~*~
Frederick pleaded with the elderly man in front of him. “Sir, I implore you to come with us. The water is rising fast. I…I don’t feel it’s safe to stay here.”
The old man patted his wife’s knee and smiled. “Thank you, but there’s no way we could make it out in this storm. Lana and I will stay right here until it passes.”
“But, we can help you.” Frederick gestured to the young woman standing beside him, who’d opted to leave with Frederick. “Please, it’s no trouble.”
The man offered his hand to Frederick. “No, no, we’ll stay. Besides, I’ve always liked sitting back and watching a good storm. Look here…we have front row seats.”
Frederick stood and motioned to the people who stood with him, the woman, her daughter, and the young Negro man. “Listen up, everyone. We’ve all been given a choice to either stay on the train or leave and seek shelter elsewhere. These people have all made the decision to leave with me. I know of a place near here where we can wait out the storm. Does anyone else want to go with us?”
A man called out. “You’re crazy if you go out in this storm! You’ll never make it to wherever you’re going!”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but I don’t think it’s safe here for any of us. I’m getting this young woman and her child out of here. You’re free to come with us if you’d like.”
“Lady, I think you’re making a big mistake going with this man.” He held his arms out to the little girl. “Come on now little lady. Stay here with me.”
The child frowned and pressed her face into her mother’s skirt.
“Fine, then. You go on with that crazy man.”
Frederick took hold of the woman’s arm and led her and the child to the train’s door. Another man who’d decided to go moved in front of them to open the door.
“Hold up!” A man bellowed.
Another man jumped from his seat and pulled his son up by the arm. “We’re going with you!”
~*~
The room beneath the lighthouse’s lantern was called the gallery. It was a completely round compartment with one door that led outside to the catwalk. It was large enough, but with Mr. and Mrs. Claiborne included, there were a total of eight people gathered inside…and one tail-wagging dog.
Sarah thought some of them would clear out since her sister seemed on the verge of having the baby. But no one seemed anxious to leave.
“Over here we have about a month’s supply of food.” Mr. Claiborne pulled Sarah, Grace, and Guy aside. “Now come over here.” He indicated for them to look out a small window overlooking the catwalk. He pointed out to a bucket hanging from a hook. “That bucket is for collecting rainwater, but the wind is blowing too hard to catch any.”
Mrs. Claiborne prepared a comfortable pallet for Louise. “Now let’s have her lie down here.”
Mama and Melvin helped Louise down onto the pallet. Melvin sat down and held his wife’s head in his lap. Mama knelt beside Louise.
Mr. Claiborne spoke to his wife. “I saw people wading through the tidewater coming this way.”
Mrs. Claiborne nodded. “Guy, Grace, let’s go downstairs and see what we can do to help.”
“Sarah, I need you to stay here with me,” Mama said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rex followed the others down the stairs.
Louise screamed.
Mama leaned in to assess the situation.
Sarah rushed to her sister’s side and held her hand. “Mama, I know you know what you’re doing, but I can help when it’s time for the baby to come. I’ve helped cows give birth. I even helped a newborn calf take its first breath when I was on the cattle drive.”
Mama chuckled. “Oh, well, if you’ve helped birth a calf then your little niece or nephew should be a piece of cake for you.”
Louise looked at Mama and Sarah with fire in her eyes.
Melvin panicked. “Louise, honey, now you need to sit back and relax, darling.”
Louise’s head snapped toward her husband. “Shut up, Melvin!”
“Mama, Sarah…you better listen close because I’m only gonna say this one time! I am not a heifer, and my baby is not a calf!” The poor girl grabbed her belly and cried out in pain. Liquid dampened the pallet beneath Louise.
“I need you to find something sharp I can cut with.” Mama directed Sarah. “And get those swaddling blankets out of Louise’s bag.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Sarah squeezed Louise’s hand before collecting the things Mama needed. Despite her experience with cows, it was difficult not to be afraid for her sister and the baby.
31
“There it is!” Frederick shouted to the small band of people walking behind him. The McKinney ranch house came into view. He’d carried little Alyssa all the way from the train. The water was too deep for her to walk.
Theodore, the young Negro man, helped Emily, the girl’s mother, wade through the thigh deep water. John and his son, Nelson, followed behind them.
Frederick trudged on toward the front porch. There was at least a foot of water covering the wooden veranda. The wind cruelly picked up anything and everything in its path to hurl their way. The rain blew sideways and stung when it hit.
Emily screamed, and Theodore gasped.
Frederick turned around. Emily was nowhere to be seen. Alyssa screamed for her mother. Frederick held her tight.
“Now look what you did, you idiot!”
Theodore’s eyes were wild with panic. He slashed at the water with both hands—searching and pulled the young woman up by her arm.
She held on tight while she coughed and spat seawater from her mouth. “Please, don’t let go! I’ve hurt my leg!”
Theodore scooped her up, cradling her in his arms. She put her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.
The men waded through the water. The screen door hung from one hinge.
Frederick banged on the door with his fist, but no one came. “Sarah! Sarah! It’s Frederick! Open up!”
There was no answer.
He tried the door. The wind grabbed it and pushed it open, sending a wave of water into the living room. Frederick looked around and moved inside when Theodore came up behind him, holding Emily. The floor was covered with seawater.
“Sarah! Are you in here?” He turned to Theodore. “Bring her into the kitchen. We’ll lay her out on the table, and I’ll take a look at her leg.” Frederick sat Alyssa on the counter. He leaned down and spoke softly to her. “I need you to stay right here while I look at your mother’s leg.”
“All right.” She nodded, on the verge of tears.
Frederick grabbed a lamp and rummaged through drawers until he found matches to light it.
“Oh, there you are.” John entered the kitchen with Nelson, his son, following.
“Set her down here,” Frederick said to Theodore.
Theodore gently set Emily down on the table.
She winced.
“Mommy, I’m scared.” Alyssa held her hands out toward her mother.
“Stay right there, Alyssa. We’ll take care of your mommy.” Frederick’s heart raced. He wished Sarah was home. She was raised on a ranch and knew so much more about…everything.
John Hobbs leaned against the counter. Nelson boosted himself up onto the counter.
Frederick worried they might have come along for the sole purpose of mischief towards the others. He had to stay on guard for all of their safety.
“Ma’am, what happened?”
“I don’t really know. My foot went down into some kind of hole. The water pulled me under, and I twisted my ankle.” Tears flowed down her face, and she shook with cold, and probably, a touch of fear.
Theodore stepped forward. “May I take a look?”
“Um, do you mind, ma’am?” Frederick asked.
“Just please, one of you do something,” she pleaded. “My leg hurts so much.”
Theodore gently pulled Emily’s skirt up to her knee. She wore high-heeled boots
, laced up to her calves. “I mean you no harm. I’m a doctor.”
Frederick was caught completely off guard. “You’re a doctor?”
“Yes, sir,” Theodore answered.
The kitchen wall shook when something big crashed against the house. The wind played havoc with the equipment left outside.
“Mommy!” Alyssa cried.
“It’s all right, baby! I’m right here.”
“Ma’am, I have to remove your boot.” Theodore spoke to his patient. “I apologize, but this might hurt.”
“I’m ready, go on.”
The doctor unlaced the boot, and the young woman winced in pain.
Frederick cringed at the contorted angle of her foot.
Theodore pulled Frederick aside. “She has a serious ankle fracture. I’ll need your help to set the bone.”
Enormous drops of rain splatted against the kitchen windows.
Frederick spoke in a low tone. “Since we arrived the water has risen several inches in this kitchen.”
“Do you suggest we move upstairs?”
“My friend who lives here grew up on the peninsula. She and her family know this area better than anyone. And that they’re not here tells me they didn’t feel safe here. I have a good feeling they’ve gone to seek shelter in the lighthouse. They know the light keeper. It’s tall and strong. They would be safe there.”
“I don’t think we should move Miss Emily. That ankle is badly broken.”
“I understand, but I’m afraid if we stay all of us might die.”
A window shattered somewhere in the house.
“We won’t be safe here for very long.”
“All right. Give me a hand, and we’ll see how she’s doing after I set the bone.” Theodore turned. “Miss Emily, I have to move that broken bone back into place. Now, Frederick, I need you to stand over here and hold Ms. Emily’s leg firmly while I do this.”
Theodore began to adjust the bones.
Emily moaned, and tears ran down her cheeks.
“All right now, Miss Emily, I’m just about done. Take a deep breath.”
Theodore quickly snapped the bone back into its proper position.
Emily screamed in pain.
“There we are. All done.”
“Mommy!”
“Bring her to me,” Emily gasped through her tears.
“Go ahead, but don’t you move that leg,” Theodore instructed. “I’ve got to find something to wrap it with.”
Frederick picked up the little girl and placed her on the table with her mother.
Theodore rummaged through the kitchen.
“Listen up now.” Frederick addressed the others. “Theodore and I have decided to take Emily and Alyssa to the lighthouse. You can stay, or you can go with us. It’s your decision.”
The older man pulled back his coat. He removed a small handgun and pointed it at Frederick. “You see that’s where you’re wrong. None of you are going anywhere until I get what I want.”
32
Frederick raised his hands and moved away from the others. “All right, now, put down the gun and tell us what you want.”
Emily squeezed Alyssa tight and whispered into her ear.
Theodore continued to wrap Emily’s leg and secured the rags he’d found in a drawer with twine that had been in the same place.
“You listen good. This is the MK Ranch. I saw the brand on the gate we came through. I’m familiar with the cattle these people produce, and I know how much the MK beef stock goes for on the market. These people are rich, and I plan on taking some of that money off their hands. Now tell me where the safe is!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I know the people who live here, and they are by no means rich!”
“Look here, anyone who is friends with an uppity lawyer would have to be well to do. So tell me where they keep their money.”
“First of all, the man who owned this ranch is dead. The only people left are his wife and daughters. If they have any money, I certainly don’t know about it.” Frederick’s eyes narrowed to slits. A man who took advantage of good people in their most desperate moment was deplorable. “If you think there’s a treasure to be had then why don’t you go on and search for it?”
“That’s not a bad idea.” He turned to his son. “Come on, Nelson. Let’s go take a look around. Grab that lamp.”
The younger Hobbs jumped down. Water splashed around him. He took the lamp and waded behind his father out of the kitchen.
Something crashed into the house overhead.
Alyssa screamed.
Frederick lit another lamp.
The sound of water streamed through the house. Their fortress had been breached. Staying was a sure death sentence. They had to leave…it was now or never.
“Theodore, Emily, we’ve got to get to higher ground. I don’t think this house can withstand the storm.”
The doctor gestured to Emily. “How can we possibly move this woman with her leg fractured and only strips of cloth for protection?”
“Not to worry. I have an idea.”
Emily pulled her daughter to her chest. Sweat formed on her forehead, and her arms were shaking. “What about those horrible men? What if they see us trying to leave and shoot us?”
“Please, you must calm down and listen to my plan.”
Theodore pulled Frederick aside. “What’s your plan? We need to get her to safety. I fear she’s going into shock.”
“Theodore…” Frederick shook his head. “How rude of me. I apologize…Dr. Freeman…can you lift Miss Emily onto the counter while I remove the legs from this table? We can move it outside and put the ladies on it.” Frederick raised his hands, palms up. “You know, like a boat of sorts.”
Theodore turned to his patient. “I need to lift you onto the counter for a moment while our friend here prepares for our departure.”
Emily stared at the doctor, her coloring fading. She handed Alyssa over with trembling hands.
Theodore moved them both before turning to Frederic.
Fredrick flipped the table upside down. “Give me a hand will you, doctor?” He used brute force to knock off three of the legs. The last leg proved to be a problem, and he decided to leave it be. “Stay here with the ladies until I get this table out the front door. I’ll call for you directly.”
“Wait! We need to gather a few things.”
Frederick wrangled the table, floating on top of the water collecting in the kitchen. “What do we need?”
“Blankets. We need to keep Emily warm. And we need bindings as well.”
Frederick pushed the table toward the doctor and left the kitchen. A loud thump against the side of the house awakened Frederick to the need for the bindings. It was the best way to keep Emily and Alyssa from being blown off the makeshift boat. He strode through the deepening waters trying to find something that could be used for a strap. Where had he seen a rope?
Mr. McKinney’s lariat rope and hat were on display in his honor near the row of coat hooks by the front door.
Frederick grabbed the rope and took the hat as well. He wedged the Boss of the Plains Stetson hat on his head. The pride the family took in the items lent to his renewed vigor to place the hat in the hands of the ones it rightly belonged to.
Frederick and the doctor pushed the tabletop through the waters out onto the front porch. They placed Emily and her daughter on the raft, bundled in blankets and tied against the remaining stubborn table leg.
“All right, ready to go.”
A large hand clamped down on Frederick’s shoulder and swung him around. “Wait right there. You’re not going anywhere!”
Frederick didn’t release his hand from the table. “What do you want, Hobbs?”
“I want to know where the McKinneys keep their money. That’s what I want!”
“I told you, they don’t have any money!”
“Don’t give me that! I don’t believe you!”
The gun came closer to Frederick’s face
. He reached deep into his trouser pocket. His hand emerged holding a wad of bank notes and silver coins. “If it’s money you want then here, take it!” Frederick threw the money. The bills unfolded as they flew over the two men’s heads.
The elder Hobbs was caught off guard.
“I’ll get it, Daddy!” Nelson dropped the lamp and dove after the coins and notes.
The room was plunged into darkness.
“No, you idiot, you’ll drown!” Mr. Hobbs hollered. He thrashed around searching in the dark water. “Nelson, Nelson! Where are you?”
“Go now!” Frederick and the doctor pushed the table. It floated off the porch. The water was up to Frederick’s chest. He looked back, but couldn’t see anything in the darkness. They guided the makeshift raft away from the ranch.
In the distance, Mr. Hobbs mournfully cried out for his son.
The wind blew so hard it was nearly impossible to keep the raft on course. They bounced up and down on the waves. The land had become sea. Frederick swam to keep his chin above water. Dr. Freeman was doing the same, when Frederick glanced his way as lightning flashed. Miss Emily and Alyssa were huddled in the blankets, but occasionally he could hear the little girl’s cries over the roar of the water. He was thankful for the darkness because of the death and destruction floating around them.
Sarah had to be inside the lighthouse. Its tall beacon guided him onward through the briny depths. Frederick shuddered when a bolt of lightning struck the roof of a small farmhouse. The entire sky illuminated. A quick glance revealed a body draped across the house’s front porch stairs. A smaller figure floated nearby. Frederick turned his head in anguish. He spat saltwater from his mouth and refused to pray for help.
Why would God allow this to happen?
33
A white bolt of lightning slashed the sky like a fiery sword. Sarah cringed, waiting for the thunder. In an instant its fury was unleashed in a loud, explosive blast. A low rolling rumble followed, rattling the huge tower windows above the gallery. Over one hundred feet in the air was a terribly frightening place of refuge during the massive storm.
“Mama! Mama! Another one’s coming!” Louise screamed and leaned forward. Sweat slid down her crimson cheeks.
Redeeming Light Page 12
