

“I wish I could ride in.”

“You can’t even sit up.”

“I don’t want to draw more attention than we already have. Pulling me through town on a litter is bound to cause a stir.”

“I’m not taking you through town. Buck and Francine live across the creek, and there’s a log bridge south of town for travelers. We’ll go that way.” He touched her forehead, rested his palm on her cheek, leaned close, as if he might press his lips against her skin. He didn’t. She felt a stirring of disappointment.

“You’re cooling down,” he said. “That medicine works. Now, lie still and I’ll get you there without anyone being the wiser.”

* * *

Joseph found Buck and Francine Frasier’s cabin as Gray had described it, complete with a bubbling spring and the sound of splashing water that seemed to come from behind the rocky cliff against which the cabin was built. But the cabin was more like a mansion, with a second story and a porch around the three exposed sides of the house.

Before Joseph could step onto the porch to call to the house, the front door opened and a very familiar fourteen-year-old girl with white-gold hair came rushing out in a fresh, pink-and-white calico dress.

“Please don’t be mad, Captain.” She skittered to the edge of the porch and touched his arm with charming entreaty. “We couldn’t leave with the others knowing Dr. Fenway was still sick and not knowing if she’d heal up, and what with the help you’ll need—”

“We?” He nearly groaned aloud. Who else had stayed behind? “Who has your wagon?”

“Mrs. Reich is driving it and dragging Bacon and Pudding along behind.” She jumped from the porch and ran past Joseph to the pallet where Victoria lay. “Doctor, I’m so glad you’re awake! How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Your skin feels better. Do you need more medicine?”

Victoria chuckled softly and reassured the girl.

The door opened again and two more frighteningly familiar figures edged onto the solid porch flooring, hands in their pockets, heads bowed as if braced for a tongue-lashing. The “we” Heidi had referred to were the Johnston brothers. How could Reich and Fritz have allowed this?

Joseph didn’t have a chance to take a breath before the door opened again and two more people stepped out the door. Finally, unfamiliar faces.

The broad-shouldered man had the bulk of an ox, and Joseph could see a woman, with gentle features and bright, curly red hair, peering from behind her husband.

“I take it you’re the Frasiers?” Joseph asked.

“Buck and Francine.” The young, brown-haired man held out a beefy hand to shake with Joseph. “We’ve been hearing a lot about y’all from the young ’uns.” His grip was firm but not brutal.

“Been so worried about Victoria.” Francine stepped out from behind her husband, her bright curls bouncing from beneath a bonnet that matched Heidi’s dress. She appeared to be expecting a child within the next few hours. She rushed down the steps of the porch with a swiftness that belied her size and made her way to Victoria. Buck joined her.

During a tearful reunion between Victoria and her old friends, Joseph sidled over to Buster and Gray. “I’d like to know how you convinced Fritz and Reich to let you stay behind.”

“Who said we did?” Buster raised his chin and straightened his shoulders like a banty rooster trying to intimidate a horse. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

Gray jabbed his brother in the ribs and gave him a warning look. “Mr. Fritz gave us a good talking to, didn’t he, Buster?”

Older brother glared at younger for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Like I told them, we can keep watch, and we can shoot if we have to. What with the doctor all stove up and Mrs. Frasier not moving around too good right now, they need more help.”

“The doctor didn’t do too badly this afternoon when Thames tried to shoot your head off,” Joseph said.

“That was her that shot him?” Buster blinked and looked toward the litter, where Buck had lifted Victoria into his muscular arms and turned to carry her toward the house.

“You two take care of Boaz,” Joseph told the brothers. “Then stand guard on the porch, but don’t let it look like you’re standing guard.”

“How’re we supposed to do that?” Buster asked.

“I don’t know, just sit and whittle and talk like you’re visiting relatives. Think you can do that?”

“Never visited relatives.”

“We can figure it out,” Gray said quickly, nudging Buster with his elbow.

“And make sure no one happens by and overhears us inside,” Joseph said. “Watch the top of the cliffs, as well.”

He expected an argument from Buster, but he got none. Still, with the brothers’ tendencies to forget what they’d been told, he knew he’d be checking on them every few minutes throughout the evening.

Buck and Francine ushered Joseph and Heidi into their expansive log cabin and settled Victoria into a soft bed in a plainly furnished bedroom on the ground floor. They left Heidi to tend to Victoria’s injury.

“Y’all’ve got to be starvin’,” Francine said, stepping to a fragrant-smelling kitchen open to the rest of the large front room. “I’ve cooked us up a roast with potatoes and carrots canned from last year’s crop, plus wilted lettuce salad.”

Buck stepped around the kitchen and front room closing windows and curtains, lighting lanterns. Joseph glanced out the front door and saw that Boaz had disappeared. Buster sat on the steps, keeping watch with serious focus, his head turning at every sound. Far too stiff and guardlike.

“We keep our animals in a shed built across a break in the cliffs,” Buck said. He nodded toward the abundance of food stacked along the kitchen counter. “You folks oughta stay a few days so Victoria can heal up, and we’ve got plenty to feed you.”

Francine lifted a roasting pan from the top of a black cook stove. “We have a lot of friends.” She cast Joseph a pointed look.

“The slaves from Missouri River area?”

She nodded. “They have their own gardens back in the hills, and they know how to hunt and forage. When they discovered we’d be startin’ a family soon, they took it upon themselves to feed us.” She stepped back so Buck could take the heavy pan from her. “They’re hidin’, what with all the activity around town lately.” She sank down onto the chair beside Joseph. “They’ve heard the stories about that Duncan fella and his dogs coming here to hunt them.” Fire shot from her amber eyes when she looked up at him. “Captain, things are gonna be bad here. It’s only a matter of time before a slaver catches one of our friends and raises a ruckus.”

“If they’ll trust me, I believe I can lead them past the danger spots, but we’ll need to gather them and prepare them for some hard travel to Kansas Territory.”

Francine’s eyes widened and her lips parted. “You really mean that, Captain Rickard? Buster said you could move mountains with your faith, but you think you can get all those folks to safety?”

Joseph could not contain his surprise. Buster said that? He glanced out the window toward the steps where the ornery kid perched. “I think we will do all we can and then trust the Lord for the outcome.”

Buck placed the large roasting pot on the table and added plates with eating utensils. “Like sassafras tea?”

“Sure do.” Joseph got up to help set the table. “Mind if I take some of this food out to the boys? I asked them to keep watch.”

“Give them extra helpings,” Francine said. “I heard they’ve had a busy day.”

“That they have,” Joseph said over his shoulder as he carried the two plates out the front door.

Gray had finished his duties and joined his brother, mimicking Buster’s guardlike stiffness. When Joseph delivered the food, the boys thanked him then tucked into it with dirty hands.

“When do you think that Duncan fella’s gonna show?” Gray asked.

“We don’t know that he will,” his brother replied, talking with his mouth full. “You know how rumors spread like wildfire.”

“Shouldn’t take any chances. Maybe we oughta sleep out here tonight.”

“It looks to me as if there’s plenty of room inside,” Joseph said. “Someone might think it’s odd if they see you sleeping on the porch when there’s a big, two-story house behind you. You look odd enough already.”

“Oh, him?” Buster said, opening his mouth, filled with potatoes, as he pointed a thumb at his brother. “He always looks odd.” He cackled and choked on his food.

Gray shook his head and sighed. “We’ll be in after you folks make your plans. I just hope your plans don’t include hightailing it out of town without us.”

“Keep your heads down and your mouths shut around the locals, and I’ll see if there’ll be room for you to ride with us,” Joseph teased.

“Ride?” Gray asked. “There aren’t enough horses for thirty-five people to ride.”

“That’s something else we’ll work on.” Joseph stepped back inside the house and closed the door behind him, once again admiring the size and beauty of the cabin.

“Nice place, ain’t it?” Buck asked.

Joseph nodded. “You have some amazing woodworking skills.”

“Not me. That was Naaman’s doing. About six of the Africans helped me with the house. They were so grateful to us for keeping them from being discovered and for seeing to their needs when we first found them, they haven’t stopped trying to repay us. That food’s from them, the woodwork, the upstairs...they built that soon as they saw we were in the family way, saying we should have a lot of children.”