Let There Be Light (34 page)

“I’ve been told that the two new owners of the stable are born-again men.”

“Well, you heard right, ma’am.”

“I’m a born-again child of God too, Mr. Holden. I belong to Pastor Lance Kemper’s church, as did my late husband.”

“May I say that I’m sorry about his sudden death, Mrs. Brady? Even when we lose a loved one that we know went to heaven, it’s still hard to let them go.”

“Yes. But thank God for His grace.”

“Yes. Mrs. Brady, this young man is Dan Tyler. He is also a Christian. My partner at the stable and I were in the Civil War together with Dan. He just arrived here yesterday. He is single and is interested in the job offer you have in the
Mogollon Dispatch.”

Suzanne’s eyes lit up. “Mr. Tyler, do you have experience with cattle and horses?”

“Yes, Mrs. Brady. I was born and raised on a cattle ranch in Tennessee, and I know the business. I was also in the Confederate cavalry for most of the War. I love horses, and I love cattle.”

“Good. And the thirty dollars a month is all right?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Suzanne cocked her head and let her mouth curve into another charming smile. “Well, Mr. Tyler, you’re hired!”

Dan grinned from ear to ear while Clay whispered a word of thanks to the Lord. “Well, now that you’re my boss, ma’am, you can call me Dan.”

“I’ll do it if you’ll call me Suzanne.”

“If you say so, Mrs. Br—I mean, Suzanne.”

“Well, let me take you over on the other side of the barn and show you the horses, then we’ll go to the cabin.”

Dan and Clay walked alongside Suzanne as she guided them to the corral where three saddle horses stood, ears pricked up, looking at them. There was one mare and two geldings. Dan commented on what fine-looking horses they were, saying his first pick would be the
bay gelding with the white face and white stockings.

Suzanne chuckled. “Well, he’s yours, but you’ll have to ride the other two periodically to keep them in shape.”

“Be glad to.”

As Suzanne led them to the cabin, which stood under two cotton-wood trees some thirty yards behind the ranch house, she explained that her husband had built it with plans to take on a hired man when he wasn’t able to do the work around the place anymore. Jim was still carrying the workload up till the day the Lord took him home.

When Dan saw the one-room log cabin, he liked it at first sight. It was neat as a pin. The bed was made of peeled logs and covered with a deep feather tick. A washstand and dresser occupied a portion of one wall. There was an overstuffed chair at the large open window in the front of the cabin, with a small table beside it. The welcome morning breeze toyed with the blue cotton curtains. In one corner near another open window was a square table with two wooden chairs. The cabin had two other windows, and the curtains in each one were in constant motion from the breeze. A woodstove stood in the middle of the room. Although it was not needed now, Dan knew its warmth would feel good in the cold winter months.

“Well, Dan,” said Suzanne, “what do you think?”

“I love it. I’ll get my luggage from Clay’s wagon and move in. You can fill me in on the work schedule around here and I’ll start earning my pay.”

Suzanne smiled. “Wonderful! Now, one thing must be understood …”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“I’ll do your washin’ and ironin’.”

Dan chuckled. “Praise the Lord! I appreciate that.”

“And you’ll take your meals with me.”

“Sounds good. I’m not much of a cook.”

“There’s a large galvanized tub on the back porch for takin’ your baths. You can get your water from the well pump at the water tank over there at the corral.”

Dan looked at Clay. “I’ll get my luggage, ol’ pal, and let you get back to town.”

The following Sunday, Dan went to church with Clay and Joel and very much liked Pastor David Denison’s preaching. The members welcomed him warmly and he felt at home. During the week, he prayed about visiting the other church, but felt led of the Lord to return to the same church. The next Sunday, when the invitation was given after the sermon, Dan joined the church.

As time passed, Suzanne Brady was very pleased with Dan’s work and thanked him every day for being such a good worker and working for such low wages. She also complimented him on being such an excellent horseman.

In conversations at mealtime, Dan learned that Suzanne had never been able to have children, and other than her ailing sister, who was in a sanatorium in San Antonio, Texas, she was the only one left of her family on either side.

Dan spent much time with Clay and Mary and Joel and Martha. He was glad for his two friends, that they had found the young ladies, but inside, he was wishing he could find a nice Christian young lady too.

One evening when he was eating supper with Suzanne Brady, she asked him if he had left a young lady back in Tennessee.

He swallowed his mouthful of fried potatoes. “No, ma’am. I’ll just have to wait till the Lord sends the right one into my life.”

Suzanne looked at him. “Dan, don’t you know there are two hundred men here in the west for every single woman?”

“Yes, I do. But the Lord provided Mary and Martha Denison for Clay and Joel. He can provide the right young lady for me.”

“Well, maybe the Lord would have you try the mail order bride system, like so many other men are doin’. If you put a lot of prayer with it, the Lord just might send you the young lady as a mail order bride.”

Dan took a sip of coffee and set the cup down. “I … I don’t know about this mail order bride thing, Suzanne. I’m not too sure it will work for Christians.”

“Well, it does. There are married couples in my church, and in yours, whom the Lord brought together through the mail order bride system.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really. And to my knowledge, every one of them is superbly happy in their marriage.”

“Hmm. Well, I’ll give it some thought and pray about it.”

That night as Dan lay in his bed, he pondered his conversation with Suzanne, but still was a bit uneasy about the thought of seeking a wife through the mail.

He lay awake for some time, talking to the Lord about it. Just before sleep claimed him, he decided that since there were couples in both churches who had found each other through the mail order bride system, he would seek God’s leadership in it before taking that step.

That night he dreamed about his wedding. He was standing at the foot of the platform in the church building, looking down the aisle, while the organ played the wedding march. He recognized the faces of his fellow church members in the pews and saw Suzanne Brady sitting on the aisle a few rows back, smiling at him. But when he set his eyes on the young lady coming down the aisle toward him in a white wedding gown,
she had no face!

The next morning, Dan was haunted by the dream while driving the
Box B
wagon toward town to pick up a load of grain. He shook it from his thoughts as he pulled up in front of the C and J Livery Stable. He would pick up the grain after having a talk with his two best friends.

Clay and Joel were in the wagon repair section, putting a new rear axle on a wagon, when Dan walked in. They both greeted him warmly and Joel asked what brought him to town.

“Well, first I have to pick up a load of grain for the cattle and horses. Second, I need a little information.”

Clay chuckled. “You’ll have to get the grain from the feed and grain store, but we’ve got all kinds of information around this place. What do you want to know?”

Joel laughed at his partner’s humor.

Dan made a mock scowl. “Funny, Clay.”

The three of them laughed together, then Dan told his friends about his conversation with Suzanne concerning the mail order
bride system at supper the night before. “She said there are couples in our church, as well as hers, who came together through the mail order bride system. Who was that? I’d like to talk to one of the couples.”

Joel paused. “Well, there’s Tim and Lisa Cole, Earl and Emmylou Washburn, Jack and Lorna Sparks, and Forrest and Cynthia Hyde.”

“I’m not sure who they are. Isn’t Jack Sparks the one with the eye patch? He’s manager of the hardware store.”

“Sure is.”

Dan’s eyes lit up. “Good! He and his wife have been especially friendly to me at church. I’ll talk to them.”

Joel told him where the Sparkses lived. “Dan, Clay and I have been praying about this very thing. We’ve seen the look in your eyes when you’re with us and our gals. It’s time you were finding your gal. Suzanne’s suggestion is a good one, as you’ll find out from Jack and Lorna.”

“We’ll keep praying too,” said Clay. “Let us know if you decide to go for a mail order bride.”

Dan said he would.

That night, Dan rode the bay gelding into town after supper and knocked on the door of the Sparks home.

A handsome man opened the door. “Well, Dan Tyler! Come in!” He turned and called toward the rear of the house: “Lorna! Someone’s here to see us!”

As Dan stepped in, Jack laid a hand on his shoulder. “I haven’t said anything to you at church about it, but I was a Union soldier in the War. We can still be friends, can’t we?”

Dan looked at him seriously. “We’re brothers in Christ, Jack. Even when you wore blue and I wore gray, we really weren’t enemies.”

“Amen to that.”

“Why, Dan Tyler!” Lorna said as she drew up. “It’s nice to see you. To what do we owe this pleasant surprise?”

Dan ran his eyes between them. “I need to talk to you. Am I
coming at an inconvenient time?”

“Not at all,” said Jack. “Let’s go sit down in the parlor.”

When the Sparkses were seated so they could face Dan, Jack said, “So what can we do for you?”

“Well, I … ah … I understand you two were brought together by the Lord through the mail order bride system.”

Jack took hold of Lorna’s hand and kissed it. “We sure were! And we thank the Lord every day for it.”

“I’m glad to hear this. Jack, would you mind telling me the story from your side?”

“It’s quite simple,” said Jack, adjusting his eye patch. “I was in the same boat you’re in a couple of years ago. Some of the other ‘mail order bride’ couples urged me to seek a mail order bride. At first, the idea of getting a bride through the mail didn’t set well with me, but as I prayed about it, God gave me peace in the matter. So I went to Carl Axton at the
Mogollon Dispatch
and had him wire my ad to several eastern newspapers.”

Dan smiled. “Well, that’s encouraging.”

“Let me hasten to say, Dan, that in order to make sure I got a genuine Christian bride, I put right in the ad that I was only interested in a born-again bride. I asked that any interested young lady include a testimony of her salvation when she answered the ad.”

Dan smiled at Lorna as he said to Jack, “Well, it sure worked for you, didn’t it?”

“It sure did. It has worked out wonderfully.”

“Yes,” said Lorna. “Jack and I are so happy together. The Lord certainly chose us for each other, there’s no question about that. He can do the same for you and that young lady somewhere back East that He has all picked out for you.”

Fully encouraged by his talk with Jack and Lorna, Dan rode toward the ranch, eager to put his ad in the newspapers back East.

The next morning, with Suzanne’s blessing, Dan rode back into town and entered the office of the
Mogollon Dispatch
. He sat down with Carl Axton and dictated the ad to be sent to two dozen newspapers back East.

On Tuesday, July 11, a Wells Fargo stagecoach pulled into Holbrook, Arizona.

On board the stage was Edgar Toomey, who stepped out of the coach to stretch his legs, along with the other two male passengers. A woman who had ridden with them since Albuquerque was met by family members and walked away with them.

The three men noticed the driver hurry down the street and turn into a blacksmith shop while the shotgunner was inside the Fargo office.

Some five minutes later, the driver approached the three men. “Gentlemen, I’m sorry, but there’ll be about an hour’s delay before we can head for Mogollon. One of the horses threw a shoe just before we came into town. The blacksmith is going to forge a new shoe and put it on the horse. My shotgunner and I will take the horse down there right now. If you decide to walk around town some, be sure to be back by eleven-thirty.”