The Amazon Quest (House of Winslow Book #25)

by Gilbert, Morris

  “This is an old church,” Emily said. “You see that line across the pews right in the middle?”

  James leaned forward with interest and saw, indeed, that there was a faded streak in the center of each pew about four inches wide. “What made that?” he asked.

  “There used to be a board across there. The men had to sit over on the right, the women on the left.”

  James suddenly turned to look at her and whispered, “I bet I know who was responsible for taking that board down. It was probably you.”

  “Don’t be silly! My grandmother had something to do with it, I think. She was quite a rebel. Still is, for that matter.”

  The two sat there whispering, and then the choir came in, followed by the pastor, who was accompanied by his song leader. At the direction of the song leader, everyone stood up and sang the doxology. The pastor then led in a prayer, and the song leader said, “All right. We’ll sing number twenty-three.”

  Emily was not sure what James thought about religion. She herself had been in church almost since the day she was born, as had Wes, so it was a natural environment for them. But she did notice during the song service that James knew most of the songs. Finally, when they sat down after a hymn, she whispered, “You have a fine voice, James, and I noticed you know most of the hymns.”

  James turned to look at her, not answering for a moment, then shrugged. “I learned a few growing up.”

  “Were your family Christians?” she asked.

  “No,” James said rather shortly.

  His curtness puzzled Emily, but she couldn’t ask him any more questions, as it was time for the sermon.

  “My message this morning,” Pastor Ronald James said in a fine baritone voice, “concerns what many feel to be the most important element in our Christian life. And that is faith. My text is taken from the book of Hebrews, the eleventh chapter, and I’m sure that most of you have read this chapter many times. We will not take time to read the whole chapter, although I will be referring to it. We will center our thoughts around the sixth verse, which says, ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ ”

  Emily had always liked Reverend James’s sermons. They were timely and up-to-date, and they always had some humor in them. But he was also a man of great compassion, and she had seen him weep over the lost more than once. Now as he began to preach, she stole glances at James from time to time and noted that he was listening, but she could not imagine what was going on in his mind.

  The first part of the sermon dealt with how Christians please God by having faith. The pastor said, “Faith is two empty hands held open to receive the Lord Jesus Christ.”

  Emily thought that was a fine statement, and she nodded her approval. She was aware that James had turned to look at her, but she did not dare turn her head at that time. The last five minutes of the sermon were a plea from the minister for those who had never expressed their faith in Jesus to do so now.

  “I know some of you sitting out there who do not know Christ as your Savior are wondering how we can believe in anything that we cannot see. But faith is believing beyond what we can see with our eyes. Faith never knows where it’s being led. If it knew, it would not be faith.”

  Finally Reverend James closed the message, saying, “I ask anyone here this morning who is not a Christian to give your heart to Jesus. Men have made salvation very complicated. Some have said that you must go through many ordinances and ceremonies, but the thief on the cross is the classic example of faith.” He read the Scripture about the dying thief and then said, “What could he do? Could he go out and do good works to prove to God that he was earnest? Could he give money? No. He could do absolutely nothing except look to Jesus. And he said, ‘Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And you all know what Jesus said, ‘This day thou shalt be with me in paradise.’ ”

  The minister paused and then took a deep breath. “We’re all going to stand and sing a hymn that all of you know well. It was written by a young woman who tried to please God. She had tried everything she knew and then finally said, ‘I’m going just as I am without one plea.’ So that is what you must say today—’Just as I am without one plea.’ Jesus saves.”

  During the hymn Emily noted that although James sang the first stanza, he fell silent on the others. As several people went to the front of the church during the invitation, she stole a glance and saw that he was staring at the book but seemed to be oblivious to what was going on about him. She almost asked him what was wrong but then decided it was a private matter.

  As they filed out of the church to meet with her family and go home for Sunday dinner, Emily did have the courage to say, “Your people weren’t Christians, you say?”

  “No.”

  “What about you, James?” she asked.

  James looked directly at her for one moment, but she could not interpret the look in his gray eyes.

  He said rather shortly, “I guess whatever religion I might have had was knocked out of me in the trenches.”

  Emily was disappointed but could make no answer. As the two joined the rest of the family Emily felt sad, for all of the family had become fond of this young man.

  ****

  Christmas was still a week away, and Emily had asked her parents to go to a band concert in Edington, a town some fifteen miles away. Aaron had said, “I’d like to, Emily, but I can’t. Why don’t you get James to take you?”

  “But how will we get there?”

  “He can probably drive. You can use the Ford.”

  Eagerly Emily had asked James and discovered that indeed he could drive, and he readily agreed to take her.

  “It’s getting cold. You’d better wear your heaviest coat,” Gail said as the two started out the door. “Someday they’ll put a fire of some kind in a car to keep it warm.”

  “I’d be in favor of that,” Emily said. “But we’ll be all right, and we’ll be home early.”

  James opened the door of the Model-T and climbed in. He used the right-hand door, for there was no left-hand door by the front seat. He reached over to the wheel and set the spark and throttle levers in position. Emily knew something about the car, for she had helped her father many times. “You set the throttle levers like the hands of a clock at ten minutes to three.”

  “Why don’t you sit here and give me a hand, Emily?” James asked.

  Willingly she went around to the driver’s side and reached in. James went to the front, inserted the crank in his right hand, and put his forefinger through a loop of wire that controlled the choke. Pulling the wire, he turned the crank, and the engine roared. He ran around to the door, tossed the crank handle inside, and jumped in to move the spark. The engine ran noisily as Emily got in too and slammed the door.

  “I hear some of these new Fords have self-starters in them,” James said. “Anything would beat this. A lot of fellows get their arms broken by those cranks.”

  He released the emergency hand brake and shoved his left foot against the low-speed pedal. As the car swept out into the street, he released his left foot, and the car went into high gear.

  It was cold inside the car, and Emily had pulled up a lap robe to cover her lower body.

  They made the trip to Edington with no trouble and attended the concert. It was not a particularly good one, and Emily leaned over once and said, “That man can’t sing as well as you can. Why don’t you get up and challenge him?”

  James looked at her and laughed as he shook his head. “No thanks. He’s probably the mayor’s uncle or something.”

  The concert lasted only an hour, and the sun was shining, despite the cold weather. As they drove along, Emily suddenly said, “Look, James, there’s the Green Door.”

  James looked across to where she indicated. “What’s that?”

  “Oh, it’s where I let that thug Buck Leatherwood drag me. I was such a fool to go out with him. Ever
ybody knew what he was.”

  As the Ford sailed down the gravel road, James did not speak for a time. And then finally he said, “I guess we’re all foolish at times.”

  Emily raised her voice over the noise of the motor to ask curiously, “What was your childhood like? You never talk about it.”

  “Not much to say. It wasn’t good.” James dodged a rabbit that darted out from the right side of the road, barely missing it. “That fellow must have a death wish,” he murmured.

  Emily thought he would say no more, but finally he shrugged slightly and went on.

  “My father ran out on my mother and the family when I was born. I never saw him. My mother tried to keep the family together by taking in washing and scrubbing floors. I can’t remember a whole lot about that. She died when I was four.”

  “Oh, how terrible for you!”

  “I only remember that it was like the world had come to an end or the sun had gone out.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Well, there were four of us kids, all pretty young, and somebody decided to parcel us out to uncles and aunts.”

  “What about you, James?” He turned to look at her, and for an instant she saw bitterness in his eyes.

  “I guess we ran out of relatives. I wound up in an orphanage.”

  Compassion rose suddenly in Emily. “Was that hard?”

  “It wasn’t good. I ran away when I was fifteen. Didn’t have anywhere to go, so I just bummed around. Became a hobo. Did all sorts of jobs, and, of course, I didn’t have much of an education.” He hesitated and then added, “When the war came I was glad to join up. I didn’t have any responsibilities anyway, and I thought it would at least give me some square meals, some clothes to wear, and something to do. I was wrong about that.”

  “It’s been hard on you, hasn’t it?”

  “Well, I’m alive.”

  The cryptic remark troubled Emily. “What will you do now?”

  James Parker suddenly laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Become a hobo again, I guess.”

  ****

  Emily wasted no time in going to her father. He was working at his desk, and when he turned at the sound of her voice, Aaron could see the stubborn look on her face that meant she had some sort of plan that involved him. “Well, I can see I’m in for trouble,” he said with a mock sigh. “What do you want me to do this time?”

  “Dad, we’ve got to do something about James.”

  “Do something? Like what?”

  “You don’t know what a hard time he’s had. He told me about it on the way back from the concert.” Emily gave her father a brief summary of what James had told her and then said, “He’s a young man. He’s still got time to make something out of himself.”

  “I think he will.”

  “But, Dad, now that the war’s over there are two million men coming home. Jobs are scarce now that there’s no need for factories to keep making war materials. You know that. It’s going to be hard.”

  Aaron nodded, for he had thought much about this subject. “You’re right. You have an idea?”

  “Wes says that James is really good at accounting, and that he said he had a job once working as a bookkeeper. Can’t we help him go to college?”

  “Did he finish high school?”

  “No, I don’t think so. He says he was nothing but a hobo. But he is good at accounting, Dad. Couldn’t you help him?”

  Aaron Winslow nodded. “I think I might be able to do something about that. As a matter of fact, I’ve been thinking about James. I spend half my life in the library doing research for my writing projects and the other half studying the stock market. I could use an assistant around here.”

  “Oh, Daddy!” Emily’s eyes were sparkling, and she threw her arms around him. “You’re wonderful! I’ve got the best dad in the whole world.”

  Aaron was nearly pushed off balance by her sudden attack. He laughed and said, “Well, send him around, and we’ll talk about it.”

  Aaron went back to his work as Emily left, but within five minutes he looked up to see James come in.

  “Emily said you wanted to see me, sir?”

  “That’s right, James. Come in and sit down.” He waited until the young man was seated and said, “If you don’t have other plans, James, I could use an assistant.”

  Parker blinked with surprise and then shook his head. “I appreciate your offer, but I think you’re doing this just to be nice. You really don’t owe me anything.”

  “I’m not just being nice, James. I’ve been thinking about taking on a young man to help me with my research. You have no idea how boring it is to go to a library and look for a subject until you nearly go blind. You think you can handle that?”

  James Parker looked across at the tall figure of Aaron Winslow. A smile touched his lips, and he said, “I think if you’d teach me, I could do it.”

  “Good. It’s settled then. We’ll start first thing after Christmas. You know we’re going over to my mother’s house for Christmas dinner.”

  “No, sir, I didn’t know that.”

  “There’ll be some other Winslows there. It’ll be good for you to meet them.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Christmas at Belle Maison

  “That’s it right there, James—the old Winslow homeplace.”

  James Parker looked out the window as Aaron turned the Ford into a circular driveway. James took in the tall house with the white columns in front and said, “It’s a beautiful place, sir.”

  “Yes, it is. Kind of a showplace around here. So many homes got burned down during the Civil War, but I’m glad this one lasted.”

  Aaron pulled the car up into a line of other vehicles that were parked on the east side of the house, and they all got out. “I feel a little out of place, like an intruder,” James whispered to Emily as they approached the steps.

  “Think nothing of it! Everyone will be glad to see you. We told them all so much about you. You’ll like them, too. I don’t know who all will be here, but the house is usually full on Christmas.”

  The door opened as they were climbing the front steps, and a slender woman with silver hair came forward to greet them, ignoring the cold. “Aaron,” she said with a smile and a warm embrace.

  “Sorry I couldn’t get here earlier, Mother.”

  “Well, you’re here now.”

  “I’d like for you to meet an addition to our family. This is James Parker. James, this is my mother, Belle Winslow.”

  “I’m so happy to see you, sir. Aaron and Gail have told me so much about you.”

  Taking the woman’s hand, James said with some hesitation, “I wasn’t sure whether to come or not, Mrs. Winslow. It seems like such an imposition.”

  Belle Winslow tossed her head. Wearing a striking white dress with silver embroidery on the bodice, she was still a beautiful woman. “Always plenty of room and especially for you. I’ve wanted to tell you how grateful I am for what you did for Jared.”

  “I . . . it wasn’t much, ma’am.”

  Suddenly the doorway was filled with people, making conversation difficult. James tried to remember the names, but he had difficulty. Aaron said, “You haven’t met my brother, Lewis. This is his wife, Deborah. And these are his children, Hannah and Joshua.”

  James shook hands with each member of the family, and his face flushed as they all said something kind to him.

  Belle Winslow insisted they all come in out of the cold, and soon they were all inside the lovely old house. She led them to an enormous drawing room, a lavishly furnished room but very warmly decorated. The light beige-and-blue wallpaper complemented the large area rug of rose, beige, blue, and green over darkly stained wooden floors. There was an overstuffed sofa, several cushioned chairs draped in fringed paisley shawls, large mahogany tables, and cabinets filled with porcelain, feminine laces, brocades, and delicate needlework. Dainty lamps with fringed silk lampshades adorned the tables in front of the large floor-length windows, and these were covere
d with chocolate brown velvet curtains.

  James was staring at the high ceiling, admiring the delicate gilded detail along the edges of the molding, when Joshua and Hannah joined him and Emily. Joshua was a tall young man of sixteen, and Hannah was three years older.

  After several minutes of conversation about the house and the Winslow family, James asked the pair about themselves.

  “Hannah and I have been best friends,” Joshua said. “We tell each other all our secrets, don’t we, Hannah?”

  Hannah Winslow was also tall with striking blue eyes. “Well, I’ve got one secret I haven’t told you.”

  “What! You’re holding out on me?” Joshua said in mock horror.

  “What is it?” Emily asked.

  “I’m going to New York,” Hannah said.

  “Really? What do you plan to do there?” James asked.

  “I’m going to find a career there.”

  Joshua nodded. “So am I—just as soon as I’m old enough. I told Mom and Dad I could go now, but they wouldn’t let me.”

  Hannah laughed. “I would imagine not. Not at sixteen. I’ll go to prepare the way before you.”

  Joshua reached out and squeezed his sister’s arm until she cried out, “Let go of me, you brute!” He dropped Hannah’s arm, then turned to James and said more seriously, “I want to hear all about you and Jared, James. We’ve heard it secondhand, but I want to hear it from you.”

  Emily saw a painful expression cross James’s face and immediately said, “I don’t think James likes to talk about that time much.”

  Hannah said quickly, “But you will tell us sometime, won’t you, when you feel you can?”

  “If you’d like, Miss Winslow.”