Hogtied

by Coleman, Lynn A.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  Urias pulled in a deep draft of air. “Mrs. Campbell, I need to tell you something. When I was a boy, I ran away from my mother because she’d beat me when she was drunk. Apparently, after I left home, my mother started beating my sister, Katherine, in my place. From what Katherine says, Mother sold her into bondage six years ago. She’s been working as a servant ever since. It took me five years to find her.”

  “I’m so sorry, Urias. But what’s all this got to do with you not being able to wash Prudence’s hair?”

  “Prudence’s father owns Katherine’s bond. Prudence was talking with me about how I could earn some money selling hogs to pay Katherine’s debt when her father caught us. And, well, he forced us to get married. He said either that, or I’d go to jail and he’d sell Katherine’s bond to someone else.”

  “What? Is this man a fool?”

  “I couldn’t wager a guess on that. He’s overcharging me for Katherine’s bond—of that I’m certain. Even Prudence agrees with me on that. Prudence is my legal wife, but we’ve not…”

  “Oh, I see. I’ll help Prudence bathe.” Mrs. Campbell turned toward the house. “You’re welcome to stay in the other room if you wish.”

  “Thank you. I don’t know what this marriage means. Prudence says we can get an annulment, but I want to speak with my parents on the matter first.”

  “You have my prayers, son.”

  “Thank you. Prudence is a sweet woman. She’s got a good head on her shoulders, and her parents don’t seem to appreciate her.”

  Mrs. Campbell smiled. “Perhaps the good Lord can take something horrible from this situation and make something beautiful.”

  Could He? Urias wondered as she left the barn. Would He?

  Thoughts of Prudence danced through his mind once again—the feel of her soft skin, the gentle fragrance that was her scent…a scent so intoxicating it drove him to want to kiss her.

  “Argh!” Urias lifted the pitchfork once again.

  The sound of a horse’s hooves pounding over packed dirt interrupted him in midstride. He turned to see a horse come running up between the house and the barn, its rider hollering, “Is there a Urias O’Leary here?”

  Ten

  Prudence heard the stranger holler and bolted through the front door of Mrs. Campbell’s farmhouse.

  “How can I help you, sir?” Urias said. It was hard to see him in the moonlight.

  “Are you Urias O’Leary?”

  “I am. What do you want?”

  “I’ve been trailing you for a few days. Hiram Greene over in Hazel Green said to give you a message.”

  “What’s that?”

  Prudence hurried down the steps of the front porch.

  “He says you owe him a dowry for his daughter.”

  “Dowry?” Prudence and Urias said in unison.

  “Yup. Says you up and run off with his daughter after you were wed, and since you’re taking her from the house, you have to pay him for her.”

  Prudence could see Urias clearly as he balled his gloved hand into a fist.

  “Where are you headed?” Urias asked the stranger.

  “Back to Mount Sterling in the morning. Does the owner rent rooms?” he asked, gesturing toward the farmhouse.

  Mrs. Campbell placed her hands on Prudence’s shoulders. “Don’t have any available indoors at the moment. You can spend the night in the barn if you need a roof over your head.”

  The stranger lifted his hat. “Thank ya, ma’am. I’d appreciate it. The wind’s blowin’ enough for a storm to come through later this evenin’.”

  “Very well. That will be two dollars for the night, and I’ll have a warm meal for you in ten minutes.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  “Urias, would you show the man where he can bunk down for the night?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Mrs. Campbell trailed a hand down Prudence’s good arm and tugged. “Come on. We’ve got another plate to fix.” Prudence and Mrs. Campbell headed back into the house to retrieve clean dishes they’d already put away from their dinner.

  Who is this stranger? And why would Father say Urias now owes him a dowry?

  “Your father must be a strange one,” Mrs. Campbell muttered on the way to the kitchen. “Urias just told me about your marriage. Why is he wanting a dowry now?”

  “I don’t know. I do know some of Father’s business dealings in recent days haven’t gone so well, but I’ve never known him to cheat a man. At least not like this. Up a price maybe, but never do something like this. I can’t believe it. Mother mentioned something about Urias moving into the house and living there. Can you imagine?”

  “No, not at all. Your father has Urias over a barrel, and he knows it. How much were you expecting to earn from the hogs?” Mrs. Campbell questioned.

  “With what we owe Thomas Hagins for the hogs, we might have a hundred left after paying the five hundred to Father for Kate’s bond.”

  Mrs. Campbell let out a slow whistle.

  Urias came in and stomped his feet at the door. “What is your father trying to pull this time?” he bellowed.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Did you and he plan this? How’d that man know where we were?” Urias paced back and forth in the large kitchen. “Your father didn’t even know we were selling the hogs. For all he knows, we’re heading to Jamestown to fetch the money from my parents.”

  Holding down her anger, Prudence said, “I won’t even attempt to answer your absurd first question. As for how Father might know where we are, Thomas Hagins could have paid him a visit. He was certainly surprised to find out I was married.”

  Urias stopped and looked out the rear window. The sun had completely set now, and he stood facing a black canvas.

  “Excuse me for interrupting,” Mrs. Campbell began, “but I’d say that man in the barn is someone for hire. Perhaps he’d be willing to help you bring the hogs down to the gap. And during your trip, you might find out more about…Mr. Greene, is it?”

  Prudence nodded.

  Urias turned around and faced the women once again. “That idea might have merit, Mrs. Campbell. What do you think, Prudence?”

  All the anger she held for Urias instantly dissolved. He was outright asking her opinion. “As much as I don’t want to let you go on without me, it might be the best thing. I wonder how much Father paid him to deliver the message.”

  “Enough to make it worth my while.” The stranger stood at the kitchen doorway. He’d come in unannounced and without making a sound.

  “Who are you?” Urias asked.

  “Sherman Hatfield. I was just passing through town when I heard how Hiram Greene was angrier than a hornet and wanting compensation for you just running off and leaving town with his daughter.”

  “What about Katherine?” Urias prayed nothing had happened to her since he left.

  “Who’s Katherine?” Sherman motioned to the table. “May I?”

  “Certainly. Have a seat. The food’s just about heated up.” Mrs. Campbell stirred the meat in the frying pan.

  “Thank ya. It’s mighty kind of ya, Mrs. Campbell.”

  “No problem at all. Now, what about Urias’s sister, Katherine?”

  “Don’t know the woman. Can’t say.”

  “She’s a bond servant in my father’s house. She has long red hair—same color as Urias’s,” Prudence informed him.

  “Oh, I recall seeing her. Frightened little thing. Practically hid in the shadows. Only spoke when spoken to.” Sherman locked his gaze on Urias. “She’s your sister?”

  “Yes.” Urias sat down across from him at the table. “Did she appear beaten?”

  “No… Hey, wait. Are you telling me he beats her?”

  “No,” Prudence interjected defensively. “My father may be a lot of things, but I’ve never known him to lift a hand against another.”

  Sherman gave a nod. “Didn’t ya give the man a couple of goats for yo
ur wife? Even the poorest of us in the hills pay the wife’s family off with something.”

  “He never asked me to pay a dowry.” Urias wasn’t about to explain the coerced nature of the wedding.

  Mrs. Campbell placed a plate of ham, fried potatoes, and glazed carrots in front of the stranger.

  “Thank ya. Smells great.”

  “You’re welcome.” Mrs. Campbell sat down at the table. “Set a spell, Prudence.”

  Sherman Hatfield glanced at each person around the table. “I’m just the messenger. I ain’t got nothin’ to do with Hiram Greene’s personal business.”

  That might be true, but it was mighty peculiar for a man to travel this far just to deliver a message. “How long have you been on the road?”

  “Three days. You moved those hogs right quick. The trail was easy to follow.”

  “I wasn’t trying to hide out.”

  “I reckon that be the case. Still, seems odd for you to run off with the man’s daughter and not pay the dowry.”

  “He never stated he wanted one,” Urias repeated, defending his actions.

  “Urias, I don’t think Daddy can charge you a dowry after we’re married.”

  “That is probably true, but you’re forgetting he simply won’t release Katherine’s bond. And he’d have me arrested for running off with his property if I don’t pay your dowry.” Urias leaned back in his chair. How was the Lord at work in this? He should have gone home straightaway and spoken with his parents. They would have known what to do. At least he hoped they would have. At the moment, he was clueless.

  Urias sat straight up and leaned forward toward Sherman. “How’d you happen by Hiram Greene’s place?”

  “I met up with him in the city. We had some unfinished business. I stopped by to help finish the matter.”

  “Can you be more specific?” Urias pushed. Something wasn’t adding up. No one would travel three or four days out of their way just to give a message that could have been conveyed when Urias arrived to pick up his sister. The more he knew of Hiram Greene’s business dealings, the more certain he became that Katherine did not owe Mr. Greene the money he claimed she did.

  Sherman scooped the last of his potatoes on his fork. “Mighty fine meal, Mrs. Campbell. Thank you.”

  He placed two dollars in small change on the table.

  ❧

  Prudence hadn’t slept a wink. First she learned that Urias had told Mrs. Campbell their arrangements concerning their wedding. Then the stranger came, giving them a message from Father demanding a dowry. Could life get much worse? Just when Urias and I are beginning to know one another, this happens.

  Rolling over onto her side, she looked out the window. A light frost had come during the night. Urias needed to get those hogs to the Cumberland Gap. He couldn’t wait for her arm to heal, and they couldn’t afford any more expenses. How was he going to pay for her dowry? Father had to have some plan or reason to change the debt for Urias, but what? And if he didn’t pay, would Father release Kate?

  She replayed the same questions over and over again in her mind. Pushing the covers off, she slipped on the bathrobe Mrs. Campbell had lent her and went to Urias’s room.

  “Urias,” she whispered, tapping the door lightly. “Are you awake?”

  Hearing no answer, she placed her hand on the brass doorknob and turned it to the right. Prudence stepped into the room and found the narrow pathway to the bed. “Urias,” she called again.

  As she moved toward the bed, she discovered he wasn’t there. “Where is he?” The barn, she remembered. He wakes up before the sun.

  She ran down the stairs and out the front door. “Urias?”

  He leaned his red head out the door and smiled. “What woke you up so early this morning?”

  She walked to the end of the front porch. She felt the chill of the air on her toes first. “I didn’t sleep.”

  Urias came over to her. “What Sherman said?”

  Prudence nodded.

  Urias hopped the porch rail and took her in his arms. “I’m sorry. We’ll work this out. Somehow, we’ll work this out. I need to take the hogs today. The sooner I deliver them sold, the sooner we can deal with your father.”

  She shivered in his arms.

  He looked down at her feet. “Where are your slippers?”

  “I left them in the house. I thought you were in your room.”

  Urias scooped her off her feet into his arms. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

  Prudence wrapped her arms around his neck. Her heart ached over what her father was doing to this sweet man. He’d make the perfect husband, but he’ll never be free to love me, all because of Father. She buried her head into his shoulder.

  “Shh. It’s going to be all right. I don’t know how, but I know God will see us through. I might have to go home by myself and tell my parents about the situation I got myself into, but I’ll be back for you. You can’t live with a man like that. There’s no telling what he’d do.”

  “Father’s never behaved like this before. I noticed some problems in his financial sheets, but nothing that would warrant cheating a man.”

  Urias brushed the hair from her face, his touch so gentle, his gaze so consuming.

  “You’ve got beautiful eyes, Prudence.”

  She felt the blush rise on her cheeks.

  “And I love that shade on you.”

  Prudence gave him a loving swat. She was still in his embrace as he entered the house and carried her up the stairs. Is he going to… Her eyes widened at the thought.

  In her bedroom, he placed her on the bed. He knelt down in front of her and brushed off her feet. “They’ve healed well. How’s the arm?”

  “Still hurts.” Had she misread the signals? Was he just being the kind man that he was? Her face brightened another shade.

  “Would you like me to change the dressing before I leave?”

  “No, thanks. Mrs. Campbell will help me change it.”

  “All right. Lay down, Prudence.” Urias reached out and touched her cheek. “You need to rest, honey. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  He tucked her in, then held her hands. “Pray with me, Prudence. Together we’ll hear from the Lord about what He wants us to do.”

  Another jolt of excitement ran through her. This was no longer physical; it was much deeper than that. Urias respected her, believed in her, and wanted to pray with her. He sought her counsel and trusted her enough to pray with him for the answers to their problems.

  Tears streamed down her face as she listened to Urias pray, then added her own prayers. He stood up. With his thumb, he gently rubbed away her tears. “God has the answer for us, Prudence. We have to trust Him, because nothing else is making much sense.”

  “You’re right,” she admitted.

  He kissed the top of her head and slipped out of the room. A peace washed over her. Within minutes, she heard Urias call the hogs and heard them squealing as they exited the fenced-in yard.

  Prudence closed her eyes and started to fall asleep.

  A loud bang reverberated through the air. Prudence sat straight up.

  Eleven

  Urias held his rifle at the two men who jumped out of the bushes. “You don’t want to see how fast I can reload this rifle, do you?”

  The two men he and Prudence had met on the trail a couple of days earlier walked out with their hands in the air. “We don’t mean no harm.”

  Urias reloaded the Kentucky long rifle, keeping his gaze fixed on the two men. Perhaps it was time to buy a new firearm that held more than a single shot. “You two didn’t learn the first time, huh?”

  “We didn’t realize it was you,” the thinner of the two men mumbled.

  “Ain’t no never mind to me. I’m still going to bring you in to the sheriff.” Urias had the rifle reloaded and ready. “Unless you want to prove to me you can be of more use to society than stealing from it.”

  “Whatcha got in mind?” the younger man with porcupine-like hair asked.
/>
  “If you two help me haul these hogs to the Cumberland Gap, with no stopping to camp—just to let the hogs rest for a spell—I won’t press charges. If, however, you try anything, I’ll run you in to the closest sheriff faster than you can spit yer tobacca.”

  They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. “Sounds fair.”

  “Good. Get your packs and let’s get a move on.” Urias cracked the whip above the hogs’ heads to encourage them forward. The two men would test his skills, but they could be a huge blessing. With two additional men pushing at the rear, he could make better time.

  “What do we do?” one hollered.

  “Cut yourself a willow twig and snap it above their heads and keep walking forward. They’ll move.”

  Urias kept an eye on the road and an eye on his back. He’d made sure the men were not armed. He wasn’t letting his guard down for a moment. As they passed the Mercer farm, Frank Jr. met him on the road with a full pack.

  “Frank, ask your dad to check on the Campbell farm, and tell him everything’s all right.”

  “Sure.” Frank ran up the hill toward his house. Urias caught a glance of the men behind him. “Don’t be getting any funny ideas. Frank’s dad is a deputy.”

  Urias heard the men grumble.

  Frank Jr. came running back. “Where do you need me?”

  “In the rear. Show those two what to do. Watch ’em closely, then send them toward the middle. I’ll feel better with you taking up the rear.”

  “Gotcha.” Frank ran to the rear of the herd. He was a couple years younger than Urias. As children, they used to play together.

  They kept that pace for four hours, took a break for an hour, and pressed on again. The two would-be robbers actually demonstrated themselves to be quite good with the hogs. In crossing the New River at English Ferry, they swam the hogs across to avoid the ferryboat fee. They continued on that way through the night, and by noon the following day, they had made it to Cumberland County, where Urias sold the swine at $3.50 per hundred pounds, net.

  Having more than enough to purchase Katherine’s bond and pay Prudence’s dowry, Urias gave each man ten dollars with his thanks. Urias learned his two hired hands were brothers, who’d decided that making an honest wage was far more profitable than robbing folks on the road. Frank and Urias spent the night at an inn to let some distance develop between them and the brothers.