Ransom of Love

by Al Lacy

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the authors’ imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  RANSOM OF LOVE

  Mail Order Bride Series #5

  Published by Multnomah Books

  © 2000 by ALJO PRODUCTIONS, INC.

  Scriptures are from: The Holy Bible, King James Version

  Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

  Multnomah and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.

  For information:

  MULTNOMAH BOOKS

  12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200

  Colorado Springs, CO 80921

  eISBN: 978-0-307-87478-8

  v3.1

  This book is lovingly dedicated to our special friend and authors representative,

  Penny Whipps.

  Without your help, our job would be much more difficult.

  Thank you, Penny, for always being there for us.

  We love you.

  3 JOHN 2

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

  1 TIMOTHY 2:5–6

  Prologue

  The Encyclopaedia Britannica reports that the mail order business, also called direct mail marketing, “is a method of merchandising in which the seller’s offer is made through mass mailing of a circular or catalog, an advertisement in a newspaper or magazine, and in which the buyer places his order by mail.”

  Britannica goes on to say that “mail order operations have been known in the United States in one form or another since Colonial days, but not until the latter half of the nineteenth century did they assume a significant role in domestic trade.”

  Thus the mail order market was known when the big gold rush took place in this country in the late 1840s and 1850s. At that time, prospectors, merchants, and adventurers raced from the East to the newly discovered goldfields in the West. One of the most famous was the California gold rush in 1848–49, when discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, near Sacramento, brought more than forty thousand men to California. Though few struck it rich, their presence stimulated economic growth and lured even more men to the West.

  The married men who had come looking for gold sent for their wives and children, desiring to stay and make their home in the West. Most of the gold rush men were single and also desired to stay in the West, but there were about two hundred men for every single woman. By applying the mail order concept to their personal lives, they began advertising in Eastern newspapers for women to come West and marry them. Thus was born the “mail order bride.”

  Women by the hundreds began answering the ads. Often when men and their prospective brides corresponded, they agreed to send no photographs. They would accept each other by the spirit of the letters rather than on a physical basis. Others, of course, did exchange photographs.

  The mail order bride movement accelerated after the Civil War ended in April 1865. This was a time when men went West by the thousands to make their fortune on the frontier. Many of the marriages turned out well, while others ended in desertion or divorce.

  As we write this series, we will tell stories that grip the heart, bring some smiles, and maybe wring out some tears. As always, we will weave in the gospel of Jesus Christ and run threads of timeless Bible truths into the stories to apply to our lives today.

  Introduction

  SLAVERY—THE KIDNAPPING AND SELLING of human beings to the wealthy for low-cost labor—goes back to early human history. We read about it in the early Bible days. Slavery thrived in ancient times among the Jews and, as time passed, found its way into Africa, Greece, Italy, Germany, Spain, and throughout the Roman Empire, especially around the Mediterranean Sea.

  The word “slave” is derived from “Slav.” The Slavs were victims for centuries in Europe, having been captured from the eastern Adriatic shores and trade routes along the Black Sea. In central Europe, the use of slaves began to fade toward the end of the eighth century and was extinct by the middle of the fourteenth century. It was revived after 1492, at the start of the American empire. By this time, all slaves in Europe, Great Britain, and America were Negroes who had been captured in Africa by the Spanish and Portuguese.

  When the supply of Slavs began to fail because of the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in the late fifteenth century, the wealthy all over Europe turned their full attention to the blacks in Africa. In 1508, shiploads of African Negroes were being sent to America and the Caribbean by the Spaniards. By 1540, King Charles V of Spain tried to halt the practice, decreeing the end of African slavery and the beginning of freedom for the Negroes. The decree failed. At the same time, the British decided to get into the slave business.

  In 1556, Sir John Hawkins sailed from England to the West African coast and sent some eighty soldiers to kidnap Negroes, load them on ships, and sail to America where they would sell them to the wealthy rice and cotton plantation owners in the deep South.

  In 1652, Dutch explorers discovered the wealth of the land in South Africa and reported it to their government leaders. Soon, Dutchmen swarmed the state, pushed the native South Africans off their land, and established cattle and sheep ranches, as well as grain farms and vineyards. They soon began to capture the South African Negroes and force them to work on the ranches and farms and in the vineyards. Thus, South Africa had become a slave state.

  In 1795, Great Britain and Holland were in a heavy dispute. In the course of the Napoleonic Wars, South Africa was captured by British forces, and the English government prevailed in the state. Slavery continued full force in South Africa until general Harry Smith became British high commissioner in 1845. As the years passed, Harry Smith had a growing desire to rid the state of slavery and establish a more respectable economy.

  In 1854, Smith began to encourage the ranchers, farmers, and vineyard owners to sell their slaves to the American slave traders, then hire help at a low rate and not have the expense of feeding, clothing, and housing slaves. The American slave traders were thrilled to purchase the slaves at a very low price and take them to America where they would sell at a huge profit.

  ON A HOT, HUMID DAY in February 1855, thirteen British soldiers rode northeastward through the rugged, mountainous area of Great Karroo in Cape Province, South Africa. Behind the mounted men were four military wagons that rattled along the rough and dusty road.

  Captain Charles Jameson, who was every inch a soldier, led the party. On either side were Lieut
enants Deighton Ross and Peter Waldman. They sat their saddles straight backed, military style, emulating their leader.

  The setting sun was at their backs, heating them with its blazing rays and streaking the mountains and forests around them with a golden hue. The men were looking forward to the sun’s disappearance, even though the night air would be extremely warm and humid. But at least they would get a reprieve from the fiery heat of the sun.

  As they climbed a steep hill, Lieutenant Waldman said, “Captain, do you still plan to pick up the slaves from the Rhodes ranch tonight?”

  “Yes,” Captain Jameson said. “That way we can move back toward Cape Town and be there about midnight. I estimate our arrival at the ranch to be eight o’clock. It won’t take long to load our cargo in the wagons, and we can start back by nine o’clock.

  “When we stop, we’ll have a good start on tomorrow’s ride, and we’ll have them housed with the rest of Thomas Green’s slaves when the ship docks in Table Bay five days from now. It’s supposed to be in about eight o’clock that night. With two hundred miles to go, I want to be sure we’re back before that ship docks.”

  At that moment, the column reached the summit of the steep hill. A deep misty valley spread out below them and sloped up the other side in little ridges like waves of the sea. The ridges were dotted with clumps of brush and trees, and to the right and left rose tree-fringed, craggy mountain peaks.

  Lieutenant Waldman had recently been assigned to the South African British army. He had never seen Africa before. He fixed his gaze on the peaks that were quickly losing their golden color and clicked his tongue. “Captain, those mountains sure are beautiful. Do they get snow caps in the winter?”

  “Most certainly. The snow will start in late May. During June, July, and August it will blanket the high country and last until October.”

  Waldman chuckled. “It’s still hard for me to get used to being below the equator, sir. It sure seems backwards to have summer in December, January, and February. Right now, the folks back home in good old England are wearing heavy coats, mufflers, and gloves.”

  “It took me about two years to get used to it, Lieutenant,” Deighton Ross said.

  The captain laughed. “Well, gentlemen, I’ve been here for almost four years, and I haven’t even begun to get used to it!”

  One of the men behind them called out, “I’ve been here for ten years, Captain, and I still think it should be snowing up there on those peaks right now.”

  A rumble of laughter moved through the ranks along the column.

  There were a few moments of silence, then Lieutenant Waldman said, “As you know, sir, this is my first time to pick up slaves for shipment to America. Are there other wealthy men like this Thomas Green buying slaves?”

  “Oh, yes. I know of eight men. And they’re getting richer with each shipload of slaves they take to the United States. There’s plenty of work on the rice and cotton plantations in what is known as the Deep South.”

  “So Thomas Green has already paid rancher Kent Rhodes for the sixty-two slaves we’re picking up?”

  “No. Mr. Green’s Cape Town representative, Arthur Pendleton, gave me the money to pass on. Pendleton made the deal with Rhodes back in December, just after Green was here to take a shipload of slaves back with him. The ship holds six hundred slaves, and I’m sure it will be full again this time. At the rate Thomas Green and the other slave traders are taking Negroes out of South Africa, we’ll soon see the fulfillment of the plan to rid this state of slavery.”

  As the last light faded, a full moon began lifting its round rim above the mountain peaks to the east.

  Lieutenant Peter Waldman pondered the captain’s words, then said, “Sir, refresh my memory, please. The newspapers have carried reports for some time that British high commissioner Harry Smith has been working hard to end slavery in South Africa, and that Queen Victoria backs him enthusiastically, as does Parliament. Was the idea of encouraging South African ranchers, farmers, and the like to sell their slaves to American slave traders the high commissioner’s idea, or did it come from the queen herself?”

  “As far as I know, the idea was totally Mr. Smith’s, Lieutenant. However, it certainly sounds like our queen, doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I agree,” said Lieutenant Ross. “When I read about it, I thought her Majesty just might be behind it. The wording, ‘rid South Africa of slavery and give it a more respectable economy’ sure sounds like her, doesn’t it?”

  “Aye, that it does,” said the captain. “Either way, I’m glad to be doing my part to rid this state and its provinces of slavery. Of course, Transvaal Province hasn’t had slavery in decades, so we haven’t had to go there.”

  “Too bad the Americans are willing to purchase the slaves,” said Waldman. “If there were no market for them, it seems to me the ranchers, farmers, and vineyard owners here would have to free their slaves, then hire them as workers and pay them wages.”

  Jameson sighed. “I think the Americans will have to learn the hard way, like pharaoh in the Bible days, that God doesn’t look with favor on people who make chattel of other human beings.”

  The rising moon cast deep shadows over the hills and mountains. Lieutenant Waldman squinted as he ran his gaze over the moonlit hills ahead of them and said, “Captain, sir, what are those dark spots up there?”

  “Small patches of forest.”

  “Indeed? They certainly are beautiful in the moonlight.” He stared at the dark blots, which seemed almost to float in the atmosphere above the hills and mountainsides. They had no clearly defined margins, and the pale silver light gave them the sensation of wavering and shimmering. As the column moved along the winding road, some of the dark blots faded and vanished from view. “What a sight!” Waldman said. “This is wonderful country … except for the humidity.”

  “Comes from being relatively close to the equator,” Captain Jameson said. “Even on the mountaintops you can feel the oppressive dampness in the air. England has dampness, too, but it isn’t suffocating like this.”

  “Not at all like this,” Ross said. “What I’d give to feel some good, cool, wet British air right now!”

  Darkness had fallen over the Kent Rhodes ranch, and all of the slaves were in their cabins as the moon began its majestic climb into the night sky.

  In one cabin, a nineteen-year-old slave stood at the window without glass and looked out at the moonlit hills. He could see the cattle milling about in the fields. Calves were bawling for their mothers, and the deeper bawl of the mothers rode the air.

  He turned to look at his parents. A single candle burned on the small table.

  “Father, shouldn’t we make an attempt at getting away?”

  Robert, who was barely forty years old, said, “NO, Benjamin. Like Master Rhodes said when he told us of our bein’ sold to the American slave trader, if we run, the soldiers will hunt us down. When they catch us, they will be angry and no doubt beat us severely for running away. It is best that we go to America with the other slaves.”

  Nannie looked at her tall, handsome, muscular son as he jutted his jaw. “Benjamin, you must not fight this. The British soldiers are told to deliver us to the ship in Cape Town, no matter what. Do you want to be crippled for the rest of your life? You remember what we heard about those slaves who tried to run away down by Laingsburg, don’t you?”

  “Yes, Mother. But—”

  “There is no need to argue, son,” said Robert. “It is too dangerous to try to escape. We have no choice but to be transported with the other slaves who have been sold to the American slave traders. Better to do this than to end up crippled or dead because we resisted them.”

  Benjamin rubbed a hand across his forehead. “But, Father, we can escape them if we go now. We can go to Transvaal and obtain jobs from whites and live like them. They don’t have slavery in Transvaal anymore.”

  Robert sighed. “Benjamin, Transvaal is seven hundred miles from here. We would never make
it. We would be caught and punished severely, and still be put on a ship to America.”

  “But, Father, there are only so many British soldiers. South Africa is a huge state. We are natives here. We know the land. I know we can—”

  Benjamin’s words were cut off by the sound of men’s voices. They heard the rattle of harness, the creak of wheels, and the dull thump of hooves on the soft ground inside the circle of cabins.

  Robert hurried to the window and peered out. “It is them,” he said. “They are here to take us to Cape Town.”

  Nannie rushed up beside him and looked out. By the light of the several lanterns in the soldiers’ hands, she saw Kent Rhodes and his foreman, Richard Lawford, walk toward the three British officers.

  Benjamin moved up close to his parents. “It is too late now to escape from here. But it is a long way to Cape Town. We will be on the road for days. We will find a way to escape.”

  Robert laid a hand on his son’s muscular shoulder. “Benjamin, we must not attempt an escape. As I have already said, we could never get away from the soldiers.”

  Benjamin started to argue once more but then held his words. When he had figured out a way to escape the soldiers on the journey, he would inform his parents.

  The soldiers were already guiding slaves toward the wagons. A few small children were crying.

  When they saw Richard Lawford coming toward their cabin, Nannie took hold of her husband’s hand and said, “Let us go. It is best that he does not have to tell us to come out.”

  Soon Benjamin and his parents were climbing into one of the army wagons. Rancher Kent Rhodes stood close by, stuffing money into his shirt pocket. Suddenly Rhodes looked up and met Benjamin’s eyes. Benjamin held his gaze a few seconds, then looked away.

  When all the slaves were in the wagons, Rhodes stood beside the captain so that all could see him. He frowned at the sound of crying children and said, “Mothers, make your children stop crying now. This is Captain Charles Jameson of her Majesty’s royal army. He has a few words for you before the journey begins.”