The Union Belle

by Gilbert, Morris

  “Nothing much.” He came close and tried to put his arms around her. She did not move away, but there was a lack of response that angered him. He pulled her close and kissed her. She refused to return his attention, and he stepped back with a helpless gesture. “You sure don’t make a man feel very welcome, Moira.”

  She gave him a steady look that made him wonder what was in her heart, and then she said, “I’m sorry, Ray. But this is a pretty poor time for romancing.”

  He was a man who hated to be challenged, but he knew he was behaving badly. “Of course, Moira. You’re right.”

  “I guess it’s been getting to me,” she murmured, almost as though speaking to herself. “I’ve never thought much about death. Dying was always something that happened to old people—or at least to somebody I didn’t know.” She shook her head, and a line of fatigue furrowed her brow. “Now, sitting here hour after hour, watching her die. . . .”

  He nodded and said quickly, “It was like that for too many men during the war. But maybe she’ll take a turn for the better.”

  “Doctor Innes doesn’t think so. He’s pretty honest, Ray. He said tonight that she wouldn’t last more than a day or two at most.”

  Ray shook his head. “She’s a fine woman, Moira. I’ve never known one quite like her.” The temporary sickroom made him feel uncomfortable. “I’ll see you in the morning. Are you going to stay here all night?”

  “Maureen will take my place at midnight. Good-night, Ray.”

  He did not try to kiss her again, and when he reached the street, he was more depressed than ever. He didn’t want to go back to the Wagonwheel, so he bought a pint of whiskey and went to his room to drink himself to sleep.

  Moira spent the next few hours sitting in the chair, checking from time to time on Lola, bathing her face and trying to detect any change. At midnight, when Maureen came into the room, Moira said, “She’s getting worse, Maureen. I think her father ought to be here.”

  “I’m surprised he isn’t back,” the girl said. “He’s never been gone this long before.”

  “I’ll send someone to find him.” Moira left and sent word to Mark to have Lola’s father found, then went to bed, tired and low in spirit.

  ****

  Mark came into the room to find it very crowded. Maureen, Jeff Driver, Shep Yancy, Moira and Dooley Young were all there. It was late, nearly midnight, and he said, “I’ve tried every place I can think of, but I can’t find a trace of Moran.”

  He had gotten Moira’s message twenty-four hours earlier and had exhausted every resource. He leaned against the wall, stared at the floor and then closed his eyes. For the next twenty minutes no one spoke at all.

  Doctor Innes came out of the other room, asking Mark, “You find him?”

  “No.” Mark looked up and asked, “Is she dying?”

  “Yes.”

  Mark studied the doctor’s face for some trace of hope. Finding none, he said, “I’ll go look some more.” He started for the door, but it opened abruptly and Jude Moran walked in. He looked ten years older than he had the last time Mark had seen him, but there was a strange light in his bright blue eyes.

  Doctor Innes said, “Where the blazes have you been, Moran? Get in to your daughter at once.”

  “All right,” Jude said quietly, moving slowly into the adjoining room.

  “She won’t know him—but I’m glad he came anyway,” Doctor Innes said grimly.

  Mark straightened up and wordlessly followed Jude into the sick girl’s room. He stepped inside the dimly lit room and closed the door behind him.

  Jude stood beside Lola. He turned and examined Mark carefully. There was a strange peace in his face, and he smiled unexpectedly. “Glad you came in, Mark.”

  Mark searched for something to say. Finally he spoke huskily, “She’s a fine girl, Jude.”

  “Yes, she is,” Moran agreed. He looked more closely at Mark, then asked, “Are you a believer, Winslow?”

  Mark shook his head. “No.”

  Moran’s smile did not change. “No matter. You will be some day, I trust.” Then he picked up his daughter’s hand and held it gently. For a long time, it seemed to Mark, he stood there looking down at her, then he said, “I know you don’t believe in prayer—but God has been speaking to me.”

  Mark had always been suspicious of those who claimed to hear from God personally, but there was something in the quiet manner of the man that held him silent.

  “I’ve been out in the desert for a long time, fasting and begging God to save my girl,” Jude said, still looking down at Lola. “And there was nothing. God was gone and the heavens were brass. I almost lost my faith, Mark. But then—just a little while ago, the word came to me—clear as print. I was crying, lying on my face in the dust, and God said, “Go tell your daughter to get up, for I will heal her.”

  Mark stared at Moran, but there was no mark of emotional disturbance in his manner. “You believe you heard from God, Jude?”

  “I know it.” There was an air of total assurance in him, and he turned back to the still form of Lola. He did not raise his voice, but said in a conversational tone, “Lola in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you are healed.”

  There was the faint sound of a piano from one of the saloons, and it seemed to magnify the silence of the room. Mark swayed slightly, waiting for Jude to say more, but the preacher just stood there, a smile on his face.

  Then Mark looked down—and he saw the faint flutter of Lola’s eyelids! The movement was barely perceptible, but it was real.

  “Daughter, open your eyes,” Jude said. He reached his hand out and brushed her forehead gently, adding, “You have been touched by the Lord, Lola.”

  Mark stared in disbelief as Lola’s eyes opened. He had been in the room once before when the fever was high, and her lids had opened. But there had been no recognition in them. Now she was looking up at Jude, and her lips moved faintly. “Father—?” she whispered.

  “Yes.” Jude knelt down beside her, and she moved restlessly. “Do you know me?”

  “Y-yes,” Lola said, and her voice was stronger. She looked over his shoulder and saw Mark. “Mark—it’s you!”

  Mark licked his lips, but could not say a word. He had never felt so strange in his entire life, and as Lola struggled to sit up, he watched dumbfounded as Jude pulled her into a sitting position.

  Jude asked, “Lola, you’ve been very close to death. Did you know anything at all?”

  She hesitated, then said slowly, “I knew I was dying—and I was so afraid! It seemed like I was being pulled down into a deep, black hole. I tried to scream—but I couldn’t.” She touched her face with a gesture of wonder, then lowered her hand. “And then I heard you calling me—and it was like you put your arms around me.” She thought and then said, “But there was someone with you. I couldn’t see him—but he was there.”

  “That was the Lord Jesus,” Moran said. “He’s the one who brought you back.”

  She stared at him, then her eyes filled with tears. “I—know. Once I saw Him, when I was dying—I remember now!”

  Jude said, “Daughter, would you like to have Him with you always?”

  Lola’s lips parted, and she nodded wordlessly.

  “He’s been waiting for you. You’re one of His lost lambs, daughter. Now, just tell Him how you’ve strayed—then ask Him to make you His own.”

  Mark watched as she closed her eyes and for a few moments she prayed silently. Then she opened her eyes, and breathed, “I—I love Him so much, Father!”

  Mark turned and left the room, unable to stay longer.

  “Is she gone?” Innes demanded at once.

  “Go see for yourself.”

  Innes gave him a baffled glance, then disappeared into Lola’s room.

  “What is it, Mark?” Moira asked, her eyes enormous.

  He shook his head, and then all of them except Mark went to the door. They found Jude standing with his back against the wall as Doctor Innes held his hand on
Lola’s brow, an expression of disbelief on his face. “Temperature’s normal—completely normal!” he said hoarsely.

  He took his hand away, then stared at Lola. “How do you feel, girl?”

  Lola looked up at him, her face thin and wan, but her dark eyes clear. “I feel very weak, Doctor—but I am not sick anymore.”

  Innes stared at her, then shook his head. “I’ve never believed in miracles—but it looks like I’ll have to rethink my position.”

  Moira stepped back and watched as the doctor gently examined Lola, but she could see that the crisis was over. She turned and left the room to stand beside Mark.

  “It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” she said quietly. “I never thought it could happen.”

  “Jude did,” Mark said. He looked back at the door and seemed to see beyond it. Then he shook his head and added, “Lola will never be the same again. I saw it in the war lots of times. Those that almost died were changed. Some of them lost their courage, but others seemed to just get more.”

  “From the look on her face,” Moira said thoughtfully, “I’d say that Lola hasn’t lost any courage.”

  “No.” Mark thought hard, then nodded and said, “They may still call her the Union Belle, but I’m not sure she’ll ever be what she was—a woman dealing cards in a saloon.”

  If he had heard what Lola had just said to Shep, he would not have been too surprised.

  Shep had come to bend over and take her hand, and she had said, “Shep, you’ve lost your partner.”

  “What’s that, Lola?”

  She smiled up at him, a joy in her face that he had never seen, and she said with full assurance, “Jesus Christ brought me back from death, Shep. From now on, I’ll be serving Him.”

  “But—what will you do, Lola?” Shep asked in confusion.

  Lola looked at her father, who returned her smile, and said, “I’ll be doing whatever God tells me to do, Shep!”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  A New Life

  Lola came out of the hotel, stopped and took a deep breath, then exclaimed to Jeff, “Oh, it’s good to be outside!”

  Driver looked at her, considered the color in her cheeks and the excitement in her eyes, and commented, “You look good. Lost a little weight, maybe.”

  It had been two weeks since her close brush with death, and the days had been long for her. She had steadfastly held to the idea that God had pulled her back to life. Doctor Innes had suggested to her and her father that maybe it wasn’t a miracle, saying, “If it was a real miracle, wouldn’t you be completely healed, up and around at once?”

  But Lola had already found the answer to that. She had said calmly, “Now Doctor, don’t forget, you were the first one to announce that it was a miracle. I believe God saved my life—and now He’s doing another miracle in healing my body.”

  Jeff had been by to see her several times, making the trip from Benton, but Mark had been on the run, carrying out orders for Dodge and Reed. Maureen had taken every moment away from the Union Belle to stay with her. Even Moira had been by from time to time, less often as Lola improved.

  Jeff asked, “When will you be moving on to Benton?” Shep Yancy had opened up a new version of the Union Belle in the latest town, and Jeff had been there several times. “It’s a fancier place than the one you had here. Shep is anxious to have you back.”

  Lola took his arm, saying, “Let’s walk a little bit, Jeff.” He adjusted his pace to hers, and she didn’t answer his question at once. Instead, she commented on the changes in Cheyenne since the construction workers had left. “It’s so quiet! I’ve been watching out my window at night, and it’s like another town since the workers left.”

  “It is another town. When you pull six or seven thousand people out of a small town, it makes a difference. Some of these hell-on-wheels towns dry up and blow away after the railroad leaves.” He looked down the nearly deserted street. “But Cheyenne won’t blow away. It’s got a good start.”

  Lola listened as he spoke, enjoying the sun and the faint breeze. The long days in bed had done something to her, for she had never been forced to inactivity in all her life. As the hours passed, she had slowly learned to be alone with herself, and much of the time she spent reading the Bible. The Scriptures had been a bit confusing at times, but her father had been there to guide her. It fascinated her to learn how relevant the Book was despite the ancient language, and once she had exclaimed in delight, “Why, Father, it’s just what I need! I can’t get over how it seems to have been written just for me!”

  She had learned to read and to ponder the truths in the Scripture, and to her complete astonishment, prayer became an exciting part of her life. In the past, prayer had always been a time of mumbling set, formal petitions, and when she discovered that if she waited, God would fill her spirit with His presence, her whole outlook changed.

  Her new way was, of course, a delight and a joy to Jude Moran. He reveled in her growth, and the two spent hours and entire days together. It was an answer to prayer for him. For years he had prayed for Lola, and now she was with him—and even better than that, she was walking with God!

  Jeff interrupted her thoughts by mentioning Benton again. “Think you’ll be able to leave here and join Shep in a week or so?”

  She hesitated only for an instant, then said, “I won’t be going back to the Union Belle with Shep, Jeff.”

  “You won’t?”

  “No. I’m going to live with my father.”

  Driver thought about that and nodded. “I guess I figured you might do something like that. Mark said so right after that night your father came in and prayed for you.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it since then,” Lola said, “but I was unhappy in the Union Belle before that. It seemed like such a waste to me, Jeff. I grew up in a saloon, and that was all that seemed to be in store for my future. I was more unhappy than I thought, I guess, but since God gave me my life back, I’ve known that nothing will ever be the same.”

  Driver gave her a careful look, wondering what her decision would do to his own intentions. “Let’s go sit down by the well.” He led her to an old well with a bucket and dipper under an alder tree, and they sat down on a bench built of rough slabs from the sawmill. He dropped the bucket, pulled it up, and brought her a dipper of the cool water. She drank it thirstily, then he went back and had a drink. When he returned and sat down beside her, there was a hesitancy in his manner that drew her attention.

  She waited patiently, for she had learned that Jeff was slow to make up his mind. He was a ruggedly handsome man, and she appreciated his steadfast qualities. Now he took a deep breath and turned to face her, saying, “What about me, Lola?”

  She knew instinctively that he had spent a long time coming to this point, and now she was disturbed. It was a thing that she had foreseen, but hoped would never come about. “You’ve been wanting to ask me that a long time, haven’t you, Jeff?” she asked with a slight smile.

  “I’m pretty slow about most things, I guess.” He looked down at his brown hands, then up again. “I’ve never met a woman I wanted to marry before. But if you’ll have me, Lola, I’d like to take care of you. I don’t have much—but you’d never starve and you’d never know meanness from me.”

  It was a simple declaration, honest and to the point, like Driver himself, and Lola hesitated, not wanting to hurt him. “Any girl would be lucky to have a man like you, Jeff,” she said slowly. “But marriage is such a big step.”

  “Don’t you care for me at all, Lola?”

  “Oh, yes—yes, I do, Jeff!” She put her hand on his arm, her eyes filled with concern. He thought he had never seen her so beautiful. Although she had lost weight during her illness, in his eyes that made her no less attractive. Her eyes looked large in her thin face, warm and gentle. “But I’ve got to make you understand how it is with me.” She struggled for words, then seemed to find them. “Before I found God, Jeff, I made all my own decisions. But now—it’s not like that anymore. I’v
e been reading in the Bible a lot, and it says that when we come to know Jesus Christ, we have to do what He says.”

  The thought puzzled Driver, and he asked, “How do you know what Jesus wants you to do?”

  “Why, some of it’s easy, Jeff. The Bible makes many things clear—for example, Jesus commanded His disciples to get rid of anything that would keep them from being close to God.”

  “Like what?” Driver asked, curious and trying to understand this new Lola.

  “Oh, lots of things,” she said. “It’s not always the same for people, Jeff. One person may drink too much, and that would keep him from God. But others don’t have any problem with that.” She hesitated, then confessed, “One thing that God pointed out to me was my love of money. I grew up without anything, Jeff, and when I started to make quite a bit of money in the saloon with Shep, I liked it. I liked buying lots of clothes—things like that. But for the last few days I’ve been reading in the Bible about how possessions don’t mean anything—not really. And in my spirit God kept saying, ‘You don’t need anything but Me.’ ”

  Driver stared at her. “You really think God told you to get out of the saloon business?”

  “Yes, I know it. And that’s why I can’t give you an answer, Jeff—not right now. There’s a verse in the Bible that says, ‘Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price.’ So I can’t marry you—or any man—unless I know that God wants me to. I may never marry at all.”

  Jeff said heavily, “That’s pretty hard on me, Lola. I love you more than you think.”

  She was touched by his simple declaration, and said gently, “Jeff, I admire you so much—but until I find out what God wants for my life, I can’t allow myself to make any decisions about marriage.” A humorous thought struck her and she laughed. “I’m going to Benton to help my father with his church. I’m probably doing you a favor—keeping you from getting saddled with a lady preacher!”

  He forced a grin, saying, “I guess that would put a strain on a man, wouldn’t it? Maybe I could take up the offering.” Then he sobered and said, “I’m glad for you, Lola—that you’re out of that saloon. And I’ll be around.”