Ruffling Society

by Kay Moser

  No response. Just as well. The sooner he brings back help, the better.

  The earth under Sarah’s heels crumbled, and she slid quite a distance before she hit a narrow shelf of jutting rock. Seconds later, Smoky joined her, bringing a cloud of dust with him. After Sarah quit coughing, she crouched on the ledge and peered down into the shaded area closer to the ravine, her eyes frantically searching for Bert.

  “I can’t see her,” she cried as she hugged Smoky to her side. “Oh, Smoky, how will I ever get to her if I can’t even see her?”

  Smoky whined and licked her face.

  “Oh, dear God, dear Jesus, help us! Help me find her.”

  Smoky wiggled out of her grasp, and sliding on his belly, pulling himself with his front paws, he moved along the shelf of rock and over the edge. When he disappeared from sight, Sarah’s heart sank, then began to race. Following the dog’s lead, she reached the edge of the shelf and peeked over. Bert lay twenty feet down, and Smoky was licking her face.

  Oh, thank you, God! Sarah suppressed a sob straining her throat. Not now, I have to stay calm. She looked over the edge again. It’s almost a sheer drop! Panic slammed into her, and she curled herself into a protective ball and struggled to breathe. Help me, Jesus. I have to do this. I have to! She heard Bert moan. Oh God, she needs me. I have to get to her, but … I … I can’t even think.

  She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax her hold on her knees. I will … I will do this. I will go down there. She struggled to remember how Smoky had gone over the edge. Head forward, dragging himself. I’ve got to do it like Smoky did.

  Sarah protected her face with her bent left arm and pushed herself off the ledge. She felt her shirtwaist being ripped off her arms as she slid head first down the rock, her skin stinging, her elbows and hip bones banging against stone, but when she finally stopped, she lay in a heap next to Bert.

  Oh, thank you, God! Sarah sat up, and ignoring her own injuries, examined her friend. Bloody, dirt-clogged scrapes covered Bert, but the major injury appeared to be a gash on her forehead.

  “Bert! Can you hear me?”

  When Bert remained still and silent, Sarah gave her a shake. “Wake up, Bert. You’ve got to stay conscious. Wake up!”

  Bert groaned.

  “It’s Sarah, Bert. Wake up!” Sarah could not rouse her friend. Glancing at the wide creek bounding over boulders, she stood. “I need water to bring her around. Stay here, Smoky. Stay with Bert.” She pulled her skirt up, tucked it into her waist, and began the awkward scramble toward the water.

  “At least I’m on my feet now,” she said to encourage herself as she stumbled along.

  When she reached the creek, she dropped her petticoat to her ankles, stepped out of it, and dunked it in the icy water until it dripped. Then she struggled back across the rocks and squeezed out the petticoat on Bert’s face and neck. When the icy water hit her face, Bert’s eyes flew open, and she held up a hand to resist the stream of cold liquid.

  “Good, good,” Sarah exclaimed. “You’re conscious.”

  “My head,” Bert moaned.

  “You’ve got a terrible gash on it. I’m going to try to stop the bleeding with a cold compress.” She tore a wide flounce off her petticoat, folded it into a ragged square, and pressed it to Bert’s head. “Do you hurt anywhere else?”

  “Everywhere!”

  “Does anything feel broken?”

  “My right ankle or leg. I can’t tell what; the whole thing hurts.”

  Sarah ran her fingers along Bert’s leg, feeling for a break. “Your leg seems okay, but it’s swelling above your boot. Your ankle must be the problem. I need to take your boot off, but I think we better move you closer to the creek before I do. We need the cold water to slow the swelling. Can you sit up? Here, let’s try.”

  Bert struggled to a sitting position on her own, and Sarah pulled her to her feet. As Sarah panted from the exertion and Bert swayed with dizziness, Sarah draped Bert’s arm over her own shoulders. “Okay, okay, we made it this far. Now let’s just stand here a minute and rest. This isn’t going to be easy, Bert, but we must get closer to the creek. We can make it; it’s not steep, just a little rocky. We’ll just take our time. Now lean on me and put as little weight on your right foot as possible.”

  A full ten minutes later, Sarah sat Bert down on a small boulder next to a crystal clear, eddying pool. As Sarah struggled to remove the boot below Bert’s swollen leg, Bert cried out in pain, then clamped her hand over her mouth.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Sarah’s heart ached at the thought of torturing her friend. “Forgive me, but I have to get your ankle into the cold water. It’s the only way to slow down the swelling.”

  Bert’s cries of pain became a shout of shock when Sarah finally managed to plunge her friend’s swollen foot into the pool. “Good grief! That’s freezing!” A shiver ran through Bert’s whole body.

  “Here.” Sarah untied the shawl from her waist and wrapped it around Bert’s shoulders. “It’s filthy, but it’s warm. I’m going back for my petticoat. We’ll need it to keep cold water on your head.”

  When Sarah returned and began applying cold compresses to Bert’s head, they both fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. Sarah strategized. How long will it take for help to arrive? Augustus should get back to the camp in an hour or so. After all, it’s a downhill walk. And Mountain Jack will be much faster in his climb up to us. So we could have help in about three hours ... at the best.

  Sarah looked up the canyon, now quickly being cast in shadow, and raised her eyes to the sun, which hovered above the top peak. When the sun goes down behind that peak, it will get dark down here and dusky on the trail. But Mountain Jack knows these mountains, he knows the trail. Sarah’s mouth went dry with panic. We weren’t on the trail! But surely Augustus can … surely.

  Smoky seemed to sense her fear. He whined and came to lick her face. Sarah dropped the cold compress and threw her arms around the dog’s ruff.

  “What’s wrong?” Bert asked.

  Sarah struggled for composure, for the ability to portray a calmness she didn’t feel.

  “Sarah?”

  A frantic debate raged in Sarah’s mind. Should I tell her the truth? No! She’s injured. Yes! She needs to know. You have to plan. Night is coming, and you two will spend it alone here in the forest. You must prepare.

  “Talk to me,” Bert demanded. “You’re white as a ghost.”

  “I … I don’t think we’ll be rescued before nightfall.” She turned and looked into Bert’s anxious eyes. “We’ll probably have to spend the night here, and we better prepare while we have light.”

  “You shouldn’t have come after me.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Bert. Of course I should have. You would have come after me, wouldn’t you?”

  Bert looked out across the bustling creek a full minute before answering. “Yes, yes, I would have.” She turned back to Sarah and tried to laugh through her pain. “No, I would have forced the professor to come down the mountainside after you.”

  Sarah gave a feeble chuckle. “No chance of that, I assure you, but he has gone back for help.”

  “Heaven help us if we’re dependent on him!” Bert’s customary sarcastic tone when referring to Augustus returned.

  Sarah’s responded with more earnestness. “Yes, heaven help us.”

  “Heaven will,” Bert asserted, “but heaven expects us to make a plan. You’re right about that.”

  Sarah nodded. “Staying warm is the priority.”

  “And safe from animals.”

  Sarah hugged Smoky close. “He’ll help us solve both problems. Now, I’m going to find the best spot for us to rest.”

  “Right!” As Sarah stood up, Bert glanced from side to side. “Good luck finding the softest rocks.”

  Sarah grinned down at her. “At least you’re back to your ornery self.”

  CHAPTER 39

  Joy filled Victoria as she sat in the sanitarium’s parlor wat
ching Ceci play a new tune she had learned. Christine perched on the bench beside her while Nancy stood to the side, smiling with pride. Victoria hugged Juli, who sat on her lap “reading” a picture book to her. What a miracle! Victoria repeated the thought that had played through her mind for days now. When I think how the summer began … why am I always so surprised to discover that there are no limits with God?

  A racket at the doorway drew Victoria’s attention back to the room. To her amazement, Sarah’s friend, Ella Woodson, burst into the room, followed by a frantic, elderly porter.

  “You can’t—you can’t go in there, miss,” the white-haired porter stuttered as he tried to stop her. “The parlor is for patients and their guests—”

  “They’re lost! Sarah and Bert are lost in the mountains!” Ella cried out before she collapsed on a sofa in tears.

  “What?” Victoria demanded as she jumped up, dumping Juli onto the rug. “What are you talking about?”

  Christine raced to Ella’s side and forced her to sit up. “What has happened, Ella?”

  Ella’s face contorted with fear, and when she opened her mouth to speak, her lips quivered so violently she couldn’t enunciate.

  “Ella!” Christine gave her a gentle shake. “What has happened to Sarah and Bert?”

  “They went hiking and—” Ella dissolved into wracking sobs.

  Victoria stormed across the room, grabbed Ella, and jerked her to her feet. “Stop that crying at once!” Ella fell silent as she stared at Victoria. “Just say it. What happened?”

  “They didn’t come back from their hike,” Ella whispered.

  “They went hiking alone?” Victoria demanded.

  “Professor Wickham took them. He … he said …” Ella began to tremble. “He said he knew the trail, but none of them came back.”

  Victoria struggled to keep her voice even. “Then what happened?”

  “We waited, but then Mountain Jack said the group had to come back because it would get dark. So we did—”

  Victoria’s temper blazed so suddenly she couldn’t control her voice. “And left Sarah and Bert in the mountains?” she shouted. “They just left them?”

  “No! They’re hunting for them. Mountain Jack is hunting. I—I had to come back. They made me get in the carriage, but I jumped out when we stopped a few blocks away. I had to come tell you. Oh, Mrs. Hodges, you’ve got to do something!”

  Christine stepped between the two of them. “The first thing you must do is calm down, Victoria. You will make yourself sick again, and you will not do Sarah any good either.”

  Victoria felt a tug on her skirt. She looked down into Juli’s face.

  “Is Miss Sarah going to die?” The little girl’s eyes were wide with fear.

  “No!”

  Ceci joined her sister, staring up at Victoria with the same fear. “But Daddy died, and he wasn’t even lost in the mountains.”

  “No one is going to die!” Victoria realized her tone was too sharp the minute she heard it. She knelt and pulled the girls into her arms. “They will be found.”

  “Of course they will,” Christine agreed. “After all, if Professor Wickham knows the trail, we can be sure that the mountain guide knows it even better. They have probably already found them.”

  “I don’t think so,” Ella wailed. “They didn’t seem very confident that they—”

  Christine held up her hand to stop Ella. “I am confident.”

  “So am I,” Victoria agreed as she stood.

  Nancy stepped forward, her face lined with worry. “Miz Christine, ain’t it bedtime for the girls?”

  Christine made a show of checking the watch pinned to her bodice. “Goodness, it certainly is.” She tried to usher them toward Nancy.

  “But what about Miss Sarah?” Ceci asked.

  “We will pray for her and the others. God will protect them until the men find them.”

  “Absolutely,” Victoria agreed in spite of the sickening fear growing in the pit of her stomach. “By the time you wake up in the morning, Sarah will be back in town.” Victoria kissed the girls good night. “Now sleep tight, and tomorrow Miss Sarah will be back to tell you all about her adventures in the woods.”

  Christine hugged the girls. “Say a special prayer for Miss Sarah tonight. I’ll check on you later before I go to bed.”

  Victoria waited until the girls were gone, then turned to the old porter. “What do you know about this?”

  “They’re organizing a search party. A rider came back ahead of the carriages and started arranging things. That’s all I know.”

  “What are the chances of finding them tonight?”

  The porter looked at the floor. “None, ma’am.” Concern increased the wrinkles in his face when he raised it. “Can I get you ladies anything?”

  “No, thank you,” Christine answered him, then turned to Victoria. “What can we do?”

  “Absolutely nothing tonight.”

  “There is one thing. We could send a telegram to Riverford.”

  “What good can they do from there? Shouldn’t we spare Sarah’s mother the worry?”

  “And deny her the chance to pray? And what about Lee? Surely he would want—”

  “Let’s send the telegram to Hayden. He’ll make the best decision about Lee, and he’ll break the news gently to Mrs. Novak.” Victoria turned to the porter. “I know it’s late, but would you find a boy to take a message to the telegraph office for me?”

  The man struggled to straighten his crooked spine. “I’d be honored to take it myself, ma’am.”

  Victoria hurried to the desk, scribbled out the message, and sent the porter off with some money. When she rejoined Christine, she said, “I don’t know why I’m hurrying to deliver bad news to Riverford. They can do less than we can.”

  “We can all do the most important thing: we can pray.”

  Victoria sighed with obvious dismay. “How could I have forgotten again?”

  “Forgotten what?”

  “There are no limits with God.”

  “Exactly. He can do anything, but it’s hard for us to absorb that fact, isn’t it?”

  “Well, I have no excuse. I have received quite a miracle in the last several weeks, yet here I am falling back to my habit of believing humans are the power that changes things. Only God can keep Sarah safe tonight.”

  Tears flooded Christine’s eyes. “He is the God of all the universe. He is the Creator. He can speak things into being.”

  “Exactly!” Victoria nodded as her own eyes stung with tears. “He can shield and protect. He can keep them safe.”

  Christine threw her arms around Victoria and hugged her tight. “God knows where they are.”

  “And He knows everything they need,” Victoria added. “He is able to provide everything.”

  “Absolutely! They are not alone.”

  ***

  “Ain’t you goin’ to bed, Mr. Hayden?” Delphie asked as she poked her head out the screen door.

  “Too darn hot,” Hayden growled.

  “It sure be that.” Delphie waved her hand in front of her face. “Can’t find no breeze nowhere.”

  “You go on and do what you want to. I’m fine for the night.”

  “Yes, sir. I guess I’s gonna—who that be comin’ up the walk? Sure is in a hurry.”

  Hayden stood and watched as a boy ran toward the verandah. “What’s the hurry, boy?”

  “I got a telegram for you, Mr. Hodges. Mr. Rogers said it’s real important too.”

  Hayden snatched the envelope from the boy’s hand, and, turning back to the light from the porch lamp, tore it open and scanned it.

  “Lawd have mercy. Something done happened to Miz Victoria,” Delphie exclaimed. “I can’t stand it! I can’t—”

  “No.” Hayden stopped her. “It’s Sarah. She’s lost in the mountains.”

  “Miz Sarah? Lost? Oh Lawd, have mercy! What we gonna do?”

  Hayden stared up at the murky sky a long minute. “I’ll be b
ack.” He bolted off the verandah.

  “Where you goin’? Ever’body in town be asleep.”

  Hayden ignored her and headed straight to the Logan house. “Victoria said if I think Lee should know,” he muttered. “There’s no if about it. The man’s in love with Sarah.”

  When he reached the Logan house a few minutes later, he raised his hand to knock, then paused. Hate to upset the ladies. Still … there’s no other way. He pounded on the door.

  Lee, his shirt unbuttoned, opened it a minute later. “Hayden?”

  “Sorry to wake you, Lee—”

  “I wasn’t asleep. Too hot for that. Just sitting reading. What’s wrong?”

  “Just got a telegram.” Hayden held up the paper.

  “Who is it, son?” With her wrapper thrown hastily over her gown, Mrs. Logan appeared in the hallway behind Lee. “Who on earth is banging on the door at this hour? Hayden!”

  “What does it say?” Lee ignored his mother and opened the screen door. “Is something wrong with Sarah?”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “Invite Hayden in, son,” Mrs. Logan insisted.

  “What is it?” Lee demanded as he jerked the paper out of Hayden’s hand.

  “Went on a hike, it seems, and now she’s lost in the mountains.”

  Lee abruptly turned, and pushing his mother aside, hurried to the nearest lamp and thrust the paper under it. “Search begins in the morning?” Lee shouted. “What are they waiting for?”

  “Now, son, try to stay calm. I’m sure—”

  “What are they waiting for?” Lee turned the question on Hayden.

  “Daylight, most likely.”

  Lavinia hurried down the stairs. “What’s wrong, Lee? Why are you shouting? I could hear you all the way—”

  Mrs. Logan held up her hand to stop her daughter’s words. “Hayden has received a telegram. Sarah is lost in the mountains, and naturally Lee is upset. There’s not much he can do, after all.”

  “Wrong.” Lee pushed his way past Lavinia and bolted for the stairs.

  “Where are you going?” Lavinia called after him.