Dewilla had never experienced hunger before. In California, the family had a garden, and Daddy put meat on the table at least once a week. On this trip, the farther they traveled, the less they had to eat. Daddy said that he had to budget their money and that meant cutting back on meals.
Dewilla worried most about Cordelia, who acted fretful and sickly. The eight year old just couldn’t understand why they had so little to eat. The baby of the family, Cordelia had always been cosseted, and she often seemed much younger than her years. Although all three of the sisters had been devastated by Mama’s death, Cordelia had turned into an even bigger baby.
Norma and Cordelia had been sneaking extra food onto Cordelia’s plate whenever they could. But, now, none of the sisters had been getting enough to eat, and it was getting harder to share.
Daddy drove on, leaving the barns with Hex signs far behind. Dewilla stared at an endless procession of barren fields until the dun-colored blur made her drowsy. She drifted on the edge of sleep until a pang of hunger jolted her awake. Fighting tears, Dewilla had an alarming thought: what would they do if the money ran out and Daddy still hadn’t found a job?
Chapter Twelve
When the sunlight streaming through her bedroom windows awoke Alexa, she pulled the covers to her chin and thought about Kingdom Lodge. Yesterday seemed like a bad dream. Reverend Browne’s unsettling prayer. Mrs. Browne’s Bible verses. Leah’s take on appropriate gender roles. All those dreary clothes.
Let’s be honest, she admitted. Seeing Caleb right at home in that ZZ Top gospel show is what really has you freaked out.
A faded orange leaf fluttering against the windowpane captured Alexa’s attention. It called to mind the image of a dying brown leaf tangled in white-blonde hair. It had been two weeks since Alexa and Scout found the body in the woods. Every time Alexa thought about the way the girl had been dumped beneath the mountain laurel, she got angry.
A thump of the mattress interrupted Alexa’s reverie. Scout was bouncing his chin on the edge of the bed, so she rolled out of bed to let the dog out for his morning romp.
The phone rang as Alexa poured water for her tea. “Hey, this is Reese. Are you still up for a hike? This weather is supposed to hold all day.”
“Absolutely. What time?”
“One of the guys called in sick this morning, so I’m covering his shift. I can’t get there before one o’clock. Is that too late?”
“No, that gives me time to finish some work around the house. There are some trails nearby the cabin that we could explore. Do you want to stay for dinner? I made spaghetti sauce earlier this week.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you later.”
Alexa loved Sunday mornings at the cabin. After breakfast, she spent some time meditating on the deck, soaking in the crisp autumn air. Plunging into fall clean up, she put flowerpots into storage and swept leaves. She took screens out of the back windows. In hopes of more warm weather, she left the front screens in place. Before she knew it, Alexa heard Reese’s Jeep crunching the leaves on the lane.
They started their hike near the cabin. Alexa told Reese, “If you follow this trail south, it climbs Hunter’s Ridge and eventually intersects with the Appalachian Trail. This is one of several small trails that circle through the forest. I thought we could do a loop that takes us by Weaver’s Pond and then come back through the pines.”
Scout led the way. For the first twenty minutes they climbed slowly upward. At the top of the incline, they came to a big outcropping of rocks. Alexa hopped from rock to rock until she stood on the largest boulder. Reese scrambled to keep up.
“No panoramic view like Flat Rock, but the trees are pretty spectacular this time of year. See the roof of the cabin down there? Sitting on the border of the state forest is a real plus; nothing for miles except the cabin and a sea of trees.”
“This is pretty sweet. Not too many people can walk out their front door and get a view like this.”
Alexa and Reese continued to hike in companionable silence for another hour. Soon, the path wound downhill to a small pond. When Scout ran up to the edge, several frogs splashed into the quiet pool. The dog cautiously bent to take a drink.
“Is he a swimmer?” asked Reese.
“No. He won’t go any farther into the water than this. I don’t know if he can swim. Can you imagine rescuing this big lummox if he started to sink?”
After a quick pause for a drink, Alexa and Reese pressed on. Alexa guided Reese onto a path that paralleled the state road. They were close enough to see an occasional car. A few of the motorists waved as they passed.
After a few minutes, Alexa stopped in front of a simple blue sign that said: ‘Here Were Found Three Babes in the Woods, November 24, 1934.’
Reese touched the sign. “I’ve seen this from the road and always wondered what it meant.”
They rested on a log while Alexa told Reese the story. “The sign commemorates three young girls who were killed by their father and his lover, who was also his niece. As you can see from the date, this happened during the Great Depression. Two men who were cutting wood found the three girls’ bodies on the ground covered with a blanket. The children were lying in a row; the middle sister had her arms around the youngest.
“When they searched nearby, the police found suitcases that contained information on the girls’ identities. A few days later they connected the girls to a murder-suicide in the train yards near Altoona, Pennsylvania. The father had shot the niece and then turned the gun on himself.
“The press dubbed the girls ‘the Babes in the Woods.’ The scandal made the news all over the country. Thousands of people came out to see the girls’ bodies and attend services at a local funeral home. The sisters were buried in Westminster Cemetery near Carlisle.
“When Graham and I were kids, we would come out here and play. We went on a school field trip to the local history museum for an exhibit about the Babes. We saw a picture of the dead girls; three young girls in winter coats, lined up on a blanket on the ground. The exhibit also had death masks of the sisters’ faces, made by the police. They were really creepy but fascinating.
“The exhibit made such an impression on my brother and me that we began playing a game about the Babes. Graham and I would take turns lying on the ground and pretending that we were dead.
“Now, I shudder to think about how we could make a game out of something so tragic, but I think Graham and I were too young to totally understand the concept of death at the time. Besides, I think it’s in children’s natures to be macabre. I liked to pretend that I was the middle sister, perhaps because of her unusual name, Dewilla.”
Alexa paused for a moment before confessing, “I know this sounds crazy, but when I found that young girl dead in Michaux, for a moment I thought that she was one of the Babes.”
After leaving the blue memorial, Alexa broke away from the trail. In less than fifteen minutes of steady walking, Alexa led Reese to a rustic little building nestled beneath acres of tall pines.
“This is a church?” Reese nodded at the cross on the top of the small limestone structure.
“Yes. Our Lady of the Forest—a Catholic Church. It’s been here forever. When the iron forge was in operation at Pine Grove Furnace, people would come here for regular services. Today, it’s not used much. They open it up for services a few times in the summer. A priest comes up from Shippensburg, I think. Every once in a while a couple gets married here. I think it would be a very romantic setting for a wedding.
“I brought you here to show you a secret piece of Our Lady’s history.” Alexa headed to a small stream a few yards beyond the church. They followed the gurgling stream into a grove of towering pines. The pine needles dampened the sound of their steps.
Catching sight of the small stone springhouse ahead, Reese exclaimed, “What a great spot.”
Alexa smiled and cupped her hands to catch water flowing from a pipe. “This is pure spring water and great for drinking.” She took a sip from her ha
nds. “Try it. Luckily, this is off the beaten path, so people don’t come here to collect the water. But, the state does test it periodically to make sure it’s safe to drink.”
Reese tasted the water and gave it his approval. Scout lapped thirstily at the small pool of water that had collected below the pipe.
“Was this spring the reason they built the church here?”
“I’m not sure, but it makes sense that they would build near a spring. It’s so beautiful here. These trees are old growth pines; they must have been tall even when the church was built almost two hundred years ago.”
As she spoke, Alexa moved toward a huge rhododendron bush at the rear of the springhouse. When Reese joined her, she leaned over to grasp a rusted ring at the foot of the bush. It was partially concealed by the vegetation.
“What’s this? I didn’t even see that ring until you grabbed it.”
“This is the real surprise,” Alexa said as she lifted the door attached to the ring. When Alexa lifted the trapdoor, the dog poked his nose into the open cavern, immediately started whining, and dashed back to the front of the springhouse. “This is an old way station on the Underground Railroad. Very few people know that it’s here, but it has fascinated me since I was a kid. Dad used to bring Graham and me here.”
She took a flashlight from her pocket and illuminated the hole in the ground. A rickety-looking ladder descended into a fairly large cavern. It looked like the stones of the springhouse extended underground to form one wall of the cave. The other walls were timbers and dirt. Despite its proximity to the spring, the cave looked fairly dry. Several old wooden boxes were scattered on the floor.
“So, Our Lady of the Forest was more than a simple parish at one time,” Reese observed.
“I’ll tell you the story at dinner,” Alexa told him as Scout whined again. “Scout, you are such a baby. Come on, we’re leaving. I’m closing the door, so you’re safe. Graham is so right about you—you are a wuss.”
Reese seemed surprised that the walk from the church back to Alexa’s cabin took them less than thirty minutes. They headed through the grove of pines. The angle of the light that filtered through the tall trees indicated that they were headed south. When they emerged from the pines, Scout broke into a lope toward Alexa’s cabin dead ahead.
Reese insisted on helping Alexa with dinner despite her protests. “It’s only spaghetti, and the sauce is already made. I just need to heat that and the pasta. How hard can that be?”
Alexa was happy to have the tall park ranger bustling around her small kitchen. Reese prepared garlic bread and set the table while Alexa heated the pasta and sauce and made a simple salad. As usual, Scout managed to be under their feet at every turn.
Alexa opened a bottle of red wine as they sat down to eat. She turned from the counter and gestured to the shelf above her, “Can you reach the wine glasses for me, Reese? I usually use a stool.” She stopped abruptly as Reese walked behind her and reached above her head to take a wineglass in each of his hands. Although he hadn’t touched her, Alexa felt slightly short of breath.
“Thanks,” she said as they sat at the table. “Being vertically challenged has its drawbacks sometimes.”
Reese gave her a slow smile. “Anytime you need a hand, just let me know.”
Over dinner, Reese discussed the search for the young girl’s identity and killer. “Once again, there’s not much to tell. The police have had no success in tracking down the van. No one has contacted them with information about either the girl or the homicide. Corporal Branche told me that they plan to step things up a notch to identify the girl, but he didn’t clue me in on the plan.”
“I hope they make some progress. She deserves justice.”
“I have two sisters who are about the same age as the victim. I shudder to think about something like that happening to either of them. My parents and I would be heartbroken.”
“It’s hard to imagine how devastated her family will be when they find out that she’s been killed. I can’t get the sight of her body out of my mind. She haunts my dreams.”
As they cleaned up after the meal, Reese made Alexa laugh with his stories about his new rugby team. “I played rugby in college, but it’s been a while. The team needed more players, but they are still not sure whether I’m worthy enough to play for the All Punks.”
“Did you say, All Punks?”
“Yeah. I think it’s their homage to the legendary New Zealand team, the All Blacks.”
“Aren’t you good enough?”
“Ouch. You know how to hurt a guy. Actually, they know that I’m a pretty good forward. I can run. I can pass. But, a rugby team doesn’t want any sissies. They haven’t seen enough of me in the scrum. That will prove my manliness.”
“Men.” Alexa snorted.
When she found herself admiring the way Reese’s brown curls tumbled over his forehead, Alexa realized that this evening was feeling a lot like a date. She decided that Reese needed to know that she was seeing Caleb.
“Meeting a crowd of people all at one time, like your new rugby teammates, can be a little crazy,” she said. “Yesterday, the guy I’ve been dating took me over to Perry County to a place called Kingdom Lodge. I hadn’t met his family or many of his friends before. But it turns out that Caleb’s father is a minister of a fundamentalist Christian church and his friends are all avid hunters. I felt like a fish out of water most of the day.”
“I hear Perry County has some beautiful areas. I have a friend who’s stationed over there at Little Buffalo State Park. Someday soon I want to get over to see him.”
“Yes. Perry County has some nice spots. This place I went to yesterday is a beautiful old timbered lodge set on a little lake. It reminded me of a Swiss chalet. I had no idea it even existed until yesterday.”
“This boyfriend, Caleb,” Reese said carefully. “I hope he has been helping you through the trauma of finding the dead girl.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call Caleb my boyfriend … although we’ve been dating for a few months.” Alexa felt compelled to clarify. “We haven’t discussed the dead girl.”
“You didn’t tell him about finding her in the woods?” Reese asked with raised eyebrow.
“No, my brother advised me not to discuss it. I haven’t told anyone except Graham and his wife. I haven’t talked about her with anyone else but you.”
As Reese absorbed Alexa’s answer, an uncomfortable silence fell between them. To break the silence, Alexa asked if he wanted more wine.
“No, thanks. It’s late, and I really should be going.” Reese broke into an impish smile, “But not until you tell me about the Underground Railroad.”
Alexa’s mood lightened. “OK. You know we are only thirty miles or so from the Mason-Dixon Line. During the Civil War era, there was a lot of Underground Railroad activity in this area. Some of the houses in Chambersburg had secret rooms with tunnels to the river. There were places in Lancaster with hidey-holes in the barn. Here in Cumberland County, people dug several caverns to hide runaway slaves, like the one we saw today. All of these places were way stations on the Underground Railroad.
“Slaves were smuggled in from Maryland or West Virginia. A standard route wound from Boonsboro, Maryland through what is now Caledonia State Park to the chapel. The runaways received food and shelter for a day or two, and then were moved on to the next station farther north.
“During those days, the priest at Our Lady of the Forest was a man named Father Roberts. A passionate abolitionist, he volunteered to become a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Apparently, he convinced some of his congregation to join him in providing for runaway slaves. They say that Father Roberts had seen a slave beaten when he was a young boy staying with friends down South, and that’s why he became both a priest and an abolitionist. But, no one really knows for sure. What we do know is that he and his parish dug that cavern and housed hundreds of escaped slaves who were running north toward freedom.
“According to the historians
, Confederate cavalry got into a confrontation with Father Roberts at Our Lady of the Forest. This took place in late June of 1863, just a few days before the Battle of Gettysburg. When the small cavalry unit trotted up to the church, Father Roberts had twenty men, women, and children hidden in that cavern behind the chapel.
“Father Roberts didn’t panic when the Confederates arrived. Instead, he offered the soldiers food and gave them water from the spring. The lieutenant of the Rebel riders was a Catholic from Virginia, who asked the priest to hear his confession.
“Several of the parishioners, mostly old men and women, were at the church when the Rebels arrived. Father Roberts asked them to sing hymns to cover any sounds from the slaves in the cavern. Just think how brave those men and women were to stay in the chapel and sing. They were probably terrified that the cavalry would kill them all.
“Father Roberts heard the lieutenant’s confession, and in return, the Confederates spared the priest and his parishioners. After a short while at the church, the soldiers rode on to join General J.E.B. Stuart’s forces in an attempt to take Carlisle. Union soldiers turned Stuart’s attack away.
“But the cavalry didn’t set a torch to Our Lady as they did with many buildings in the area. A nearby town, Chambersburg, was burned to the ground while the chapel and its hidden Underground Railroad way station remained unscathed. That night, the slaves hiding in the cavern moved on to the next station. When word got out, Father Roberts became a bit of a local hero.”
“Wow. Thanks for telling me the story. I learned about the Underground Railroad in school, of course, but seeing that cavern today really brings it home.” Reese rose from the table and walked to the door. “Thanks for showing me your local hiking trails. It was a great day and a great dinner.”
“I had a good time,” Alexa said as she moved with him to the front door. “There are a lot of other trails out there to explore. Just let me know if you want to try one next weekend or later in the month.” She glanced at her mastiff sleeping on a nearby chair. “It looks like Scout is too tired to say goodbye.”
Dead of Autumn Page 9
