The Secret Saddle: Anna Troy's Emancipation (The Emancipation Series Book 2)

by Dani Larsen

  The doctor came every other day as promised but nothing changed. It was about a month after the accident and after all the children had left, when Frank started to stir around. Jude was with him and he started to panic. He wondered if he should just take his pillow and end it all. Frank started groaning and moving his fingers. Jude started to take the pillow out from behind him when Caroline opened the door and came in.

  "Is he moving?"

  "Yes, a little bit. I was just fluffing up his pillows for him."

  "Thank you, Jude. I'll take over now."

  "Is it okay if I stay a while to see if he wakes up?"

  "Of course it is."

  Frank moaned and moved his arms.

  "Frank, its Caroline, can you hear me, sweetheart? Please open your eyes, honey."

  His eyelids fluttered and he moaned and tried to move. The doctor had reset his leg and it was healing and still wrapped tight, but Frank was trying to move it. Jude's breathing became very shallow as panic began to set in.

  Finally, he opened one eye and said, "Augh, ben, duf guddon blah."

  "What, Frank? Darling? Do you know me? Will you please ask Sylvester to run and get the doctor, Jude? Frank is beginning to wake up."

  A few minutes later Sylvester came to the door.

  "Pa, do you know me?"

  "Agh, der ben duf." Frank was just muttering gibberish, and saliva was running out of the left side of his mouth. His eyes held a wild scared look.

  "It's okay, Frank. We are here, just try to relax. You were in a terrible accident."

  Jude felt some relief.

  "I'll stay with him if you want to get him some food, Mrs. Hempe."

  "Thank you, Jude, I've got some soup made, I'll just heat it up real quick. I don't think I should give him anything else until the doctor checks him over."

  Frank just stared at Jude with a wild look in his eyes, and when he tried to speak just gibberish came out. Jude was still worried, and wondering when he could get some alone time with him to finish what he had started.

  Caroline came back with the soup and tried to feed him, but he looked like he was scared of her too. He had become so thin over the last month that she was afraid he was going to waste away. She wanted him to be able to eat something besides soup and broth.

  When the doctor arrived and checked him over carefully, Frank acted afraid of him too. He didn't seem to know anyone. Caroline stood there with tears rolling down her face.

  "I'm sorry, ma'am, it looks like he may have severe brain damage. I don't think he will ever be back to the way he was. I think it would be a miracle if that happened. It could happen, but it is doubtful."

  "My daughter, Ida, lives in Walla Walla. She said there is a good hospital there that could help him. Do you know anything about it?"

  "Yes, there is a good hospital there. It is expensive. You would have to sell your ranch and move over there if you wanted to get him treatment."

  "Okay, then that is what I'll do. Jude, I'm sorry, but as soon as I can sell the ranch you will be out of a job, unless the new owner hires you. It will probably be a couple of months before that happens. Can you stay on until then?"

  "Of course, Mrs. Hempe, I will be here as long as you need me." Jude felt much relief, even though he knew he wouldn't have a job for long. He would save up his money and start making plans for the future.

  Jude hadn't gone into town, since the night he beat up his mother. When the other hands went in on Saturday night he said, "I want to stay here in case Mrs. Hempe needs me."

  He offered to stay with Frank so that the family could go to church on Sunday, and Caroline was going to let him until several members of the Knights of Columbus showed up one day and asked if they could take turns spending time with Frank so that the family could attend Sunday mass. There were two masses on Sunday, a seven a.m. one for the early risers and a nine a.m. for the late risers and families with children, who wanted their children to attend Sunday school while their parents attended mass. The Knights of Columbus would attend the early mass and come to be with Frank; while Caroline, Mary, Agnes, and Sylvester attended the later mass.

  These men admired Frank very much, as he was their leader, and they were devastated by what happened to him. The men retrieved Frank's car from the river, had the windshield replaced, and fixed the twisted carriage and flat tires through donations from the church. Caroline couldn't stand to look at the car that had injured her husband so badly, so the men took it into La Grande and put it up for sale at the lot where he had purchased it. Caroline would receive ninety percent of the proceeds from the car. No one thought that what happened to Frank was anything but an accident, so there was no investigation.

  Anton came over on one of his regular visits and saw Jude entering the stable. He called out to him, and Jude came over to talk to him, trying to think quickly about what he would say.

  "Hi, Jude, I just wanted to thank you for helping my sister-in-law out so much. She told me that she didn't know what she would have done without your help."

  "I just felt so bad, when we heard about Frank's accident, that I just wanted to do everything I could to help out."

  "Well, it's mighty nice of you. I hope Frank recovers enough someday to be able to thank you himself. I know he would be pleased with all you've done. By the way, why haven't we seen you at the saloon lately? I don't think you've been in since Frank's accident."

  "No, sir, I guess I just wanted to stay close in case the family needed me."

  "Did you hear about what happened to Dolly after you left that last night?"

  "Oh, I think Gus said something about her getting hurt."

  "Yeah, I guess Gus would tell you. I haven't seen him in a while either. Is he around?"

  "No, I'm sorry, but Gus up and quit shortly after that. He said something about going to help his brother on his ranch."

  Jude thought about putting the blame on Gus for his mother's beating, but then he realized they would be looking for him, and he didn't want him to be questioned about it, because he would tell on Jude. He suddenly remembered that piece of paper with Gus's address on it and remembered that Frank had picked it up. He wondered if Caroline had found it, and he began to worry about it. He realized that Gus's address could lead to him being found out, and he knew that he must find it.

  "That is strange. Wonder why he would up and quit like that?"

  "I think he got word that his brother was sick."

  "Oh, well, I suppose that would make sense. But you ought to come in and say 'Hi' to Dolly, she is finally back to work and could probably use some cheering up."

  "Sure thing, Mr. Hempe, as long as Caroline doesn't need me I'll come in on Saturday night."

  "Okay. Look forward to seeing you then. Thanks again, for taking care of things here."

  Jude walked into the barn, worrying about how he was going to find that slip of paper with Gus's address on it.

  Chapter Eighteen

  "Jude Takes Action"

  After Anton left, Jude ate lunch and Caroline said that Sylvester was going to take her and Mary into town. She had some business to take care of at the bank, and Mary needed to purchase some fabric. Caroline asked if he would mind staying with Frank, until she returned or Agnes returned from school.

  "Of course, Mrs. Hempe, I would be happy to. I will just tell the other hands what to do this afternoon and be right back in to stay with him."

  "Thank you, Jude. I do appreciate your help. I will probably only be gone for about an hour. They sold Frank's car, so I've got to go sign the papers and then go to the bank. I will be back as soon as I can. I already fed him, so if you can just make sure he doesn't try to get up or do anything to hurt himself. That is all you need to do. He will probably just sleep most of the time, so you can sit there if you like. There are some books on the shelf by his bed if you like to read."

  "I'm afraid I'm not that much into reading, ma'am, I just like to browse the pictures if there are any." Jude could read but not very well. He
had had very little schooling.

  "There is a Sears Roebuck Catalog there too. You might enjoy that."

  "Okay. Don't worry about anything. Frank will be just fine with me."

  After they left, Jude just sat in the chair by Frank's bed for a while. The man was awake when he first sat down, but just sat up in his bed looking around at everything like he had never seen the room before. He tried talking, but nothing understandable came out. Finally, his head began to drop to his shoulder, and he slumped down on the pillows and fell asleep. His leg was healing but not good enough to walk on yet, and who knows where he would go, or what he would do if he could walk.

  After Frank went to sleep, Jude seriously thought about smothering him with a pillow, but decided it might look suspicious since the man was looking a lot healthier now that he was eating better. Besides, it didn't seem like Frank was ever going to get back to normal. He had more important things to take care of today.

  Jude went over to the desk in the corner and started going through the drawers. One drawer was locked, and Jude thought that must be where all the family's financial papers were. But that was not what he was looking for. In the bottom left hand drawer he found a pile of receipts and small papers and decided to go through them. It took him a while, as he was a slow reader, but he finally found a slip of paper with Gus's name and an address in Pendleton on it. He was so relieved. He didn't want to put it in the garbage, where it could be found, so he put it in his pocket to be destroyed later that evening. Now, he didn't have to worry about anybody trying to contact Gus, and finding out about their fight and what it was about. Caroline had sold the car, so that was another piece of evidence that would be long gone. He put the stack of papers back in the drawer, making them look like they had not been disturbed. Horses neighed in the front of the house so he quickly closed the top to the roll top desk, not seeing the address book lying in plain sight, and went over to the chair by Frank's bed and began browsing through the big catalog on the shelf. He had not realized that Caroline had copied Gus's information into her address book, when she first found the note in Frank's pocket, and had mailed Gus the thirty dollars listed on the paper. Caroline came in the front door and went directly to the bedroom.

  "Is everything okay, Jude?"

  "Everything is just fine, ma'am. It didn't take him very long to fall sound asleep. He tried to say something before that, but I'm afraid I couldn't understand him."

  "We can't understand him either, Jude. Thank you, again. You helped me a lot today. There will be some extra pay for you again, as you have really gone out of your way to help us out here."

  "Thank you, ma'am, that is much appreciated. I better get out there and see how the hands are doing with picking those Italian Prunes. We got extra hands out there working today."

  Jude went back to the bunk house and tore the piece of paper from his pocket into little tiny pieces, then went to the pig sty and tossed the tiny pieces in with the slop and fed it to the pigs.

  The next Saturday after all the jobs were done, the ranch hands all rode into town together, and headed directly to "Anton's" to quench their thirst. Two of the hands got into the card game that was going on, but Jude knew that was not a place for him tonight. The third hand went to talk to Molly who was standing by the bar. The other girls weren't there yet. Jude went over to the bar and sat down by himself at the end and ordered a beer.

  "Hi, Jude! Glad to see you in here again."

  "Yeah, it feels good to be back, Mr. Hempe. Everything at the ranch seems to be running smoothly today, so I thought I'd come in for a cold one."

  "Well, good. Just wish my brother would get better."

  "Yes, that would be good news, wouldn't it?" Jude chuckled to himself after Anton turned around.

  The back door opened, and the other three women from next door came in. Amanda came in, followed by Tilly, and Jude's mother was the last to enter. He was shocked, when he saw how bad she looked. Her jaw seemed to jut out to the left, and her nose went the opposite way. When she saw him she looked terrified. She opened her black eyes so big that the whites of her eyes looked huge. Tilly looked at her just then, saw her fear, and looked to see what had frightened her. She immediately saw Jude frowning at Dolly, as he tried to get her to act normal. Realizing what he was trying to tell her she tried to calm down as Jude walked over to her.

  "Hi Dolly. I heard that somebody hurt you. I was really sorry to hear that and wanted to come and see how you are doing. I would have been in before, but I'm sure you heard that my boss was hurt in a car accident, and I've been helping out at the ranch."

  "Yes, I heard about Mr. Hempe. He is a fine man. How is he doing?" Dolly tried to speak in a normal tone, but her voice was shaky as she was terrified of her son.

  "He is awake now, but doesn't seem to know anybody, or even where he is, and can't talk like a normal person at all, poor man. But how are you doing?" He tried to act like he really cared.

  "I'm doing okay, thanks to Mr. Hempe. He told Anton that he wanted to pay for my care by the doctor, and any follow up treatments, so his wife has been kind enough to follow his wishes."

  "I didn't hear about that. Good for them. Glad you are feeling better."

  The conversation was awkward, and Tilly stayed by her girl, as she had seen the look on her face when she saw Jude and suddenly had a funny feeling about him.

  "Let me buy you ladies a drink. Would you like whiskey or a beer?" Jude saw Tilly watching him and got a bad feeling about her. The older woman pulled her old red jacket with the feather trim around her shoulders, as a sudden chill came over her when she looked at him. Finally, an older man came up to the bar and started talking to Tilly, which took her attention away from Jude and Dolly.

  The man finally talked Tilly into going with him, and they went out the back door. Before she left, she turned to Dolly and mouthed "Are you all right?"

  Dolly nodded back to her then turned to Jude.

  "I'm not going to my room with you ever again, Jude." She spoke quietly, so no one else could hear.

  "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you. I will leave first. Give me fifteen minutes, then meet me out in the back of your boarding house. Please?" He spoke softly, but in a way that she knew she better not say no.

  "Okay, Jude. I will meet you there."

  He got on his horse and rode him out of town, and when he got past the houses he stopped at a little grove of trees, got off his horse, and tied him firmly to a low branch in the midst of the trees where he couldn't be seen, but so he could still graze on the grass. Then he started walking back into town. It was dinner time for most families, so he walked quietly down the back streets, trying not to draw attention to himself. If he saw someone ahead, he would cut down another street, as he didn't want anyone to see him come back into town. It took him about fifteen minutes to complete his trek, and he found his mother waiting for him behind the boarding house. There was an empty overgrown lot behind the house so there was no chance of anyone seeing him. Shortly after he arrived he heard the front door open and grabbed Dolly and pulled her over by him so whoever it was didn't see them. He heard footsteps and peeked around the corner to see who it was. The man who had left with Tilly was opening the back door of the saloon and went inside, but there was no sign of Tilly.

  His mother was pulling away from him.

  "Please let go of me."

  "Now, Mother, don't be like that."

  "Mother? Now you call me mother? After you beat the crap out of me, and now you call me mother?"

  "What did you say about me? Did you tell?"

  "No, I didn't tell anybody that it was you. I didn't say who it was at first, but now I am telling people that it was that guy you were playing poker with that night. I just want to be left alone, Jude. I won't say a word. Just don't ever touch me again. PLEASE! I'm so sorry I wasn't a better mother to you, but please forgive me, and leave me alone!"

  "I won't bother you ever again. I just want to know if you told m
e the truth about that gold. Are you sure he kept it in his saddle? Somebody must have that saddle, and if there was a secret place in the saddle bags, maybe the gold is still there."

  "I don't know, and I don't care. I told you the truth. Go look for it. I hope you find it. Maybe that old sheriff in Baker City knows where it is. Go ask him. Just get him drunk and he'll probably spill it all. Just please leave town, so that Pinkerton man can't find you, and I won't know where you are and can't tell him anything."

  "You better NOT tell him anything, especially about that saddle, if you know what is good for you."

  "Okay, Jude. Can I go now?"

  "Yes, go, and keep your mouth shut."

  Dolly turned around and went to the front of the building and over to the saloon, entering through the back door and relieved that she was still in one piece. Jude stood there for a minute, and was about to leave, when the odor of cigarette smoke suddenly made him realize someone was close. He looked up and saw an open window above his head on the second floor of the boarding house and a flash of red disappear inside. Jude knew he was in trouble. He had been overheard, and he knew who it was. It only took him a minute to figure out what he had to do.

  It was starting to get dark. He looked around and didn't see anyone, so he went to the back door of the boarding house and found it unlocked. He quietly went up the stairs to the door he knew led to the windows over the back of the house. He stood by the door trying to figure out his next move when suddenly the door opened and Tilly started to come out. Jude put his hand over her mouth and stuck his gun in her back.

  "Get back inside, and don't say a word." He whispered, as he pushed her inside the room. She felt panicked, but he held his hand over her mouth, and she could feel the gun in her back. She wrenched herself free, but he held the gun close to her breast as she turned around.