I saddled the mare and, with Thomas on his mount, we set out. It would take some time to get to Potts’ house at the other end of the valley; and since I was in no real hurry, we would take a little more time and bypass the town. The morning sun began to burn off some of the cold and felt quite good. Drowsiness crept over me as we slowly made our way to the governor’s farm.
“Where are we meeting Governor Potts?” asked Thomas, pulling me from my sleepy state.
“I’m not sure,” I replied. “I didn’t bother asking. I suppose we should start at his home.”
“Maybe the cow is waiting for us in the barn,” Thomas suggested hopefully.
“It should be; if he really cares that much about it.”
Leaving a sick animal out in the open was asking for wolves to take it. Thomas already knew that, as did anyone who cared for livestock.
“Yeah, but Potts wasn’t made governor because of his brains.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”
“Him says it about Governor Potts all the time,” said Thomas defensively. “He says Potts was elected because he can be controlled.”
“Mmm…. I guess he would know.”
We approached the house.
“It looks quiet,” said Thomas. “I wonder if he remembered we were coming.”
“It does look a bit dark,” I agreed. “Well, let’s go see if someone’s home.”
We dismounted. Thomas stretched while I walked up to the door and knocked. After a few moments, the door opened a crack. It was dark inside, and I couldn’t see who stood behind the door.
“Yes?” inquired a timid, female voice.
“It’s John Casey, ma’am. I’ve come at the governor’s request.”
“Please wait.” Without waiting for a response, she closed the door.
I turned and exchanged looks with Thomas. He shrugged his shoulders and kicked a rock absentmindedly, sending it tumbling down the path.
Muffled voices could be heard behind the door. I could barely make out the words, “Just tell him.”
Again, the door opened and the timid voice returned. “The governor was called away on urgent business. He left instructions for you to go on ahead. He will get with you at a later date and square the bill.”
I knew it, I thought. The weasel meant to get out of paying. He’ll probably say I never showed up.
“And where’s the cow?”
“Oh. Just a few miles behind the house, I should think,” said the voice hesitantly.
“You’re sure it’s not in the barn or corral?” I asked incredulously.
“I’m positive.”
I thought of the miles of wilderness where they could be, and groaned.
“Could you perhaps be a little more specific?”
“If you just follow the stream, I’m sure you’ll find them.”
I wasn’t so sure.
“And who should I notify when I’m finished?”
“You can stop back on your way out and let me know.”
“Right,” I said. And without any more pleasantries, the door closed.
I sighed, “Well, Thomas, since we’ve come all this way, we might as well see what we can find.”
We mounted our horses and set off, following the stream.
“Where do you think Governor Potts went?” asked Thomas.
I shook my head and replied, “I have no idea.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to be here when you arrived and made up some excuse,” he suggested, while looking at me through the corner of his eye.
It was a sign that he knew more. He wasn’t aware it gave him away, and I never told him that it did; but it was fine, because it was usually something he wanted me to find out anyway.
“Hmm…maybe. Why do you think that?” I asked curiously.
“Well,” he said hesitantly, “I overheard Him say something yesterday.”
“What did you hear?”
Thomas didn’t answer.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I said. “I know your father will make you tell him what happened today; so don’t say anything that will get you into trouble.”
“No, it’s not that. I’m actually getting quite good at lying to him.”
I smiled, even though I knew I shouldn’t encourage such behavior.
“I’m just trying to think if it means anything,” he mused.
“Why don’t you tell me what you remember, and maybe I can help figure it out.”
He thought for a moment. “Well, Governor Potts came by yesterday, after your encounter with Him.” He looked at my face for a reaction. When he found none, he continued, “He said something about a hunting party, which I already knew about. At first, Him was in a really bad mood; but after talking to the governor, it improved some, and he said, “It’s time.” Then their voices got low. I heard something about me, and Governor Potts said he’d take care of it.”
Thomas looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, it’s not very much. At the time I didn’t think anything of it. I was just excited when they said I was going to help you and…. You don’t think they’re planning anything, do you?”
“No,” I lied. “It’s probably nothing to worry about.”
Except I was worried—and now I wished I had listened to Smoke when he pestered me to bring him along. If I had to run, there was no other animal I wanted to be on. I wondered if he sensed danger and, perhaps, that’s why he was so insistent to come with me. Of course, now I was being silly. Smoke is extraordinary—he even seems to read my mind at times; but he’s still a horse and was probably just vying for more oats.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go,” said Thomas doubtfully.
“Why?”
“What if it’s a trap?”
“I don’t think they’ll try anything with you around,” I replied. “I’m sure they don’t want to kill you. And as a witness, I don’t think they can keep you quiet.”
Actually, I knew, short of physical death, they couldn’t silence him.
“You’re right; I would tell. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Suddenly, his face flushed and he exploded, “I hate Him! I wish he would do something to get himself hung!”
His rage again bubbled to the surface. Once again, despite my normal control, I was pulled into the storm of Thomas’ emotions as he verbally railed against his father.
I didn’t bother to stop him, knowing it wouldn’t last long. It wasn’t the first time he had spoken of his father in anger, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
Then, as quickly as the tempest started, it ended. With his emotions spent, he lapsed into a glum silence.
We continued up the stream until midmorning when Thomas shouted excitedly, “Look! I see some tracks up ahead.”
Following them, we found the small bovine herd; and in its midst was a very pregnant cow.
“She doesn’t look sick,” observed Thomas.
“No,” I agreed, “she doesn’t. However, since we’re here, we might as well be thorough.”
While we checked, I attempted to read her. All animals were hard to read and, when I did find something, it was usually difficult, if not impossible, to interpret. There wasn’t much there behind her eyes. Unlike horses, cows mostly functioned out of instinct, and the pregnant mother gave me nothing of use. I took that as a good sign.
“I don’t see anything wrong,” said Thomas.
“I don’t either.”
“Do you think there was ever anything wrong?” he asked.
“I can’t be sure,” I replied. “But I’m doubtful.”
I viewed our surroundings. The forest looked much more menacing than it had minutes before. The shadows and undergrowth now seemed perfectly capable of hiding a few armed men. Suddenly, I gained an overwhelming desire to flee this place. However, for Thomas’ sake, I decided running away like a little girl wasn’t the most impressive thing I could do. So, I remained calm, and fought back the urge.
“If yo
u don’t mind, Thomas, I think I’ll have you tell Governor Potts that his animal is well, if he doesn’t already know.”
After all, running away and being cautious are two different things, I reasoned.
“That’s probably a good idea. Should I go now?”
“No. I believe tomorrow will be soon enough.”
“Would you like me to wait until you’ve left to join the hunting party?”
“I would appreciate that.”
Still expecting to see someone lurking behind a tree, I added, “I also think that, perhaps, we shouldn’t go back the way we came.”
He agreed.
***
The trip to Widow Snow’s was uneventful. She greeted us warmly with a big bowl of steaming stew and freshly baked bread. It was delicious and much better than anything I could make.
With Thomas’ willingness to stay and help, even though I hadn’t asked him to, we worked quickly—mostly repairing her cottage roof, along with a few other things that we noticed. Despite his assistance, it took longer than I’d hoped and the day grew late. When we had finished, Widow Snow thanked us and sent us on our way with the rest of the bread.
We walked the horses, while watching our shadows grow long. After a mile or so, I suggested, “You should get home before the sun sets.”
He shrugged and made no attempt to leave.
I let it slide for another mile, but then, as the sun dipped even lower, I insisted, “Thomas, you need to go. I’ll be safe. My cottage isn’t far and I’ll leave in the morning, long before anyone wakes up. Besides, you’re assuming something malicious is going to happen, and so far nothing has.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s just...I’ve been thinking, and it seems that when Him is happy about something, it means that someone else is about to have a very rough time.”
It was a likely statement, but I replied, “Don’t worry about me—you need to worry about what your father will do to you if you don’t return home quickly. Since he didn’t know you were going to spend the rest of the day with me, I’m afraid he’ll be in an awful mood.”
“I’m sure you’re right. I’m just not ready to face him,” he said with a sense of dread.
“It’ll be worse the longer you wait,” I cautioned.
He didn’t reply immediately, but after a moment of silence, he reluctantly agreed, “I’ll see you in a few days then?”
I nodded.
Slowly, he turned his horse toward town and, after a few steps, called back, “Be careful. Don’t get mauled by a bear or anything.”
Laughing, I replied, “I’ll do my best.”
I watched him ride off before heading home. Normally, I would’ve gone through town; but since most of the men I liked (and more importantly, who liked me) were gone, I went around it. Upon arrival, Smoke greeted me, although he hadn’t forgiven me for leaving him behind. He let me know his displeasure by walking well out of my reach every time I tried to pet him. Giving up, I unsaddled and groomed the mare, fed all the horses, and then walked back to my small cottage. It looked so dark inside that I hesitated, debating if anything nasty awaited me.
Probably just paranoid, I thought.
Yet, I stood outside, trying to detect the slightest movement. After a long while, I finally mustered the courage to go in, mostly because I got tired of standing. Reaching for the door, I steeled myself, then, with gusto, flung it open. I quickly scanned the inside, prepared to bolt if any reason presented itself. However, the only thing waiting for me was the familiar, musty smell. I let out a long sigh of relief. Being home in familiar surroundings made me feel better—enough to resist the temptation to barricade myself behind the bed with every weapon I owned. Eventually, after packing and cleaning myself, I even found that sleep came easily. Surely nothing will happen at night. After all, they must be tired, too.
***
“John, wake up!”
“Mmm.”
“Wake up! You don’t have time to sleep!” said Thomas urgently.
The tone of his voice told me everything.
“Oh no,” I groaned. “They’re coming for me, aren’t they?”
“Yes, and they’ll be here quickly. They have decided to take you tonight!”
I flew out of bed and scrambled into my clothes.
“How do you know?” I asked, glancing out the window. It was dark, but candlelight streamed out of the windows in a few nearby cottages. I guessed only an hour or two had passed since lying down exhausted from the day’s work.
“You were right! When I got home, Him was furious. He wanted to know where we had gone and why we had not gone back to Governor Potts’ house; and where you went after we separated. I’m sorry, I wasn’t going to tell, but…”
I could see the blood seeping through the back of his shirt.
“No, don’t apologize—it’s not your fault. I would have wanted you to. Besides,” I added, “they would have found me anyway.”
“I wasn’t going to tell. I didn’t want to, just to spite him. But then…” his voiced cracked and his eyes watered, “he started on Mother.”
Through clenched teeth, he continued, “He was making me watch. I couldn’t stand it,”
“You don’t have to say anymore.” I gently placed my arm around his shoulder.
The tears came more freely.
After a moment, he gained some control and said, “I secretly followed him. He went into the town hall. There were others there, too. I didn’t want to get caught, so I hid outside under the window and listened…. John, they’re going to try you for witchcraft. They say you’re unnaturally quick and stronger than normal, and…they think you can read minds.”
“And what do you think?” I asked.
“There is something different about you; but it’s not bad. You’re good. Besides, I tried testing you, just to see if you really could read minds…” Then, with a slight grin, he declared, “You failed.”
I laughed. “Maybe I wasn’t trying.”
He pondered that for a moment and then said, “It doesn’t matter.”
His sense of urgency returning, he pled, “Hurry, they won’t be long.”
I crammed into my riding boots, flung on my cloak, and grabbed my packs. We made our way out back to the stable where I readied Smoke for our flight into the darkness.
Finally, I understood the deceit in Potts’ eyes when he had first asked me to look at his cow. It was to keep me from joining the hunting party. With most of my support gone, they could take me, have a quick trial, and execute me, all with a stacked court and little outcry. Once I was dead, they probably wouldn’t stop. I’m sure Mr. Shepherd would be next....I froze. What if they had tricked him into staying too, and had already had his trial?
“Thomas, did you hear anything about Mr. Shepherd?” I asked urgently.
“No, I only heard your name; but I left before they were finished. I needed to warn you.”
It didn’t sound like they had taken him; but I had no way of knowing for sure. I made a plan to find the hunting party first thing and warn them.
“John,” said Thomas sadly.
“Yes?”
“I will miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too! Don’t worry, I won’t be gone long.”
“Sure,” he said. But I could tell he didn’t believe me, and I wasn’t sure I really did either.
I leapt up onto Smoke’s back.
“Hurry back to the house, Thomas! They mustn’t know you’ve warned me.”
“Be careful, John! I know you don’t believe it, but these are dark times and the forests are unsafe, especially in the north.” His voice trailed off as he slid through the shadows back to his house.
I kicked Smoke into action. However, instead of heading south toward the hunting party, we turned north and headed into town. Men wielding torches streamed out of the town hall. A few were on horses, already streaking down the main street in the direction of my now vacant cottage. I darted out of sight and down a side street before
they noticed.
The occasional smell of smoke rising from the chimneys made me realize how much I’d miss Syre. I planned on coming back, but, like Thomas, something inside me knew this would be the last time I roamed these streets. It made me sad.
When the riders had passed, I cut back to the main road and began my search for the man who was behind this and so many others’ misery. I just hoped he wasn’t one of the riders.
He wasn’t. There, outside the town hall, stood that foul being who called himself husband and father, joking and laughing with a few others—the esteemed governor at his side. The thudding of Smoke’s hooves caught their ears, and they turned. They looked as if they were trying to figure out why a rider was coming back without his quarry—not suspecting anything could be wrong with their carefully thought-out plan. Finally, recognition dawned and pandemonium broke out.
Martin yelled, “Stop him! Stop him! He’s trying to escape!”
His statement wasn’t entirely true—escape wasn’t my only motive.
Most of the men ignored him and were more interested in getting out of the way of a half-ton horse and rider bearing down on them. Some scrambled for cover; others dove for safety. Governor Potts tried a dive; but on account of his weight, he mostly fell straight down instead of out and away. Once on the ground, he settled on a frantic rolling motion. Martin, on the other hand, didn’t move. His face flushed with anger, as he drew his pistol and took aim.
I wished I had taken the time to load my musket, but then, I didn’t have much time to take.
I tensed and waited for the inevitable as he pulled the trigger.
It all happened in the same instant: my heart skipped a beat and my lungs quit working all together. The gun belched fire and smoke as time slowed to a crawl, and a little, deadly black ball whizzed towards me on a collision course with destiny.
Chapter Three: The Hunted
PERHAPS it was fate that saved me, or the dark. It could even have been simple luck in Smoke’s stride…regardless, the ball shot past me, so close that I felt it tousle strands of my hair. I let out my breath, and thundered on. Martin’s shot had missed, and he knew it. Uncertainty now filled his eyes.
Marysvale Page 3
