The Delivery

by James Edwin Branch

  Still, it seemed as though she could hear every creek and turn of the wagon wheels as the buckboard rolled down the tiny town’s main street.

  She watched as Ira drove the wagon. He seemed more solemn than usual. She wondered what happened while he was away and if he’d ever really tell her.

  With his quiet nature, Ira seemed to hold everything inside. Sometimes, she wondered if it wouldn’t be easier to talk to the gray than to talk to him. That thought gave her a strange idea, one she intended to put to good use if he didn’t open up to her this time.

  When the wagon pulled up at the doctor’s office, Ira stepped down and began helping the people off the wagon. Miss Sullivan strolled across the street and stood back as they assembled on the walk.

  “I’m sure some of you folks will be needing a hot meal and some rest,” she began, “If you’ll follow me, I’ll be happy to get you some food and drink.”

  They all looked at her with the exception of Uriah and Millicent. The other three shook their heads and began to follow her to the café.

  Uriah helped Marshal Beckam take the bodies of the two McGinty brothers to the undertaker’s shop. The undertaker knew he was due some business from the train robbery, but when he’d heard the passengers had been herded into the woods, he wasn’t in any hurry to deal with them.

  Anybody that had been attacked by a wild animal wasn’t what he considered his kind of business. For an undertaker, the man was a little on the squeamish side.

  He quickly took the bodies of the McGinty’s, and although the marshal told him they would be buried at the town’s expense, a little business without the mess was just fine with him. He normally preferred private business to dealing with the town. The town didn’t pay much more than his cost for a burial.

  After leaving the bodies with the undertaker, the marshal led Rafe McGinty over to the jail and was preparing to lock him up when Uriah protested.

  “I don’t quite understand, Marshal.”

  “Understand what, Uriah?”

  “I don’t understand why you’re locking him up. He didn’t really do anything.” Uriah looked at Rafe and nodded his head.

  “You mean to tell me you don’t want to press any charges against this man?” Ira asked.

  Uriah looked at Rafe as if he was trying to see inside his soul. For the first time since the two of them met, they seemed to finally connect.

  “I’ve got no problems with this fellow,” Uriah began, “He tied me up in that cabin, but he never hit me. He might have caught up with me on the trail, but he never pulled a gun on me or actually threatened me or Miss Millicent.”

  “Hmmm,” Ira groaned. “And what do you suppose he’s going to do if I let him go?”

  Rafe seized the opportunity and spoke up.

  “I’d just get on my horse and head west, Marshal. I’ve been wanting to go to California anyway. I’d do what my brother Virgil said and start my life over again.”

  “You don’t have any ill will towards Uriah here or me over your brother’s demise?” Ira asked.

  “I tried to warn them, Marshal. I could see for a long time that Virgil’s hatred was taking him down a hard path. It just seemed that no matter what I did he was bound to go there.”

  Ira looked at the two men and then walked over to the door. He opened the marshal’s office door and nodded.

  “Rafe, I’m going to take your word for your intentions. I’ll let you go, but I’m telling you if I ever see you in these parts again, I’ll be forced to plant you along with your kin. By now, you know I’m a man who doesn’t draw to maim, I shoot to kill.”

  Rafe listened as Ira spoke, and he knew it wasn’t an idle threat. He’d seen the marshal’s speed, and along with it, he knew that he never wasted a bullet. Crossing paths with Ira Beckam was not one of those things he ever wanted to do again.

  Rafe walked towards the door and turned towards Uriah.

  “I’m sorry for the pain I caused you and that lady. I never really felt like my brothers did, but it’s easier to go along than it is to disagree. I should have tried to change things instead of just following.”

  ‘It’s gonna take a whole lot more time than you and I got to change things, Mister McGinty,” Uriah reasoned, “ I’ll settle for us trying to put this behind us and going our separate ways.”

  After Uriah spoke, Rafe nodded and stepped in the doorway.

  “I don’t suppose I could get my gun back?” he asked.

  “I wouldn’t press my luck today, son,” Ira said as he placed Rafe’s pistol on one of the hooks on his office wall.

  Rafe smiled and stepped out onto the street. He walked across to where they’d tied his horse and immediately took the reins and mounted. He turned one last time towards Ira and tipped his hat.

  “I trust you’ll see to the burial of my brothers.”

  “I’ll do what the town will allow and put them in boot hill,” Ira replied.

  Rafe slipped his wide brimmed hat back on his head and looked out towards the west. After a glance, he nodded at Uriah and Ira and turned his horse slightly.

  “You have a good life, Marshal. You won’t be seeing me again.”

  Ira nodded and watched him ride out of town. Uriah stood with Ira and soaked it all in before he spoke.

  “You think that’s over?” Uriah asked.

  “I believe it is,” Ira answered and then looked down towards the café. He got a funny feeling in his stomach that his encounter with Rafe wasn’t the only thing he was going to get straight before the day was over.

  Miss Sullivan had gotten the train passengers each a plate of food and came back out in front of the café. She was standing on the walk talking to Ira’s gray that was tied there.

  Ira walked towards her and as he got closer, he could hear what she was saying. His stomach had that odd feeling, but he knew it wasn’t hunger that was bothering him.

  “Do you suppose Ira knows that we were worried about him?” she asked the horse in a loud clear voice.

  The gray nudged her and scratched the ground with one of his hoofs.

  “You’d think that after all this time that big strong marshal would stop just thinking about himself and take us into consideration, wouldn’t you?”

  Once again, the gray nudged her and scratched.

  Ira couldn’t believe his ears. What he was hearing was what he’d been worrying about most. He’d been wondering how she felt about him and now she was making it crystal clear. At least she was making it crystal clear to the gray.

  Ira decided to throw caution to the wind and join the conversation.

  “The big strong marshal doesn’t feel so big and strong when it comes to discussing his feelings about Miss Sullivan. But if the truth be known, he missed her more than he can say and even promised the gray to open up to her more now that he’s back.”

  She turned and stepped toward Ira, and when they were only a few feet apart, she stopped.

  “It’s time we worked this out if we’re going to,” she said.

  “I know. I’ve been feeling it coming to a head myself.”

  “Well, what do you intend to do about it?” she asked.

  “I’m not quite sure,” Ira began, “I suppose I’ll have to face it head on.”

  He threw his hands up, stepped forward, and grabbed her. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. She arched her back slightly but then surrendered to his arms. As their lips met for the first time, she closed her eyes and melted into his kiss.

  Neither of them noticed the townspeople that were standing around. There were only a few people in town, but the confrontation between those two had been coming a long time, and all eyes were upon them.

  When they broke the embrace, it was to the sound of applause. Ira smiled at her, and then turned and tipped his hat and bowed slightly. He looked around at some of the people he knew and wished that Lupe had been there to see it.

  As his closest friend in town, Lupe had been nudging the two together for some time.<
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  Miss Sullivan gently slapped his shoulder and smiled back. She was entirely too happy to be embarrassed by the moment.

  After their spontaneous kiss, they went into the café. Ira told the people there that he would contact the railroad and make arrangements for them to continue their travel.

  “Will you be going back out to the rescue camp, Marshal?” one of the passengers asked.

  “No, sir, I believe I’ll leave that in the capable hands of the lieutenant. Those gold bars of his seem to be a sign of hope out there in the woods. I think I leave him to do what he set out to do.”

  Ira left the café after telling Miss Sullivan that he’d talk to her later and went to send some telegrams. He’d agreed to send one for the lieutenant to his commander along with the information for the railroad. The wires would be singing for some time with the news of the few that they’d found and their ongoing search.

  Ira got all of the passengers a room at the hotel including Uriah and one for Miss Millicent. At least for that evening a warm comfortable bed was waiting for each of them.

  The rest of the searchers wouldn’t return until the evening of the following day. Only one other person was found in the woods. The man was near death when they found him, and they managed to get him stabilized enough to bring him back into town.

  The searchers had to abandon the rest of the search as hope that anyone else could have survived had eroded considerably.

  The lieutenant led the group of men into town with his head hung low, but the passengers that were saved and the townspeople rallied to show him their appreciation. To them, he was a hero.

  As time would eventually reveal, two other men survived the robbery and made it to safety. They had walked for several days in the woods and somehow managed to come out nearly forty miles to the west. They were found on the trail by a couple of cowboys. The cattlemen took them to a nearby town. Although news of their rescue never made it back to Bensonville, they were able to continue on their journeys as well.

  The robbers were never identified, and speculation continued for years about their identities. The Army payroll was never recovered. To this day, no one has ever stood trial for the murder of the two troopers or the subsequent deaths of the other passengers.

  Rafe McGinty was never heard from again. Some say he made it big in California running a dry goods store. One of those rumors even said that he never picked up a gun again except to sell it to a customer. His brothers were buried together in boot hill in an unmarked grave. Their hatred and prejudice was buried with them.

  Chapter 12

  Forged in Adversity

  Two days later, there was a prearranged meeting with a southbound train. The young lieutenant and his men escorted all of the remaining passengers by wagon to the tracks and stayed with them until the train arrived. All of the passengers were provided with passage to Atlanta so they could sort things out.

  That was the last Uriah and Millicent saw of the young lieutenant. He rode off with his men towards the south. His men seemed a little prouder and a little quicker to follow him than when he’d rode in originally.

  The town had shown the soldiers their hospitality, and the men left with clean uniforms and rested horses. Every man had more than one home cooked meal in his belly.

  That morning when the train picked them up, Uriah was seated in the back of a Pullman car. Normally he wouldn’t have been allowed to ride in the car with the white people, but Miss Millicent and the rest of the surviving passengers demanded it.

  Miss Millicent was seated near the front of the car, but she quickly moved closer to him so they could talk. Their bond of friendship had been forged in the adversity they had faced together.

  Uriah wanted to find out what happened to the people he’d grown up with, and Miss Millicent wanted to continue west. As they traveled towards Atlanta, both of them were glad they’d met the other. Still, the reality was that their ordeal had ended, and the friendly bond between them now seemed somehow different.

  Without the issues that surrounded all the trouble, a different feeling came over the two of them.

  For many hours as they traveled, it seemed as though there was little to say between them.

  Uriah sat at the back of the Pullman car alone, looking out the window as the countryside passed. Occasionally Millicent, a seat ahead of him, would glance back at him and wonder what was in store for him now.

  It was only the robbery and the circumstances that went along with it that allowed him to ride in the same car. Without her survival to consider, Millicent thought of other battles to rage.

  She knew that no matter how much she believed in him or how much trust there was between them, she couldn’t change the whole world.

  She’d discovered that world wasn’t ready to accept the truth. She now knew that men and women, regardless of their color, are really the same. They all wanted the same things, a home and a family with someone to love them, giving them a purpose for being. It was the same for everyone.

  She wasn’t concerned for herself. She still believed that her future was ahead of her, and once the delay was explained to her fiancé in Texas, she believed he would understand. It was Uriah that was on her mind. Ironically, she was on his mind also.

  Uriah was thinking of her. He wondered if she was going to something real, or whether it was just some pipe dream she hoped would turn out to be real.

  Though he’d grown up a slave, he still heard all the fairy tales about young girls finding their prince, or the fair maiden riding off into the sunset with her cowboy. It all seemed so unreal to him. Life didn’t turn out that way. People were never quite that kind regardless of how they seemed. As much of a dreamer as she was, he was more on the cynical side.

  As they traveled, Millicent became fixated on Uriah and the incidents of the past few days. She was not focused on their differences, but on the things that they had in common.

  All Uriah wanted was a family. She could understand that, it was the same for her. He was set on finding out what happened to the people in his past so he could move on. When she needed him, he’d stood up for her and even risked his life.

  She kept going back to the barn and Harvey McGinty standing there with that pistol pointed at her. When Uriah stepped in front of her and told Harvey he’d have to kill him first, it was the ultimate offer of sacrifice. How could he do that for her when he hardly even knew her? It pressed against her heart. How could she just go on and leave his quest unfinished when he’d done so much for her.

  She thought about what he’d told her about his youth. How they started him in the fields when he should have been learning what it meant to be a boy. He should have been playing and running in those fields, not picking a crop from sun up to sun down.

  Everything and everyone he knew was gone. She knew how that felt; when no one came to see her off at the stage in Philadelphia, she had that same feeling. The difference was that at some point, she still believed that there was something left to salvage in her family. The more she thought about it, she more she realized that they shared more than they knew. She didn’t really have any guarantees that she’d ever regain her family.

  She might be just like Uriah and be alone in the world. Even the man she’d risked it all for in Texas might not turn out to be the man she thought he was.

  As the train drew ever closer to Atlanta, she began to forge a plan in her mind. Before she could move on, she would have to clean up the past, both hers and Uriah’s. It was a bold undertaking, but she intended to try as soon as they hit Atlanta.

  The railroad promised all the passengers that survived the robbery that they would give them free passage to their destinations and refund the price of their tickets. It wasn’t much, but she planned to use that money to fund her plan.

  By the time they arrived in Atlanta, she made up her mind and decided to take action.

  Uriah told her that he was leaving the train in Atlanta and going to a small community south of the city. It was t
he site of the plantation where he’d grown up. While she changed trains and rested in a comfortable Atlanta hotel, he was going forward to see how much of his past still existed.

  She didn’t talk to him about it anymore, and as they disembarked from the train, she seemed distant to Uriah.

  He thought that she was returning to the woman she had been when they first met and perhaps no longer wanted to let others see how close they’d become in the past week and a half.

  She didn’t want to give him that impression, but she knew that if she told him her plans he’d most likely tell her no and make her continue on to West Texas. She made him feel some distance between them so she could change her travel plans and adapt to his.

  Millicent left Uriah in the station, went to the ticket counter, and arranged her travel. The railroad was more than welcome to abide by her wishes. She postponed her train change by one week. When they returned her travel money, she simply smiled and slid the crumpled bills into her bag and walked towards the telegraph office. She had a few to send out and she wondered how they’d be received.

  The first one went to her father:

  To: Raymond P Anders

  Philadelphia Pennsylvania

  This is our last chance. My whole life you’ve been my loving most cherished father. If you’ve always loved me as you say then you should love me now, no matter what my decision. I don’t want to start my life in Sweetwater Texas without you knowing I love you.

  Millicent.

  It was a bold move for Millicent. She’d never said anything like that to her father. The danger she faced with Uriah and their struggle gave her courage and she had to reach out to him now.

  She feared she might never have another opportunity to change his mind if she didn’t do it now.

  The second telegram she sent was to her man in West Texas.